The end of an era

Can you believe it? This will be my last entry from Leicester. You must be wondering why I’m ending things so early. That’s because my MOM is coming to help me pack up and we are going to Paris, Rome and Florence over one week!!! I am unbelievably excited to see her. It’s really fascinating sometimes how life can bring you full circle. I started this journey 11 months ago, with my mom helping to settle me into my new life, and now upon my return she’s coming back to bring me home! I’m only in Leicester for another 10 days and then I head to London to meet my mom and we’ll be travelling for the next week, catching our flight back to Canada on the 17^th. Which means that I’ve had to finish up my dissertation a few days earlier, and it hasn’t been an issue. I’m actually almost done except for a few minor edits here and there. Everything has been backed up several times, in various places both on and off my computer so hopefully I won’t run into any problems.

On Wednesday morning myself, Z, and our two friends Rob and Bindy went up north to the Lake District for a night. The Lake District is part of England, but just underneath Scotland – and is known for its natural beauty. The area is divided into towns based on (you guessed it) the various lakes. If you’re familiar with the author Beatrix Potter, she was from the Lake District and her birthday passed a couple days ago. The town we stayed in, Windemere, was a picture perfect example of something out of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. It was an absolutely breathtaking trip. I finally got to see the true rolling hills and lush green countryside of England. We hiked on a couple of trails and even took a rowboat out on one of the lakes – of course we got the boys to do most of the rowing! Below are some of the MANY pictures I took. I loved being up there with nature. It’s so nice sometimes to just turn off your mobile for a couple of days and feel like there is nowhere else you need to be or anyone else you need to be with at that very moment. Eckhart talks about trying to be present in everything you do, and I felt completely present with my surroundings, connected 100%. We have all these little thoughts buzzing around in our heads constantly, I felt so lucky to be able to shut them all off for a couple days of peace and tranquility.

On our way out, we also stopped in this town called Blackpool and it was the craziest place I’ve ever visited in England. It’s kind of like a really dowdy version of Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls. Lots of cheesy lights and (ahem) intriguing people walking around...the only beautiful feature was the shore of the Irish Sea on the opposite side of all the games and theatres. Some people were even swimming, but the water was a bit too cold for us still, we decided to just play in the sand and do some ‘creative’ artwork. We did have exceptionally beautiful weather for both days. This whole week in fact has been the perfect summer temperature – lots of sun, only reaching about 25 degrees. I hope it stays like this for another 10 days (but considering I’m in England that’s highly unlikely).

Last night I went to see the new Batman movie – unfortunately not in Imax because Leicester doesn’t have an Imax cinema. But it was still packed with excitement from beginning to end. I couldn’t believe it was 2.5 hours long because the time just flew by! Even Z, who doesn’t like action movies at all admitted to enjoying The Dark Knight. The only thing that was kind of morbid was watching Heath Ledger as the Joker. He was excellent, but just knowing that he’s no longer alive and yet I’m watching him on screen seemed a little off to me. He deserves the posthumous Oscar nomination though, and I bet he’ll win it too, I mean you can’t really contend with someone who has died.

The rest of this week will be spent tying up loose ends. There are a lot of accounts here to close, suitcases to pack, friends to say goodbye to – oh and of course dissertations to print and submit! It’s a really strange feeling to have the last 11 months come to an end. Sometimes I find myself just sitting in my room, in awe of this whole journey. This is going to sound like such a silly analogy, but the best way I can describe it is like with weight gain or hair growth. You know how when you see someone every day, whether it be a spouse, friend or family member, you don’t really notice if they lose or gain weight or how long their hair has grown because you see the gradual transformation. But then if you haven’t seen someone for months you can tell right away that something has changed. Well I feel like I’m still the same person I was when I first got here, everything I’ve done, all the travelling and studying seems like such a small deal now. But I guess if somehow the ‘me’ from last September could see the ‘me’ now, they wouldn’t believe everything that’s happened in such a short time. It does feel sad in some ways to leave because we’ve created a little nest here for ourselves. The open fruit market in town, and those crazy paternoster lifts on campus and the 24-hour take away place up the street for our late night study cravings. The journey here is definitely done, I know that – but it doesn’t mean that it’s not sad to leave it. Anyways, life gives you what you need most, and that has been my mantra in coping with all this.

