tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41803230019991081872012-01-28T21:39:33.192-08:00...where ever they may be...Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.comBlogger561100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-33685609522750125362012-01-28T21:35:00.001-08:002012-01-28T21:35:03.528-08:00

  For as much as I complain about me not doing what I want to be doing..blah blah blah.  I really do love my life.  My 7-4 job might obscure my vision sometimes and make me believe that my life is not quite where I want it to be..but when I legit stop at look at this life, my life, it is (chm)awesome.  I have this happy book that sits on my coffee table, it’s a notebook that I started many many

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-81217391839622881332012-01-17T22:30:00.001-08:002012-01-17T22:30:46.025-08:00

  Care more than others think wise.. Risk more than others think safe. Dream more than others think practical. Expect more than others think possible. --Henry Schultz.

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-55478697120157031982011-12-11T22:28:00.000-08:002012-01-17T22:28:42.663-08:00

  What am I doing? It’s the same question I keep coming back to, day after day, week after week, month after month. Why am I putting 8 hours a day in to something that kills my soul slowly every day?  How much do I wish I was somewhere else from 7:30 until 4:00 from Monday until Friday?  What am I accomplishing? I’d leave in a heartbeat.  But honestly, I don’t know where to go.  But.  At least

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-84436645623842664402011-10-17T23:25:00.000-07:002012-01-17T22:26:23.793-08:00

  How is life?  A simple question with a complicated answer.  My usual answer is “could be better, could be worse…you know…” I know that life most definitely could be worse; I could be buried under a pile of rubble in the aftermath of an earthquake, I could be jobless, homeless, or hungry, I could be diagnosed with a terrible, incurable disease or find myself wallowing in a pit of self despair;

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-69223423087826486002011-08-31T22:06:00.000-07:002011-10-18T22:06:11.721-07:00

  You know when you were a kid and you had a bff. I had one of those.  She was my rock when I needed a friend most.  I can’t even  remember how many nights I spent in her basement being ridiculous, being us.  Then one day I moved away. I changed.  She changed.  We changed. Then one day I came back.  But then one day too soon I moved away. I changed.  She changed.  and I could count how many

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-23238250016209825182011-08-12T23:30:00.000-07:002012-01-17T22:30:23.148-08:00

  Three months ago my plans to leave Calgary were laid to rest when I got a job offer downtown; and I was happy, but not. Something didn’t feel right, it felt like it was always as if I’d have a less than epic day at the office and come home to a house that didn’t really feel like a home.  I was struggling to feel grateful for all I had because I was being blinded by little things that were

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-70646203018747545502011-07-13T20:42:00.001-07:002011-07-13T20:42:05.691-07:00

  …where’s my home? Because my heart isn’t really in Calgary. Don’t get me wrong, I’m super grateful to have a “real” job, a roof over my head, two roommates who are super swell and a couple good friends in the near vicinity…but I’m not fooling anyone if I were to say that Calgary is home. I’ve come to the decision that I should either be living in Saskatchewan so that I can be near my amazing

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-35529995211141108642011-06-27T12:48:00.001-07:002011-06-27T12:48:38.698-07:00

  So.  It seems that sometime between then and now, I grew up. This month I attended my university convocation where I finally received my Bachelor of Commerce.  I scored a job in oil & gas downtown.  I visited my brother, his wife and their beautiful baby and really realized that BAM.  I’m not a kid any more. I have this mountain of debt that I plan to pay off asap.  I know that I can do

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-78353323271898371292011-05-03T22:02:00.001-07:002011-05-03T22:02:54.812-07:00

  So.  Everything that I thought in my head might happen last week, isn’t.  Actually, nothing I planned is happening and things that I never thought I wanted, are. My plan to move to Saskatchewan and kiss my beautiful nephew’s soft baby head is (unfortunately) not happening.  I couldn’t get an interview with an Alberta address. My plan to go to China, also is not happening.  I was able to get my

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-14289027213233406542011-04-20T22:59:00.001-07:002011-04-20T22:59:02.129-07:00

