Amsterdam

So hello again, major blog neglecting and being busy with life. That said, I had a ballin' time.
I went to Amsterdam in July, beautiful weather slightly too hot for my taste but thats ok! So after I landed there I had no difficulty finding my hostel. Due to uninformed booking, I ended up 45 minutes outside of the city in a place called Noorwich! Getting there was quite something and it cost nearly 12 euros (LAME!!). Travelling around Amsterdam is quite expensive. After I reached the hostel nearly midnight I discovered that that the  "large dorm" was a 25 person dorm (who the hell knew seriously?!!!), I decided to just chill out and sleep for the night.

The next morning I booked a shuttle that the hostel offered and spent the day in the city. I got to see the beautiful Museumplein which has the Rijkmuseum and the Van Gogh museum. Oh so many "did you know" moments.
No 1: Did you know Van Gogh did not start painting until his mid 20's. After that I definitely had a new respect for the man!
No 2: He is known for his rough and edgy artistic style (I think you all know!) however, he has some beautiful realistic paintings in the museum.
Another interesting thing that I saw all over Amsterdam was little signs saying "DNA spray", I was intrigued and then later when I googled it I found that, all the stores have this spray that is colorless to the naked eye and is fixed on top of entrances. So, when the intruder enters the spray is sprayed on the intruder and it clings on to clothes and skin for a long time. It is known to be non-toxic but something that clings on to DNA for that long...hmm I gotta wonder. The idea is that when the police go to find criminals, anyone who has the spray on them is convicted. Personally I think this is a pretty cool concept.

That evening, I went back to the hostel and just chilled out, had a beer and just went to bed.
The following day was nearly the same, chilled out in central Amsterdam. There are two very interesting things about Amsterdam that separate the tourists from the locals.
1) the local pedestrians know where they belong, ie the unmarked bike paths everywhere
2) they also know that cyclists are going to run them over and they don't hesitate.

Also, some other interesting things happened in the second day. There is a first time for everything right?
Firstly, due to my lack of map reading skills, I got lost in the red light district. I have to say I didn't love it. Also, getting hit on by 2 prostitutes is...well...fun (NOT!).
Secondly, I was sitting and chilling in Museumplein and some random guy came upto me to ask what would be a good gift for 200 euros for his girlfriend. I have never had that happen to me and I suggested a pendant. I hope his girlfriend liked it =).
That evening, I also got together with some guys from my hostel sat on the beach till about midnight... and did the very obvious thing (I'll let you figure it out!).

The next morning it was beach again and then it was back to London still a bit tripped.

Globally Legal

So, as most of you may know (or may not) it was my birthday on the 22nd of June and I turned 21. I am now officially legal all over the world. I will no longer have to ask my colleagues to buy me alcohol when I'm in the US. Fun stuff. It was a good day and a good time. The best being my present. I got to see Bon Jovi live for 3 hours non-stop in London's Hyde Park. So, I have seen them live before but let tell you what makes this super special

1) 65000 people! Imagine, as opposed to John Lennon I would say, "Imagine there is a heaven".
2) 3 hours, 3 whole hours straight. I must say that man has stamina. Phew!
3) The company I was with. Some of my amazing labmates. The awesome German lady, Lysann, the funny Portuguese man, Joao and the crazy but once again amazing portuguese girl, Nair.They were the reason I went and I have to say it was the best decision I have made.
4) I lost my voice without a pathogen this time!! For a week my voice was gone, no pathogens involved. No regrets though!

Overall, cheers to sunshine, beer, great music, the sexiest man alive and screaming my bloody lungs out. 

(Photo courtesy: Lysann)

Belgium Day 2

Day 2:

Starts off with breakfast in hostel. I met a lady (my room-mate) she woke me up for keys and I decided to join her for breakfast. There I asked her what her plans for the day was and she mentioned going to Ghent and Brugge (small towns in the outskirts of Brussels). I wanted to go as well, so I decided to join her.

We went off to Brussels-Midi station and booked tickets for 15 euros back and forth (cheap I know!!). We went to Ghent first. Small town, beautiful; town and people are once again concerned about energy conservation.

Bikes everywhere.

Heres something special. Have you seen shoes hanging from a wire in the city. If not here you go!

