In The Air Again

India, that's where I'm headed. Right now I'm on the plane as I write this. (Which was two weeks before posting)

It's kind of fun writing this on a plane. I've never even travelled with a laptop before and now it's like I'm doing business on the go. AND there's so many empty seats I can spread out and use all the space as if I were travelling in business class.

I am on my way to give away at a conference what I've learned at school the past few years. This conference is for friends and church family of my friend Raj who runs the Rural India Mission in Vijayawada.

It's been hectic getting to this point ; dreaming, planning, inviting, planning, dreaming, inviting, and now finally going.

This morning as I boarded the train, I sent a message to my little sister, who, before my upset of not receiving a visa immediately was supposed to meet me in Delhi, informing her that I was in motion. Her response stirred me up.

« How are you feeling ? » she asked me.

Up until then I hadn't thought about how I was feeling, only about what I was doing, and when. That's exactly why I need friends and family with me on this trip, to remind me of what I'm not always great at.

So how am I feeling ? Excitement, joy, happiness, adventure : I love travelling, even the cueing up in airports, and sitting on planes, resting on the train while moving past new and beautiful landscapes.

I feel anticipation, hopefulness : I'm about to see and hang out with a friend I haven't seen for almost three years. I'm going to meet new people who I've already been in contact with. I'm going to get to see God move in more and amazing ways.

I feel anxious and unsure as I have not planned a lot of what I'm going to share, at the conference. I tried, i sat down with notes and book and took things down but it didn't seem right, so I'm flying by my the seat of my pants

I feel sad and alone that my sister's presence on this trip is not in person. I've travelled alone so much, in fact I'd say that most of my travels have been alone and while I've met some amazing people, I want, more and more, to share my adventures with others. I want to share the experiences as they happen, not simply telling people about them over a blog.

Even though I feel alone, I know the truth. I know that you're praying for me. I know that you support me. I know that you are here with me.

The emotions that I'm feeling are so mixed up : happiness, sadness, loneliness, excitement, joy, hope, anxiety that I can really only call it all the experience of life.

I'll leave you now, with tears of both gladness and sadness running Through the Beard !

Moving to the Mountains

I love the mountains, they are amazing, they are challenging, they are beautiful, powerful, deadly, fun, and when I'm in them, I feel at home. I love visiting the small mountain towns and communities of people who live in these magestic hills. There is something about a group of people who choose to live their life with all the challenges of the mountains from the changing weather to the isolation; they're forced to work together and help one another.

These things are an unspoken reality that go unspoken. They exist and we feel them, but talking about them isn't necessary. Even now I am struggling to find words to express what I love so much about the mountains, and why I love it. I can tell you that it's not here in France, not that I've found yet.

I moved to Val d'Isere France, one of the highest and most snow sure ski areas in France, host to the downhill ski events of the 1992 Albertville Olympic Games,, annual opening venue of the World Cup Downhill Ski Races, and voted one of the best places for a ski holiday; and I can't stand it.

There is nothing here in this town that embodies what I love so much about the mountains. In place of a community of people persevering through the rugged mountain environment I've found a rowdy gang of revellers and party people here for a winter of getting drunk and skiing sometimes. Instead of guests come to experience the mountains I've found wealthy tourists staying in fully catered hotels and chalets with ski rentals delivered to their door and a private shuttle can to the lifts.

It's my opinion that this town sold out. They gave up on what made them so amazing and began selling ski holidays to the people who are otherwise unable to handle what life in the mountains is like. On top of that, there's this grand facasde that's been erected on each and every building in an attempt to make them look nice. But anything more than a glance and it's not difficult to realize that they are not wooden timber chalets, but in fact concrete monsters with a lot of make up. At least the buildings in the neighbouring town of Tignes, which shares it's ski area with Val d'Isere to create the large Espace Killy, do not pretend to be something that they are not. As a result the feel of authenticity and community in Tignes is greatly heightened.

Having said all that, there are people here who are amazing, who love the mountains and the life that they offer. People who are able to take what they love and share it with the visitors who arrive her. People who want to be in the mountains so much that they'll pay any cost, even that of living here. Others who like being in Val d'Isere and yet have found it nicer to live just outside of the valley. True Mountain people, embracing community and hardship whenever they show up.

As a snowboarder I feel that perhaps it's not proper for me to rant about the ski area itself, as it was developed by skiers and for skiers. From what I can tell it was created in a way that one can ski all over the mountain area along the nice pistes, getting heaps of kilometres of skiing in as well as challenging your abilities on some steep terrain. It is lacking in side hits and peppy little shoots, wall rides and all the little extra bits that make riding fun. At the same time I can't fault the ski area for doing well exactly what it was designed to do, I simply don't like the design.

I can't talk about the ski area without mentioning the off piste, which is what I like to call clack country. A place you need to be prepared to go into like you were preparing to go into the wild back country, but you get to take the lifts instead of walking. The abundance of easily accessible off piste means that there are people who're skiing there who're not prepared for it.

Well, that's how this town of Val d'Isere is seen, through the beard.

Trouble in Paris

What you're about to read may seem strange, and make no sense to you at all, you;re about to see what life is like, Through the Beard!

We are interrupting the regular planned posting of this blog to bring you breaking news!

Many of you will know, because I told you about it and I doubt there are many strangers reading this blog...yet...that I have a trip to India coming up.

Well there has been a brick wall placed in the way; my visa has not come through yet, and will not, by any process of man arrive with time for me to catch the flight that I had booked.



Well then I should simply wait for the visa and then jump on the ext available flight right? Maybe, that's what I will do, but it's not without challenges of scheduling. My little sister has a flight to meet me in in Delhi pior to flying south together to see a friend. What if my visa doesn't come through in time to meet her before she leave? Will she be stuck there alone in a strange place? The way I see life through the beard, that sounds like a great adventure, however this isn't about me, it's about how she will cope and handle that situation and how it will impact her.