And not to worry readers – I will make sure to continue posting blog entries from Canada. After all, I will have my trip with mummy dearest to talk about and some other events and topics along the way I’m sure – which I will probably start a new blog to do (new URL will be posted here). So I guess all that's left to say is thank you for sharing this adventure with me for the last 11 months. I hope you've enjoyed reading about all my experiences, because I certainly enjoyed writing about them! I've been extremely blessed and fortunate to have gone through this journey and come out of it with only positive memories and life lessons, and I'm sure that it has to do with all the encouragement and support everyone has given me.

And because I would prefer to end on a smile and not a tear, I'll leave you with the following image:

I call it: Miss Piggy :)

You're part of the ocean

I heard a nice little story the other day. The story is about a little wave, bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand old time. He's enjoying the wind and the fresh air - until he notices the other waves in front of him, crashing against the shore.

"My God, this is terrible," the wave says. "Look what's going to happen to me!"

Then along comes another wave. It sees the first wave, looking grim, and it says to him, "Why do you look so sad?"

The first wave says, "You don't understand! We're all going to crash! All of us waves are going to be nothing! Isn't it terrible?"

The second wave says, "No, you don't understand. You're not a wave, you're part of the ocean."

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When I was in Munich with Mel, her friend MJ had a copy of the book, Tuesdays with Morrie. I read the first 50 pages one night before bed and I loved it so much. It's a true story about the author's (Mitch Albom) relationship with his sociology professor who is dying from Lou Gehrig's disease. In his last months alive, he imparts some profound words of wisdom that Mitch recorded and compiled into the book. I was telling my friend Sonali about it and she got me a copy of the book for my birthday. I finally finished reading it two nights ago and it was such a precious story. The above is probably one of my favourite passages from the book. Actually, the funny thing is I finished A New Earth the same night, and the two books complement one another really well. Morrie actually touches on a lot of the same issues Eckhart does like staying Present. Here are some other interesting points he raises:


-"When you learn how to die, you learn how to live"

-"Love others or perish" (reminded me of Eckharts' "Evolve or die" mantra)

-(On detachment from experiences) "You know what the Buddhists say? Don't cling to things, because everything is impermanent. Detachment doesn't mean you don't let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That's how you are able to leave it. Take any emotion - love for a woman or grief for a loved one, or what I'm going through, fear and pain from a deadly illness. If you hold back on the emotions - if you don't allow yourself to go all the way through them - you can never get to being detached, you're too busy being afraid. You're afraid of the pain, you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails. But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then can you say, 'All right. I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment.'"

-(On finding a meaningful life) "Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

That last quote especially reminded me of the final chapter in Eckhart's book, where he talks about doing everything with either acceptance, enjoyment or enthusiasm. What really 'hit home' for me was the section on goals and how they shouldn't be based on an inflated image of yourself or having this or that. For example, I want to be famous or own a yacht. Instead, he says, you should see your goals as dynamic, pointing towards an activity you are doing, which connects you to other human beings.

"Instead of seeing yourself as an actor or famous person, see yourself inspiring countless people with your work and enriching their lives. Feel how that activity not only enriches and deepens your life but the lives of countless others. Feel yourself being an opening through which energy flows from the unmanifested Source of all life through you for the benefit of all."

Anyways, I just feel like it's no coincidence that these two books happened to return to my life right before my birthday - and eerily enough there is a passage that after reading I had to stop, and read it again because I felt like the book was actually talking to ME!

"It's very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it."

And I believe that was probably the universe's 23rd birthday message to me. These two books have become my manuscripts for living (and dying as well) and I highly recommend both of them.

(p.s. tomorrow is officially 1 month until I come home!)

Radiohead Concert!

Hi everyone!

Sorry for not posting in such a long time...but can you believe an entire year has almost gone by? I'll be submitting this dissertation in a month and then be home a couple weeks after that! Today I officially completed all my data collection, so now I can work on analyzing the results and finishing my report.

