THERE IS A GOD - AND SHE LOVES US!!

"WHO Director-General Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland announced this evening that the travel advisory for Toronto will be lifted, effective tomorrow."

It has been decided...we are NOT moving the conference.

Thank god!!

S is for SARS

Latest word from the WHO:
"As a result of ongoing assessments as to the nature of outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Beijing and Shanxi Province, China, and in Toronto, Canada, WHO is now recommending, as a measure of precaution, that persons planning to travel to these destinations consider postponing all but essential travel."

Canadian Reaction:
"It's a bunch of bullshit,'' said Dr. Donald Low, one of Canada's leading infectious disease experts and a key member of the SARS containment team. ''It's inappropriate.''

Rebuttal from Health Canada:
"We are against the advisory, we are going to fight the WHO, they will receive an official protest by the end of the day" said by Health Canada Info Line person

My two cents (whatever its worth):
"SARS has not affected my daily life at all. I don't wear a mask. I just wash my hands for 10 seconds longer than I used to. I know the symptoms and don't have any, I don't know anyone who has any. I'm not worried walking down the street or on the subway. I think SARS is bad. I trust the people who are working to contain it. I think Toronto is safe for the general public"

We are in emergency mode in our office. A three week travel advisory by the WHO. We have a National Conference scheduled in Toronto in less than two weeks, bringing together 250 AIESECers from across the country...its going to be an interesting ride.

ARE WE LOOKING AT A 1994 REPEAT?

I hope so...with a win at the end this time ;)

I LOVE THIS CITY!

Last night after yet another overtime Leafs/Flyers game, I was walking home down Yonge Street listening and watching all the crazies yelling and screaming and honking and hanging out of their cars, celebrating the Toronto win (it was only Game 6, tonight is going to be amazing!!!). I really started thinking about how I am going to miss this city, maybe its because I just had my interview and all I've been thinking about is moving away from Toronto, I still don't know where I'm going, I just know that as of July 1st, I will no longer be here.

What I'll remember most about living in TO:

• Living in a building FULL of people who look like me (brownish people), but who all seem to speak languages I don't have any clue of how to begin to understand.
• All you can eat sushi that is CHEAPER than in Vancouver
• The best late night Danish/Norwegian underwear fashion show I've EVER seen
• Ice cream
• Cheap chinese food in Chinatown at 3am
• Being propositioned on Jarvis Street all summer with Candice walking home from the bars
• Cleaning day, the first weekend of July
• The Niagara Falls dance
• The Vancouver Desis!!
• Getting checked out on Church Street at least once (SCORE!!)
• The trainees ;)
• The screaming man outside our apartment
• Pigeons (especially the old woman who called me an asshole)
• Being on MTV Asia
• Bubble Tea
• Team 'commitments' at Niagara team retreat
• Daily discussions about a##
• Looking EVERYWHERE for those stupid candies that are Cynthia's favorite
• Candice and my pet names for eachother

And to think...when I first decided to move here..people in Vancouver felt bad for me. Maybe its the weather...

FAMILY MEMORIES...

So...I got an email from my cousin Bina today, I haven't talked to her in ages, at least 3 or 4 years. Yet another reminder of how bad I am at keeping in touch with people..and we even lived in the same city until last June. She's doing well, which is really nice to hear, I was a little worried for awhile.

I have one of the biggest families I know of (at least 30 to 40 cousins, almost all married with multiple kids), yet I'm not close to ANY of them, I have no idea what anyone is doing or even where most people live.

I'm really hoping that next year I spend some more time with my aunts/uncles/cousins and mainly nieces and nephews, they're closer to my age anyway, ACTUALLY, I'm hoping that I'll be geographically located somewhere that allows me to travel to the UK relatively easily, but that's out of my hands now..its all up to AI ;)

THE FAMOUS 5...

Never retract, never explain, never apologize; get things done and let them howl. - Nellie McClung

Today I am proud to be female!!

On Tuesday I was invited to attend a reception hosted by the Famous 5 Foundation to celebrate the achievements of the Canadian womens' movement, in particular to honour the achievements of five amazing women, Irene Parlby, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Emily Murphy and Louise McKinney. These women did more than just advance the cause of women in Canada, they were behind the legal challenge that got women recognized as "persons" in the British Empire, now known as The "Persons" Case.

Normally I shy away from "I am woman, hear me roar" type events, but I was invited to attend this one by one of our partners, so I thought I should at least show my face. I'm glad I went, in the presense of female senators, CEOs, Mayoral candidates, activists, teachers, politicians, it felt good to be reminded of why being female is a very positive thing and of the new battles that we need to fight.

Today I attended a luncheon where the keynote speaker was John Tory, President and CEO, Rogers Inc and candidate for Mayor of Toronto, another event targeted at influencial Toronto business women (many of the same people from Tuesday were there). I was sitting there thinking about how this is EXACTLY the kind of company I would like to keep, I want to be in this circle of women later in my career, no I WILL be in this circle of women later in life (hopefully not too much later).

Hmm...maybe I will eventually find my way back to Toronto..you never know.

I COUGHED ON THE SUBWAY TODAY...

And everyone on the train covered their mouths and wouldn't look at me anymore. SARS has really gotten this city scared. I hadn't really thought about it (except during the three hours we spent 'quarantined' at IPM), but the scope of the epidemic really hit me when I arrived in Toronto from Frankfurt on Thursday and EVERYONE I spoke to at the airport had masks on. Now I'm afraid to do anything in public..if you sneeze people walk away from you and don't even think of coughing..especially a dry cough, they will run. The city has issued directions to the public to wash their hands frequently to help stop the disease from spreading...wash our hands!?!?!? shouldn't we be doing that anyway?!?!?! whatever works, I guess...