Flashback: November Backpacking in Algonquin

So I've wanted to write about my experience at Algonquin for a while now, but my pictures are quite terrible so I've been contemplating whether it's worth a blog post.  Now that I'm in the procrastination mood, I figure I might as well rant about it anyways! The pictures in this post are pretty bad...sorry bout that xD.  A while back I blogged about my experience backpacking in Bruce Peninsula which was absolutely gorgeous, and still my favourite location for camping.  However, I don't think I would have been able to handle that trip, if I hadn't experienced Algonquin beforehand.  I've gone camping in Algonquin twice now for the practice journey of the Duke of Edinburgh Award which has been a lot of fun, but also quite challenging.  Due to the hectic university schedule, our club can only schedule the camping in for November which has been quite interesting over the years.  

November 2010 was my first backpacking experience, and probably one of the most eventful trips I'll ever have at Algonquin.  There was an extremely large group of us participating in this trip, which in many ways made it more difficult than normal.  The hike was extremely challenging because that particular winter was extremely cold, and the ground was a mix of wet, muddy and icy which was extremely scary, especially on the rocks.  We began our hike mid afternoon, but unfortunately got quite lost about 5km from the campsite.  We found ourselves stuck in a section of the trail while the sun was quickly setting.  As soon as we got our bearings it was pitch black out, and we were hiking in the dark, which needless to say was not fun at all.  By the time we got to the campsite we were beat, but we had to continue trying to pitch our tents and cook....in the dark.  Again, things like hanging up dry bags ended up being a million times harder than normal.  To top it off, it was a really cold night, there was snow on the ground and not many people managed to get to sleep.  Since the practice hike was only one day, we headed back to the parking lot the next morning, which was comparably a much easier journey (we were practically running back home).  Although this first trip was really difficult, it was also where I met some of my closest friends, and in hindsight I think it was a good introduction to backpacking - problems and all. 


My next trip to Algonquin took place November 2012: it was a much better experience and I was definitely more prepared!  For starters, it was a very very warm November, I think most of us ended up hiking in t-shirts; but it also meant the ground was very wet with puddles everywhere (no ice though, so can't complain too much).  The group was smaller, and we decided that since we made it all the way out to the park anyways, we might as well stay for two nights.  The hike was challenging - don't get me wrong, Algonquin is extremely hilly and rocky....but my most vivid memories of the trip were of the campgrounds (Psychology can explain why we generally only remember the good bits...but I won't go into that).  The first night we stayed at an a nice campground backing onto the water.  It rained overnight, but by the time we woke up everything was nice and dry.  After a long day of hiking on day two, our second campsite was amazing!  Again it backed onto the water with three large rocks sticking up above the surface. We had a nice fire pit, and of course a clear blue sky to see the stars at night.  One thing about me: I don't sleep very much in general, but when I'm camping, I barely sleep at all.  Somehow I always wake up at 6am if not earlier (which was totally cool because one of my friends was up at that time as well)...Anyhow, this trip was awesome...a bit more relaxing and a lot less chaotic!  

Soooo that's my experience in Algonquin...a bit of a love/hate (but mostly love) relationship going on.  I have to admit, writing about it is making me excited for the trip scheduled in two months!!!!  I just hope the weather is on our side again :) 

-M

Back to Toronto :(

Here I am, heading back to Toronto!  I can’t believe the month in New Brunswick/Japan ended so quickly, it literally went by in a blink of an eye!  The twelve of us spent our final week in Japan working on our final projects and preparing for the presentations (good thing we did, because the past Vice President of Panasonic came in as a panel member and questioned some of us to death!).  There’s still a load of work we have to do after we get back, so we’re not finished the course quite yet, but everything feels pretty final now that we’ve all said our goodbyes. 

Right after our final presentation, we were taken to a really really good restaurant where we had our farewell party with all our professors.  Afterwards, we packed our bags and headed off to a baseball game – Hanshin Tigers verses the Carps (sounds terrifying right?).  It was a sad game, the Tigers played worse than the Blue Jays (say what!!?), but it was amusing to watch anyways.  In Toronto, people cheer...but never the way the Japanese cheer!  The Japanese fans had full on songs for each player which they sang in unison and echoed through the stadium.  Then the carp’s fan section had an actual dance that they did in unison, it was literally one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.  The fans varied from extremely old people, to men who clearly came straight from their job and were eating dinner in the stands.  Afterwards we had our own final farewell in the 24 hour pub we spent some time in over the past two weeks.  Afterwards I tried to catch some zzzzs before seeing off my roommate at 5am, while others chose to YOLO it and pull an all nighter doing crazy stuff like climbing mountains (literally) while they still had the opportunity.  It was a pretty fun night with all of us no longer scared of the crazy rules – we snuck out like pros (without setting off the alarm this time) and we didn’t give a hoot about getting caught...yup...pretty badass. 