I'm going to keep this post short - I really just wanted to post a couple of video clips from the Radiohead concert we went to in Manchester last weekend. They were phenomenal! For an outdoor concert, the sound was really clean. I've always loved their music, but I think seeing them live just heightened my interest in their work. Anyways, here are a couple clips from the show - if you think we look pretty far from the stage, we were actually closer to the front than we were the back! The concert was held in a cricket field in Manchester - the place was packed! We only spent a night in Manchester but we did manage to do some shopping in the city and it's much more developed than Leicester. Did you know Manchester was the first industrialized city in the entire world? It's kind of how Mass Communications began as a field, because with industrialization came urbanization and loss of the family unit which meant city-dwellers had more leisure time on the weekends. There was a new niche for 'popular culture' in the form of media. And that's when scholars in Psychology, Sociology and Politics wanted to study what effect all this media was having on society. So that's where the name Mass Communications came from - we study how different means of communications inform the masses. Or atleast that's how I explain it everytime someone asks me "So what exactly IS Mass Communications?" or "what does a degree in Mass Communications lead to?". Sigh...

Oh we also went to our first Rugby game a couple weeks ago - it was Medics vs. Doctors so some of our friends were playing. Unfortunately the doctors lost (the Red team), which was the side all our friends were on. I can't really say I've learned anything more about Rugby other than it's very violent (and funny to watch - check out the pics below I think you'll see why!).

Well time for me to get some rest. I'll keep you updated on the dissertation this month, but soon you can just ask me in person how it all went (crazy isn't it?)! Take Care!

*My apologies about the font - this blog has a mind of its own sometimes!*

It's been a slow week...

I've got to admit, I have nothing of interest to report on since my last post. Things here have been relatively quiet. Z is back from Morocco, she had quite the experience! They went on this dessert tour through the Sahara for three days and essentially were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by sand dunes. They rode camels through the dessert, climbed one of the tallest sand dunes to watch the sun set, and even got some pictures of 'mirages'! I think it was a great departure from Europe - even though there are cultural differences from one European country to the next, you can still see the thread that binds Europe together as a whole. And especially of late, it seems that the thread is turning into a sturdy piece of rope.

Even in Morocco, Z mentioned that the youth speak only in French, not Arabic or Berber - almost as if to say they were rejecting traditional culture and preferred what the imperialists introduced to their country. And yet the country is still so heavily influenced by Islam. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens when this generation takes over. But I'm sure even with their European influenced youth that going to Africa must've been completely different from anything we've experienced here, and yet it's only 3 hours away! You really feel like you're in the middle of the world here. I would love to visit Egypt or Tunisia one day...it'd be nice to see the Great Pyramid of Giza before they put a Starbucks inside...

I do have a favor to ask of you all though, which has to do with my research. I've created the surveys for my dissertation online, and I have 7 conditions, each one containing a different set of visual stimuli. I need 25 women between the ages of 18-40 to complete each survey. I was hoping that if anyone reading this falls under that category (who did not complete the pre-test I was circulating a while ago) that maybe you could pick one of the links below and complete a survey for me. They take about 15 minutes to do, and please select just one. What would also help a lot is if you know of anyone else who could complete a survey, to e-mail them one of the links as well. I would really appreciate your help and just think, you would be contributing to research that can help us understand more about how women's esteem is affected, and the measures we can take to combat body dissatisfaction.

Here are the Links:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

Link 5

Link 6

Link 7

Once again, thank you so much for your assistance!

Home Alone

That's right, I'm all by myself this week. Z and some of our friends took a trip to Morocco for 7 days. A couple of my other friends went to Paris. I'm stuck in Leicester...reading and dissertating (yes, I just made up a verb, well a gerund to be more specific). But it's good, because I took off 5 weeks in April traveling so now its time to buckle down and get some copious amounts of work done.