  This is why I don’t make plans.  I had this plan.  Get the summer job in Melfort, see my family every day, kiss my favorite nephew’s baby head every day.  Save just enough money to pay for DTS in the fall, hopefully in Vancouver…and then make plans from there… Well. Just kidding.  The job that I should have had, hands down, no doubt about it….actually I gave notice at my job, and told my

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-22730433320148861702011-04-13T23:18:00.001-07:002011-04-13T23:18:17.172-07:00

  So.  After a month of interviewing with my supposed dream job in China, they have informed me that they are pursuing…not me.  And although the first rejection from them crushed my heart, this one didn’t really.  I know that I could’ve been a great addition, really they would have been lucky to have me…but they chose not to, and that has to be for a reason.  Now I have to figure out why. I have

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-90143455787192487542011-03-16T22:59:00.001-07:002011-03-18T00:50:09.149-07:00

  This week someone crushed my short lived dream; after two short rounds of interviews I received an email informing me that I didn’t have the experience that they were looking for.  Experience…or experiences? See, that one letter can add a whole new meaning; because in my head I have all the experiences that this organization should be looking for, but not as much experience as they would like.

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-77696799186451486092011-03-07T12:06:00.001-08:002011-03-07T12:06:37.533-08:00

  I just got shivers.  Not the ones because it’s –25 outside and I forgot to put on an extra sweater under my other sweater and wool coat, but the kind that comes with excitement. When people ask me what I want to do when I “grow up”, I always come back to my Chinese Bed & Breakfast pipe-dream.  I have this idea that I want to give people the comfort of having a Western face greeting them at the

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-84318811726886946262011-01-27T23:14:00.001-08:002011-01-27T23:14:04.322-08:00

  oh gosh.  this week I was given a job offer, an offer that four months ago I would have accepted….but tomorrow will probably decline.  It seems like such a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ kind of situation, do you want the job or not.  Well, I want *a* job, and I’m real scared that maybe there might not be any other job offers in the near future, and I usually choose to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-90992813461674494112011-01-22T00:21:00.001-08:002011-01-22T00:21:28.564-08:00

  That would be the question of my life.  :) I don’t really know, but I’m hoping for something epic. Right now I can say that I am a Bachelor of Commerce graduate and that I’m looking for a career that allows me to use my education and talents. I have some influences in Calgary that would love for me to stay here, and then I have my family in Saskatchewan that would love for me to come home,

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-91588521812711066002011-01-22T00:12:00.001-08:002011-01-22T00:12:54.706-08:00

  So. I really thought that I had written a post since my last one…but apparently that only happened in my head. I can’t believe that it’s already 2011.  It seems like just yesterday I was leaving for China to study for a year…and that was 2009.  Crazy.  2010 was definitely a year of blessings; when I look over my journals, my pictures, my memories; 2010 will always be a memorable one. Quick

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-4281011173262942762010-11-14T22:53:00.001-08:002010-11-14T22:53:34.940-08:00

It’s not even a month until the last day of classes, and just over a month until I write my last exam of my undergraduate career.  Then BAM. I’m done.  So.  What then? A couple weeks ago, I thought I had my plans; but things have changed, and so now my plans are changing.  The thing is, I’m just not sure to what, or to where. My job search has expanded and it’s kind of nerve wracking, not

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-59349903102603685482010-10-17T20:21:00.001-07:002010-10-17T20:21:59.125-07:00

Last week I woke up feeling a little un-thankful.  It was Thanksgiving and I was here in Calgary, alone…until I went to work…then I was surrounded by strangers.  I suppose I was thankful to leave my house that was just a little filthy and full of cats who apparently don’t stop meowing when their owner goes home for the holidays.  My insides felt less thankful than I had hoped.  I kind of really

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-22757317976868798432010-10-09T15:41:00.001-07:002010-10-09T15:41:45.953-07:00

Seems like I write less frequently as time goes on…but now that I’m writing for school, I forget about writing for anything other than school. Speaking of which, school is going pretty okay.  The three classes I’m in at the U of C are decent; I for sure have my favourite (International Business, exporting), my least favourite (working with people..), and my neutral classes(strategic management);

