Day 15. Colombia.

I brought too much stuff; that’s the thought that has been crossing my mind the most these days. It’s like I’ve never travelled before because it’s amateur hour travelling with Teacher Bert in 2017. At least in 2011, I didn’t know any better; there’s no excuse now. I have a massive bag, a gym bag and a day pack all filled to the top. I temporarily lost my $50 water bottle, had to make an immediate return to the hostel to get my wallet and I left my Polska towel at a hostel in Cartagena and didn’t manage to get it back in time. I also think I lost like 70, 000 Colombian pesos the other night and I surely paid too much for my Colombian sombrero. Who is in charge around here?

Looking on the positive side which is apparently a thing people do, I’ve lucked out in terms of people I’ve met and having people to spend the last two weeks with. The last ten or so days has been spent with an American from Delaware who makes YouTube videos for all intense and purposes we will call Ben. I suppose it’s nice not being alone all the time and having someone I can remark my witty comments to. Splitting cabs, eating food and wandering around with other human beings from North America is I gather better than doing it alone with my headphones. I find it a bit strange to travel this far to chill with people from Montreal but meeting local people who speak English and want to explore isn’t the easiest thing to make happen. I knew everyone would speak Spanish here but I thought it would be at a higher level than it is. I have some serious Spanish learning to catch up to. Colombians are fairly friendly and I feel pretty safe but it’s not like I’m blown away by either.

One thing that came as a surprise and I am not adjusting to is cold showers. On the list of things I despise, this is towards to the top. Granted, it’s 30 plus degrees outside so I understand their reasoning but I’m a house cat. Food is decent and pretty cheap. Uber is available but not sure there’s a drastic price difference. The stray dog situation reminds me of Thailand and escorts are everywhere which has a certain Asian feel to it. Highlight so far is the mud volcano day hands down. We booked a tour the night before, left at 10:30, walked up the “volcano” and this ensued:

Walking back down the steps after this potential religious cleansing felt like aliens learning to walk for the first time and learning about life on their new planet. While it was super touristy, it was an experience I’ve never even knew existed. There was also a baby in the volcano and she wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about her current life situation. There are guys who take your picture for you, massage you, and ladies who wash you off after for a total price of 12, 000. I think the tour in total cost 70,000ish which is about $30 Canadian. After the mud had been washed away
 and we felt like citizens of Earth, the bus took us to a pretty dope beach that was hands down better than the beach we took a day trip to before; playa blanca. Nothing inherently wrong with the first beach but it’s massively popular and with limited room to get my Frisbee game on.

So after Medellin, we hit up Cartagena where we went to a few beaches and the volcano. Cartagena also has these party buses that take over the town at night. Several attempts were made to make the party bus a reality but it ended up being too long of a tour for too much money; finding the meeting point was also a challenge. This is what we missed out on:

Cartagena has some solid street art, worthwhile hostels, a cool old town, a historic fort and good food:

After Cartagena was Santa Marta. Whenever you are booking a mini bus or regular bus to another town and you are staying at a hotel or hostel, just ask them the best way instead of being a hero and doing it on your own. I booked our tickets online but apparently the bus station is a little far out of town so we could have gotten to Santa Marta faster and more conveniently if I would have just asked for help. It all worked out though and we spent the night here just hanging out at the hostel which is apparently a wind tunnel. I was also reminded on this trip that I remind people of Ted on How I Met Your Mother; I take this as an insult due to the fact that Ted is not cool and definitely a bit of a dud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Q-rW433l0

I have been interviewing with schools and have more set up. I’ve certainly been on the Gringo trail and excited to get off it for a little while. I'm headed towards the northern most part of South America tomorrow so should have solid pics and hopefully a tale to tell from that. I miss home more than I can remember but I think that’s due to spending the last 6 months seeing my words can’t describe cute niece and seeing my nephew almost daily. Things seem to be coming together and should be clearer at the end of the week. I also hate Aaron Rodgers. I wish you an enjoyable third week of 2017.

https://www.instagram.com/bertbrandon/

"Whatever you do in this life, it is not legendary unless your friends are there to see it."

