on Toronto Reunions & Meetups

I arrived in Toronto around 10:30 pm and found myself back to the hustle and bustle of the big city. I've been finding that as days and months pass by, big cities intimidated me more. And I also realized that my appreciation of nature has heightened . Despite my hunger to understand history, mother nature was calling to me more than ever.

 

The Canadiana hostel (42 Widmer Street) was packed and I found myself on the top bunk in a 4-bed female dorm. Not my desired way of staying in a hostel but the front desk said it was filled up for the next few days so I didn't bother to complain anymore.

 

Yen from China, but has been living in Vancouver, was the lady I shared the one side of the room. Jill from Scotland and Crystal from Australia shared the other bunk bed. It was very cramped, which was ironic coz I found the space in a 6-bed female dorm was so much better.

 

My first 2 days in Toronto wasn't that much productive. A short travel to the mall to go with Jill and accompany her to apply for jobs, a quick visit to dollarama for cheap food and having the free breakfast were all I did. Why? My whole body was aching. On my second day I ended up sleeping for 12 hours straight. I felt like I had to re-energize and just give in to deep slumber although I knew

that sleeping that long would actually cause my lower back to ache. I allowed myself rest hours coz I knew I've deprived myself so much the past few days.

 

Friday Highschool Reunion

 

I woke up to a Friday morning in Toronto and decided to hang out in the lounge and find myself a quiet corner where nobody would see me. There I had the chance to focus on researching for my Europe trip and also reading a little bit more about Morocco and see the options for the travel from MArrakech to Agadir. A few days earlier, Alf decided to join me in my Morocco trip and we ended up booking our flights from London Gatwick to Marrakech.

 

After a few hours, i decided to leave around 4 pm and check out the Downtown Camera shop along Queen Street West. Luckily I found myself a very handy and small bag. There were a few things that I contemplated on, and I had a strategy in mind in preparation for my Europe trip. I was hating carrying too many things so I planned on downsizing.

 

Around 5:30 I met up with Mabel at the lobby of Hilton Hotel at the corner of Richard and University Avenue. Mabel was a classmate back in the elementary days and we were also highschool mates back in the University of Santo Tomas, Manila Philippines. Who would have known that we would meetup after so many years in Toronto.

 

We talked along the way and updated each other and even gossiped about the couples who got together from highschool and even those who became an item after college. It was crazy knowing about it :) It was great chatting away and it felt like we were back in the days.. :) Reminiscing was part of the whole train and bus ride. Names were mentioned and I realized there were a lot who moved overseas after College.

 

We got to Casa Manila (Filipino restaurant) but there was a Birthday event for the Consul General so we decided to head to the Chinese Buffet Restaurant around the corner. And yes! I was up for a buffet.

 

Later on Odessa and Jo arrived. It was so crazy! I didn't even know that Odessa was living in Toronto. Last time I saw her was 3rd year highschool, taking us back to 1993. Now she has a 17 year old tall teenager boy. She was still the typical chatty and funny Odessa who I knew from past the years. And it was great seeing her again.

 

Jo was also a friend and classmate from Highschool days and was blooming, obviously in love :) We ate, chatted, shared updates and insights about the filipino culture and I also ended up sharing a few of the things I had in mind. It was so much fun just laughing away. Oh man, it was like highschool days. And we had so much for dinner that we felt so bloated. Well of course the laughs made us feel like we were about to explode. Hilarious!

 

Jo just bought a house on a hill and I told her how much I envied her. I told them about my experience in the farm and realizing after, that I wanted to have a lifestyle block surrounded by nature and perhaps to a certain degree, apply sustainable living concepts.

 

By the time we finished our food and taken photos, it was half past 10 already. I thanked them for treating me to dinner which I didn't expect at all. Odessa offered to give each one a lift and she also shared with us a photo of her son. It was so cute to hear her stories of him and the mother-son relationship they have kept through the years.

 

We dropped off Mabel first at her place and Jo and Odessa dropped me off at the train station. It wasn't that chilly in Ontario that night. We parked at the train station and they walked me down the escalator. We lingered for a few seconds at they pointed on the wall where abouts we were just so I could find my bearing. After a while I hugged them goodbye and was on my way.

 

Reunion with Maya

 

The Saturday was scheduled for getting last minute supplies and also exploring Toronto downtown a little bit. I woke up a little bit early and headed for Chinatown. The prices were really cheap so I bought a few things. I've been feeling deprived from the past months with clothing so thought that was the best place for me to get a few items for the next leg. I walked through Spadina and wondered along the shops until I got a few bargains.

 

After a while I found myself at Kensington Market which was really really funky and cute. Rachelle was right, it had charm most especially the artsy designs of the different cafes. I really liked the graffiti and paintings on the wall, which gave the place heaps of character. 

