Stats from the UNWTO:
600 Billion is spent on travel and tourism annually
50 000 people die a day from poverty
1 Billion is enough to put 20 million children in school
4 Billion could save 500 000 mothers per year from dying in childbirth
1.4 Billion would buy water and sanitation for 14 countries
12 Billion would provide anti-retroviral drugs to 75% of the world's HIV-positive people
5.1 Billion in preventative and therapeutic interventions would save 6 million children per year
1.2 Billion live on less than a dollar a day...40 Billion could lift all of them out of poverty.
Why is a ton of the money in our world going towards useless things and not towards helping people!?!?!?!?!
Lets put this into perpective....Why is more of MY money not going towards helping people? If I am not the change I want to see...who will be? I dont have billions by I have something....
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Happy.
Today the snow is here....:) and i am happy. I woke up, looked outside and this is what I saw. There is something about the first snowfall of the season....first it makes me thankful i am warm and cozy and have lots of good books to read, then it makes me excited about Christmas and seeing my family, and finally I begin to think of all the fun activities that I will do in the lovely white powder! snowboarding, snowshoeing, taboganning, skating...more snowboarding...ahhhh the winter is finally here :)
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Time passes on...
Wow, time is flying by! I can't believe another two and a half weeks and i will be going home for christmas! I can't wait! Since we haven't been going out on any trips lately most of my days are spent in class, at the gym/pool, or....in my room. (my room happens to be really cool). Mostly i am in my room working on a ton of assignments or studying...yes STUDYING. Even though i am in adventure guiding, we DO study and write final exams (like today) and do presentations (like today) and write papers (like today). So how do i have time today to blog? well....i'm procrastinating and having some down time from the busy day of exam writing and presenting. Plus we presented on snowshoeing as a product in the adventure industry, and I LOVE to snowshoe so i thought i would share with you some pictures of me snowshoeing :) enjoy!
wait! that's not me! but wow, snowshoeing has been cool for a long time!
wait! that's not me! but wow, snowshoeing has been cool for a long time!Friday, November 07, 2008
Conquered!!!
Whahahahaha...my nemesis has been conquered!!!! YES!
(and to answer an earlier question, the boat is not mine and does not have a name, any suggestions for names will be considered :)
(and to answer an earlier question, the boat is not mine and does not have a name, any suggestions for names will be considered :)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Not my own
So I was looking at my bank account information on-line yesterday (something i dont do very often, mostly because its depressing at how quickly it goes down...) and i noticed that payments were still coming out from some house related companies that i thought were taken care of!
i.e. hundreds of dollars I am paying on a non-existent house!
This made me pretty upset. This....made....me.....pretty UPSET. Of course i right aways tried to contact these companies to tell them of THEIR mistake only to be told by one that it was my fault and by the other that they would reimburse some of it. Still, in my mind i am thinking how dare they take MY money. I am a student with no income, big expenses, and i need every penny. Then i settled down and learnt a lesson....
I remembered that what i have is not my own. I dont Deserve it, why should i have any more than anyone else and what right do I have to get angry over what God could take away in an instant. It is HIS. So i can see getting upset over taking money from Him, but i felt convicted about feeling like I had been wronged over something that was mine. Money makes us feel a lot of emotions. I am now going to try to really see it as a gift and, sort of, not mine...maybe i'll be more thoughtful....and prayerful, as to how i spend it.
i.e. hundreds of dollars I am paying on a non-existent house!
This made me pretty upset. This....made....me.....pretty UPSET. Of course i right aways tried to contact these companies to tell them of THEIR mistake only to be told by one that it was my fault and by the other that they would reimburse some of it. Still, in my mind i am thinking how dare they take MY money. I am a student with no income, big expenses, and i need every penny. Then i settled down and learnt a lesson....
I remembered that what i have is not my own. I dont Deserve it, why should i have any more than anyone else and what right do I have to get angry over what God could take away in an instant. It is HIS. So i can see getting upset over taking money from Him, but i felt convicted about feeling like I had been wronged over something that was mine. Money makes us feel a lot of emotions. I am now going to try to really see it as a gift and, sort of, not mine...maybe i'll be more thoughtful....and prayerful, as to how i spend it.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Refound poem
I refound this poem that i read a few years ago and really liked....wrote an essay on it in college actually. Ahhh essays, i'm back to doing those again.
