Wednesday 31 July 2019

Korean Montreal

July 26, 2019:

I often get associated with A-type personalities because I am a teacher. At one time this label might have made sense for me, but more and more I find that being a teacher requires me to be flexible, adaptable and good at improvising. So while I plan my lessons carefully in a sequence, I don't worry too much if we take a detour or need to revise our plan (unless it's for something externally imposed that feels like a waste of time). This need to go with the flow has seeped into my private life, especially when it comes to travel.

I booked a bus for 6:30am on Friday out of Toronto to go to Montreal, not bothering to check if it would be possible to get to Toronto at that time of morning from Hamilton using transit. I had a suspicion after I booked it that it was not the wisest choice, but it was on my mental backburner until Thursday mid-day. Confirmed. It was impossible to get to Toronto by bus by 6:30am, so my choices were to stay overnight in the bus station or to book a hostel or to drive. I looked into the cost of parking for the weekend and concluded that a hostel would be cheaper.

So, Friday at the crack of too-early-for-the-complementary-breakfast I walked to the bus station. This summer I have not  resembled a morning person even remotely and I slept an extra 10 minutes meaning that I had to mad-dash the last few minutes to the bus and was the last person on (and had no time to stop to eat). I still managed to get two seats to myself and slept the entire 6-hour journey.

Upon arrival, the only thing on my mind was food and I saw a sign for restaurants inside a building near the bus drop-off. It turned out to be a busy indoor skating rink surrounded by a food court called Atrium Le 1000. My mom texted me, "City life" in response to this discovery and she was not wrong.

Montreal is one of my favourite cities despite only having visited briefly in previous years (family trip in 2005, International Rotary Youth Leadership Exchange conference in 2010, and a layover with Andrea in 2015 on our way to St. John's). It was attractive to me as a young person learning French for the first time, and as the site of the Rotary International Convention where I met friends from around the world who I've been able to meet again through my travels to Sweden, Den Haag and Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Vancouver, and Toronto, and who have come to visit me. All this to say that I have fond memories of this place already.

For my trip in 2010, I bought Frommer's Montreal Day by Day guide book. I still have it, and though there is an updated version (because this version was published in 2010), the metro map and all of the recommended activities were still there. So, using my trusty magic map, I deftly navigated the metro system and got totally lost trying to use Google Maps to walk the rest of the way to the hostel, Alexandrie-Montreal.

I wasn't able to check in until after 4pm so I stored my luggage and set off at random for one of the neighbourhood guides in my guidebook. In my previous visits, I had seen lots of Vieux-Port and spent time around McGill in the Quartier du Musée. The one area and perhaps cliché experience I had not been able to fit in those visits was the Plateau Mont-Royal and the famous poutine shop La Banquise.

I followed the Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood visit guide, beginning with an exploration of the rue St-Denis which is a vegan hipster paradise. Or maybe just a niche-hipster paradise. There were crystal  stores promising healing through some "-ology" I had never heard of before. Fripperies bonheur d'occasion (second hand thrift stores). Art galleries. Comic book stores. Folk instrument stores. Jewellery shops. Boutiques. Furniture design stores. Moroccan and Tunisian craft stores. A robotics café. A Geek boutique. High fashion. A VR arcade. Vegan cafés. High fashion. And an anime/k-pop store.


The first window that got my attention was the Libraire l'Échange, a second-hand book and music shop. It was heavenly and I looked for books that my students might enjoy reading. There were also technical art books that I wish I could afford.
Photo Credit: Librairie l'Échange
Photo Credit: Librairie l'Échange
As someone who enjoys Hayao Miyazaki films and a former Pokémon player, I was intrigued by the store front of Sarah & Tom which had No Face from Spirited Away and Pokemon in the front window and at the entrance to the store.
Photo Credit to Julian Paquier-Galliard

As a member of the BTS ARMY, I was somewhat shocked that the second shop I walked into in all of Montreal was an anime/k-pop store and that nearly all of BTS' albums were there for purchase. Like???? It was probably destiny, right????



Another destiny-like encounter was the giant Renaud-Bray store, which is where I typically order French books for my classroom. Being able to browse books that were all in French by section was dreamy.