Barney Stinson

Colombia eh? Si señor

Sooooo what’s new? It’s 2017; that’s exciting. I’m in Medellin, Colombia until Sunday then I’m off to Cartagena, Colombia where I have a job interview on the 11^th for a job at an international school. I have a few other interviews set up for a teaching position that will start in September. So Bert, why Colombia? Well, my goal is to live on every continent so South America was next on my radar. After picking my continent, I needed to zero in on a country. Everyone I talk to raves about Colombia. Decision made. There is a job fair at the end of the month in Kingston which I will be attending if I don’t secure a position with a school whilst in Colombia. I thought visiting a few of the schools before agreeing to spend the next two years here would be a prudent choice. I also want to learn Spanish and adore the heat. I’d like to explore all of South America and am roughly planning on spending the next two plus years in South America. Great. How is it so far?

I love rating places as either over or underrated. Take a moment to guess what my initial assessment of Medellin is....so after spending almost a week here and going on two day tours of the city, taking the cable cars and wandering around aimlessly, I must report that I’m slightly disappointed and must rate Medellin overrated. Is it New Zealand bad? Of course not. It’s easy and cheap-ish to get around the city. Ubers abound everywhere. The temperature is quite nice and there is mango everywhere. I also got a cheap pedicure, apparently cheap shaves are available and there is a strong police presence that is reassuring. It’s also my own fault for not learning Spanish before moving here so I can’t blame the country for being Spanish speaking but I thought English would have a stronger presence here. No senor!

The city is quite large and isn’t conducive to just wandering around and figuring it out. Poverty is rampant, a lot of stares on the metro, not the best cuisine and overrated partying makes me wonder what all the hype is about. It’s a solid city with some things to do but after almost a week here, I’m ready to bounce and check out more of Colombia. I think a smaller city with more beach\jungle and less white people would be more up my alley. There are a few peculiar things about Colombia that I’ve noticed that you might take a mild interest in.

-Their fire hydrants are green. Am I the only one who finds this fact fascinating?

-At stop lights, instead of homeless people just asking for money, they will juggle, breakdance or some other busking activity that I quite enjoy.

-Many women in their mid-20’s seem to have a kid or two without male support.

-Colombians are quite short and I am by far the tallest on the metro. Wearing a Canada t-shirt is also not helping me blend in to my surroundings.

-Apparently you can drink in cars and on the streets here. Apparently.

-Same time zone which I find surprisingly comforting.

-No adapter needed for plugging electronics in.

-You can rent bikes for only an hour at a time so on our bike tour of the city, we needed to keep replenishing our accounts which I found silly. I asked my guide why we couldn’t rent them for a day. His response: “Our culture is different than yours. Ours is……………..more damaging.”

-They love wearing jeans and semi/very provocative clothes.

-I ate wings one night in this fancy district where all the rich people hangout and they give you gloves to eat your wings with. Gloves to eat wings. This seems practical but I couldn’t take part of this social norm.

-They burn these on New Year’s:

That’s all well and good Bert but tell us about all the mistakes you’ve made in the past week. I’d love to!!

-I’ve lost three phone chargers in less than a week; two before even leaving my brother’s place.

-I gave my sunglasses to my mom so I wouldn’t forget them. Don’t give someone who is equally as forgetful as you to hold onto something for you. My fault.

-I didn’t book my flight to Cartagena early enough so it’s about twice the price it should be. Still only $108 but should have only been $50.

-Made no friends and didn’t talk to anyone on a four hour walking trip. I might also have been one of the very few drinking beer on the tour which did not endear me to the group. I’m on vacation.

-I went to buy new chargers for my phone and left my phone at the store. The lady was trustworthy but I definitely need to learn to take a minute, understand my surroundings then make a plan. There really is no rush.

-I tried finding the museum of modern art but somehow couldn’t figure out the giant signs pointing me in the right direction. I got a pedicure instead. Not convinced this was a mistake.

I’m going to finish my week strong in Medellin but if I don’t make it back to Medellin again, I will be okay with that. I wish you a super duper 2017 destroying all the goals and dreams you’ve set for yourselves. 

"If the party sucks, make it better or leave."

How's your first impression?