Actually, I don't think I mentioned this but my dissertation study has completely changed from what it originally was. After attending this conference on Evolutionary Psychology, my advisor recommended this new idea to me. What I'm researching now is how celebrity culture affects body satisfaction in women. The study is an online survey which asks women to rate different images of celebrities in terms of how ideal they perceive their body, how attractive they find them, etc. Apparently although there's been a lot of research to do with media effects on body image, there's been very little about the celebrity industry and their effect on body image. At first I wasn't thrilled about the idea, because I've never really been fascinated by the celebrity world - but I do really enjoy reading the literature on the body and the Evolutionary perspective of what physical attractiveness is.

I always thought that beauty was such a culturally constructed notion. This myth that the media impresses upon society to live upto unrealistic standards. But the more reading I do, the more I understand how much of what we find beautiful is grounded in our biological necessities. For example, this whole obsession with blondes having more fun and being a blonde 'bombshell' actually has to do with the fact that the majority of blondes tend to get darker as they get older. Something like only 20% of blondes naturally stay blonde into their later years. So blonde hair came to be a symbol of youth - because anyone who was blonde was most likely under 25. And youth (in females) is a universally attractive feature across all cultures because well...there's a greater reproductive value. I mean any caveman who was attracted to the older women in their community probably died out from never procreating. So men evolved to be attracted to mainly younger women because it meant survival of the species. And there's a slew of other features that can be explained in this manner: full lips, fair skin, waist-to-hip ratio, can all be linked to proving a higher reproductive value to the human species (although I'm not sure I'm sold on that last one...because even some anorexic women have an ideal waist-to-hip ratio but they have very low reproductive value so I'll read some more and save the argument for my dissertation).

Of course the opposing view would come from the cultural anthropologists (but I haven't read much of that section yet so I can't really explain too much of their side). I would guess that they study how notions of beauty are learned behaviours rather than biological ones. For example the societies where larger women are viewed as more attractive are usually from the 'developing' world, where food and resources are minimal. Being able to maintain a higher weight means they are well-fed, and capable of having children. More interestingly though (atleast in my point of view), societies where women have a low socioeconomic value - so in other words they're just baby machines - are the communities that prefer 'plumper' women. Conversely, in cultures where women have a higher socioeconomic value where they are educated and maintain their own finances, slimmer women are viewed as more attractive. I guess when you're viewed as not only a producer but a provider, certain features that would have otherwise been restricted for men are now desirable in women too (such as a stronger, fitter physique).

So where do I fit? Well, as my mother would say...I'm always a Wednesday. When it comes to nature vs. nurture, it's always best to accept that both schools of thought offer convincing and true arguments. That said, I believe there is A LOT that science and biology have yet to prove about human beings, and I don't think we give our genes enough credit. Of course though, not everything can be explained solely by science. I'm not about to blame chromosome 16 for my insane pig-collection or my Marilyn Manson phase in grade 7 (and I had just started to forget about that...). And if I start throwing Karmic formulas into this equation well...that would just be an entirely different issue. On the other hand, it would be the bridge to explain both nature and nurture. I guess what you have to realize is that while our ancestors might've been driven by their mating preferences, and while we might have evolved to somehow subconsciously be attracted to certain features because of their reproductive value, we are also evolving beyond the superficial. I think we've mastered Darwin's game of survival of the fittest - and now we're looking to play a different game. Instead of competing against one another for survival, I think we need to learn how to cooperate so that the species survives as a whole. Cancer, AIDS, global warming, nobody's a winner anymore. The next step is the evolution towards our collective consciousness - and Eckhart touches on this in "A New Earth", we've reached a precipice where it's either evolve or die.

Geez this post is awfully morose. I think that's what happens when you spend all this solitary time working and reading. Before the girls left we did manage to see the Sex & the City movie on the night it opened. If you were a fan of the series, you'll be extremely pleased with the film. It was just deliciously funny and heartwarming from beginning to end - a perfect way to conclude the series. I know, not the most intellectual of material to watch but still really interesting from a pop culture perspective. Oh and the other bit of news I wanted to mention is that I have a Skype account so if anyone would ever like to call me on Skype feel free to.