Batter my heart three personed God
for you as yet but knock, breathe, shine and seek to mend
that i may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend your force
to break, blow, burn and make me new
I, like an usurpe'd town, to another due, labour to admit you,
but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, but is captived,
and proves weak or untrue. Yet, dearly I love you and would be loved fain,
but am betrothe'd unto your enemy;
divorce me, untie, or break that knot again.
take me to you, imprison me, for I, except you enthrall me
never shall be free, nor ever chaste except you ravish me.
john donne
what do you think?
Batter my heart three personed God
for you as yet but knock, breathe, shine and seek to mend
that i may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend your force
to break, blow, burn and make me new
I, like an usurpe'd town, to another due, labour to admit you,
but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend, but is captived,
and proves weak or untrue. Yet, dearly I love you and would be loved fain,
but am betrothe'd unto your enemy;
divorce me, untie, or break that knot again.
take me to you, imprison me, for I, except you enthrall me
never shall be free, nor ever chaste except you ravish me.
john donne
what do you think?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Lessons...
So much has happened in the last three weeks!!! I've been mountaineering, white water kayaking and sea kayaking! Sometimes I think back to it all and am so surprised at all i'm doing. I think giving the details off all of it will take WAY too long and take up WAY too much space, but i'm happy to share some lessons i've learned:
1. living in a tiny hut with 9 males takes patience...and an open mind.
2. dehydrated beef is fantastic!! and a surefire way to impress an instructor.
3. I am able to save you when we are mountaineering and you fall down a crevasse.
4. getting up at 4:00 am is fabulous when you are doing something you absolutely LOVE!
5. wearing long underwear, a wetsuit, fleece over top, and a dry top over that instantly makes you have to pee.
6. peeing in your wetsuit is not a good idea.
7. I wont become the world's best white water kayaker, but it is fun to bomb down big rapids sometimes.
8. Learning can happen quickly or require much study and repetition...i still can't roll a kayak regularily....Grrrrrr.
9. Just call me meteorologist renae! all I have to say is high or low pressure systems, frontal systems, ridges, troughs, wind, waves, tides, currents, clouds, skys...and everything inbetween, i've heard it this week...and then gone out and experienced it while navigating a kayak in 2 meter swells!
10. BE PROUD of what you accomplish in your own heart and mind no matter what others have done, what others say, or the expectations put on you!!
1. living in a tiny hut with 9 males takes patience...and an open mind.
2. dehydrated beef is fantastic!! and a surefire way to impress an instructor.
3. I am able to save you when we are mountaineering and you fall down a crevasse.
4. getting up at 4:00 am is fabulous when you are doing something you absolutely LOVE!
5. wearing long underwear, a wetsuit, fleece over top, and a dry top over that instantly makes you have to pee.
6. peeing in your wetsuit is not a good idea.
7. I wont become the world's best white water kayaker, but it is fun to bomb down big rapids sometimes.
8. Learning can happen quickly or require much study and repetition...i still can't roll a kayak regularily....Grrrrrr.
9. Just call me meteorologist renae! all I have to say is high or low pressure systems, frontal systems, ridges, troughs, wind, waves, tides, currents, clouds, skys...and everything inbetween, i've heard it this week...and then gone out and experienced it while navigating a kayak in 2 meter swells!
10. BE PROUD of what you accomplish in your own heart and mind no matter what others have done, what others say, or the expectations put on you!!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
WHY its meant to be....
So I tried posting on my iphone and it didn't really let me write, except for the title...hence the post with no info. So here is the rest....
I feel like its been a process for me since I moved to kamloops. A process of accepting the change. Just being in school again, in a new city, with new people...not really having a plan. For these first couple of weeks I haven't been too sure about it all. I decided that if I was IN the moment, it was ok. If i looked back or ahead I got a bit anxious. I guess Being in the moment isn't a bad thing, I've always thought it's important to BE where you are, but i do feel i need to reconcile the past, present and future to be fully content with where God has me. It will continue being a process for a while at least, but I DO feel this present peace....that I am in a good place and there is nothing i would rather be studying/doing/learning than what I am right now. So i'm feeling its meant to be. This is a good feeling, so one moment at a time I'm experiencing new and exciting adventures!!
The second week of our first class was a 5 day backpacking trip.