 

At 4 pm I headed to the Dark Horse Espresso Bar to meetup Maya. She was one of the volunteers who I met in KEnya, AFrica (2006). Both of us were staying with the same Host Lady by the name of Alice. The house was a little bit close to the known slum area of Kenya, Kibera. She was back then focusing on HIV/Aids and I was helping out in a school in Kawanggware and also an orphanage in Kibera. It was so great to have known she was back in Toronto when she messaged me a few weeks back on facebook.

 

We updated each other, reminisced Kenya and also the trips we had to Lake NAkuru. She also told me about the other adventures she had with Kelly after I flew back to

NZ. It was crazy to think how we live in such a small world and to find ourselves having coffee together in another city after so many years of the volunteer program we were on.

 

She's been busy with residency and moving around from town to town. But was happy to be settling in for 6 months in Toronto for a change and be in one place. We did share the same sentiments about moving from place to place and one point of reference. The packing can be exhausting, let alone the stress of transferring.

 

It was so great to have shared our views on travels and plans in life. We also discussed on the political issues of Canada, First Nations and also the importance of living a life with the memories of Kenya and whatever has made us realize that the simple things are what we should always learn to appreciate in our day to day lives.

 

We walked along together and hugged each other goodbye when we got to Osgoode Train Station. We said to each other, who knows maybe next time we'll meet each other somewhere ... :)

 

 

My first ever Trav Buddy Meetup

 

I rushed myself to Union Station after meeting up with Maya. It was a brisk walk for me from Chinatown to Front Street and by the time I got to the station I was sweating like a pig. I was to meet a Trav Buddy member at 7pm that night.

 

Several years ago, I registered as a membber on a TravBuddy site. It was introduced to me by a very good friend of mine Missy Foy (who met her husband Malvin through one of the travbuddy meetups). Basically, that site offers the opportunity to meet fellow travellers online, allow people to post questions and gather information, advice and suggestions. Forums were setup for the different continents/regions around the world. Often times, locals would answer queries which can be really helpful. Also, it allows people to post call outs for anyone who might want to join them on some trips they have in the future, thus the name "trav buddy". Through the years, I've asked a few questions and also tried to give as much pointers when I encounter any New Zealand bound travelers asking for tips. However, I've never really had the chance to meet someone in person nor join in on a travbuddy shout out.

 

And that's how I met Haroon (Roonie).

 

Haroon messaged me a while back when he saw a profile pic of me playing the guitar. Apparently, he's been wanting to learn it. We didn't really exchange consistent messages. If I do remember right we just exchanged 2 or 3 messages while I was on my Canada trip. Later on, when I was bound for Toronto, I received a messge from him inviting me if I'd like to meetup. I said yes and that's how it all started.

 

I was running a little bit late plus I didn't know what to expect. I've never been really good with whatever kind of meetups but that night I just wanted to be myself and hoped it would all go well. It's quite tricky when you meet someone you've never really known personally, and you don't know if you'll click or not. I thought, scrap the anxiety of worrying too much and just go.

 

I was running 5 minutes late when I got to Mcdonalds. There he was standing outside the dairy shop beside Mcdo. I said Hi, he told me his real name and we started walking, finding our way through the busy crowd and out of the Union Station.

 

We found ourselves walking towards the Harbour Front, as I told him earlier that I was interested to see that area. Along the way, he showed me where he works (PWC) and told me he found it ironic that it's been a while since he's really walked the harbourfront despite the proximity of his building.

 

The clouds were a little bit gray and we were a little bit worried that it might rain, but good thing the clouds held those water droplets back and decided to just stay gray for the night.

 

We chatted along the way and shared some thoughts about career, life, work styles and what our interestes/passions were. It was so easy to talk to him and I found that The vibe was cool. He laughed at my silly retorts which made me relax more with his company. We passed by the CN Tower, Brewery building, chinatown and kensington. It was a bit of a walk and I asked if he was okay with the distance. He said it was fine.

 

We decided to walk towards the called "Brown Town", which we eventually learned later on was called little India. We walked for a while and decided to take the cab coz we were told it was still 2 km's away. We ate at Lahore Tikka for the night, a lively and happening place in the center of Little India. We stayed there for the rest of the night and shared each other's stories. HE also told me about his China trip.

 

Around past 11 we had to pack up quickly so he wouldn't miss his train ride. Apparently he lived far away from downtown and taking a cab ride back home would be too expensive. It was hilarious when we got out of the restaurant coz it took us a while to catch a cab. We were laughing as we walked the street and tried waiting for one. I ended up hailing a police car which I mistook for a cab. And no, I didn't have alcohol that night. My eyes were just too weak. I think at that point he might have found me crazy.

 

I asked the cab driver to drop Roonie first just to make sure he had enough time to catch his train. We dropped him off at the stoplight of Front Station and I hugged him goodbye.