Canada – Turknoy Travels 100!

“You can’t understand a city without using its public transportation system. ” – Erol Ozan

Oslo’s Travel Card, New York’s MetroCard and Toronto’s Scratch Card

Travel, it seems, then and again for us, is all about perspective. Exploring Oslo, Norway raised our standards so much so that we frowned on New York’s Metro Card calling it “barely a card.” Getting settled into the New York transportation system after three days, off we went to Toronto, Ontario, Canada and there we were greeted with a scratch card… the city’s day pass for tourists and travelers. Let’s just say that it took us four days to look beyond this and give Toronto a fair judgement of the city’s beauty and uniqueness. First impressions. Perspectives. Flexible travelers that we think we are, perspectives matter.

If we have traveled from Manila, Philippines, our home country, straight from Toronto, Canada, the availability of Metro straight from the Union Station and the convenience of family card plus the friendly ticket receptionist, would have floored us with awe. To travel conveniently in Manila, usually takes private-hire transportation and even then, the horrendous traffic and heat (or rain) would leave us scratching our eyes out waiting for the transport ordeal to be over. Transport system in Toronto would be we a very much welcome blissful paradise to experience.

Only,, we didn’t come from a developing country. We transited from a highly developed city, equally diversified as Toronto, it seems to us, equally populated like New York. Transport payment scheme in Toronto is very primitive to us now.

How does this affect how we think of Canada? It should not affect us much. We firmly believe that how we view a country is more of a reflection on us that it is a reflection of the country,

So, this experience, makes us feel empowered. Worldschooling the kids mainly has the purpose of showing the kids the beauty of the world and what men are capable of nurturing what’s possible; highlighting NOT borders, but potentials.

Toronto Metro : “You can’t understand a city without using its public transportation system. ” –

“And patience [worketh] experience; and experience, hope” (Paul, Romans 5:4).

As Malcolm Gladwell argued in his bestseller book, Outliers, it takes 10,000 hours which is approximately 10 years of deliberate practice to become an expert.

With the goal to travel to 100 countries in10 years, that would make us seasoned family travellers. We’re onto our six years of happily traveling the kids along our family adventures, and by far, explored 36 countries, including the new territory we are currently exploring at the moment, Canada!

Yes, there are certain traveling tasks that feel so routine, like appointment with embassies, visa applications, packing, adjusting to jet lag and body clock. These are great expertise to have as a working professional. Patience with documents, mastery of own body sleep and up close encounters with countries diplomats… necessary skills of a future CEO or founder of a corporation, and we can discuss further why!

However, more importantly, though skills which we are yet to master, there are hormones, grumpiness and boredom.

Hormones, there traveling women vs. two patient men makes a team. This means at the very least, two weeks of PMS (premenstrual syndrome) of emotions, the struggle is real. Acknowledging this, makes the battle easier, though we can only monitor, not control. Experiences on the pattern makes it understandable and yes, conquerable, if not tolerable for the surrounding men around these women.

So you think you can balance girls’ hormones?! 😘

Grumpiness, or bad hair day moments, or waking up at the wrong side of the bed, is also normal during family travels. One day something too personal embarrassing the other. Too close for comfort takes patience and experience, too.

This traveling little man in the middle, gives a lot of patience to the family. He’s smile always cure anybody’s grumpiness!

Boredom, because what parents may find interesting, may be so very boring for the kids and the other way around. We would not be telling the entire truth to our traveling adventures, if we would lying if we say “everybody loves visiting .. insert name of place/ country/ region… Nope, most of the time, there’s someone who will rain on somebody’s parade when family travels together.

Kids these age will pick Legoland anytime over any museums, that we know. And parents don’t particularly enjoy Legoland. It takes a lot of give and take among family members to enjoy a long period of travel!

BUT, there are also the AHA moments, the wonder-at-first-sight moments, laugh-out-loud-together-moments, we-actually-saw-what-happened-together-moments.

AND… these moments turn into memories. Memories that would be from imprints on their lives and define the decisions and actions they would do in the future, what will define who they will be by choice.

Experience together over any material things… no argument there. We’re armed with experience-building patience, even if it takes 10,000 more hours together!

Living up to our main family value, we really are a hopeful bunch.

Category: Canada

On Travel: Public Transportation

On Family Values: Hope and Experience