Hi Toronto (and world), how are you? It’s been a while. Last we talked, I was in Viet Nam on the adventure of a lifetime. I’m back in my city now—right back into the swing of things. I learned a lot on my three-and-a-half-month, cross-country charity mission, but those tales can be saved for later. [...]

Never say no to new and potentially enriching experiences. To provide context: I’m writing this in the humidity of Sai Gon, Viet Nam. If you’ve read my brief author description, you’ll remember that I’m dedicating my entire summer to Southeast Asia, particularly Viet Nam and Thailand. I’ve never been out of the country for longer [...]

I’m terrible at speaking. I worry about potential miscommunication and making good impressions. I have to remember to throw in the how are you?s and ask responding questions. Choose the right verbs and adjectives. Try to get to the point. Say only positive things to provoke good reactions. Modify tone and style depending on who [...]

When I was in the seventh grade, we had a guest teacher/learning facilitator/equally-vague-and-generically-titled person come in who divided the class into groups. Each group would then be called to the front of the classroom where we’d engage in some sort of impromptu activity. Looking back now, the details are fuzzy, but I remember my group [...]