I’ve thought about writing a post like this for about two years at this point. With all that time to ponder about the topic, you would assume that you would be getting a high-quality, well-thought-out post from Teacher Bert. You would be mistaken. The idea first came about two years ago with a friend when the topic of what if what we thought we looked like wasn’t really what we actually looked like so mirrors, water, and pictures wasn’t the complete picture. So we started researching how to find out how other people see us. The main objective was purely superficial and wanting to know if who we see in the mirror is really us. The article went into great detail about more in-depth specific areas to focus on to understand ourselves and what to look for in making a good first impression, maintaining friendships, etc. 

The article got quite deep and right at the end of the lengthy article, our answer was merely a footnote when it stated “If you want to know how other people see you, hold a mirror up in front of another mirror and that’s how people see you.” It was one of those had to be their moments but it was the funniest thing that happened that year by far.  I then randomly found a book on first impressions and it has taken me this long to comb through it so let’s dive into how people see us and how we can improve.

I’m confident and certainly not proud of the fact that I don’t think I give off a great first or even second impression. I think my fifth, tenth, and sixtieth impressions are great but I don’t think people meet me at a party and think “I like that Bert guy.” Most people come around to the idea of Bert making their lives more entertaining but some people take longer to warm up than others. Two areas I knew I needed to focus on before reading about this was that I don’t smile enough and could make more eye contact. I can specifically remember my cousin telling me that I needed to work on it which I think I’ve made strides on but still not a 100% comfort level.

 After reading First Impressions, I was alerted to the fact that I also should spend a tad more attention on the matching rate of speech with people (I talk too fast when I get nervous; I was also told to slow down how fast I speak in Thailand because they were just learning English), give more compliments, show some deeper feelings, people like being gently touched in conversation (apparently) and to be the one to introduce yourself first. A few things. I specifically avoid touching people I just meet because I think it’s strange. Even on a first date, I won’t touch them and almost want to message them just before meeting them that I don’t want to have an awkward hello hug. I’m super awkward at meeting people and they go for a cool handshake and I’m doing a classic businessman handshake; it’s awkward 80% of the time. I’m not cool. I wish it was Thailand and everyone did this to say hi and goodbye:

I’m also guilty of not being the first person to introduce myself. I have a memory of this being a New Year’s resolution of mine but alarmingly, it didn’t stick. I want to be the type of person who goes for it first. The other person is thinking/dreading it as well so you might as well get the points for doing it first. It certainly shows confidence and being comfortable in the situation. I also struggle at remembering their name and using it in conversation. Like appallingly bad. I’m almost positive my mom is named Beth. This and smiling will be the two areas I focus on first. 

Things I do well? Oh, thanks for asking reader. I think I excel at asking other people questions, listening to their responses, being an active listener, and not trying to brag or show off to impress people. (it would be a short conversation) I think I’m good at making people feel comfortable if I’m comfortable around them, good at making people laugh, and being able to laugh at myself or share mishaps to gain common ground. If you want to take a quick gander at the tables and fill them in to give you some insight, here is the link. Click on tables on the left-hand side of the site.

http://www.firstimpressionsconsulting.com/pages/OurBook.html

They suggest tackling one issue at a time then once you feel comfortable, starting on your next area of weakness. They also suggest taking pride in what we do well because it’s easy to beat ourselves up about downfalls and not focus as much on our strengths. Asking yourself how you actually want to be perceived as a good step in understanding what changes you want to make if any. If you are happy with the way everything has gone so far, no need to change but I feel like there is always room for improvement. Asking a close friend for some tips is recommended but not to take the advice too personally and get offended. I think you are a super-duper not matter what.

I took this quiz and it turns out I’m super shy. Agree? Give the test a whirl:

 http://www.playbuzz.com/inspiyr10/how-do-others-see-you

 

 “If you are grading your own test, you will pass every time! Be careful of your self-perception because it could deceive you.”

Mario Hill

Going on a trip? Bring these

Since the last post was a bit on the sad side, I thought it would be a good idea to have this post a little more upbeat! I will try to keep this short and sweet. If you are about to or thinking about a little adventure for yourself, I’ve compiled an incomprehensive list of items you might want to investigate further. Obviously, nobody has paid me any money to talk about things I’ve used or want to use whilst travelling. Nobody is paying Bert for his mom and two friends to read his blog. Let’s get started.