And, like any other European city there are plenty of beautiful churches.

and when you enter, you are not allowed to take pictures. I have learnt something called "shooting from the hip" and it turned out rather nice =D. Tee-hee thanks Brit

Amazing town square.....

Very typical Belgian architecture

 From there we went to Brugge, one of the most beautiful towns I have seen in my life. So serene, so amazing. I would retire there.

But first, I would like you to introduce " the smallest street in Brugge, it used to be a red light district. Its nice and cozy still."

And yet, some more chocolate.....

and did I mention random art??

...Soon after this point, my battery died. But all I can say is its one of the cutest towns I have every seen. Done and done!!

Belgium

Some notable things about Belgium, I think this would be interesting if you wanna visit in the future or something. I have not been to very many cities but here are some very peculiar things that I have seen in the cities I have been to.

# Art everywhere: This is kind of the essence of Europe in general but in Brussels each station has its own art, also stations are named after artists ex: Delacroix after Eugene Delacroix. There are also random pieces of clothing (banners) which hang across the town in Brugge. Art Art everywhere! Love it!

#People like to conserve energy: Huh, something us North Americans need to get a leg up on! We waste so much. Some examples of these are train doors that open with manual force rather than electrical force. Escalators that have sensors around them and only run if it senses people coming around.

# Snacks: I am sorry I can't help but comment on the food portions people have in Brussels. I went into a store (fast food kind of) and under the list of snacks was a "sandwich" which was 1/2 a baguette filled with fries and different sauces like ranch, mayo etc. I also saw a very small child (6-7 years appx) eat it at 11 pm at night. o.O 

Brussels

So the last weekend (18-20 June) I was off to Brussels. From what I heard before going, Brussels isn't a an interesting visit so my expectations were kind of low. I had chosen horrendous travel times for myself (alms for the student traveler no??) I picked 7 am leaving from St. Pancras International London so naturally I had to get up at about 4 am. Luckily due to amazing saturday service in London I made it and reached Brussels on time. From here it was a matter of finding the hostel which I did with little difficulty.

After checking into the hostel I went out into the city center, and some people tried to pickpocket me!! So, beware. It is kind of amazing how I found myself a bit stranded around this city because not very many people speak English. Dutch and French are the official languages in this country. Anyways, minus the fact that I almost lost my identity, this city is pretty nice. Lots of castle like buildings, waffffffles ... om nom nom and tons and tons of chocolates around every corner.

Although, day 1 was a bit crappy it ended with me hanging out with some amazing Algerian girls. They were fun and friendly and we went for dinner in the town and had mussel soup with fries (surprisingly filling). Oh oh! lots of variety in beer in Belgium as well (especially if you like the fruity kind).

Travel tips (perhaps nothing new for some)

So, I know I have been travelling a bit perhaps not as much as some of you. Here are some tips anyway. Hope you like them/find them useful.

# If you travel to a country where you do not know the language, find a map (from any local store should do), pinpoint where you wanna go and ask people how you can get there. You may not understand the language but you probably can recognize the name of the station and things like that. Plus hand language is pretty great!

# Dont look clueless. Seriously, this is how can get napped and people will take advantage of your naivety. Appear to know what you're doing.

# Please dont leave your things unattended. Not every country is Canada, you will lose your stuff.

# When you go to a different country, try their food. A lot of people are afraid of experimenting. Whats the worst that can happen? You wont like it, dont eat it ever  again.

# Be wary of company (especially if you are travelling alone). It is nice to get to know people but don't go all out and please dont accept any "stay over tonight" offers.

#Trust your intuition, if something feels sketchy, it probably is.

# A pocket tip. If you're in the city of a few days (2-3 even), make an effort to buy yourself food from the local grocery store. Eating out is unhealthy and will cost you tons especially near tourist attractions. Do eat out sometimes though =).

#Don't be surprised to see intestines in the bus (Courtesy-Brittany Staddon).Um I would flip shit!!!!

I will keep this updated as I find out more stuff.

Anything else? Enlighten me!

T-Rex, I miss you

Yes, I indeed miss U of C Rex, the dino. I mean I miss home. So when I saw the T-rex it just made me happy. standing in line was worth it. Yus! but after a while my batteries dies..le sigh.

Welcome to Jurassic! 