I window-shopped some more and stopped at a bar called Auprès de ma blonde to have something refreshing on their terrasse. I connected with my friend, Fabienne, a fellow BTS ARMY who I met online in February after discovering that Twitter is the superior social media platform for ARMY interactions and updates (my hot take), to make plans for that evening.

Finally, I made it to La Banquise and was very happy for their vegan gravy and veggie burger options. I stuck to a classic poutine and a goat cheese and pear burger for dinner. It lived up to the hype. For anyone not Canadian, who has never heard of poutine before, it sounds disgusting and tastes delicious. The salty and chewy cheese curds melting from the heat of the gravy over salty, crispy fries is *chef's kiss*.



My solo explorations ended with a visit to Parc de la Fontaine. On Twitter, I started a hashtag project for fun where ARMYs from across Canada can showcase images of Canada with their BT21 characters, like the travel gnome from Amélie.



Parc de la Fontaine seemed like a perfect place to take a picture with Koya.




I met Fabienne at the hostel and we decided to visit the Quartier des Spectacles. We stopped for food at the Place des Arts foodcourt. It's amazing to me how easily we fell into conversation and transitioned our online connection to in-real-life. I got to see some of the beautiful art installations in that building before we joined the crowded street where Just for Laugh was taking place. We came across the Spotify booth where three drag queens were answering questions and giving their perspectives on different issues related to everything from tucking to Disney remakes. They were genuinely funny and made some much-needed observations about the state of the world.


It was quite late by the time we decided we needed to get to bed and I snuck into my bunk in the dorm, hoping not to wake anyone.

July 27, 2019:

Late in the morning, I met Fabienne near their apartment in Cote-des-neiges and we walked to the Oratoire Saint-Joseph. We discussed our thoughts on religion and architecture, the history and current political climate of Quebec. There was an organ concert playing while we observed the church and I learned about their history in music where one of her classmates was an organist. Apparently, organs are meant to take the place of an entire orchestra, so the organist has to set the instruments as whatever instruments the piece is trying to replicate. For example, they might set the keys to sound like a combination of brass and strings for one section of a piece. Each time they want to change, they have to stop playing temporarily in order to reset the instrument.

Photo Credit: L'Oratoire Saint-Joseph

Photo Credit: L'Oratoire Saint-Joseph

Photo Credit: Taxiarchos228
We finished our visit on the steps of the oratoire overlooking part of the city and continued chatting. Suddenly I heard someone calling my name and discovered that one of my mentor teachers from my first year of teaching was walking up the steps toward me. Her children were competing in the National Track and Field championships in Montreal, so she was exploring the city with her husband. It's a small world after all!

We stopped at Fabienne's apartment so that they could give medecine to their bird and they took the opportunity to share their BTS collection with me. They have been a fan for considerably longer than I have, having listened to and given up on other k-pop before giving them a chance. I got the chance to look at their Wings Concept Book, which reminded me of the Harry Potter studio tour in some ways. It's like the skeleton used by the design team to build the albums, the music videos and other visual content for the Wings era (consisting of three albums). Though this wasn't the beginning of the BTS Universe, it was a crucial moment in establishing their fictional world.
Photo Credit: Tina Davidsson
The fictional universe began during the HYYH era (The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, pt. 1) during the I Need U music video and there are countless theories about the universe since then.


The story of the universe is told through music videos, short films, notes found in the albums, and recently the Save Me webtoon.
Image Credit: BigHit Entertainment Corp. & Lico Corp.
As a literature major, theorizing about the next installment of the story is fascinating, as many of their songs or album concepts use intertextual references to develop their themes.
  • The Owl Service by Alan Garner may have served as a reference for all of HYYH.
  • The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin is referenced in Spring Day.
  • Wings used Demian by Hesse as a reference as well as Greek mythology.
  • Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami is referenced in their song Butterfly. This author's other work, 1Q84 is also used as a reference in their track Sea.
  • The Her album intro Serendipity references The Little Prince by Antoine de St-Exupery.
  • The Tear album references Into the Magic Shop, a memoir by James R. Doty.  
  • The most recent trilogy of albums is based on Jung's Map of the Soul: An Introduction by Murray Stein. The author has become an ARMY and created a dedicated video series to help ARMY understand the ways that Jungian theory relate to the lyrics in the albums.
  • There is also reference to Greek mythology in songs like Dionysus from the recent Persona album.
The point of all this is to say that I became aware of BTS too late to ever hope to have my own copy of it (a used copy is currently on sale on Amazon for a cool $248) and they have inserts of a translation someone published free online for international fans, so it was really cool to glance through it.