The finish line is in sight

As Z and I were taking the paternoster (weird non-stop elevator-esque contraption on campus) to the 8th floor to submit our final essay today, I kept thinking of the 6 times I had done that before over the past year. I can't believe how much work has gone by so quickly - and we survived it without any computers crashing or work getting lost! Now all that's left is our dissertation, which is still longer than all our essays combined and worth more. But atleast we have nearly 3 months to finish it.

So, what have I been upto other than schoolwork and traveling? Well...two weeks ago I joined a gym in town, I figured it would be a good way to take breaks from my dissertation this summer and keep in shape. A lot of our friends are going back to their homes now because most programs finish at the end of May. So it's going to get really quiet in Leicester. It should make it easier to focus on our dissertations, that's for sure. Z's birthday was two days ago, but since everyone is writing exams and studying right now we couldn't really celebrate. Her and one of our friends are going to have a birthday party after exams on the 29th - so it'll be a nice way to celebrate lots of things!

What I've really been engrossed in over the last 2 weeks is a book (what I see more as a guide really) my mom sent for me with Darin called A New Earth. It's written by a spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle, and I suppose it would fall under the "Self-Development" genre, but I have to say it's really beyond labels and classifications. If you're a fan of Oprah, you probably already know what I'm talking about because she featured A New Earth and Eckhart on a 10 week workshop where every Monday night they discussed a chapter from the book and took questions from people across the world. I'm a little behind from all the traveling I did, so I've been reading the book and watching the workshops online at my own pace.

I'm only halfway through so I can't really give a full explanation of what the book is about - but the intention is for it to be a tool towards reaching greater awareness to your life's purpose. Eckhart draws on a lot of religious, spiritual, and philosophical teachings of the past to show how we can become more in tune with the divine consciousness within all of us, ultimately helping us to live a much more fulfilling and enlightening life. What he does explain very early on in the book is that not everyone is ready for this 'shift in consciousness' to take place inside themselves, so for those people the teachings will be of no use to them at this point in their lives. But for others, there is a deep connection that you will feel towards the messages, especially when you try to put them into practice.

Most of the content I find parallels the teachings of Vedanta - which are the philosophical teachings within Hinduism. He does draw on Buddhist and Hindu vocabulary to explain much of what he writes about - but also interprets many of the verses from the Bible through an 'Eastern' lens to help Christians reconcile their faith with the text in A New Earth.

Some of the focal points in the book (which unfortunately I won't do justice to at all) discuss the distinction between the Ego and the true Self. The Ego tries to attach itself to labels - constantly finding its identity through objects or experiences. This is MY blog, MY story, MY life. Looking at the world through the Ego blinds us to our true identity - because we associate ourselves with all these fleeting things. I am a student, I am a doctor, I am beautiful - these are all concepts we think explain who we are. But WHO are we really? That which is nameless, formless - as the Vedic formula would call it - That Thou Art. Eckhart asks this very simple question which helps to explain what the true self is: Am I breathing? If you leave your thoughts and mind for a moment and direct your attention to the effortless function of your breathing - you will feel that there is an aliveness in the body that does not rely on identifications with form. Or if you close your eyes and take the focus to your hands - how do you know they exist if the eyes do not see them? Do you feel the slight tingling? The awareness inside?

Anyways, there is so much more I could say about this book - I have definitely felt a shift within myself ever since I started reading it. I know most of it is lessons that I've come across before...but he explains them in a very contemporary fashion. The workshops are even more helpful because he answers questions that arise from reading the book and gives more examples. I'm not here to try and convince anyone to read this book or push a certain ideology on you. It's such a beautiful, life-changing book, for those who are open to receiving its message. If you are looking for more peace and stillness in your mind, then maybe this is a path to help you achieve that. I think as I read more I will discuss my thoughts in the weeks to come - and I know several of you are reading or have read A New Earth already, so feel free to post comments and share your thoughts and experiences too!

Happy Mommy's Day!