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-86272939156779581022010-09-08T12:58:00.001-07:002010-09-08T12:58:20.326-07:00

Well.  It seems the last time I wrote an update was in June.  Wow-za.  That was a while ago and it seems a lot has happened since then.  For one.  I’m no longer in China and so my Adventures of Brenna – China Edition will now be changing to – Canada Edition :)  (yay!)   I don’t even know if I should give a full re-cap of my summer at home; but, most likely I will :D After finishing my exams

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-68834935382952651712010-06-23T07:05:00.001-07:002010-06-23T07:05:44.512-07:00

So far this week has already had too many tears.    Tonight I said goodbye to one of my closest friends here in China; and I really didn’t want to.  I cried all the way home.  I knew it was coming, we had a good-bye party for him yesterday where I hugged him a  million times and wondered why I was the only North American in the room and suddenly felt intensely jealous that I wasn’t European

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-46548692647652940682010-06-05T09:57:00.001-07:002010-06-05T09:57:39.061-07:00

…time that is. Today is June 6th; in one month and one day I’ll be flying back home to Canada.  I still remember my first day in China, I arrived in a brand new city, was greeted by a short young man from my University at the airport, who spoke no English and was surprised to find out the amount of luggage I brought with me was copious…I guess I forgot to mention I was hauling 50 lbs of goalie

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-76798355176432576822010-05-16T01:58:00.001-07:002010-05-16T01:58:27.925-07:00

It’s been a while since my last post, and a lot has happened since then; I met a friend from back home in China and we traveled through Tibetan towns in Eastern Sichuan, hiked the world’s deepest gorge in Yunnan…we got to see some amazing sights and experience some amazing things.  (all my pictures are posted on facebook, you should probably check them out…) Now that I’m back I suddenly feel

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-26202337102719650972010-04-08T23:33:00.001-07:002010-04-29T09:36:24.318-07:00

So.  After a pretty-not-so-okay last week, I figured this week had to be better; we had a long weekend (not for Easter, but for the Chinese “tomb sweeping festival”)and I, along with 6 other girls and one last minute male addition, had bought sleeper bus tickets to Xishuangbanna; a tropical location in the south of Yunnan, about 9 hours by bus from where I’m living, Kunming. After classes on

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-69999236281315743952010-03-24T09:31:00.001-07:002010-03-25T02:22:00.495-07:00

No one stabbed me, and I’m almost healthy…those are the important things…right. I’m basically waiting for the call that my goalie equipment got stolen since that’s pretty much the only thing of 'value’ that I have left. Today, I got a phone call telling me that my new camera, the one to replace the one that disappeared on my Guangzhou visa trip, would cost ￥450 to repair; over half of what I

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-79479195111628145902010-03-23T01:21:00.001-07:002010-03-25T02:23:53.220-07:00

February 2-7, 2010 A bigger city with less restrictions on who we speak to and what we could say.  Yekaterinburg was epic. 6 games in 5 days.  All wins.  What does that mean for His kingdom?  It meant that we automatically gained the respect of six different Russian hockey teams who would automatically sit attentively and listen to whatever words came out of these seven mouths.  It meant that

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-34650562763668076212010-03-23T00:53:00.000-07:002010-04-29T09:37:38.231-07:00

January 20-24, 2010 After 24 hours on a crammed train (where we made friends with Alex and Albert…) with not only our personal luggage, but also our copious amounts of hockey gear all stuffed into tight compartments we arrived to Perm, a city where YWAM hockey has spent a significant amount of time in the past, where we welcomed by Tolik, a big man who you could see was excited to see the

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-3629702314713190742010-03-22T01:43:00.000-07:002010-04-29T09:38:55.624-07:00

Before getting into the real heart of Russia, to the places where we were to delve into the lives of every day Russians we were given the opportunity to spend a few days in two incredible cities just to look around on our way to our first ‘ministry city’, Perm.  My first stop in Russia was St. Petersburg, undoubtedly the most beautiful city my eyes have ever seen. While walking down streets my

