The Ferrungu World Tour

Merry Christmas from Down Under!

Posted by Conrad and Louisa Tuesday 27 December 2011 at 19:16

For the last 4 consecutive years Louisa and I have been away from Canada for Christmas. With work, it was easy to get away and a perfect time to decompress before “what we in the biz call ‘busy season’”. However, it wasn't just good timing that drove us to get away; it was what Christmas has become in North America that pushed us to jump on a plane – consume, buy, consume, repeat…

Our time in Australia has been amazing (less a few minor nuisances), Christmas especially. Australian Christmas is very different from North American tradition. There is less emphasis on presents and more emphasis on the three F’s – family, friends and fun:

Families tend to spend Christmas Eve together in Australia. This is very similar to Canada, however instead of turkey or ham, Australians BBQ prawns and kangaroo steaks in the many public parks. It is a festive event that involves a lot of booze (as does everything in Australia) – here is us trying to fit in with our KPMG Calgary friends living abroad!

Christmas day is very different from Canada. Presents are opened early Christmas morning, and instead of making a nice breakfast, the family is rushed off to the nearest coast to claim a spot on the beach with their closest friends. Instead of the parents nursing their hangover, they continue to drink and BBQ in the sun until their melanoma starts to appear again. This is the view of Bondi Beach, Sydney – we were the only ones not drinking. The ONLY ones!

Instead of Rudolf, Dancer, Prancer. Comet, Vixen etc. (great stripper names) pulling Santa’s sleigh through the snow, Santa is pulled by six white Boomers – see video.

What we have discovered while spending Christmas in Australia (Sydney) is that Australians treat Christmas as just another stat holiday. They seem super relaxed and don’t stress about buying gifts, Boxing Day sales, etc. They would much rather spend their free time with friends and family on the beach with a well-deserved beer or twelve. The next Christmas Louisa and I spend in Canada (if we do), we will ensure that our families have some drinks on Christmas Eve, exchange laughs instead of gifts and bbq at the closest skating rink…

Merry Christmas from down under everyone!

Why is Everything in Australia Trying to Kill us?

Posted by Conrad and Louisa Thursday 15 December 2011 at 15:00

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Back in 2004, I took my first “World Tour” (solo mission) and I spent some time in Australia. My time here was completely different – I would tell you stories but I can’t remember much due to a plethora of consumed Goon. What I do know however, is that AUSTRALIA REMEMBERS…

Upon arrival in Cairns a few weeks back, I instantly got a weird feeling that Australia will not be as nice to me the second time around. Was it because I left a $50 overdraft for the Commonwealth Bank to cover? What it because 4 guys slept in a van illegally all the way down the east coast? Or did the 20 bartenders that cut-me-off get offended by my back-lash? Whatever the reason, I believe in Karma (see previous blog post) and I am now getting my pay-back 7 years later (and taking Louisa down with me):

1) Magpie attacks – apparently magpies are very vicious in Australia, especially during nesting season. Louisa knows this firsthand – she was attacked twice by one crazy magpie in the head and managed to avoid a third consecutive attack by ducking. Luckily she found out that it is very common or else she would have a “giant candy-apple” complex about her head … Shameless Seinfeld video reference link.

2) Rain – apparently summer in Australia has now turned into Cyclone season due to climate change. Since our arrival we have only had 1 day without rain. If this continues, we will most likely drown in our sleep as our tent isn’t as rain-proof as we hoped and only made for 1 person.

3) Gasoline – we tried to sail the magnificent Whitsundays in a catamaran, however, due to a fuel leak and the potential of the boat burning down, the skipper demanded we head back to shore. We also rolled into a gas station after driving 99KM on fumes, while in a torrential downpour – for some reason the Australian government replaced the “Next Gas Station is 600KM” road signs with “Play Trivia to Stay Awake” signs… really? If I don’t have gas for my car how can I play trivia?

4) Giant Flying Beetles – these large can’t fly nor seem to see – they dive bomb towards wherever is in their way. My back got attacked by one of these monsters biting me and attaching itself to me like it was a lifeboat on the sinking Titanic. A second attack to my leg several days later didn’t end so well for the poor bastard.

5) Falling mangoes – November is mango season in Australia. Louisa and I love mangoes. However, we do not like sleeping in a tent under a mango tree. These 3 pound fruits of destruction can really keep you awake at night while you hear them fall inches from your head. The plus side was that all the ones that missed our heads were delicious – we had an unlimited amount of free ripe mangoes for several days!