Although I've been backpacking quite a bit, this trip was different in that we weren't on trails. This campsite is in a nice open alpine area...what you dont see is the thick vegetation we had to force our way through a lot of the time. (my thighs are bruised from my knees up). The idea was to navigate using a topo map and compass. This is so new to me but i ended up loving it!
So here I am looking at the map trying to figure out where we are using peaks in the distance or other contours.(I AM in school you know) I seriously always wondered how people found out where they were located using a compass and now i know how, its amazing!!
Here we are at the top of Trophy mountain! this pic was taken just before a whiteout hit and we were about to head down a different route than we came up! little did we know what lay ahead...
This is what lay ahead! A Steep rocky descent in blowing snow and wind that we had to navigate down. 
It cleared up a little once we got below the clouds...just so we could see how steep the fall to our death would actually be.
The mountain in the middle is trophy. This was taken from the campsite we got too the same day we summited it!
Here's our group from left to right: Abbey, me, nate, ken(our leader), aaron, james and sean.
I guess now I'm officially a mountain woman!
I feel like its been a process for me since I moved to kamloops. A process of accepting the change. Just being in school again, in a new city, with new people...not really having a plan. For these first couple of weeks I haven't been too sure about it all. I decided that if I was IN the moment, it was ok. If i looked back or ahead I got a bit anxious. I guess Being in the moment isn't a bad thing, I've always thought it's important to BE where you are, but i do feel i need to reconcile the past, present and future to be fully content with where God has me. It will continue being a process for a while at least, but I DO feel this present peace....that I am in a good place and there is nothing i would rather be studying/doing/learning than what I am right now. So i'm feeling its meant to be. This is a good feeling, so one moment at a time I'm experiencing new and exciting adventures!!
The second week of our first class was a 5 day backpacking trip.
Although I've been backpacking quite a bit, this trip was different in that we weren't on trails. This campsite is in a nice open alpine area...what you dont see is the thick vegetation we had to force our way through a lot of the time. (my thighs are bruised from my knees up). The idea was to navigate using a topo map and compass. This is so new to me but i ended up loving it!
So here I am looking at the map trying to figure out where we are using peaks in the distance or other contours.(I AM in school you know) I seriously always wondered how people found out where they were located using a compass and now i know how, its amazing!!
Here we are at the top of Trophy mountain! this pic was taken just before a whiteout hit and we were about to head down a different route than we came up! little did we know what lay ahead...
This is what lay ahead! A Steep rocky descent in blowing snow and wind that we had to navigate down. 
It cleared up a little once we got below the clouds...just so we could see how steep the fall to our death would actually be.
The mountain in the middle is trophy. This was taken from the campsite we got too the same day we summited it!
Here's our group from left to right: Abbey, me, nate, ken(our leader), aaron, james and sean.
I guess now I'm officially a mountain woman!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Growing on me...
well, this place is growing on me. The past few days of class have been great! I'm in university and learning about sleeping bags, hiking boots, jackets....and of course REAL stuff too like maps, compasses, weather readings....;) haha. today we set up tents......
I also went to the pool today. we get free access and its a nice pool with lane swimming all the time. I learnt that I can't swim. I mean i can swim, but every time i dip my head to take some strokes i breathe in my nose while i'm breathing out my mouth...is that even possible??? so i end up having to come up and choke, which probably looks like i'm drowning. I kept expecting the lifeguards to come over and see if i was ok, I even tried putting my ear plugs in my nose (seriously)....finally i gave up and wanted to go on the water slide (more my style) but it wasn't running, so the hot tub had to do. Then i found a great wrap place for supper and I went to the climbing gym. so much fun, but i'm more excited to get outside and climb.
Each day gets more familiar and goes by quicker...i'm learning the streets here too a bit, and i want to get out biking in the hills before it gets too cold. Seems like there is a lot to do here which is nice, and I get two weeks off really soon...its a bit odd but its just how the scheduling worked, unless i read it wrong (very possible). anyway, that's it for now....
I also went to the pool today. we get free access and its a nice pool with lane swimming all the time. I learnt that I can't swim. I mean i can swim, but every time i dip my head to take some strokes i breathe in my nose while i'm breathing out my mouth...is that even possible??? so i end up having to come up and choke, which probably looks like i'm drowning. I kept expecting the lifeguards to come over and see if i was ok, I even tried putting my ear plugs in my nose (seriously)....finally i gave up and wanted to go on the water slide (more my style) but it wasn't running, so the hot tub had to do. Then i found a great wrap place for supper and I went to the climbing gym. so much fun, but i'm more excited to get outside and climb.
