dez - Pedestrian Only

Ways to Wander: On Terminals, Transience, and Tipping

dez

Travel disrupts routine and forces a person to let go of so many things: daily habits, routines, preconceived notions, prejudices. It challenges, opens, and expands one’s mind. A person is thrust into engagements outside their comfort zone; they must adapt to new rules. I’ve found the challenge of travel simultaneously exciting and exhausting. But more than anything, I have found the in-between moments most tedious. By in-between moments, I mean those empty stretches of time between travel, from waiting to board, flying or riding, arriving at the destination, and the spaces they encompass. I loathed this time because it felt

Travel

Wandering Rome, Italy, Part III: Departure

dez

Sunday the 17th. My last full day in Rome. I managed to sleep until 8 a.m. but again had to cancel the wake-up call; I prepared myself and made my way to the breakfast room, where the morning’s sugary diet awaited. The woman who worked in the breakfast room spoke a few words of English, and I spoke no Italian. Lucky for us, a cappuccino is a cappuccino. I started leisurely because I’d walked so much on the previous day that the muscles in my legs were a little tight. I decided to explore the vicinity in which my bed & breakfast

Travel

Wandering Rome, Italy, Part II

dez

At 7:30 a.m. on Saturday the 16th, I was awake. Perhaps it was jet lag, excitement, the people coughing in the courtyard below the open window, or all of the above; I can’t be sure. I ducked my head out to let Matthius, the front-desk attendant, know that I was cancelling my 8:30 a.m. wake-up. Matthias is the only staff member of the B&B whose name I got to know, and he was as jovial as when I’d met him at 11 p.m. on the 15th. He assured me that they could make room for me in the breakfast room

Travel

A Study Abroad: Arriving in Tartu, Estonia

dez

After my short, relaxing stay in Riga, Latvia, I made my way via bus to Tartu, Estonia, where I would be staying from late August until some time in June, a tentative date at the time of writing. Over the four-hour bus ride on a two-lane highway, I watched the sun slowly set over the Latvian countryside. The sun was nearly set as the bus approached the border with Estonia. We pass through, no checkpoints, no questions, no stamps, no visa requirements, no stop whatsoever. The ease of travel between countries in Europe was a strange feeling at first. Coming

Travel

Walking in the Rain in Riga, Latvia

dez

I left Rome, Italy, for Riga, Latvia, late in the afternoon, leaving beautiful weather behind. And entered a small storm. Landing in Riga felt hazardous. The wind toyed with the plane, pushing and tossing it around on the lap of turbulence. It was raining heavily, but shuttles waited nearby when we landed. We made our way across the tarmac to the airport, which felt ages away. I waited for my luggage, happy to have a hardshell suitcase, as I watched people pick off their soaking cloth luggage from the conveyor. A long-time friend, J, whom I hadn’t seen in years, was

Walking

On Pedestrianism: Walking in the 21st Century

dez

*Not the wagered kind What is it that makes a person a pedestrian? By rough definition, a pedestrian is someone who goes by foot or walks, typically in places with vehicular traffic, like a city. Broadly, a pedestrian is a person of any ability who goes by foot or uses a mobility device like a wheelchair, powerchair, walker, or stander. Who gets to be a pedestrian is a different question. Of the places I have lived or had the privilege to walk, some are much more pedestrian-friendly than others. Being a pedestrian means opening myself to alternative modes of being,

Travel

Wandering Rome, Italy, Part I: Arrival

dez

On a Friday afternoon in August, 2014, I landed in Rome, Italy. I had been abroad with family in the past, but this was my first time travelling solo. I was 25. Shortly after take-off from Toronto, I fell asleep listening to Bon Iver on repeat. I woke eight and a half hours later, with a gain of ten minutes thanks to a favourable tailwind. Upon landing, all passengers were shuttled through the 30-degree sunshine from the tarmac to the airport’s main building. The airport was a lot smaller than I expected for an international airport. I waited an hour

Travel

Family Travel & A Study Abroad: Start Here

dez

My First Time Travelling Solo In 2013, I was convinced to participate in a study abroad program at the University of Toronto, where I had been studying Soviet art and culture, the Russian language, and semiotics. At the time, I was eager to travel but nervous about travelling alone. My previous times abroad were isolated to trips with family to the Netherlands. The first occasion was to celebrate the shared birthday of my great-grandmother and me, with my mom and Oma A (my mom’s mom). A decade later, I travelled there with my Dutch grandparents, Oma A and Pake H,