Either way you look at it, Australia doesn’t want us (well probably me) here for the second time. I am going to make peace with Australia by doing the opposite of what I did 7 years ago – I won’t drink, I will pay for camping and I will ensure I put $50 back into this booming economy. This will hopefully satisfy the higher powers to guarantee that my offspring have a safe place to drink Goon and get into trouble when they are 23.

Honourable Mentions:

Brown Snakes – known as one of the most venomous snakes in Australia, Louisa and I saw one hanging out by our campsite. Needless to say, we kept close to the middle of our tent.

Jelly Fish – it is jelly fish “season” in Australia, which basically means don’t go swimming in the ocean without a stinger suit or you will die.

Sharks – for some ridiculous reason we watched Shark Week on the Discovery Channel last week – the consensus is that sharks do like people and shallow water. Especially in Australia.

Road Construction – if you think Calgary is bad, come to Australia and really experience road construction. Every 50Km there has road construction that turns a simple 200km drive into a 3 hour torturous crawl, with every road sign blatantly telling you that you “are going to die” if you don’t slow down.

Wireless internet – it is 2011, but Australia is stuck in 2000. They still have computer kiosks that you pay $5 for 20min of internet. The word “Wireless” is more foreign to Australia then the word “Touque”… okay, okay so this one didn’t try to kill us, but it impeded our blog posting updates.

Asian Drivers

Posted by Conrad and Louisa Wednesday 7 December 2011 at 15:48

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Believe it or not, there is a massive stereotype on Asian drivers. At risk of offending some people, here is a link to describe such said stereotype that was not written or endorsed by me ;) - see link. After the last 3 weeks in China, I have realized that Asians aren’t bad drivers, they are idealistic drivers.

In North America, driving is a full visual experience – checking blind spots, looking in your rear-view mirror, knowing your surroundings, etc. In China however, driving is a “forward” visual experience, only looking at your next move to ensure you reach your eventually desired destination. This is similar to the 1980’s video game Frogger – instead of pedestrians trying to dodge cars while walking across the street, cars are trying to dodge other cars and motorbikes while they push through the pollution.

I don’t see this type of driving as a bad thing. There is no road rage, drivers don’t get mad at one another, it is actually a very peaceful experience (sans pollution). North Americans, as I will probably mention many times, do not like to live in the present – they get caught up in the past and the future trying to chase or dwell upon the uncontrollable and unchangeable – the base to the majority of the stress and depression in our society.

The Chinese however seem to live in the “now” and the present – their driving is a prime example of this “ideology”. Instead of worrying what is behind (rear view mirror) or in front (the destination), the Chinese focus on what is directly happening to them at that given moment - one Frogger step at a time.

Louisa and I, like most of us, are trying harder to live in the now – this World Tour is definitely helping and we hope we can bring our “Asian Driving” back home.

So the next time you get into your car and run into this ideology (figuratively of course), don’t get angry or upset, embrace it and try to use it in your everyday life. Live in the now.

For those you who want to reminisce about the 80's - here is a link to an online version of Frogger - http://www.frogger.net/

Chinese Charades

Posted by Conrad and Louisa Saturday 26 November 2011 at 05:31

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Ever since we visited Peru, and the invention of Charada - Spanish Charades - Louisa and I think of ourselves as somewhat professional Charades players. For those of you who don’t know what Charades is, it is the use of body actions, without speech, to describe a word or phrase to another person. For example, when acting out “escoba”, one might signal: sounds like cobra, and then slither like a snake... [video reference]

Our experience in China has been nothing but amazing – especially the food. Going into China, we had very low culinary expectations and expected at least one hospital visit due to my Bubble Boy allergies. It has been the complete opposite and has taken the two of us by surprise. We owe our great food choices to our Charada training in Peru and at the Sawatzky household. Here are a few examples:

1) Slurping an imaginary bowl of soup while rubbing your tummy with a smile ended like this:

2) Discovering how to Szechuan Hot Pot by having the owner mime the actions to us got us this:

3) Pointing at fellow diners’ dishes and hoping for similar food resulted in this:

4) Waitress taking Louisa to the back kitchen to have her point at the food we would like, looked like this:

5) Pretend coughing on a pharmacist to receive extremely inexpensive antibiotics to kill a nasty throat infection. Yes this isn’t food, but still part of the game (no picture).

So the next time you want to feel the real China, go to U&ME Restaurant and only order from the Chinese menu by only acting out what you want – it will not disappoint!

The Forbidden City?

Posted by Conrad and Louisa Tuesday 22 November 2011 at 08:31

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The Forbidden City is a massive compound in the middle of Beijing that was off limits to the Chinese people for 500 years. It is very stunning and was the home of many historic dynasties, including Qing.

