fairy_dust's VirtualTourist Home Page

I am a 26 year old Canadian who loves to travel. So far in my life, I've been to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, and Dominican Republic, .

My last big adventure was in spring of 2007 when I lived in Seville for 2.5 months, studying Spanish language and flamenco dance. After that, I also went to Rome for 1.5 weeks before returning home. I met a VTer for the first time while in Seville (Spanishguy) and hope to meet more VTers if possible. Love you all!

I have just returned from my first big VT meet - Euromeet 2009 in Portugal. I had a blast and am hoping to go to the next one in Poland. Woohoo Euromeet!

Most of my travels have had to do with either study or religion. I have taken courses abroad in Spain and Sweden (I lived in Sweden for 5 months as an exchange student). I have been to World Youth Day in Rome (Italy), Toronto (Canada), and Cologne (Germany). I have also travelled to the DR with a Church program to learn about poverty and injustice in the Third World. Here is a list of my biggest journeys:

Italy (Rome, Assisi) - 2000
Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo, San Cristobal, El Cacao, Ingenio Consuelo) - 2001
Spain (Salamanca, Madrid, Barcelona, Avila) - 2002
Ontario, Canada (Toronto) - 2002
Sweden (Sundsvall, Kiruna) - 2003
Spain (Salamanca) - 2003
Portugal (Lisbon, Obidos) - 2003
Germany (Cologne, Fulda, Steinhaus, Margretenhaun) - 2005
Ontario, Canada (Toronto) - 2006
Quebec, Canada (Montreal) - 2007
Spain (Seville, Jerez de la Frontera, El Rocio, Algeciras) - 2007
Italy (Rome, Assisi, Tivoli) - 2007
Portugal (Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Estoril) - 2009
France (Paris) - 2009

I don't know where I will go next, but I love Spain so much that I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up returning to Seville! I've also been developing an obsession for the Argentine tango and though going to Buenos Aires to learn it is just a thought for now, well, going to Seville to study flamenco was once just a thought... Aside from that, I have just moved to Montreal after a long time of wanting to live here!

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My grad pic

My Former Stint as a Student

I have graduated from university in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts. My major was English and my minor was Spanish. During my university years, I enjoyed being involved in activities, such as:

New Student Orientation. After my own orientation, I was a team leader every year after that. It's a week full of fun for both frosh and leaders. The biggest one I was involved in was in 2004. I was a leader for the purple team (each team has a colour) and our whole team was very spirited and we all had loads of fun.

The Activities of the Chaplaincy Centre. My friends and I often got involved in retreats planned by the Chaplaincy Centre, as well as Mass and social activities. In my last year, I was vice-president of the Faith Society, a member of a group of students who went to World Youth Day in Germany in the summer of 2005, and have attended the CCSA (Canadian Catholic Students' Association) Atlantic Regional Conference in November 2004. In between classes, my friends and I practically lived in the Chaplaincy Centre.

The Theatre Society. I was in a few plays during my last years at university. I played Sarah Siddons in "The Actor's Nightmare" as well as the chorus, a devil, and Beezlebub in "Doctor Faustus". My theatre life was dormant for a while after my mid-teens but I've been doing a lot of theatre for the past 2 years. Aside from the theatre society, I also performed in a musical when I was in Sweden for my student exchange. A few Swedes I knew got me involved in the Spex (theatre society type of group) of the university I attended, and I ended up playing a dancer in "Utan Rim Och Reson" - a musical written and directed by a student of the university. It was a big hit, and one of my best memories from my stay in Sweden.

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After ballet class

My Artistic Interests

I love the performing arts. I love to sing, dance, and act. I have taken voice lessons, dance courses, and acting classes. I have also sung in choirs and gone to music camps. In dance, I am currently taking ballet (including pointe), jazz, modern, and tap but I also have experience in hip-hop, latin (salsa, merengue, etc.), flamenco, swing/jive, etc.

I've always had a dream of having a career in the performing arts. But in high school I gave up on it. Mainly because I was rejected from the school musical (I figured, if I can't even get into that, how am I supposed to get into anything else with all the competition out there?), and because everyone around me (even friends and family) made me think that my dream was ridiculous and that I didn't have what it takes. I graduated from high school with the intention of becoming a teacher instead.

But things changed during my first trip to Europe, the summer after graduation. I met a charming young man in Italy who had the same old dream as me. The only difference was that he was following his. We wrote to each other for a while, and he inspired me to think about my old dream again. I realized during my first semester at university that I did not want to become a teacher. I decided to follow my old dream again. After all, the performing arts are what I love, and I want to do what I love in life.

