Meet "Kathryn"

If you will notice an improvement in the writing of some of my coming posts, that will be thanks to Kathryn.

Kathryn is my colleague at University of Toronto, we’re both taking the Foundations of Digital Communications Strategy and Social Media.

Through our instructor Eden, Kathryn volunteered to help me editing my posts, and to be fair till today I didn’t send her any as I’m writing them late every night and I don’t want to bother her, knowing that she has a lot to do as well, but I appreciated her gesture extremely and I will be definitely asking for her help from time to time.

Kathryn started her own blog as well: Tracing Travel.

It’s about the movement of travelers around the globe. Where she looks at where people go, when and why, and how they access the information they need. She looks at how travel has changed and what happened to the travel guide with the advent of the digital age..

Kathryn worked for over a decade on print travel guides in London before moving to Toronto where she is freelancing now as an Editor, and talking about her blog:

“…I’ve started this blog to help me hone-in on the areas that really spark my interest, and to get me writing regularly. I’m hoping that I can pass on the occasional compelling nugget and find a reader or two whose interests intersect with my own.

… I’ve travelled a fair amount over the years – mostly in Asia and Europe – and I’ll be drawing on my experiences of course, but since moving back to Toronto, the opportunities to travel have pretty much petered out.

You know it’s not so bad. Camping is the purist form of travel next to the walking pilgrimage, and here in Ontario it’s the best in the world. Plus, anticipating our first cross-continent road trip keeps me planning fantasy routes. If you’re not salivating about your next trip, no matter how remote, then you’re missing out on one of the key aspects of travel itself.”

Once again, I’m glad meeting Kathryn, learning from her tips about travel and about camping in Ontario (which I’m looking forward for Summer time to be able to go on a camping experience here), and I’m very grateful for her, offering to help me editing my posts.

Thank you Kathryn Lane. 

Meet "VIA Rail Canada"

I planned two trips to Ottawa and Montreal within 10 days, and decided to take the train, the Via Rail, as I heard it's a nice easy trip, where you don't need to be two hours before at the train station, no crazy security check, free wifi and an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery for few hours..
So I booked my ticket couple of weeks before and was super excited of taking my first train trips in Canada.

I live very close to Union Station, so it took me five minutes to reach it more time to reach the Via Rail Terminal as I was walking in the opposite direction of most people arriving early to Downtown, it felt like moving between the crowd in a demonstration.. And once I reached the gate, I had to queue for 5 minutes before boarding the train.. And then the staff directed people each one to his compartment.. Mine was the last one, number 5.. I placed my luggage, took my seat, and the train moved few minutes after..

Even though it was snowing most of the time and was super cold outside, But inside in the compartment it was so hot, we had to ask the crew if they can do something about it..
The wifi was ok, not super fast but couldn't watch any video, but at least it helps to stay connected online..
The sandwiches and snacks , and the staff serving it was super kind..

The five hours going to Ottawa passed really quick, between reading, whatsapp chatting, Facebook checking, blog posts writing and of course contemplating the white, very white beautiful nature.

My next trip with Via Rail was to Montreal, and I'm sure there will be many trips to come by train to discover more and more Canada, my new home.

Meet "Toronto"

After almost 10 years in Dubai, the city that is considered by many people the wonderland of the 21st century, and after waiting for 7 years to get my immigration visa to Canada, I decided to leave everything behind.. A great job with Leo Burnett, amazing friends, a beautiful apartment and a life full of ups and downs but was a fantastic 10 years of my life.. I decided to leave and move to Toronto, (and maybe only Lebanese people can understand this urge of leaving and looking for a better tomorrow in a more stable place) to embark in a new journey, to look for a new adventure and discover a different world.
Obviously every move has its challenges, and a key challenge is to get to know the culture, the people, the city and adapt fast to the social environment.. And usually having friends or family can help a lot, and I was lucky to have a cousin who lives very close to Toronto and she with her husband showed me lots of support from the minute I landed.
Now after few weeks, I moved to my new apartment, started my class in Digital Communications Strategy & Social Media at University of Toronto, and will start soon the job hunt.
And to get to know Toronto up close & personal I m taking this challenge of meeting a new friend every single day.
A friend can be my new barber, a waiter in a restaurant who made me feel welcomed and pushed me to visit again or a new Canadian artist that I discovered or a place that I felt I ll be visiting often and of course all the new friends that I hope some of them will be close friends and for many many years to come.