Oh travel visas, how we love you when you let us get into the coolest of countries, and how we dislike your beaurocratic process and run arounds.

From this point, there's no way to know how long my visa will take. It could be ready on Monday evening, or next Thursday evening. I will receive a text message when it is ready, and then hop on the very next bus and train to Paris. “Oh shucks, a trip to Paris you're lucky” you may be thinking. Me, I'd rather be in Delhi and Vijayawada and Kashmir.

Furthermore, if this does take a lot of time, my friend whom I had plans to visit in India will have departed the country to find work in Dubai.

Let's pray to a limitless Father in Heaven who delights in us. Let's ask Him what He's doing in all of this? Probably something AMAZING, I'd simply like to know what it is.

The French Language and the French Culture

Learning French, or any language for that matter is not easy!

While I studied or had French around me for 12 years in school (K-11) in British Columbia, without a reason to want to learn and without people to practice with I barely picked up more than a basic understanding. With that, I began three weeks at IFAlpes in Annecy. The first of which was part time, and the second two were full time. Furthermore, my evenings became taken up with some homework and personal study.

After all of that, I have a base which to work with to learn French, Next step, practice, use it, and speak the language. At the same time I've moved into a English speaking job, in a town that caters to English tourists, and even the French speakers hear my accent and respond in English.

In all of my time here I've discovered something that helps. Learning French in not about learning a new way to say something with different words and sounds, it's about learning how a people group think. With French, the degree of precision and very particular way to conjugate verbs depending on how it's being used is similar to the way the people think; there is simply a way that you do things because it's how you do things. Furthermore, the reason why a rule exists in the French language is often to make sure that what is being spoken sounds nice; the French culture appreciates things that are pleasing, to look at, to hear and to taste.

I have learned, that I am not French: I don't like eating late, a don't like long drawn out breaks when there's something that I want to get done, bureaucracy can get out of MY way, I like knowing why I'm doing something a specific way and discovering other ways to do it. 

Though I do love the bread, quality of food, daily shopping, small city centers, and community aspect of life, not to mention the way that public places are cared for, made beautiful and used.

I'm going to claim this as the most difficult part of learning French, thinking like someone else when the change grates against the things that you value.

Okay, value is too strong of a word. Basicly I like me, and I like the way I'm good at being me, and when I see the results of the way the French think I don't want to change the way I think even to learn the language.

So that's the challenge I'm facing, thank's for reading about what life is like through the beard.

What's causing you to grow recently?

Visiting my Favourite people, where they're at.

So Europe, there's something about it, something that I love. My aunt Nikki very perceptibly labelled it an authenticity that is part of the romance embedded in the the history, the landscape and the buildings that people from North America are intensely drawn to. I happily agree with that. It then follows that the people who grow up within and immersed in that environment would have and live by different values than those whom I grew up with and others whom I've met around the world. I think it's these values that I adore so much:

Quality of the food, maintaining what is here, both buildings and spaces, using the public areas, knowing your neighbours, a sense of pride for where you come from right down to the one block neighbourhood being different from one across the street.

Canada is considered a cultural mosaic, made up of people from many nationalities and cultures. Yet, in my experience the lines are much more blurred in Canada. In Europe you drink the wine of the region you're in, and when you want a nice meal you eat the specific food of that region. Does Canada have anything more Canadian to offer than poutine and maple syrup?

So in travelling even an hour or two to visit a friend I get to see, experience, and taste a different reality, or way of life, The architecture changes, the food has a special flair and the people even an alternate look.

Where did I visit?
Amsterdam, best layover ever. I was met at the airport by a Beautiful Italian brining me my favourite beer in the world, (Leffe Brune) 

Bern, finally I get to experience the Capital of Switzerland in a recently renovated flat inside of an old industrial building where you can see both the new and old wooden beams. Then, 15 minutes outside the City a wonderful foothills hike and a stellar view, not to mention the incredibly company.

Gerzensee, between Bern and Thun, getting to be apart of daily life with an amazing family; yard work, watching the kids, meeting with friends and meals with family, I felt included and encouraged simply by being here

Luzern for Lunch and conversations about life followed by a walking tour of the some gorgeous and prophetic artwork finishing up on the calming lake front.

Locarno, a change of pace from the chalet inspired architecture of the mountains to the Italian themed terracotta, and all it takes is a train ride through one mountain pass. Not to mention to the food changing from fondue to polenta. I Stayed at the Casa Borgo B&B, an amazing place with an even more amazing family that makes you feel so loved and interesting from the moment you arrive and after you leave.

Lugano, the “black market” of Switzerland where the shady people from Italy enter for an upgrade in lifestyle. We hiked a popular route that used to be a part of two different ski areas that no longer get enough snow. I called my friend to let her know I was in the same continent two days before arriving to visit; “SURPRISE!”

Aosta, I may not have known anyone here, but I can't help but love a place surrounded by mountains.

Back in Action!

Well the adventures never really stopped, just the updates ceased to happen. Now the updates are back and I don't know where to start, as I've got heaps of ground to cover.

Sometimes it seems that life isn't so full of anything but the normal ins and outs of life and a blog post or two would cover it. Well, I've been in Europe for just under two months and could fill 20 page report with “stuff.” some of it relavent, some of it fun and most of it hardcore!

So here's what coming:

Visiting my favourite people!

Learning the French Language

Moving to the Mountains

Building a Cafe Business

Where am I? And What am I doing here?

Keep checking out the blog to find out where i'm and and what crazy things I'll be doing next.