7 years later when I returned to Rome in June 2007, he and I met up again. He is now a successful actor (mostly doing theatre and musicals) and enjoying his life in the performing arts. He still inspires me, and so do other people I've met while travelling.

It's hard to tell people about what I want to do with my life. I constantly face comments such as "You'll never get anywhere with that" or "You should do it as a hobby, not as a career". People always think that I'm just some stupid wannabe with a silly dream.

But it's what I love, so I don't want to give up on it. I've been told by many other people (including professionals in showbiz) that I have talent and potential. So I want to do the best I can.

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Me and my Church buddies at a weekend retreat

My Spiritual Life

I am a practicing Roman Catholic and very serious about my faith. I have been to three World Youth Day pilgrimages (Rome, Toronto, and Cologne), as well as many retreats and religious events.

I wasn't always very religious. Although I was raised Catholic, I never really believed in it until I was a teenager. I was pretty much agnostic at the time. Then, I found the Lord in Born-Again-Christian style, and went back to my Catholic roots.

Through the years I've grown a lot in both faith and practice. Thanks to events such as World Youth Day, DR Faith and Justice Experience, and various retreats, I deepened my faith and knowledge and became a stronger Catholic. I'm not perfect, but I keep learning, growing, and becoming a better person. Other people have helped me along the way, such as my Church buddies, my seminarian friends, and priests I've met.

I love talking about the Church to anyone who is interested in learning, as long as you don't intentionally insult, diss, or have a bad attitude towards me or anything I believe in. Religion is a big part of my life, so please be respectful of that.

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Me and two Albanians in Toronto at World Youth Day

My Ethnic/Cultural Background

I was born in Canada, so my nationality is Canadian. I also have ancestors who were American (from Massachusetts). My ethnic background consists of Chinese, French, and Irish. I was raised mainly in Western culture, but I enjoy learning and experiencing different aspects of other cultures.

I speak English and French fluently. Since my mother and most of her side of the family are French-Canadians from Quebec, I have a Quebec accent when I speak French. While this is normal in Canada, it has caused a few comic moments in Europe. Never having heard the Quebec dialect, a Belgian I met once said "She has a crazy accent when she speaks French!"

I am also learning Spanish. I took Spanish courses at university and have gone to Spain twice for the summer study program at the University of Salamanca (arranged by my Spanish professor) and another time for a course at a language school in Seville. I have also learned some Swedish as an exchange student in Sweden, but as I nearly flunked that course after much struggling, I have come to the conclusion that I'm better with the Latin languages.

I enjoy meeting and being friends with people of any cultural or ethnic origin. I love learning and experiencing different cultures. I also love talking about my own culture and country to anyone who is interested in learning about it.

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John Paul II, I love you!

Rest in peace, JPII

When in Toronto for World Youth Day, I saw the Pope 3 times, driving by in the popemobile - at the opening ceremonies, at Downsview Park before the vigil, and the next morning before Sunday Mass. This picture is from Downsview Park before the vigil.

The 3 times I saw him, I was in the crowd at the gate lining the path for the popemobile, so I got a nice clear view. I was screaming like a teenybopper at a boy band concert, and I remember the time at the opening ceremonies, I was so excited to have seen him that close that when I got back to my group, I squealed "I saw him! I saw him!" to the priests and seminarians in my group. And the time before Sunday Mass, it was pouring rain, and I stood out in the rain in a stuffy crowd for an hour waiting to see him. Thank goodness I had my poncho, and that the Polish woman standing next to me had a big umbrella!

My friend Faber actually met the pope at Toronto WYD. He got to greet JPII at the airport and kiss his ring. Faber stood out in the crowd - everyone was in nice clothes but he had on shorts and a bright orange t-shirt! In a World Youth Day newspaper, they quoted him when he talked about kissing the pope's ring, saying "It was like an out-of-body experience...Luckily I'm a seminarian so I'll never kiss anyone again".

John Paul II has been pope since before I was born, so I thought it would be difficult to adjust to someone new, but I guess that's just one of the many challenges of life... He was an amazing person and awesome leader, and I love how he cared so much about youth like me. He was also not afraid to speak his mind and tell it like it is. I truly hope that the new pope Benedict XVI will be as amazing an inspiration and leader as John Paul II.