 In the afternoon, we made our way to Mile End where there was a Korean Street Food Market with different events going on. We were quite hungry by then and sought out some vegetarian options leading us to try kimchijeon (kimchi pancakes) and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). They were both delicious.
kimchijeon
tteokbokki
There were performances by the Montreal k-pop cover performance group, East2West, who did Boy With Luv by BTS and some other k-pop groups that I'm less familiar with.



 We tried some Korean ice cream, as well, which is packaged much differently than North American treats. We got the LOTTE Snow Ice in cookies and cream and original flavours and they were delicious.



On our way back towards the hostel from the market, we passed nearby the Ubisoft building and I heard more about the game development scene in Montreal, which is apparently quite competitive. We finished off the day on rue St Laurent at Juliette & Chocolat. We had crepes and a chocolate fondue. The vibe there was cool and the waiter was very nice. We laughed for a long time about learning other languages and ridiculous idiomatic expressions and the mistakes people make when learning French. I tried on a Quebec accent but did not succeed.



July 28, 2019:

We spent our last day slowly doing some shopping. I bought a few older BTS albums at Sarah & Tom's and a suitcase from the Centre Eaton which I needed anyway. The Centre Eaton is part of the underground city and it was air conditioned, which after days of a hostel with minimal air conditioning (a window unit for our entire dorm was not sufficient) was sooo welcome.

We bought lunch from the food court. I had bibimbap and they had Japanese ramen. The bibimbap was not the same when not cooked in a stone bowl, like they do at Alirang in Hamilton, but still tasty considering it was fast food.
We "unboxed" my albums and laughed a lot at the old concept photos from O RU L8, 2? and Dark & Wild.
Copyright Bighit Entertainment Corp.
Copyright Bighit Entertainment Corp.
Fabienne was shopping for Fire Emblem and the new Nintendo Switch because they are interested in video game design, especially from a narrative perspective. BTS recently released a mobile game called BTS World and it was fascinating to hear the ways that they would have liked the game to be made that better reflect the interests of ARMY. There are so many gamers in ARMY, too, so their first attempt at a game was a little disappointing. We compared our progress in the game, which does have the advantage of having different photocards and the ability to unlock different content, so it's not all bad.

In the shop, they asked if the store had any copies of the game and they said not until later in the week because they didn't order enough after pre-sales. The salesperson asked if they were also looking for a Nintendo Switch and they said they would get them both at the same time. The store clerk said that was a good choice because the games were also sold out and not available until later in the week. o_o



Our last stop before I had to gather my belongings from the hostel was Chinatown. We went into a shop that had knock-off and handmade BTS merch. They ended up buying some J-Hope inspired sunglasses.
We joked that knock-off BT21 merchandise should be called BT51 and that knock-off BTS merchandise could also go by BT5. It's brilliant, okay?

We visited a Korean beauty shop and looked at the face packs that BTS sponsors by Mediheal. They came with photocards. We each bought one. For the good skin, obviously.
The previous day, I had mentioned that I haven't explored much Korean food so Fabienne took me to their favourite Korean restaurant which was naturally closed for renovations. There was Kalbi Korean BBQ next door so we opted for that instead. It turned out to be more of an Asian fusion restaurant. There was a grill in the middle of the table and we grilled some vegetables and had different kinds of sushi, tempura, and I tried miso soup for the first time. I also tried soju for the first time. It tastes like rubbing alcohol, so now I understand why all the non-drinkers in k-dramas react like they've swallowed rubbing alcohol when their character drinks soju. (For my k-drama recommendations, go here).

I can sum up this trip by saying it was fast and slow. The weekend passed quickly, but I felt present the whole time and really enjoyed Fabienne's company. I'm used to conversing most days with 10 year olds. They can also be very interesting and have a lot of insights into the world, but the conversations are limited to their experiences and responses need to be censored for age-appropriateness. Regardless, I think it's somewhat rare to find someone who you can easily weave a conversation with, and the fact that our conversations could be as much about BTS as they were about our personal struggles in life and our thoughts on the state of the world was refreshing to me.