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-73920184021304438752010-03-06T01:33:00.000-08:002010-03-06T03:27:22.519-08:00

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-56920872864082527562010-03-02T07:31:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:39:44.876-07:00

So now that I’m back “home” in China, have a few days to rest up, heal up and think about the past two months, I thought I would just write a here’s what we did in Finland/Russia/China kind of update. I’m probably going to repeat things I’ve already said in the past, but that means that it’s important :). So.  I, along with six other others, travelled across three different countries (the

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-50356137050471762862010-02-23T17:49:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:40:27.064-07:00

In Kushva we were met in the early early hours of the morning at the train station by three people who were not only extremely excited to see us, but who would be spending the majority of their awake hours with our team: Mischa: Is the town’s local pastor, who was oh so much more than just a pastor.  We could all see the excitement in Mischa’s eyes when we arrived in Kushva that morning and

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-37271638713943976372010-02-01T17:33:00.000-08:002010-04-29T09:41:16.390-07:00

One month into my Epic Outreach with YWAM hockey I have so much to say I don’t know where to start. So before I go into detail about each of the places we visited, I want to just give a general update about what YWAM hockey is all about, what we’re doing here in Russia and how it’s affecting me. Before I left China for Finland all I concretely knew was that I was joining YWAM Hockey to play and

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-25732116039701138442010-01-14T07:09:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:42:09.971-07:00

It’s true.  I got it. After a 27 hour train ride to Guangzhou in China that left me camera-less, championship ring-less, tear-less; returning home to Kunming telling everyone the YWAM trip was off, losing my ability to write my ting-li final exam because I skipped that last class while in Guangzhou…crying…crying…crying…changing my mind, flying to Nanjing with a 20 pound backpack as my carry-on

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-73092731736466027722010-01-13T03:41:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:43:09.733-07:00

So. BJ and I arrived safely back to Helsinki early Monday morning, my Letter Of Invitation had not yet arrived, so I headed back to Laura and Kimmo’s home to await the elusive letter.  BJ and Kimmo arrived a bit later with the news that BJ would not be going into Russia as the quickest he could get the visa would be 3 days and it would cost him 300 euros (he was only to stay in Russia until

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-19467343807636698292010-01-11T11:29:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:43:57.560-07:00

Technorati Tags: YWAM Hockey,Finland,Missions,Outreach The streets are lined with snow covered trees, there are icy streets for as far as the I can see, and for the first time in a few months I almost feel at home as I look out the window into the winter wonderland that is before me… On Tuesday, after a little trouble (leaving exams early, arguing with airlines about allowable weight, and

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-58459063922804997532010-01-02T01:02:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:44:49.733-07:00

So.  After a tough week with a lot of tears, I read some good stuff, I heard some good stuff, and it was decided that last weeks trials weren’t God trying to tell me not to go; sure, there were roadblocks and it felt like nothing I did was going right, that everything I did somehow was telling me to stop.  I couldn’t get a visa in China.  That told me don’t go. I couldn’t raise more that 10%

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-69853893376941018622009-12-30T07:51:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:45:31.468-07:00

I lost my camera/it got snatched out of my bag…and my ticket to Helsinki is non-refundable.   Life; do you have anything else for me?   ----- okay. today felt hopeless; then I had a movie night with my friends.  It’s not.  An encouraging email and a group hug later; I have a little bit of new life breathed into me.   I’m contacting the Russian Embassy in Finland, maybe they can make an

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-18916286543710344622009-12-29T22:19:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:46:38.108-07:00

…after returning home last night; feeling defeated, I curled up in my squeaky dorm bunk and tried to keep warm; hours later I was awoke, along with the three other girls sharing the dorm, by a very loud, very strange sound.  Snoring?  But not; more like a cat dying…very very loudly.  After some throat clearing and paper tossing that didn’t help rouse the sleeping dorm mate; we volunteered the