Each day gets more familiar and goes by quicker...i'm learning the streets here too a bit, and i want to get out biking in the hills before it gets too cold. Seems like there is a lot to do here which is nice, and I get two weeks off really soon...its a bit odd but its just how the scheduling worked, unless i read it wrong (very possible). anyway, that's it for now....
Monday, September 01, 2008
What a way to start!
Sometimes I just have to laugh at myself...
There was a "get to know you" bbq for the adventure students yesterday evening that i planned to go to, so i got ready and started driving to the university. I missed the turn i had planned to take so i thought i would turn around and kept driving and thought maybe this road goes to the university so i'll just go straight.. (because all roads go to the university obviously). and the funny thing was...it did!!! so i got there and parked and asked around about the location of where the bbq was supposed to be and no one knew what i was talking about so i walked around some more and then drove around and finally i left. Instead i drove around Kamloops and found a gellato place! yay!
The next morning i wasn't in a hurry because it was just orientation/pay your fees come and go (so i thought). I decided to try to take the bus to school. So i went to the bus stop and waited (because busses come every half hour or so) but it never came, so i walked back to the house and took my car. At school i got directed to the adventure office, walked in and the secretary was like "Renae! you did decided to come"and i thought oh boy if she knows my name i've done something wrong....
so there was class in the morning that i missed! I missed my first class. what a way to start. So i decided to go pay my fees and stood in a loooooong line-up, and made some comment about being last to the people ahead of me who started talking to me and they ended up being part of my program! so that was nice. 45 min. later though it came out that I was in the WRONG line to pay my fees! so i had to stand in another line to do that, but thankfully they kept my place in line to get my student card.
I did end up making it to my afternoon class where we got right into wilderness travel/group leadership stuff and homework! I need to get my mind around this school thing again..being graded, taking tests, ....knowing stuff. do I actually want this?? sometimes i ask myself what i have gotten myself into?
anyway, that's a rundown of the first two days...hopefully I will know what's going on better in the future. :)
There was a "get to know you" bbq for the adventure students yesterday evening that i planned to go to, so i got ready and started driving to the university. I missed the turn i had planned to take so i thought i would turn around and kept driving and thought maybe this road goes to the university so i'll just go straight.. (because all roads go to the university obviously). and the funny thing was...it did!!! so i got there and parked and asked around about the location of where the bbq was supposed to be and no one knew what i was talking about so i walked around some more and then drove around and finally i left. Instead i drove around Kamloops and found a gellato place! yay!
The next morning i wasn't in a hurry because it was just orientation/pay your fees come and go (so i thought). I decided to try to take the bus to school. So i went to the bus stop and waited (because busses come every half hour or so) but it never came, so i walked back to the house and took my car. At school i got directed to the adventure office, walked in and the secretary was like "Renae! you did decided to come"and i thought oh boy if she knows my name i've done something wrong....
so there was class in the morning that i missed! I missed my first class. what a way to start. So i decided to go pay my fees and stood in a loooooong line-up, and made some comment about being last to the people ahead of me who started talking to me and they ended up being part of my program! so that was nice. 45 min. later though it came out that I was in the WRONG line to pay my fees! so i had to stand in another line to do that, but thankfully they kept my place in line to get my student card.
I did end up making it to my afternoon class where we got right into wilderness travel/group leadership stuff and homework! I need to get my mind around this school thing again..being graded, taking tests, ....knowing stuff. do I actually want this?? sometimes i ask myself what i have gotten myself into?
anyway, that's a rundown of the first two days...hopefully I will know what's going on better in the future. :)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
setting off...
well, I am about five minutes away from leaving red deer....home i guess. Obviously i'm having mixed emotions, but maybe i'm just pushing them all away to get through the good-byes because i'm sort of .....blah at the moment. My car is loaded with stuff and kamloops becons, A new chapter in my life about to be started....those cliche words kind of make me more excited actually....
its a beautiful day outside anyway so the drive through the mountains will be nice and my ipod is full of tunes and books :) actually its now an iPHONE!!! yep i gave in, but so far its fun!
ok....i'm off....
its a beautiful day outside anyway so the drive through the mountains will be nice and my ipod is full of tunes and books :) actually its now an iPHONE!!! yep i gave in, but so far its fun!
ok....i'm off....