The decision to go was somewhat impulsive, but as RM said in the intro of O RU L8, 2?:
Nothing lasts forever
You only live once
So live your life
Not any other's lives
Take chances and never regret
Never
Never be late to do
what you wanna do
right now
Because at one point of someday
everything you did
Would be exactly what you will be
And I want to be look back and have been the kind of person that took an impulsive trip to Montreal to make a friendship.
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Saturday 23 March 2019

Other Journeys

March 23, 2019:


I have not written in a while because I have not 'travelled' in a while - though I did just return from our annual family holiday to Florida which was lovely. I did nothing (except for watching Christopher Robin) and...

On the plane home, I was having the urge to write and be creative for the first time in ... years? I have a deep love of learning and chose to pursue my Masters of Education, hoping to explore some questions related to my teaching career. I was happily hired full-time this year for teaching and had to adjust my plans related to my Masters. I still enjoy the courses, but the schedule has been gruelling. Just before the March Break, I came to the realization that I have not have a break from work since September 2016 (when I enrolled in my program) where I wasn't required to complete homework or to research and it made me feel exhausted.

This week back has also been really hard. I've shared the experience of my sister's sudden death (here) in this blog as it constituted the end of my exchange to France, and I shared my experience of grieving (here) while taking my first solo trip since that trauma (and learning about my mental health).

So here we are. Today it has been 6 years since Meagan left. And I have been trying really hard this year to grow accustomed to all of the changes I've been experiencing. So this post is about that journey.

What has been challenging was the decision in November, after a summer where I rarely got to rest, to give up on my thesis and switch to a course-based program to complete my degree. I really liked me supervisor. I was really interested in my research topic. And I only managed to spend one week doing research throughout the summer. Once school started, it was not going to happen. I changed schools. A new staff and school community to adapt to and a new full-time schedule.

In December, I lost all of my research notes when someone stole my external hard drive (along with all of my photos since high school - thankfully I had printed out all my favourite travel photos to put in albums, but farewell to any photos that I had not printed or saved on Facebook), my running shoes with my orthotics in them and my iPod from 2007. So, not only was all the research I did lost, but I couldn't use it for my courses. The only saving grace was that I sent versions of my thesis to my supervisor that survive in email archives.
Image result for ipod 3rd gen nano
Also challenging was giving up weekly visits with Nicole's son to the library when my course started in January.

Though I adore my class, there are students struggling with a lot who have not been adequately supported by the system and are now 7 years into their school career. It has been a lot of personal time and a lot of pressure to advocate for them and to get them the support that they need. And now we can add the stress of possible job action in the face of massive cuts to education, especially in special education, where students like those I am trying to help get their support from. It's demoralizing.

I have been responsible as the President of my Rotary club for closing it down because of declining membership. I had to navigate Canada's tax laws concerning registered charities and play phone tag to learn that, despite institutional legend, we had not been incorporated since 1994. The customer service representative asked me questions about that time as if I wasn't 4 years old which made things awkward.

I have also been responsible for managing the back-end of a website for an organization that I love, but it has been very stressful because website upgrades cost a lot of money and I am not a web developer or even remotely qualified for this responsibility. I just happen to be the most qualified, currently, of our organization. I've had to limit my responsiveness in order to maintain my weekly responsibilities and to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Beginning in April, I am going to have to put a hold on voice lessons  (my weekly pleasure activity) until July so that I can attempt to finish two courses at once.

I think the worst part has been feeling like I have to put everything on hold until a future date when I can feel the kind of balance I felt after counselling. The things I want to do personally and professionally and the people that are important to me keep getting sidelined for this degree. I have considered quitting my Masters. But the courses interest me and the discussions interest me and the people in my courses and their experiences interest me. Ultimately, I will try to finish, but it will take until next April (2020) and I will continue giving things up until then.

Maybe it's helping (or maybe not), but I created a list of the things I'd like to do after I'm finished. I think it mostly makes me annoyed at Instagrammers who come to the cafe where I am doing *work* and take videos of the cafe as if they have nothing to do but entertain followers. Stop rubbing it in my face that you could do anything on my list right now but instead you're worried about curating the perfect life!


And okay, like half of this is catching up on shows, but I would also do wholesome things like checking out Hamilton's waterfalls and volunteering. I would rejoin the Rotary/Rotaract family! Maybe I would return to swing dancing (which is another casualty of this Masters gristmill). I would definitely be reading Healing the Adult Sibling's Grieving Heart. Maybe I would learn all of BTS' choreography!

