One Rising Star

#nextchaptervietnam "I exercise, because somehow completely exhausting myself is the most relaxing part of my day." Run Club This past Wednesday, interval training over the very large Phu My Bridge was in the plans. When I heard the word "BRIDGE" upon my arrival, I seriously wanted to cry and head back home. Of course though, I pushed through the entire workout and was so happy with my performance at the end of the evening.  Halloween Throw-down Besides doing some Crossfit and a bit of Mobility work this past week, I also attended my gym's Halloween themed Throwdown on Saturday afternoon. Despite not feeling in tip top shape, I did a pretty good job, especially with my deadlift 1 Rep Max - which has become a new PB!!! HCMC Skyrun 2017 Sunday, I did something I don't often do; I competed running up stairs - 49 flights, 1002 stairs to be exact. After reading a bit about the race and times from previous competitors, I made...

#nextchaptervietnam As an expat, I, along with many others, tend to go through several phases in adapting to life abroad. There are times when we feel like we're living the dream and other times when we wonder if we have made the right choice in moving away. This isn't my first time moving abroad, so I'm not that surprised by many things that have happened and many of the emotions that I have felt over the last few months. Dubai and HCMC are very different cities, however the process in moving to each of these places has proven to be quite similar. The Build-Up -First, during the months and weeks leading up to the big move to Vietnam, of course I was sad to say my good-byes, but I was incredibly excited (and maybe a tad nervous) about the "new' life I was going to create for myself in HCMC. Saying Good-Bye to Family The Honeymoon -Then, during the first few weeks in Vietnam, everything was new and therefore very impressive. New apartment, new workp...

#nextchaptervietnam Selamat siang! Any guesses as to where I've been for the last 6 days? Well, if not, don't worry, I won't keep you waiting any longer; I've been in Bali, Indonesia . Although it was a fairly last minute decision for me to travel to Bali, I still had some time to think about a few things I wanted to see and do during my stay. Unfortunately (but fortunately), I didn't see or do most things I had on my list. I was 'forced' into a rather simple, but yet inspirational break. DAY 1 After waking up early Monday morning and fitting in one last Crossfit class, I headed straight to the airport to begin my journey to paradise. Believe it or not, but I really enjoyed the day travelling from HCMC to Singapore and on to Bali. I ate some good food on the plane ( Singapore Airlines ), I bought an interesting book to read ( The Monk who sold his Ferrari ) and I watched a movie I had been dying to see for months ( I am Bolt ). At the end of th...

#nextchaptervietnam I am so excited to share this blog post to show everyone how the Canadians and the Vietnamese have been working side by side at the Bilingual Canadian International School in Vietnam for the last two months or so. Mid-Autumn Festival (A Vietnamese event) The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival, is a harvest festival celebrated by Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese people.  Students created lanterns, performed dances and held parties where they served special treats called 'Mooncakes'. Furthermore, the Vietnamese staff kindly invited us Canadian teachers to a little gathering one afternoon, to teach us more about the Festival through games and, of course, Mooncake samplers. "Cultural diversity, World unity." Terry Fox Run (A Canadian event) The  Terry Fox Run  is a charity event held in various places around the world in commemoration of Canadian  cancer  activist  Terry Fox , and his...

#nextchaptervietnam When I was contemplating accepting a job in Vietnam, one of my biggest concerns was whether I would be able to continue practicing some of my favorite sports.  Quite honestly, I refused to accept the job until I did all the research and knew that I could still play soccer, do Crossfit and run.  Luckily, everything has worked out well and has been so much better than I expected.  Running and Stair Climbing I can't say that my training has been very consistent, but still, I am so happy that I have met some people to run with. Firstly, I found a group of people who meet up nearby for a run every Wednesday evening.  Also, I've met a few colleagues that are willing to run and climb stairs every once in a while on the weekends.  Lastly, I am still in touch with my running buddies from Dubai and I'm so thankful that we regularly talk about our training and challenge each other to keep working towards our running goals. Week...