I’m not meditating. I’m sitting.

One of my goals this year is to learn how to meditate. Particularly, for the reason that I think I’ll really suck at it (and for all the physical and cognitive benefits, of course). Exhibition no. 1: I came home today after a full day out and tried to mediate. I set my alarm clock […]

Ich lerne Deutsch!

I’ve been living in Zurich for 6 months now. I have to say that I am constantly impressed and awed by the average number of languages people can speak here, in this small (but quadrilingual) country in the centre of Europe. Coming from bilingual Canada, I am embarrassed to say that the few years of […]

Shenanigans in China

Whenever I visit China, I develop multiple personality disorder. I metamorphose from a respectfully polite Canadian to, well, quite frankly, a bit of an ass. Things I would never consider saying or doing (for sake of basic decency and inhibitions), seem to come more than naturally (and obnoxiously) when I’m in China. Yet, my dual […]

Wanderlust

There are moments in one’s life when one has to stop and ask – “what the heck am I doing here??”. These moments are especially poignant when you find yourself 4800 miles away from the familiar comforts of home, family, friends and your significant other. Inevitably, as the rules of culture shock dictate, the novelty effects […]

The dangers of Switzerland

On a sleepy Sunday night on August 26, 2012, I finally arrived in Switzerland – land of meticulous watchmakers, Swiss cheese, cow bells, the Alps and yodelling contests! Obviously, there must be more to this beautiful country than these stereotypical images. Jet-lagged, scared, and cautiously filled with excitement, I was about to find out what […]

Culture shock!

I’ve often wondered what life would have been like – or more accurately, what I would be like – had I grown up in China. Though I left China at quite a young age (6), I still remember several emotional moments in my short time in Beijing: In my first (and only semester) of grade […]

The “right” rules

I recently attended a seminar about “Cultural Diversity” hosted by an non-profit organization for Canadian newcomers (immigrants). While the slides were informative, what I found most interesting was the emergence of my own preconceptions in rather typical situations. Here was the scenario: 1. Halfway through the seminar, the presenter said “Let’s play a card game”. […]

Motivating yourself

Ironically, as I am writing this post, I really should be studying German. While I complained rather obnoxiously in the first week that class was going too slow, this week I am struggling to keep up with nouns (are they feminine, masculine or neutral??) and conjugating verbs. Even so, I hold desperately to the belief that […]

Green flush

During my nine-to-five days in industry, I remember frequenting the company bathroom several times a day. Sometimes to stretch, sometimes to take a walk, and sometimes because I actually needed to go. During these contemplative visits, I would think about serious issues like world peace, the eradication of polio from developing countries, how to obtain […]

A trip ’round the world

I recently got back from my trip around the world. Actually, it was a trip to San Francisco, Irvine (California), Zurich, Luzern, Geneva, Edinburgh, Pittenweem (a small fishing village in the Kingdom of Fife, Scotland), and St. Andrews (Scotland). I can now say that I am a world traveler! Indeed, I’ve now slept overnight in […]