(Honestly, I am tempted to follow the advice in this song and not just the choreo: /Live however you want, it’s yours anyway/ Stop trying, it’s okay to lose/ Throw your hands up, scream, burn it up/ It’s on fire.)

BTS has been a high point in recent years. Becoming a fan led me to new friendships and a sense of belonging to the A(dorable) R(epresentative) M(Cs of) Y(outh) or ARMY; encouraged me to continue learning Korean; and introduced me to a new musical universe that collides with strange ways with the music I have loved forever.

And I know that Meg was screaming happily in the crowd with me when they came to Hamilton in September 2018. One of their special "inside" habits with fans is to say "Borahae" which means "I purple you". It's because they think that purple, as the last colour of the rainbow, shows how enduring their love for their fans is and vice versa. I connect because purple was Meg's favourite colour and our love is also forever. Also, she would love their body rolls. Just saying.


And their messages about self-love and stuff probably, too. She'll be screaming with me again in New Jersey in May 2019. When things have been especially difficult, mentally, this year, I have been comforted by them and encouraged to persevere.

Jimin's song Promise reminds me to accept both light and dark sides of my experience:

I say that it’s all fine
The truth is that’s a lie
...
I want you to be your light, baby
You should be your light
So you won’t hurt anymore, so you can smile more
I want you to be your night, baby
You could be your night
I’ll be honest with you tonight
...
Now promise me
Several times a day
Even if you feel that you are alone
Don’t throw yourself away
Hold on for a moment
Intertwine our pinkies
And promise me now
So I hold on to all the things I am grateful for.

In October, I was so happy to have Brittney (of the Australia-related travels in June/July 2012 fame, of the England for New Years in 2017 fame, and a friend I have cherished since high school) move in with me upon her return to Canada. It has filled a big need for having company that I enjoy on a regular basis. I'm so grateful for her.

There are some amazing people who I get to work (or play) with in various capacities who I feel close to and supported by. I am grateful for Kim, Rochelle, Arthur, Becky, Lisa, Celine, Nehal, Nancy, Kristy, Sarah, Matthew, Kim Erin, Kerry, Salwa and others (it's after midnight, so please forgive me if your name got lost in the swamp of my thoughts).

I wonder if it's related to getting older, but I also feel that I can comfortably reach out to friends I haven't seen in months and get together as if no time has passed. There is no awkwardness and we are just genuinely happy to fall into meaningful conversations. I'm grateful for Lauren, Gianluca, Emma, Heather, Alexandria, Talaira, Nicole, Danielle, Hattie, Chantal, Chris and others. Your conversations hold me up.

I also took the initiative last summer to use an app to find friends in this city. I love it here, but it is a big small town and many people that I meet have friends here already because they grew up here. I was lucky to meet Amanda who also loves Harry Potter and travelling and we do Zumba and other stuff together which I love. I'm so grateful for her, too.

I have an amazing trainer, Marco, who holds me accountable for coming to the gym and working hard. It is a bright spot in my week to be able to laugh while making my body stronger and it is a critical part of my mental health strategy. My students keep me active, too, but it is slightly less fun to work out with them.

I'm grateful to Sarah, my wonderful vocal coach and friend of 5 years, who takes care of me nearly every week. We're singing this song right now and crying a little at how beautiful it is:



I'm grateful to Dr. Goodfellow, the TMJ dentist who introduced me to Dr. Mohamed and Katrina to stop me from grinding my teeth in my sleep (which was actually a breathing/swallowing problem). They have relieved chronic pain and headaches I had been experiencing for at least a year and gave me hope that I can get restful sleep without a night guard (when other things like anxiety aren't interfering).

I'm grateful for my class who challenge me and inspire me and teach me to ask new questions. I'm grateful that they trust me and that their parents trust me. Together, we've done some pretty cool stuff and they have been willing to try new things with me, including role playing the House of Commons (most recently). I've been able to open up to all of my students about Meagan, usually long before I'm comfortable to do so with colleagues or new adults (but that has been generally easier after 6 years of practicing). This group has given me the opportunity to teach them about the importance of mourning and speaking your grief out loud.It's been difficult and also healing to do this with them, the same way that teaching Phantom of the Opera to a group of high school students and exploring Christine's grief was a healing experience during a teachers' college practicum in 2014.