Things I’ve had/have or similar.

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5039-729/Forge-75-Backpack

I don’t have this bag specifically but you can get a solid bag for under $200. The bigger your bag, the more stuff you’re going to bring. The old adage “Bring half the stuff and twice the money” is more than accurate. 

https://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-Mesh-Laundry-Bag-White/dp/B001QD40R4/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1477685362&sr=8-13&keywords=travel+laundry+bag

This mesh bag might be my favourite purchase because it was so cheap and comes in handy weekly even at home. Mine is orange though so it adds a certain pizzazz. Keeps your dirty laundry away from your clean and it some countries you can just drop the bag off and pick it up a few days later. Why not buy two since you’ll be down a bag as your clothes are getting cleaned!

 https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5025-838/Organic-Cotton-Sleeping-Bag-Liner-Rectangular

This might be my second favourite. Comes especially in handy if you are staying in hostels; much more sanitary and gives you piece of mind. Basically the liner of a sleeping bag that sort of acts like a cocoon. I lost mine pretty early into my travels but would certainly recommend and buy another one.

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5043-357/Cosmo-Headlamp

Comes in handy on hikes or dark hostels. Frees up your hands whilst carrying items. Not expensive and

makes you look prepared. “Oh is it dark miss? Let me show you the way. Oh I like to stay prepared!”

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5043-454/Conspiracy-Razor-Outdry-Trail-Shoe

Another great item that was taken outside a hostel in Malaysia. Don’t leave these gems outside people. Great for hiking and going sockless if that’s the life you’ve chosen.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/cell-phone-batteries/external-battery-packs/pcmcat326000050010.c?id=pcmcat326000050010

Nothing sexy about extra battery chargers for your phones but I promise you will need it.

Since we are on the charger topic, you will also need an adapter and you don’t need to spend a fortune on it.

https://www.amazon.ca/Insten-Universal-Travel-Charger-Adapter/dp/B000YN01X4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1477850672&sr=8-2&keywords=adapter

You won’t want to lug around your big pack all day through X city so throw this daypack on and get out there missy!!!

 https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5035-463/High-Jinx-24-Daypack

This might not seem necessary but one night everyone will be around a campfire or hanging out on a beach and you will want some beats. I also use it for shower music and podcasts to entertain me while I clean my room.

 http://www.avshop.ca/home-amp-mobile/speaker-docks/braven-brv-1-water-resistant-bluetooth-speaker-black-blue?gclid=CjwKEAjw7svABRCi_KPzoPr53QoSJAABSvxfPbaPiwRJ-jsW0-pICfF4_S52KLu6JK2345Zz3c6k-xoCQCDw_wcB

This might not seem necessary but one night everyone will be around a campfire or hanging out on a beach and you will want some beats. I also use it for shower music and podcasts to entertain me while I clean my room.

Frisbee

I suppose you think this is where I talk about not playing with frisbee on a roof in Thailand? Well I'm not going to say it.  

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5025-400/Ultralite-Towel

This one I was advised against by my brother and since I’ve lost both of the ones I’ve bought, you could probably skip it but one day you will wish you had it.

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5040-828/Classic-Stainless-Steel-Bottle-1-18L

This will be a lifesaver more than once. I’ve broken a few and learned that it’s best to shell out the money for a good water bottle.

 https://www.mec.ca/en/products/gear/packs-and-bags/dry-bags%2c-waterproof-cases-and-portage-bags/c/1357

You’re going to get wet. Do you want your stuff getting wet? If not, get these.

http://ca.oakley.com/en/mens/sunglasses/straightlink-prizm-daily-polarized/product/W0OO9331PZD/?skuCode=OO9331-07&categoryCode=m02

The sun will kill you. Protect your eyes and your skin. If you want to get fancy, try the spray on sunscreen; it's a delight. 