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-71263172728655028732009-12-28T05:48:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:50:39.053-07:00

so after a 27 hour train ride and a rat sighting in my hostel after checking in; I was ready for a better day today…after doing a little map checking last night I set my alarm for 7:00 am and curled up in my squeaky top bunk; when the alarm went off this morning, it felt like I still needed another 4 hours of sleep; strange, seeing as though I had just spent 27 hours doing absolutely nothing the

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-34664130404070150282009-12-27T03:06:00.000-08:002010-04-29T09:51:38.687-07:00

Yesterday morning I woke up and felt like death; then realized that I needed to catch a 27 hour train to Guangzhou in just over two hours.  Oh dear.  I packed up a few things; tried to buy some snacks for the bus, but ran from the store before purchasing so I could hurl the water I drank that morning into the bushes.   I ended up not buying any snacks, but it probably was for the best seeing as

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-64650897835761758792009-12-25T04:37:00.000-08:002010-04-29T09:52:54.440-07:00

So after weeks of my nerves being wracked; I booked a flight home from Guangzhou to Kunming on the 29th of December and will take a 26 hour train ride from Kunming to Guangzhou on the morning of Boxing day. After being reassured that there should be no problems with getting my visa; I finalized my flight tickets to Helsinki, bought my train ticket to Guangzhou, booked a flight home from

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-62298457426770987132009-12-22T05:07:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:56:18.777-07:00

The countdown is on;  I leave Kunming in exactly 2 weeks.    Status of my Russian Visa?  ha. good question.   Here’s the update.  First I had planned on mailing in my application; then after emailing probably a dozen different email addresses for Russian consulates in China, I finally received a response back; sorry you cannot apply by mail. New plan.  Find an agent to do it for me;  after

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-533485866014746612009-12-17T06:48:00.001-08:002009-12-17T06:48:57.889-08:00

Oh gosh. So.  With less than three weeks to go until I leave for my YWAM epic adventure; doing missions work in Finland, Russia and China, I have yet to solidify a Russian Visa. A week ago I received my Letter of Invitation from back home and after calling 10 different numbers for the Russian Embassy in China in vain; emailing countless different addresses, I finally got a response after

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-75334396925343154242009-12-02T00:20:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:57:18.298-07:00

So. This past weekend in China, Chongqing, had been less than stellar, and after I got home and re-told the stories of distain, my friends all encouraged me to cheer up; after all I was heading to Fujian on Friday to get my 10 day tour, pearl necklace and of course the enviable fame…however, seeing as though I hadn’t heard from the organizers in 4 days and the the event was soon approaching (

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-84916854466190390292009-12-01T21:24:00.000-08:002011-03-16T22:26:14.001-07:00

  During the “Golden Week” holiday, me and five friends decided to embark on an adventure of epic proportions and headed north to Yunnan’s remote Nujiang Valley.  Day 1 On day one we set off from Kunming (昆明） to Liuku （六库）on a sleeper bus costing us ￥176 for an 11 1/2 hour journey.  We departed at 7:30 pm from the west station near the railway track market and arrived to a dark parking lot in

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-11403770398345115662009-11-30T00:36:00.000-08:002010-04-29T09:58:14.057-07:00

So. Today is Monday, the fourth and final day of my Chongqing travels.  I slept in late, after spending a long night of shopping on amazon.com after realizing that finding a winter coat and boots in a country of people half my size is next to impossible.  Ting ting, Xiao tians girlfriend woke me to make sure that I didn’t want to come along with the rest of the crew to do some sightseeing; and I

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-38730908575455921622009-11-30T00:35:00.000-08:002010-04-29T09:59:00.635-07:00

After a frustrating day 2 in Chongqing I woke up determined to have a better third day in the city with a population bigger than Canada; and so, instead of heading to the fourth floor for a breakfast of rice slop and soy milk and decided instead to opt for Starbucks, and it didn’t disappoint; a blueberry muffin and cafe misto later I headed out the door back into the populated mess that is