I'm grateful that I will get to be a part of Heather's and Danielle's wedding celebrations (which will include another trip to the East Coast, hopefully also to encounter some new places and adventures). I'm (mostly) grateful that there are no Masters courses running in July and August so I will have a real break from all kinds of work. I'm grateful that I have a job where I get to make a difference to people and that I am respected and treated well by my colleagues and principal.

Most of all I'm grateful for my family who love me and who keep Meagan here by speaking her name. Andrea created a beautiful video that literally makes me cry every time.
Something I have learned about and have begun wanting is a rite for Meagan. Having a memorial dinner (Meagan's might consist of Joe Louis, apple sauce on toast, and rice krispie squares) or visiting a grave site or some other mourning rite that expresses outwardly the recurring pain I feel. This year, we will simply have dinner together as a family, but I will keep you posted.
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Tuesday 23 January 2018

Adventures in Kent

January 2, 2018:

In the near dark, we arrived in Denton which appeared to be a village of four or five houses and a pub at  a curve in the road in the midst of a forest. Our instructions were that the house where Brittney had agreed to cat-sit was "across the street" from the bus stop. So we were perplexed when we looked across the street and saw those same four or five houses.

Thankfully, Brittney had access to data and she managed to get in touch with the girl we would be taking over from who came out to meet us. She was bright and fun and gave us the in-depth tour of the house.

Once again, I had pictured this:
However, the house was bound to become a character in our stay there. We had to ensure that the windows were opened if we took a shower and then we had to squeegee the whole bathroom, we couldn't flush any toilet paper unless it was a number 2, the bathroom door could not be closer or we would be trapped inside, the heater sometimes cut out, and then the cat's food schedule and care ritual was pretty impressive on top of that.

After getting the grand tour of all the house's quirks, I went across the street to the pub to see if I could get take-away for dinner. When I entered there seemed to be a number of locals in front of the bar on the left side of the building, and to the right there was a fancy dining room. I approached the bar to ask about take away and did not clearly hear what the bartender asked me, so I said the standard Canadian "How are you?" She asked me to repeat myself, an expression of confusion crossing her features. I was not following the script. I said, loudly, "How are you?" She did not know how to answer. She said something like, "I'm good." Awkwardness. She asked, "Are you alright?" Standard British greeting. I felt as though I was being asked if I needed to be taken for therapy or to the hospital. I guess that's understandable considering I'd nearly shouted at her to overcome the confusion. I said, "Yes" and we both attempted to salvage the interaction through politeness and hesitancy. They couldn't do any of the vegetarian meals as take-away for some reason so I had to sit by myself in the pub - Brittney had brought some left-over soup as she was feeling ill. In the end, I survived and managed to eat a delicious risotto.

We benefitted from the fireplace once we figured out how to get a fire going (an hour later) on our first night, but we both slept terribly that night. I slept on a futon in the nook of one room - my legs and shoulder kept falling asleep because the floor was so hard and I overheated under the blankets that I was using as sheets and covers. Brittney had a similar experience in the bed which was very hard. We thought we'd try a different configuration the following night: she slept on the downstairs couch (where she overheated) and I slept in the hard bed (and woke up with pain in my shoulders all day). So the third night, we put the futon on top of the bed and had the least awful sleep possible given the conditions. In the meantime, we spent some time exploring.

January 3, 2018:


What I imagined Kent would be like:



It turned out to be me getting off the bus too early in Folkstone and having to walk for over 40 minutes without wifi or data to meet with Maddie (of the Lyon exchange fame) at the bus station. I assumed, wrongly, that Folkstone would be as small as Denton and that there may only be one bus stop. It should have occurred to me that my anticipated arrival time was still 12 minutes away and that I was meant to get off at the bus station, not a bus stop, but hindsight is 20/20 they say.

So I had a scenic tour of most of what Folkstone had to offer and saved myself by carefully reading and navigating a map posted on a gas station.
Who needs a knight in shining armour when you can have a map and your own brain!

Red cheeks, don't care. Weird hair, almost there.