I know some of you have been anxiously waiting to hear about Darin’s visit and our travels within the UK. As soon as I got back though, I had some very demanding deadlines to meet with my dissertation. Seeing as how it’s Mother’s Day today in North America (they don’t have that in the UK), and I have nothing to give my mom, I figured a blog entry would be the next best thing. So Happy Mother’s Day to all you mom’s out there and ‘motherly figures’. Your function as mothers is so important to society (and still not given enough credit in my opinion). I think living away from home makes you appreciate everything your parents do for you even more – and not just in a superficial sense like providing food and shelter, but also (and arguably more so) in a nurturing sense. Of course my mom always seems to figure out a way to nurture long distance, so thanks mommy for still being there *kisses*.

OK so onto my adventures from a month ago – wow I can’t believe it’s been a whole month since Darin came to visit! We really didn’t waste any time in Leicester and left for Edinburgh (Scotland) the following day. Out of all the places we visited, Edinburgh was probably my second-favourite. I remember even the shuttle ride from the airport to the city centre was so scenic. The homes are beautifully landscaped with a variety of trees and flowers in the front yard, really well maintained even though the homes themselves have that antique feeling to them. The city itself is unique as it’s built around a fortress-like castle on top of an extinct volcano. There are several ‘volcanic vents’ around the city that cooled and were eroded to create these enormous mountains. Which is why I say the city is so unique, because it combines these rock formations with ancient buildings and monuments, resulting in an ideal balance of natural and socio-political history.

On top of that, Darin and I absolutely loved our apartment-style hotel room. It’s too bad that after two days, you’ve pretty much covered all of Edinburgh, because we could’ve stayed in that hotel for a whole week!

So what did we do in those two days? A lot of climbing up extinct volcanic rocks – which was exhausting but very rewarding to take in the view of the city from the top. The main commodities that Scotland is well-known for are their Scotch, Haggis, Neeps & Tatties and Tartan and Argyle. Even though I don’t drink scotch, I could tell you all about how it’s made and where it comes from as we went on a scotch-whiskey tour – I think that was probably Darin’s favourite part of the trip. I did try some vegetarian Haggis (which is usually served with Neeps and Tatties aka Turnips and Potatoes). Tartan, which in North America is called Plaid is the traditional pattern used in textiles for everything from curtains to kilts. Apparently, every ‘clan’ in Scotland has its own specific Tartan pattern. Darin and I couldn’t find a Maharajh-Tartan unfortunately! Argyle is the other popular textile pattern, which is most common on golf attire. Oddly enough, Darin and I both packed argyle socks and accidentally wore them on the same day!

After our two days in Edinburgh, we thought it would be a good idea to spend a night in Glasgow – the largest city in Scotland and apparently its economic centre. Honestly, if you ever go to Scotland, don’t waste your time visiting Glasgow. There was absolutely nothing to see. In hindsight, Darin and I should’ve used that day to visit the Scottish countryside – but we really thought Glasgow had more to offer. The only thing we ended up doing was visiting a museum known as the Burrell Collection. Basically, Mr. Burrell was a very wealthy man who collected all kinds of ancient artefacts from around the world. When he died, the property was converted into a public park with a museum displaying his collection. The most impressive piece on display was Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’ – one of a handful of original bronze casts. We must’ve been inspired by all the art and history around us, and decided to get creative with our pictures too…

The following day we took the 45 minute train back to Edinburgh and flew out to Dublin (Ireland). A lot of people are confused by the whole U.K. and Republic of Ireland situation so I’ll do my best to explain it here. Ireland was divided into two separate countries: Northern Ireland (where the city of Belfast is) and the Republic of Ireland (where Dublin is, and what we refer to simply as Ireland proper). The U.K. stands for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which we also call Britain or the U.K.. Anyone who is born in Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland is considered British, along with whatever their particular nationality may be. For example, you’re English if you’re born in England (and apparently you have to be at least the third generation born in England to refer to yourself as English) but you also fall under the larger umbrella of British. In the U.K. everything runs on the pound – Scotland has their own Scottish pound but it’s the same value as the British pound. The Republic of Ireland is a part of the European Union and runs on the Euro. The UK in some ways is part of the EU as well, except they choose not to implement the Euro obviously because of the strength of the pound. So I hope that made sense and clarifies the situation...it’s taken me an entire 8 months to learn this!

