Ok, so the caretakers are women and the management are men. Not much different than in Canada. Does the gender difference manifest itself in different ways? Do the management men expect the caretaker women to take care of them?

Hahaha...most of my cooking is also the "half home-made and half freezer/pre made" variety. I think rather than a gender thing, I think it's generational to not really cook from scratch anymore. Microwaves and such have taken over the cooks roll.

Ack! I think I would have made like a bear and gone in the woods.

I know what you mean. Food is usually plentiful! I usually stuff my face with food. Here, I'm getting the amount I should be eating... How strange! Yay for the over indulgent Canucks!

How funny is it that here in Delhi, the portion sizes are huge and the price is waaayy cheaper!! Over indulgent Canucks, I think not! lol...just adding the other perspective.

"Litha-where?!" lol I remember when you first told me you were going to Lithuania and I could only guess that it was in Europe! Glad to hear you're having a good time and doing such meaningful work!

HK has more brown people, but where I'm staying, we only have a couple...so I guess I am the exotic one too. I miss our junk food in Canada...I've been eating noodles everyday :o(

Hey, I know the feeling! I hate packing. I always pack way too much or way too little. I've never had it right. Hopefully, you don't fall into that trap! I found that once I packed, I usually dumped it out and repacked, twice. Just to make sure!

Just read your post and it is really interesting how we are so used to having our own personal space that it only seemed normal to have it there as well. lol . well I know some of the rez rooms at york are similar to those living arrangements and people are usually find some similar grounding that allows them to sail through! Im sure you and Lindsay will have a blast together! How have things been going thus far with work and cultural adjustments? all the best aj

Good luck, Alana!!! I hope that you have a safe trip and the room arrangement turns out to be better than you expected...keep us all posted!

I hear you about packing....as I don;t leave until end of May, I have yet to pack. Good luck with sharing a room, I'm sure the two of you can work it out. The trick I have learned from sharing a rez room, is to lay down some common ground rules. For instance, are guests allowed? I'm sure that Lindsay and you will work it all out. I cannot wait to read about some of your future adventures

Hey Alana, I assume that you are in Lithuania now and hope your packing was a success - I packed the day before I left, can you say procrastination? Also I stayed with a friend's family two years ago, where 10 people slept in the same room. Trust me, we can adjust to anything. Keep sending updates, - dhopd

Hey! thank you very much for your comment, is hard when only the bad things of colOmbia are portrayed on the news... About your blog, I always find it very interesting how a mix of cultures ends up creating a unique one for you, but at the same time you don't feel like an outsider because one thing is with your friends and another one is with your family!

Hey Alana, Good first entry. Reading about Guyanese food has now made me hungry though. I think I need to know more about garlic pork. I have a question for you. Do you feel torn between your Canadian culture and the cultures your parents have (Guyanese, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese = quite the cool combination)? Do you ever feel like some of those cultural points collide? For example, the Canadian individualism that you so rightly point out with the strong family values? How do you find harmony between the two, seemingly disparate values? Have a good weekend! Larissa