This may end up being a long post but I have a lot to say. On the 29th of April, PDT, I left on a plane for Hong Kong. I was originally born there, but have never returned since my immigration to Canada as an infant. For 96% of the plane ride (13.5 hours), I hadn't felt any excitement, but during the last 30 minutes when the plane descended low enough to see the city lights, I thought to myself, "Wow, this is my home. This is where I am from.", and suddenly an overwhelming sense of nationality washed over me. After studying China for four months, I am finally here, really here. But, who am I? I am not an outsider but I am not a local.


Today is my fourth day in Hong Kong. I am slowly adjusting to the time, and the climate is not as bad as I expected but Hong Kong is still so different from home. One high rise morphs into four as you pass along in the highway. Clusters of buildings stand together with pride, as if belonging in different cliques. Older buildings are dwarfed by the new. The smells, both pleasant and unpleasant, linger in the humid air. There are many fast food restaurants that look like what a restaurant would look like back at home. Prices for food are so low that it boggles my mind three times a day. I am certainly experiencing culture shock and I am not used to the living standards here, but I will not say that it is better or worse because my opinion is biased. If I were to weigh the pros and cons, I would still prefer home.

I am here until June but I feel a little uncomfortable. I miss my boyfriend dearly but I still have a lot of time here, most of which will be spent working, so I need to make the most of the duration of this trip. I'm going to have to suck it up and make the most of it. "20 seconds of courage" right? Make that every second of courage.  It is hard though, we are in a different time zone now and I haven't seen him for awhile. There is thunder here now and it is unlike anything I've heard back at home. The crashing sound of thunder here is much more intimidating and are several times more loud. You know how there are moments when you wish the special person in your life was around to share an experience? This is one of those moments for me, wishing my boyfriend was here. I must have had 30 of those moments today alone.

Three more days until I fly up to China. From there, I will be working for close to a month. I don't speak Mandarin very well if at all, so this will be a good opportunity for me to brush it up. Being bilingual or even multilingual is a strong asset, and Mandarin will be extremely important in the future, so I will learn it this trip up. This will be an adventure for sure.

How I met him

     I have been in a long distance relationship for an amazing five months now, both a challenging yet rewarding five months. I met him when my sister and I were traveling down to the states for a short vacation. It wasn't meant to be a rock climbing trip, but I wanted so desperately to go climbing and was lucky that my loving sister was sweet enough to keep me company (even though she really didn't enjoy climbing.) We went to one of the rock climbing gyms in the area on the first day and I even remember a local joking with me, "You know you love rock climbing when the first thing you do when you land in a different country is go climbing." On the second day, we made another visit to the same gym. I met a lot of wonderful people that day. My sister and I were contemplating that night, "should we ask if anyone wants to join us for Disneyland?", and the decision we came to was "yes." Only three people were serious about our invitation (thank God for spontaneity,) and of the three was my (now) boyfriend. Till now, I am still surprised he had said yes because the cost for a park-hopper ticket is quite a bit of money to invest just to spend time with strangers. I always tell him how glad I am that he had said yes because if he had turned the invite down, we would not have gotten the chance to know each other. Never would I have imagined that I would later be in such a committed relationship with him.

{via}

The challenges in long distance relationships

      A long distance relationship is like a regular relationship but with an extra hearty dollop of "challenges," at least that's the common idea. It was a part of the package though, and I was completely aware before getting myself into it. It's not easy being in a long distance relationship; oftentimes I find myself wishing we could be together sooner. Of the many things that I am learning to overcome, one of the hardest is having to say good bye while knowing that it will be a long time before we meet again. I have a friend who cried because she couldn't see her boyfriend for a week, I cried because I couldn't see mine for a month, and yet there are those who don't see their partners or spouses for years. Seeing it in that perspective reminds me how great we have it.

There will be no white flag above my door

     I have to say that, despite the challenges, I do count my blessings. For one, we are fortunate to be living in the same time zone; we also have access to Skype and can see each other every night; and we have the means to see each other often enough, which is just to name a few. I would like to say that maintaining a long distance relationship is extra difficult, but I can't make that claim simply because I don't believe it's true in our case.
     I have seen women who constantly complain about how the men in their life "pisses them the f@#$ off," often calling them less-than-pleasant names, but still make the conscious decision to be with them. And maybe I am only viewing it one sided, but that cannot be a  healthy relationship. Yet seeing a relationship like that, makes me realize how fortunate I am to be in one where we don't belittle one another and to have a man whom I can freely and openly communicate with. There will be no white flag because the myriad of challenges is not enough to overpower all the great qualities in our relationship. We have decided that, at the end of the day, we cannot look at these "problems" as challenges to overcome, but instead, as mountains to conquer.

These are the events I am looking forward to in the 12 months of 2012. The sadness and the happiness that comes along this year will be a part of my growth.

March- Monsieur S. (the boyfriend), is returning into my arms. (He isn't actually french.)

April- Final Exams, yeeow!!...okay that is just an outright lie, I am not excited for Finals......why is this here again?

May- Destination: China. One point five months of traveling in 中國 commences.

Mid-June- Still in China..probably wishing I paid more attention in Chinese school when I was a kid, or wishing that I didn't cheat so much...yes that probably would have helped.

Late-June- Monsieur S. is back again. One beautiful month spent exploring with him. I wonder how hard it will be to say 'good bye' by this point? *cry*.....well, surely he didn't fall for me for my non-existent optimism...okay, let me try again, I wonder how hard I will have fallen for him by this point?......*cry*.