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-26299224119652150492009-11-29T08:36:00.001-08:002010-04-29T09:59:30.147-07:00

*sigh* it’s been one long day.  a long long day.  boy was I bitter today, perturbed, annoyed, angry; hungry, headache-y and just generally not happy. Today was Day 2 in Chongqing, and day one of our three game stint here in the city that has more people than my entire country.  After a restless sleep; filled with construction noise, and temperature variances I woke up to quickly change and

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-49352288508869579112009-11-26T19:20:00.000-08:002010-04-29T10:00:12.749-07:00

So.   Today was the day I was leaving for Chongqing to go play some hockey, so after skipping my first two hours of class to pack I stood on the side of dong feng xi road for just over half an hour waiting for a cab…then decided it was never going to happen and walked to a new road, all the while wondering why on earth my backpack was so heavy.  500 meters down the road the taxi situation didn’

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-77546610734088484292009-11-22T16:03:00.000-08:002009-11-26T08:45:45.663-08:00

So.  When I left Canada, I made a list of “goals” to achieve while in China; I can’t remember them word for word, but they were something like:  become a Chinese pop star, get famous, be on a game show, and produce/star in The Bachelorette – China Edition…so after being here almost three months…I think I may have almost achieved one of those goals.   In November I stumbled across a Chinese

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-27244384467828296272009-11-21T16:00:00.000-08:002009-11-24T16:02:30.448-08:00

So I’m living in the city of “eternal spring” I even took a picture this week of a giant new banner saying so…the ironic thing was I stopped to take the picture on the way to find a toque, mittens, and a scarf, because it turns out this city of eternal spring..isn’t.   It’s freezing outside, which I could handle if I brought proper clothes along with me, which I didn’t, or if I could just go

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-56502544005397260192009-11-14T05:46:00.000-08:002009-11-14T07:50:17.356-08:00

  There are some things that God has been doing in my life recently and an opportunity that I has come about for this winter. I feel like I have been called to participate in a Hockey Outreach with YWAM Hockey. YWAM Hockey is a ministry of Youth With A Mission, which focuses on sharing about Jesus locally and around the world through the sport of hockey.  The Epic Hockey Outreach 2010 will be

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-86739979673355097912009-11-14T02:38:00.001-08:002009-11-14T02:38:53.636-08:00

  With foreign pubs in Kunming being over-priced, and seemingly dangerous after a host of foreigners sustaining injuries, we decided that hitting up Chinese pubs in place of the more popular ones may be a smart idea.     Earlier this week I, along with a few friends, headed to an open mike bar where Willem and Alex put their mad musical skills on display, and it was decided, we like open

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-70710809949783936062009-11-14T02:09:00.000-08:002009-11-14T02:13:24.913-08:00

  So last week while perusing the streets of Kunming I stumbled upon a ‘hospital’ in the middle of the city, I’ll have to take pictures of it so you get the ‘’.  I had been wanting to try some acupuncture here, and with my skin acting like a 13 year old teenagers, what better time than the present. I made my first trip to the hospital with Andrea, the doctor (in the pic) was not only the

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-17672660338249999202009-11-13T01:17:00.000-08:002009-11-13T02:06:36.746-08:00

Okay. If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I entered myself in a Chinese beauty pageant, and I've been sitting pretty for almost the whole contest...until now..with three days left in voting I slipped out of the top 10...I hate losing..and more than that..I want my free 10 day trip, and I am more than willing to enter a contest where I need to parade around in a bathing suit, even

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4180323001999108187.post-44574004370466099452009-10-31T23:33:00.000-07:002012-01-17T22:33:39.442-08:00

  During the “Golden Week” holiday, me and five friends decided to embark on an adventure of epic proportions and headed north to Yunnan’s remote Nujiang Valley.  Day 1 On day one we set off from Kunming (昆明） to Liu ku （六库）on a sleeper bus costing us ￥176 for an 11 1/2 hour journey.  We departed at 7:30 pm from the west station near the railway track market and arrived to a dark parking lot in

Brennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14646363765905088374noreply@blogger.com0