Maddie hadn't received my desperate text message explaining my mistake, but she had waited for me anyway and we carried on as if this was the plan all along. She explained that the Veteran's Walkway I'd just climbed up (and was now climbing back down) was the work of locals who knit poppies each year in remembrance and compared it to the multi-million dollar archway that the mayor of the region had insisted on erecting (compensating?) for the purpose of attraction tourists. It was immediately obvious to me why Maddie and I had got on so well when we lived in Lyon.
We went to a delicious vegetarian cafe for lunch and walked around parts of the city. There was recently an art installation that happens every year so we checked out some of the installations that were chosen to stay, including one about gentrification which particularly resonated with me. Folkstone felt a lot like Hamilton in some respects. Most of the blue collar jobs in the port had become redundant because of the Chunnel and other methods of transport for trade, so there is increased poverty and homelessness, so the arts began to thrive and now Folkstone is being gentrified with Londoners buying second homes for their holidays, driving up housing prices and turning the town into a tourist destination. I couldn't help but be reminded of James St. N. and the development that has happened and is happening there because of the thriving arts scene.

I saw the Cliffs of Dover from a distance, and that seemed good enough to me. It was so windy that there were people out surfing which was extremely bizarre given the chill. We walked along the coast line and talked about Maddie's PhD research and different experiences that she'd had as a PhD student, and my Masters research and experiences teaching. We talked about mutual friends from Lyon that we'd both kept in touch with and the hours passed like minutes.

I did a quick grocery shop. Is it just me or do the British have a super strange language where "rude" means "innuendo" but they have no problem boldly putting the word "nuts" next to a word I initially thought said "sacks" so....
I made it back to Denton, thinking about how distance and time didn't seem to matter when it came to making good friends (rather than dwelling too long on the nuts & snacks issue), and Brittney and I made pasta for dinner before cozying up to watch K-drama in front of the fire.
Park Hyung Sik was keeping things toasty on-screen while we snuggled up with the blankets and our tea.

January 4, 2018:

Brittney's American PhD friend joined us for a day trip to Margate, which is a special town famous for its casinos and for the low-income housing on the waterfront.

It's also famous for a mysterious Shell Cave, which we decided to visit. Brittney and I didn't really know what it was, so we were a little shocked to find that it was somehow located in the middle of the city, rather than near the coast.





Was genuinely tempted to sing "Part of Your World" at the top of my lungs, but felt compassion for my companions and opted to spare them my self-indulgence.
We amused ourselves generating hypotheses about the origins and purpose of the cave and its shell patterns, determining that it might have been built by a man pining for his lost lover, or by a cult of women who worshiped nature (this seemed the most likely based on the prevalence of flower, heart, and uterus patterns we found throughout the cave).
This is 100% a uterus.
<3
We convened at the "Lighthouse Bar" which ranks as one of the top strangest experiences I've had as a customer. The bar was not heated and the bartender disappeared after serving us and did not return for the entirety of our stay. Unfortunately, we couldn't climb to the top of the lighthouse but we got to see the sun set as we discussed Russian, Chinese and US politics. My favourite! I even got some book recommendations.




January 5, 2018:

Realizing that although I had made the wise decision to book a late flight, we were not a simple 30-hour train ride away like we would have been in London and in order to get to Gatwick, I would need to leave Denton around 5am, we decided to spend the night back in Brittney's dorm. Buses don't even run that early through Denton. That morning after our first good sleep (see above), we packed up and caught the bus to Canterbury.

We went for a vegan lunch and took in some of the local sights, including Canterbury Cathedral.




I'm still not sure if this was a Catholic Church or a Church of England because it kept referring to the Pope but then didn't really seem Catholic in the end? I'm sure I could do a Wikipedia search, but I'm not really sure if I care that much. What was interesting was the stained glass, in particular. Most of it had to be protected during World War 2 bombings but a bunch of it was destroyed so there are some more modern artistic renderings there which made for interesting contrast. This wasn't necessarily newer but the photograph of the angel stained glass above resonated with me a lot. She looks like a girl on fire. Feminism! Hunger Games! All the things!

We had a wonderful sleep on the dorm beds (ironically) and we woke up bright and early to catch my trains and my flight. I was sad to say goodbye to my travel bestie. It's been over 10 years since our first trip together and I know there will be others. <3 I'm grateful to her for hosting me despite her current workload for her Masters.

Early morning view of London from a tube station.
Pip pip cheerio! (And welcome back to -23 degrees Celsius in Toronto!)
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