Mid-July- Monsieur S. is still here. I'm probably begging him to stay by this point, eloquently.

Late-August- I'm leaving on a jet plane? No, just a regular plane, to visit Monsieur S. for a week. One wonderful week of exploring his hometown, learning to appreciate the things we have together instead of the things we don't have.

Late-August- Monsieur S. and I fly back to my home together, to help me on my little move to Squamish. Personal work slave...check. No that's not true, we work as a team...and yes, I am only saying that because he will probably read this...nice save Justina.... (Dearest Monsieur S., te amo? :-D ) Did I just code-switch? Yes, yes I did.

September- Classes commence.

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Winter mornings in Vancouver is picturesque. Sunday morning at 8am and the air is fresh, cold and clean. The light layer of tiny crystalized frost over the grass and atop the roofs of houses marks the start of the winter season. The world has yet to be awakened. The streets are still and quiet, free of noise. The people fast asleep, dreaming. There is a beauty in solitude.

This is a story I find relevant for every single person alive. Those of us who have dreams have probably encountered a dream stealer who tells us that our dreams are not achievable and are not realistic, but I'm here to tell you otherwise. I'm here to tell you that we are in charge of our dreams. I'm here to tell you how absolutely profound it is, what we are each capable of. And I'm here to tell you that it is no one else's responsibility but our own. Let this story be your inspiration as it has become mine.

"FOLLOW YOUR DREAM

From Chicken Soup for the Soul
By: Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200- acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.

“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’

“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive an F?’

“The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’

“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’

“Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.’”

Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000- square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, ‘Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough guts not to give up on yours.’”

Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what."

"There's a silver lining to every cloud that sails about the heavens if we could only see it."

The west dyke trail that surrounds Richmond, BC is a beautiful trail for joggers, dog owners, and cyclists alike. I was biking back home on this trail when I was pleasantly surprised.

Cows! Miniature cows! They were a very good looking bunch. The 'Natural Beef for Sale' definitely left something to be desired. I guess if you're going to eat meat, you should do it right.

Bouldering in Palm Springs, CA was an experience I'll never forget.

Taking the tram up, we got to experience the beauty of Palm springs. Though not as green as Vancouver, I was never-the-less impressed.

Working on a difficult roof problem.


Had a little trouble getting off the ground...

Tired....

MEC Ibex 65 Backpack

:$159.00 CAD

Evolv Elektra VTR Rock Shoes.

: $92.00 CAD

2011 Dynastar Women's exclusive Idyll w/ NX 11 Fluid Bindings

: $349.9 CAD

My day started at 8:30 when I woke up. After having a small breakfast, I met up with my climbing partner and we drove to all the way to Squamish, B.C. I had no idea where we were going to climb that day so when he told me we would be climbing the Chief, I could not have been happier. Though not too difficult, it's one of the most famous crags to climb.

We started climbing the Banana Peel (grade 5.7) on the Apron at approximately 11am. The hikes in between the climbs were harder than the actual climbs. The views were spectacular though, it was exactly like the hike, but 10x more rewarding.




After climbing the Banana Peel, we headed for the Butt/Face (grade 5.9), which is also on the Apron. All of the climbs I did that day were relatively easy and were perfect for beginners to step out of their comfort zone. In other words, perfect for me.




As we were heading to the buttface, we bumped into a couple of climbers that we had met earlier in the morning. They weren't sure how to get to next climb, and my climbing partner knew the area well, so they decided to join us to climb the rest of the crag together.




By the time I hit the crux, my nerves were shot. I was close to losing my cool but managed to keep it together and finish the last few pitches. Keeping calm can sometimes be the hardest part of climbing.



No day is complete without a battle scar to take home. Throughout the whole climb (which took all day), the actual rock had only given me a small scratch on my knee. Ironically, it was a tree that gave me this pretty cut. Yes, a tree sliced me open. I walked by carelessly, (because I felt like a hero after climbing all day), and pulled my leg past a stout and stubborn branch. I suspect it's revenge for using paper. :-P




So, at the end of the day, I may not be Chris Sharma or Sonnie Trotter, but climbing the Chief was a huge accomplishment none-the-less. The sheer joy of accomplishing a tough route; that is why I climb. :-)

I experienced an hour of fear and excitement yesterday, when my mind was focused solely on one thing: Getting down.

My friend and I hiked up the Grouse Grind, a popular training excersise hike for many Vancouverites, and after a while we decided to hike back down on another trail instead of taking the gondola down. An hour into the hike, the sun began to set. The lower we hiked, the darker it got and the slower we went. Well the slower I went, he moves fast ha ha. After 1 hour and a half, it still felt like we had a lot to go. By then, we already lost most of the sunlight. In my mind, I had the scenario playing in my head of park rangers coming to rescue us. Thankfully, he had brought a small flashlight that helped a ton. I didn't panic but I was worried. He was very calm though which gave me a sense of peace and I ended up trusting him. I was glad I had him with me. He definitely is a lot more experienced when it comes to the outdoors and he which way to go, even in the dark. I would have gotten lost if I were alone. I really did wish I brought my swiss army knife though. So it's true how anything can happen unexpectedly when your in the outdoors. It's crucial be to prepared for any situation.

Take my experience as an example! I'm just glad I got home safe.

I am not a fan of slab for various reasons; namely because I don't trust my feet on dime-sized footholds, especially knowing that falling would mean scraping my knees, hard.

This is how I climb my 5.11s!