Darin’s old highschool friend Shane who now lives in Portsmouth (that’s in the south of England) joined us in Dublin. In terms of scenery, there isn’t that much to visit in Dublin. We did take one of those 24 hour hop on-hop off tour bus that stopped at the famous sites and provided a lot of interesting historical facts about the city. We visited Trinity College which is the main university there and of course the Guiness Factory, probably the most famous attraction in Dublin. Did you know that the Guiness Book of World Records is actually linked to the Guiness family? It all started in the bars, where men would be drinking Guiness and having debates about what European game bird was the fastest. A Guiness employee saw that there was a need for a manual that had the answers to these questions in bars to settle these disagreements (which by the way was the Golden Plover). From there it obviously grew to include a variety of ‘trivia’ questions.

In comparison to Edinburgh, I would say Dublin is more of an urban, student-city. Very lively at night, and the European influence has taken effect, especially in terms of style. I think it was a fun place to spend the weekend – oh and it’s the only city in Europe with a Tim Hortons!

After Dublin we parted ways with Shane – but not for long because he invited us to visit him in Portsmouth for a couple of nights, and then we planned to spend a night in London and drop Darin at the airport the following day. So we came back to Leicester for two nights, convinced Z to join us in Portsmouth, rented a car, re-packed our bags, and drove for 3 hours south. Thank God Darin was there to drive though, because not only were we dealing with driving on the opposite side of the road – but we also went around and through dozens of roundabouts, and junctions. Luckily we didn’t get lost (ok maybe a couple little confusions here and there), but we made it to Portsmouth in relatively good timing and it was definitely worth the drive. Out of all the cities we visited, Portsmouth was my favourite.

The city used to be a naval port during war-time, as its coast lies along the Portsea, which joins with the English Channel. Now, the marina is a gorgeous stretch of pebbled beach, where people can be found swimming, surfing and parasailing during the summer months. The best thing about Portsmouth is how close the city centre is to the beach. The city is quite condense, and most attractions are walking distance (although it was handy having a car to get to the outskirts where the best fish & chips place was). I think we were all so giddy just to be by the ocean and take in some sun and salty ocean breeze. Darin predicts that Portsmouth is going to be the next big city in England – Brighton is already known as ‘London by the Sea’ but who knows, maybe it will increase in popularity as Brighton reaches a tipping point. Shane was also a very hospitable host – took us out at night to a really fun party with his work colleagues. We weren’t ready to leave Portsmouth though, it would’ve been so nice to explore some of the neighbouring cities like Winchester and Salisbury…maybe Z and I will be able to visit again over the summer – we were shocked that England even had such beautiful beaches and scenery!

From Portsmouth, we took a 2 hour train into London, and spent the afternoon window-shopping and wandering the streets. Shane joined us after work and we sampled some Bangladeshi-style Indian food for dinner and did some more sight-seeing by night. I think Darin wasn’t expecting the sights in London to be as spectacular as they were – he was really impressed by Big Ben, the Eye and Tower Bridge. The following day we parted ways: I took the train back to Leicester, and Shane dropped Darin off at the airport. Overall, I think (hopefully) Darin had a fun trip. He wanted to explore the U.K. (and Ireland) and I think in the two weeks we had, we made the most of them and saw 6 cities – if you include Leicester. I’m so happy he came to visit me – it’s always a good time when Darin’s around, and we definitely shared a lot of laughs and have some funny stories as memories: like when he drove around a roundabout 5 times until we figured out which exit to take, or the many struggles we faced while climbing up (and down!) Arthur’s Seat and Scott Monument, and of course all the hilarious pictures and video clips we took.

This was by far, the best Easter Break I’ve ever had (and the only one that lasted an entire month!). With Mel’s visit and then Darin’s, we covered a lot ground and I was so fortunate to have shared the experience with them. I’m going to end off here because I do need to get back to my work, but I hope that these past few entries have inspired you to travel more, or if that’s not a possibility, maybe you’ve expanded your understanding of these places just by visiting my blog. After I submit my essay next Monday I’ll have a lot more time to post entries. Until next week!