Say it with me...U..of...C!! =D Dinos!!!!!! Rexxxxy

This is where my camera ran out... sigh... stupid batteries =(.

All things natural

Museums, as some may know I have thing for em. I went to the natural history museum this weekend and here are some pictures.

Yes, let us start off with some cellular plushies, there is a neuron, HINI, the kissing bug (blue).Dawwwww I know!

Talk about recycling, if you cant read that " rhino poo in a book" is what it says.

Speaking of biology, heres some more quirky pics from the biology section, cuz I am just that awesome. Thats right!

Yeah you all knew that but they way they put it is very cute...so...here it is, stuff of life.

This is cool, 8x real life size of a 8 month old baby, its was 2x my size. HUGE...poor uteri out there.

This in some way shape or form, justifies the way men behave? no?

This reminds me of something I might have seen in neuro unit in MDSC404, huh fun times err NOT!

MythBuster: the good, bad and ugly of London

London is one of the biggest metropolitans in the world. Not only that, it is also has historical significance as you know Britain colonized most of the globe at one point in history. Anyhow this is my attempt at a comprehensive (um no...rather opinionated) look at what is good, bad and ugly about London.

The good :
# Beautiful city!! really you just have to look at the right places. Central London is one of my favourite spots. I love hanging out there.
#Amazing transport system in the city (Yes Canada this is aimed at you! improve please).
# The groceries here are fairly affordable! Actually. Contrary to what many people may think and to what I had thought.
# Most museums are free to enter.
#Cheap and good fish and chips is available. =) Yayz!
#People have amazing accents that is hard to follow but awesome to listen to.


The bad:
# People really can't be bothered to be courteous. That said, there are courteous people as well.
# Crime hot spots all over the city!! really gotta be careful with your stuff
# Living is expensive, and it is overcrowded.
# Rain is frequent but not always (really it doesnt rain everyday) there is sun here and it might rain once a week or so.
#Churches like St. Pauls and Westminister Abbey cost you money. Huh??
#No drinking at concerts and football games. -_- I am miffed already. How do you go to concerts like Floyd and not drink people? Seriously!

The funny:
# Rihanna's song S&M has a line called 'Chains and whips excite me'...in UK radio it is censored to '***** and *****' Interesting I thought ;)

Will keep this updated.

Little Venice

Sorry for being ridiculously lazy, but here is an update.

Last weekend I went to a slightly secluded place called Little Venice. I read a lot about this place before going there. I had some really good reviews and it was really quite nice to go there. Its a quite stroll in the canalways of  London. People live there in their boathouses over the weekend. It's a picturesque area but there is not really much to see. A nice walk!

The location, Warwick Avenue is beautiful! Amazing looking houses and beautiful gardens with each of the houses.

I came back home and started reading a bit more about this place to only find out that it is one of the top crime spots in London. Cheers! for making it alive and unmugged.

Tasks and more tasks

In the middle of all the fun, I have lost sight of things that need to be done! Sure travelling is amazing and finding out interesting is way more fun. But losing sight of things is just not an option. Here is a list of things I thought I would share:
1) Study for MCATs: le sigh... not again this time without books.
2) Select and register for courses: mm one more struggle, like every year I am optimistic but about 2 months in I will be frustrated. Peachy!
3) Apply for scholarships and such
4) Finish CMMB: man such as draag
5) Look at med and grad schools. Not gonna lie this is very exciting yet aggravating.

This is life as we know it, school work never ends.

Nonetheless, I am super excited to be here and doing things I have always wanted to do. Maybe someday it will pay off??

Cheers to hoping...

Have you had your spirit diagnosis yet??

Ahh more posts about the trip to the British Museum, so many... oh that's so cool moments and aahh Did You Know moments...So here are some more.

These pictures are from the same gallery as the pill cloth, surrounding the pill cloth. I find all their beliefs slightly supernatural but very intriguing.

African way of getting rid of diseases. Have you had you spirit diagnosis yet?

Pray me healthy

There were many more of these from different parts of the world, unfortunately the pictures did not turn out so great! =(

Creationism and evolution... here is a interesting bit of history (or so I seem to think anyway). So apparently god created everything in 4004 BC. Who knew??

The beginning of the world, 4004 BC (before cloning?lol) apparently

These are some interesting things I found, I will keep updating my visit as I enjoyed it a whole bunch.