Money clips are more convenient than wallets at times.

http://www.mlbshop.com/Toronto_Blue_Jays_Hoodies_And_Sweatshirts/Mens_Toronto_Blue_Jays_Black_Platinum_Collection_2_Pullover_Hoodie

You want people knowing you’re from Canada and it’s nice to have a warm sweater. Also an item I don’t have any more but working on finding a replacement. This or a nice Jays hat or toque. 

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/4004-968/Canadian-Flag-3-x-6

It’s a classic thing most Canadians and some American do. Do what your heart tells you.

Things I’d buy if I had more money:

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5042-813/Fenix-3-GPS-Watch

I’m purposely not buying myself a watch because I think that it’s a classic girlfriend gift to give. I’m going to be watch-less for a while here team.

https://www.mec.ca/en/gender/men%27s/products/clothing/swimwear/boardshorts/c/1039

My swimming costume is not very fancy. A good pair is always well received.

https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5048-065/Squamish-CIS-Jacket

Sometimes it rains. Put on a rain jacket. Problem solved. I also recommend a solid umbrella.

https://www.meundies.com/t/gender/men

If you are looking to buy a Christmas present for a man this year, go with this. They also have comfy close if you are a man looking to buy things for a lady. No kissing!!!

 https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-COOLPIX-Waterproof-Digital-Camera/dp/B00T85PMWY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1477687313&sr=8-1&keywords=waterproof+camera

I have a standard camera and it suits me just fine but a waterproof camera gives you more options if you are somewhere a bit more tropical or ocean focused.

 https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5043-281/Retractasafe-100-Cable-Lock

Can’t trust everyone out there. Lock up your things.

Other items that could come in handy is a deck of cards, hand sanitizer, Kindle, wireless headphones, addresses of people you want to send postcards to, and any candy or specific product that you love that you would miss abroad. 

Here are two post from people who know actual stuff about tech gear and more travel accessories.

http://www.wanderingearl.com/travel-resources/travel-gear-list/

 http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/tech-questions/

 “If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.”

I miss my dad

I miss my dad. I’m not sure there’s an easy way to talk about it or describe how it feels to not have one of your parents around but a lesson I’ve learned through writing here the last 5 years is that writing almost always makes me feel better so that is what we are going to try and accomplish now.

My dad died when I was 19 from a brain tumour. I vividly remember the drives out to his place and eventually to Sudbury where he was at the hospital.  It wasn’t super drawn out but also didn’t happen suddenly. I can remember thinking the Christmas before it happened that I was under the impression that this was going to be the last Christmas we spent together; unfortunately, I was right.

I try not to use vulgar language whilst writing these posts but if I’m allowed to speak freely, losing your dad fucking sucks. The thing people don’t tell you is that while the immediate pain eventually goes away, you’re never back to 100%. Your first birthday, Thanksgiving, his birthday and Christmas are all reminders of what just happened. Oh, so you graduated from school, booked a one-way ticket or going to your brother’s wedding? Don’t worry, it will all become much sadder because it’s a reminder that person isn’t around to experience it with you. I have a nephew who talks about a papa he will never get to meet. Whoever draws the short straw and falls in love with Teacher Bert won’t ever get to watch a movie with my dad and almost immediately hear him snore. 

On the plus side, I won’t have to hear him complain about my grass being too long or not green enough. My kids won’t be told how when they walk they pronate and should get orthotics. They won’t be told when they’re bored to walk the dog or do their research for a research project they don’t have. They won’t know the sweet sound of gospel music being blasted at 400% volume or the reliability of their grandpa eating all their chocolate bars they need to sell for school.

While it is by far the worst thing that has ever happened to me, there are small bright sides. No matter what obstacle has come my way since then, it pales in comparison. Oh, that girl doesn’t want to give you her number? Tough break but it beats being at your dad’s funeral. I’ve probably saved a few dollars on Father’s Day gifts that I’d like to say have transferred into better Mother’s Day gift but we all know that’s not true.

