Fav New Blog Discovery: The Londoner

www.thelondoner.me

Blogging in Beijing!

My first week in Beijing is almost up and I continue to be blown away by both the people I work with and the city itself. I have the luxury of living with dad during my stay, and I am reaping the benefits of his wonderful driver and a continental breakfast where I get both my morning coffee and my midday snacks (yumm...croissants)!

The locals are so friendly that it's difficult to feel shy or awkward. Zhang is so proud of his city that as he drives me around, he inquires as to what's on my list of sights to see and either adjusts or adds to it as he sees fit. The apartment my father lives in is very westernized and so are the stores surrounding it. There is a grocery store that stocks all sorts of recognizable brands and products (including wine -although none Canadian). We even had salmon last night, which prompted a brief conversation about the origins of the food on our plates. It seemed like it might be better to not think about it too much...Thus far I have not had the opportunity to explore much of the local fare, although I did have noodles from a noodle house close to the school at which I work (YCIS).  I am very excited to explore a more authentic and diverse view of Beijing this weekend, with my Associate and her family.

I also can't wait to shop.

Kony 2012

Spent a lot of time thinking this through, showing it in class, and questioning it. Posting it for posterity sake and because I just can't let it go...

Stumbled Upon!

Sitting at Liv's house and multi-tasking very poorly as I attempt to finish an assignment for tomorrow, watch TV and stumbleupon amazing things like this:

The First Day of the Rest of My Life...

Recently, my father informed me of a diagnosis he had received: he was the lucky winner of a genetic strand of Celiac's disease. Since then, I have booked a blood tox screen and been researching gluten-free diets. I have spoken to waitresses, friends and family, other people with allergies to gluten. Most say the same thing, there a lot of alternatives out there but none of them taste as good as the real thing. I am excited to begin trying out flour combinations and searching out bakeries that cater to the gluten-free. Regardless of the results of my blood test, I will from now on be adopting a gluten-free lifestyle! Mostly out of solidarity, but also out of curiosity, I am setting myself a challenge: 3 months without gluten, documented through a journal of some medium or other, in order to evaluate the changes I'm sure my body will register. While I realize this will be a major culinary paradigm shift, I am excited and a little in awe of people who do it everyday!

Goals

“You must have long-term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-term failures.”

—Charles C. Noble

“If you’re bored with life—you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things—you don’t have enough goals.”

—Lou Holtz

"EAT"

Shout out to Emma's Eatery for posting this video. How much fun are they having? I love the idea of travelling the world for this kind of purpose and bringing joy and new experiences to light in a global context. Anyone who wants to fund this kind of journey for me can post right here...Will EAT, LEARN, MOVE and write about it, ANYWHERE!

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Follow-up from previous post. This series of videos is amazing. As I mentioned before, my first practicum for my B.Ed starts tomorrow and in keeping with the (very broad) theme of learning, I came across this...

"3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage...all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ...into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films... = a trip of a lifetime."

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

The third video in the series: MOVE.

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.