The next day we all went our separate ways and said our final goodbyes which was bittersweet.  After a full month of seeing each other literally every second of the day, it was hard to say goodbye and even harder knowing there almost definitely won’t be an opportunity to see everyone all together again.  Some Canadians stayed in Japan while others took direct flights to the states.  I headed to Tokyo where I caught a bus from one airport to the other.  Then I checked into the airport hotel for the night and headed back to the airport bright and early this morning. Check in literally took 22 minutes and I got to go home on Japan Airlines (I’m loving it – new movies and really good food...it’s as close as you’ll get to 1^st class without being first class!)!  

This trip has been so much fun – it’s had the ups and downs, but I’m so grateful to have experienced an exchange trip before graduating.  Making the personal connections, and meeting 11 really close and amazing friends is something which would probably be much harder during your typical traveling adventures. Overall, I think the hardest part about being in Japan was the language barrier – in some ways I think it would be easier if I looked western as most people assumed I was Japanese.  I’m so sad this summer ended so quickly, but I can definitely say this has by far been one of the best summers of my life.  From Toronto to China, New Brunswick to Japan, I’ve seen so much and learned even more along the way. To whoever has been reading this blog, thank you for coming along on my adventures with me and I hope it hasn’t been too boring.  I will of course continue blogging (this thing addicting...and a wonderful procrastination tool) but I don’t expect anything exciting enough to happen anytime soon...so until then have a good one xD 

-M

Nara :)

So, I'm awkwardly posting all of these at once, but basically I have no internet except in the classroom.  So my friend and I went to one of the buildings (we were given a key) to use the internet...and here we are at 10:30pm internet deprived and desperately trying to get everything done before heading back to the residence!!! 

Anyways, I'm finally caught up!  Today we took a field trip to Nara where we saw a number of attractions as well as visiting the Sharp Corporation.  Sharp was kinda cool - we got to see a lot of their products including their vaccuum cleaner robot (the one in all the videos with the cats riding on top) and their super high definition TVs.  We also learned about the history of the company as well as seeing the advancements in energy saving technology that Sharp's been involved in.  

Afterwards we had lunch and visited two temples: the Horyuji Temple and Tokuji Temple, both of which were really cool and again we got to practice the temple rituals.  The Tokuji Temple was especially cool where there were massive statues of Buddha and Gods, as well as an open deer park (deer represent the messengers in the Shinto religion).  It was a lot of fun, although the deer were pretty crazy at times.  You could buy crackers to feed to the deer in the park, and as soon as the deer knew you had crackers, they were after you like sugar deprived monsters.  More matcha ice cream; gonna miss that stuff <3  

KGU Campus!

-M

Osaka!

I forgot to mention that this weekend has been absolutely gorgeous weather.  Closer to Toronto's weather; mainly because it's been raining like nuts - but hey, I'll take rain over heat any day!  Also the mosquitoes are completely in love with me....I look like I have some disease...or chicken pox or something...I hate bugs.  

ANYWAYS. Our Japanese hosts took us to Osaka today which was tons of fun. We mainly spent the day shopping, but it was neat to go to the malls and I finally had the chance to pick up some souvenirs which was great.  First we went to a massive mall with tons of clothes of course (but I honestly can't see myself wearing most of those styles...) and then we rode a ferris wheel which went above the mall.  Normally I'd be peeing my pants on a ferris wheel, but it went soooooooo slowly I barely noticed it was moving.  Afterwards we went to those Japanese photo booths where they basically airbrush the photo (tons of fun trying to fit 10 people in a booth).  Then we went to the equivalent of New York in Japan which was pretty neat to see before we headed back to another mall closer to our residence since we had to make it back in time for curfew (tons of rules and restrictions at this residence, but I won't go into that...). Also, Japan is really really busy on Sundays - completely opposite to Toronto.  Most people work on the weekdays and shop on the weekend so the store hours and commute time is much longer. 

-M

Day Trip to Kyoto

On Saturday we had a day trip to Kyoto which our Japanese hosts organized for us. It was extremely fun and really really really well organized on their part which was great.  Kyoto was quite different from Nishinomiya where we're staying - for one, there were foreigners in Kyoto which seems to be less common here.  First we went to the Kinkaku-ji temple where we walked around the gardens.  The place was packed with people holding umbrellas stabbing each other with the metal part....lucky for me, being vertically challenged means I get to avoid being stabbed and instead I get to do the accidental stabbing ;D.

Afterwards we had lunch at a restaurant (I had Udon with tempora) and we walked past theYasaka shrine.  Once we got there we had to purify ourselves by dipping a wooden spoon in water and using it to wash our hands by transferring the water from one hand to the other.  We then had to put water in our hands and transfer it to our mouths where we rinsed our mouths before washing the wooden spoon and placing it back in the trough.  Then we went to a gong and rang it to awaken the Spirits.  Afterwards we put a donation in the box, bowed twice, clapped twice, said our prayer on the second clap, and bowed twice again.  Complicated?  Yep....

Then we headed to the Kiyomizu - dera temple up a mountain.  On the way up there were tons of vendors and markets (obviously made for tourists) where we bought a ton of souvenirs and delish matcha ice cream.  At the temple some people got their fortunes told, and then we went to drink in the fountain of wisdom, love and longevity.  Finally, we went for dinner at a burger joint before heading back to our residence.  All in all, it was an awesome day and it was nice to do some touristy stuff after a week of studying and working on projects!  

-M