I suppose another reason I’m writing this post is because a big portion of people in my age bracket haven’t had to deal with this type of scenario. Some have but most haven’t. This is my attempt into giving people a peek into what life after death is like. Oftentimes, when I hear that a friend is going through something similar, it brings me right back to that day I was in the room with my brother when it all went south. After that happens, most people are rightfully at a loss for what to say. There’s no magic word or pill to make you feel better. While a Facebook message or text from me isn’t going to change the trajectory of their next few weeks, I hope that it gives a brief glimmer of hope that eventually, it won’t hurt. Eventually it will make you tougher; eventually it will make you realize we only get once chance on planet Earth and we need to love while we can. Be as sad/angry/frustrated/confused as you like. Emotions are meant to be felt. You need to feel it. People grieve in different ways. 

My best advice would be to surround yourself with people who love you. Cry as much or as little as you like. Get mad if that’s how you feel. Feel hopeless, betrayed or devastated. I would suggest not making any rash life choices or doing anything that might harm you. I would also caution against drinking too soon after. It could lead to you asleep on the grass outside an ESSO gas station while a group of girls wakes you up to call your mom who lives 30 minutes outside of town instead of walking the 5 minutes back down the street from where you came from. It could also end with you signing a release form by paramedics stating you refused help and to sign where the X is. You could sign your name and the paramedic alerts you to the fact that you signed your name but not where the X is. You may also awake at home in your bathroom, miss work and a dentist appointment but those are all hypothetical.

Just to be clear, I didn’t write this to make anyone sad, or for anyone to feel sorry for me. I have and do live a charmed life. I am insanely lucky to have the family I have, endless opportunity, great friends and health. If I could reshuffle the deck, there’s no chance I would take that deal. We all get dealt different hands and I just wanted to shed some light on a topic that consumes some of my daily thoughts.

If your mom, dad, uncle, grandma or grandpa are still around and you find yourself wondering how much time you have left, I have one suggestion for you:

Find pictures of them as baby, kid, teenager and adult and ask them what the heck was going on in those pictures. Family albums are gems that I promise will make your sides hurt. Find an album, brew some tea and listen to some stories.

Let’s end on a positive note. The lessons I learned through being my father’s son is not to work hard, love your family and put them first, the baby is always the favourite, water the grass, shovel the driveway and walkways, put salmon in tinfoil and steam it in the dishwasher without other dishes, give back (20+ years hosting a three hour, volunteer Gospel radio show), get good snow tires, no joking around at border crossings, a love for driving, a soft spot for ‘Con Air’, ‘Dumb and Dumber’ and ‘Married with Children’, and to cheer and stick up for the underdog.

 I sometimes wonder what he would think of Thailand, New Zealand, Poland and whatever comes next. I think that he would worry about me getting hurt, (he didn’t instill a great enough fear of roofs into me) and not seeing my family enough but I think that he would think that this has been a pretty cool ride. I bet he would want me to meet a beautiful, smart young woman to spend the end of time with but it’s comforting to know that meeting my future draw dropping wife won’t instantly give him a heart attack. Love your friends and family with all your heart. Time marches on and we don’t always get second chances. Photo albums. 

"Songs of love, hope and inspiration."

Am I a feminist?

I’ve decided to try and write a post about a topic I have zero expertise, knowledge or experience with. (Sound familiar?)

I love asking people questions. I hate small talk but if you want a topic for conversation, I got you. Two of my favourite questions the past few weeks have been:

1-What 2-3 thoughts cross your mind the most each day.

2-What do men not understand about women.

Now, I will give you a minute to think of your own responses.

Do you think your answers match up to my unofficial research? If you are a woman, I’m going to guess one of your two thoughts. Don’t believe me?

Overwhelming, the top answer is food. There is no second place. As for what men don’t understand about women, the answers vary but resemble how men don’t pick up on signals, need to be told instructions clearly and directly and how men can’t fathom how much women analyze each moment of every waking period of time. A woman I asked couldn’t understand how it’s possible for me to not think about something for a period of time; she has never not thought about something once. The fact that men and women are so different and we all live/work/play in the same spaces is proof that whoever/whatever created us has a sense of humour.

A few other events that I’ve noticed also nudged me in the direction of writing about this. It’s not getting too much attention in the media but there is an election going on in America and there is a man running against a women for the presidency of the United States of America. The debate happened last week and whilst politicians aren’t known for their polite demeanour, a headline coming out of the debate was the overwhelming amount of times the male candidate interrupted the female candidate. The woman essentially never interrupted him or called him out on his behaviour. An article the next day essentially claimed that this is what living life as a woman is. Being interrupted, “mansplained” to, seen as inferior or a sexual object.

