KGIC Keepsakes and Memories part 9

From a very shy student at King George International College (KGIC), where I was a teaching assistant/conversation assistant between 2002-2003.
I recall trying to keep in touch with her through e-mail, and there may possibly have been an e-mail or two back and forth, but things fizzled out -- as they often do when there is a great physical distance between acquaintances who didn't bond into close friends before going their separate ways.

I don't think I ever did ask her about the Korean dollar and coin. I'm actually not 100% certain that the coin with the "lucky cat"/Maneki Neko is the one referred to in the letter -- a side effect of putting all my keepsakes in the same box.

She struck me as a very gentle person. I wasn't sure whether she had a crush on me or just felt safer to try to be less shy around me. In any case, her time at the school was soon up, and off she went.

Shyness is definitely a disadvantageous trait for an overseas ESL student -- it definitely hampers the immersive learning that comes from conversation. I think that was why her English wasn't as strong as it could have been for her time spent in Canada.

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Trafalgar's European Explorer 2006 memoirs part 3

A picture from my 2006 trip, a Trafalgar 's bus tour, on an itinerary called the European Explorer. I can't remember why I had this couple in the picture, but I do vaguely remember this to be in London, on the first official day of the tour group getting together. Their insistence on my helping them take a picture caused the three of us to be late getting back to the bus. The local tour guide had a "rule" about lateness, that we had to buy chocolate to share with everyone. As it turned out, later in the trip, on at least two occasions, we were stuck on the highway on either a long commute or a traffic jam, and I had chocolate and chocolate-covered marzipan to share. About the chocolate-covered marzipan -- Apparently we were in Austria just as they were celebrating Mozart's birthday with special marzipans wrapped in foil with the famous composer's picture. I'm pretty sure it was Mirabell Mozartkugeln . Anyway, there were enough to go around the en...

Trafalgar's European Explorer 2006 memoirs part 10

The last of my pictures (at least the ones that survived the cheesy disposable cameras) from my 2006 trip, a Trafalgar 's bus tour, on an itinerary called the European Explorer. Below is the obligatory group photo. Not sure everyone's in it, actually. I'm pretty sure this one was taken by the tour director, Mike Scrimshire as I'm in the back row, on the right side.

Trafalgar's European Explorer 2006 memoirs part 9

More assorted couples on my 2006 trip, a Trafalgar 's bus tour, on an itinerary called the European Explorer. An American couple who joked about being from "the land of the giants" -- and with good reason, because both of them were really tall! A cute Jewish mother-daughter pair who ducked out part-way to divert to Israel. I vaguely remember the issue of the daughter being an orthodox Jew was highlighted in France when, to make things easy, she just declared herself vegetarian for the wait staff. I also remember there was some logistics error in France because our party size was way underestimated or simply relayed incorrectly, and there was a shortage of food at dinner. Dessert came as an unopened can of yogurt. It did not seem like they tried to make it up to us later, either. Plus there was smoking every which way in France, and I had a helluva time with that. We were also in a hotel that seemed tucked away in the burbs, and not walking distance from anythin...

Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

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