"Bear"

I thought that I would take a break from my intense writing and homework sessions to reflect on a dear friend that has been with me through it all...

Yes, I am talking about a stuffed animal, if you could even call it that.

I bought this little, skinny bear many years ago during my younger years on a visit to Victoria, Canada with my family. I remember walking into a gift shop at the glamorous Empress Hotel and there on display was a collection of small, delicate bears on a table emeshed with other various creatures. My mom was eagerly awaiting for consent for departure when I excitedly told her, "Mom, this bear is talking to me... I must have it! Look how sad he looks?" This was a common phrase for this day in time; animals and other similiar items used to "talk" to me subconsciously as if they were begging for a home and good caretaker. My mom tried to shrug this idea out of my mind because not only was he $17.00 (yes, I remember the price), but he was plain, and far from the most cute and cuddly bear around. I explained that this was exactly why he needed a home... no one wants him and he needs to be loved and nutured. My mom paused for a moment and then smiled in approval and proceeded to the check out to purchase my new best friend.


As I was walking the streets of classic streets of Victoria I immediately had a special bonding moment with my new found friend. My mom asked, "what are you going to name him?" I immediately responded, "bear." For the name "bear" appears simple and almost boring, yet I knew that the story behind this creature was far from dull. From then on, when people asked why I named my beloved friend such a common, uncreative name, I had an excuse to tell my story of how we first met.

Sometimes it is the simple comforts that create the most happiness in life. As you can see, bear is far from beautiful and out of the ordinary, but his presence in my life till this day has been quite beautiful and monumental.

Bear is with me even today and will continue to be with me whereever I go. Often when I temporarily loose him I feel that a part of me is missing.

I love bear <3

Things I miss from home

There are so many things that I miss from America. Here are just a few:

1. My family










2. My friends, of course














3. My boyfriend















4. Cheese its








5. Goldfish





















6. Taco Bell (crunch wrap supremes!)










7. Tim's Cascade Chips







8. Nordstrom







9. Greenlake










10. Mexican food







10. Target (they have everything!)










11. Random visits to Chen's Village with my dad









12. Wheat thins

Off to Finland!

Today has been a pretty relaxing day so far; the Christmas tour has been jam-packed with activities and today we actually got to sleep in which was nice for a change. I am not used to such a busy Christmas break- its nice but also exhausting after awhile.

We are heading to Finland today at 2:45 and we are loading onto a ferry boat and staying in cabins for the evening. This part of the trip reminds me of heading to Croatia from Italy; we stayed overnight on a boat and some friends and I paid extra to stay in cabins for the night. Let me tell you- it was so worth it! Everyone else was super exhausted from staying up all night on the boat. No thanks!

Not quite sure what we are doing in Finland; to be honest, I have no idea what to expect. We are only there for the day, so we will have to make the most of our short trip. After our day in Finland, we are heading towards our final destination, St. Petersburg, Russia. I am expecting it to be very cold, and I am hoping there will actually be snow on the ground! Speaking of snow, I can't believe all the snow Washington has been getting these past few weeks! I talked to some of my friends from back in Spokane, and they said they had to stay an extra couple of days or more before Christmas because of the snow conditions. Apparently a bunch of airports were closed because of the dangerous snow conditions. I am not sure how the flights are doing right now, but I think the snow is slowly melting. My mother has been sending tons of pictures of the snow fall as well- she said that they were practically snowed in for days and almost no one dared to go out on the streets. As of a few days ago, there were 18 inches- CRAZINESS! At least they had a white Christmas- I still have yet to experience that.

Anyways, that's about all I have to say for today. I am currently just chilling in the hotel lobby attempting to surf the internet and check emails and such, but the connection is awful. Seems like a common theme in all of Europe- haha one thing I definitely miss in America. We are having lunch together as a big group in the hotel at 1:00 so I only have about half an hour to kill at this point.

Arrivederci and take care everyone!

Like I said before, check out all the new pics I uploaded on facebook! :)