Now, I have no idea -being a man who can’t keep his room clean-but I can see how these claims could be accurate. Another article dove deeper and explained how much harder it is for women to get access to Obama and the inner circle in the White House due to an old boys network and balancing having a family and being on call 24/7.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/09/13/white-house-women-are-now-in-the-room-where-it-happens/?mc_cid=23f41632c6&mc_eid=4cd64fb794&postshare=6251473762897800&tid=ss_tw&wpisrc=nl_daily202&wpmm=1

One policy women adopted in meetings was to repeat a key point made by a woman and giving her credit so another person couldn’t claim the idea as their own. As a sidebar, Justin Trudeau has half men and half women in his cabinet. What up America? A second piece of media attention that had me reflecting was a video I saw last year but saw again this weekend. This video I feel is accurate and can only try to imagine how annoying it would be to walk through daily life like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1XGPvbWn0A

Catcalling is not a practice I understand or support. I’m all about trying to find a wife and finding true love but you need to understand the situation, how they are feeling and are dealt with daily in these situations. I have a sneaky suspicion that at times, some women want to be approached by a certain man that catches their eye. However, it’s the guy they don’t want to be approached by is doing the approaching while the more compatible suitor is laughing out loud whilst listening to comedy podcasts on the subway.

A big reason I don’t like approaching women at bars is that you are seen as just another monkey in a jungle filled with the most monkeys. So lately I’ve been trying to imagine what it’s like to be an attractive female, living in Toronto and the challenges but also the perks they receive. I would be interested in hearing about any insights you may have on this topic.

Do you know what the definition of a feminist is?

Merriam-Webster:

The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.

So to sum up, being a feminist means you think men and women are equal and should be treated the same? In what world is not every human a feminist? We won’t veer off on how religions play a part in this but I think that when people think of a feminist, they think of a woman who hates men, loves women, has hairy legs and is generally bitter and uptight. The problem might be in the baggage of the word feminism. What if there was a modern, more hip term to galvanize the world into supporting your sister and your mom as much as your brother and father?  Now I’m obviously not the first person to think this so I did some major internet research and found a few new words that have been proposed. They crowned the winner to be Equalism. Gender-neutral, new beginning and kind of catchy. Runners up?

Equality for everyone regardless of their genitals

She-quality

GEM (Gender Equality Movement)

eGALitarian

Femalicious

Vagenius

I love questions but I also have a fondness for quotes. I’m not sure how many women would agree with this quote but I am confident it has some merit.

“Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them."

Margaret Atwood

I had never thought about it in those terms but I found it eye-opening. When I’m walking home late at night, the thought of a man raping me doesn’t cross my mind. Stealing my $5 bill in my wallet concerns me a bit but it’s a hit I could take. I remember going on a blind date with a lady and I told her I could pick her up and she gave me her address. After the date, I thought that giving a man who you barely know your address seems to not be very prudent. She obviously had nothing to worry about with me because I never saw her again because I have some fairy-tale dream of how I’m going to meet my wife and picking her up in an Enterprise Rent-a-Car was just not the beginning envisioned.

There are a lot of strange men out there who might not be the most intelligent, caring, or good looking and they have a more negative view of women than I may have. While I’m no Sean Connery, I’m not an Ogre who has major hurdles to climb when trying to find a partner for life. Some men have harder times and I can see how being rejected their entire life could build up some animosity but it’s not an excuse to make women feel uncomfortable or unsafe. It must be wild for grandmothers to see the stark differences between how they were raised and treated compared to a young girl being brought up today.

If you have any thoughts/comments/concerns, I would love to hear them. I’m just a guy trying to get a bit more perspective on the fairer sex. I am an Equalist after all.

“The rise of women does not mean the fall of men.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXeL3CHdLYk

http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/11/a-cultural-history-of-mansplaining/264380/

http://jezebel.com/5828798/the-catchy-new-word-for-feminism