The Forbidden City - 1 KM Long!

Louisa and I completely forgot what it means to be living in a Communist Republic – I understand how I could forget, but Louisa has no excuse. Upon arrival to China, we were excited to blog and Facebook our friends and family and tell them we landed safely – unfortunately, just like the Forbidden City, Facebook, and just about every other website we take for granted, are banned in China. You can’t even Google “what websites does China block?” in China. Here is a link of all websites and words blocked in Mainland China (obviously retrieved after we left China) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_websites_blocked_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China

Is Facebook the new Forbidden City?

Communism has been a topic of controversy for centuries. With our minimal research on China, we assumed it was just as poor, smelly, chaotic and as dilapidated as India. We were completely wrong – everything in The Peoples Republic of China is organized, clean and structured – thanks to Chairman Mao!

The Walls and moat surrounding the entire complex

Facebook , Twitter and Youtube, to me, are great representations of capitalism and what Westerners love to call “freedom of speech”. In today’s age, information is shared so quickly that people know about Bieber’s bowel movements before he even flushes the toilet. I understand that information is power and power needs to be controlled by the Republic to avoid a revolt, however, if 99% of the information is mundane and useless, is there really a big concern?

Communism seems to have helped China’s economy tremendously, even without their people knowing the real time results of Bieber’s paternity test. When China does take over the World (we all know it will happen one day), will Facebook be banned for 500 years just like the Forbidden City or will Facebook even have any significance in history by then?

Karma... the Golden Rule!

Posted by Conrad and Louisa Thursday 13 October 2011 at 14:14

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Karma is a simple word with a simple basic meaning - action - however, many of us use karma in a more negative context. "He got hit by a wild buck while riding his bike?... he must have had bad karma" - (see video for reference).

The other day, while I was walking, a man fell in front of me and cut his head wide open. I assisted by helping him up, however, that was the extent of good samaritan deed. I didn't ensure he was going to get help. I directed him to the local Starbucks and ironically I continued on route to my yoga class looking for my next "happiness" fix.

"Tomorrow's events depend very much on today's actions, this year's events on last year's, while this century's events are linked with those of the previous centuries. The actions of previous generations affect the lives of the generations that follow" - Dalai Lama

Louisa, even though she probably doesn't know this, is the most karmic person I know and will ever know. She has the unknowing ability to act with her heart - unconditional love and compassion. If a man cut himself in front of Louisa she would have piggybacked him to the hospital (if required and if he was a midget)... without hesitation.

She doesn't care about or help others to "increase" her karma, she doesn't act morally and unselfishly because society expects her to, she just follows her heart and acts in the way she would want others to act towards her. This to me is the essence of karma - treat others as one would like others to treat oneself - the Golden Rule.

I now believe that karma is directly linked to happiness. If you follow your heart, treat people the way you want to be treated and live in the present, happiness will be obtained. Anyone that knows Louisa can attest that she is always happy, always positive and always cares. The World needs more people like Louisa ...

I am very grateful for having Louisa in my life and grateful for her showing me what life should be about... your heart's desire!

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish...

Posted by Conrad and Louisa Wednesday 5 October 2011 at 21:24

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"Death is very likely the single best invention of Life" - Steve Jobs

Today, October 5, 2011, one the great technology innovators of our time has passed away at the young age of 56. Like many of us, we find out news on Facebook - news article after news article, we remember... however, many of us won't think/contemplate death/life beyond the "share" button.

Among the many Facebook posts and articles there is a amazing video of Steve Jobs giving the commencement speech to the 2005 Stanford graduating class that I would like to share with you - 15 min speech, but well worth it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA

Louisa and I are embarking on a 1 year tour of the World, however, I find myself analyzing the risk and rewards of such an adventure to the extent that there are days I think we should not go. But why? I love travelling, I love experiencing and love freedom. I would rather die happy then die rich. Western Society believes that wealth comes from how much is in a persons bank account, not by what is in their soul... there needs to be a paradigm shift away from this thinking.

Steve's speech can resonate in just about every individual in this World. One quote that will stick with me for life is:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

I am currently living someone else's life and conforming to what society and people "believe" to be the right path...

Yes, Steve was richer then rich, arrogant and even a little crazy, but he did do one thing better than 90% of North Americans - loved what he did, didn't care what people thought, lived by his own rule, and made every minute count. Steve's death is tragic and sad, however, I do truly believe things happen for a reason... Maybe the World will be one step closer in realizing that following your heart and passion is the most important "wealth" one can accumulate...

Life is short, death is sudden - do what you love and the rest will fall into place!

Stay hungry, stay foolish...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX9GTUMh490