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
7 months later.....
Well, here I am again having neglected this blog for seven months, but now...yes NOW i think i am going to keep writing and keep people updated on my life. Why does it always seem like there needs to be something "exciting" going on for me to think people are interested?? I dont know, maybe this will continue to be as un-read as ever! But Shelley I know you're out there ;)
It is so interesting reading my last post actually...especially the part about living my life doing what I love to do and just thinking about what was next. Next has arrived.....
In 10 short days I am leaving Red Deer for Kamloops B.C. I am in the process of selling my condo, moving my stuff and trying to mentally prepare for a new place and new people. The reason I'm going is to attend TRU (thompson rivers university) They have an amazing outdoor adventure program that i've been accepted to! This type of program has been in my head and on my heart ever since living in New Zealand a few years ago, but I never pursued it thinking possibly God had other ideas for me. Well, the desire never left me and this time in my life seemed like a good time to try something new so i started looking for schools and applied to a few different programs too, but settled on this one. I keep thinking it might be a year to develop my hobby skills....but at least it will be a fun one, and next year God will be just as faithful to lead into whatever is supposed to happen then! One thing i keep learning is that God is faithful!!!
I guess that's the main news of my life. Other than that my summer has been good. I've done some hiking here and there, visited Grimshaw, AB to see my cousin Tam and her husband Jesse and Tam's growing belly. And I've painted, and painted, and painted some more.
well tonight I'm off to MEC...one of the many pluses of going into an outdoor adventure program is its a great excuse to get gear!!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
What Shall I do?
Hello to anyone who will read this. It seems like with the ever addicting facebook on the loose, my blog is getting quite neglected. but this is a better venue for thoughts, so i will hopefully continue to write.
I have pictures on facebook...if you want some on here, just ask me in comments and i'll for sure put some on. probably not all 1600, but a few anyway :)
I had so many thoughts and feelings in kenya that seem a bit far away now. I feel like i've "turned off" in some ways and am not allowing myself to keep learning and feeling from things i see here. I am stressing too much about what i should DO next. I've had many thoughts about going back to kenya, about starting school again, working, more travel......my options are many. Its kind of exciting that i can choose whatever i want, but unsettling too in that starting new again takes effort and time. Anyone have any ideas? I'm asking the Lord this every day and so far I've got from Him that I shouldn't fret, but wait patiently. He showed me yesterday that He can arrange random meetings with people and speak into our lives through strangers. What i do know is i want to seek out my callings. Develope my gifts and use them for God's glory. If this is my goal, I know He will lead. Faith is hard sometimes....but necessary for REAL life. I want to Live my life...not in doubt or anxiousness, but doing what i love to do. This is what i want to seek out daily. Who has God made me and what do i Love. He has been so faithful to lead in the past and i dont regret anything i've done, so why do i have trouble believing the next step will be right also?? Trust. TRUST. Of course....He is GOD.
I have pictures on facebook...if you want some on here, just ask me in comments and i'll for sure put some on. probably not all 1600, but a few anyway :)
I had so many thoughts and feelings in kenya that seem a bit far away now. I feel like i've "turned off" in some ways and am not allowing myself to keep learning and feeling from things i see here. I am stressing too much about what i should DO next. I've had many thoughts about going back to kenya, about starting school again, working, more travel......my options are many. Its kind of exciting that i can choose whatever i want, but unsettling too in that starting new again takes effort and time. Anyone have any ideas? I'm asking the Lord this every day and so far I've got from Him that I shouldn't fret, but wait patiently. He showed me yesterday that He can arrange random meetings with people and speak into our lives through strangers. What i do know is i want to seek out my callings. Develope my gifts and use them for God's glory. If this is my goal, I know He will lead. Faith is hard sometimes....but necessary for REAL life. I want to Live my life...not in doubt or anxiousness, but doing what i love to do. This is what i want to seek out daily. Who has God made me and what do i Love. He has been so faithful to lead in the past and i dont regret anything i've done, so why do i have trouble believing the next step will be right also?? Trust. TRUST. Of course....He is GOD.
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