Daring to be Different at Deafined

Tucked away on an inconspicious location on a sidewalk full of pretentious restaurants in Kitsilano is one of Vancouver's best hidden gems....Deafined.  Deafined is dining experience for those who dare to be different and open their hearts to the world of the hearing impaired. The restaurant is set up to make communication as smooth as possible between customers and staff.  The menus have the item, price, and symbol you'll need to sign with your hand to indicate what you want to order.

In addition to that there are placards giving you basic lessons in sign language on how to say "please" "thank you" "eat" "drink" or ask for your bill. At each table there is a pen and paper in case the customers need to communicate and write down special dietary requests to the waiter. And the waiters themselves are trained to communicate with the customers. Our waitress was actually able to communicate with her hands to us asking us if we wanted seperate bills or put on one bill just like any other staff at a regular restaurant. Impressive....

There were also some elements of the restaurant that were touching. In the main foyer there is a huge vase with a pen and paper so that happy customers can write kudos, thanks, and encouragment to the staff. At Deafined being hearing impaired certainly doesn't stop love and positivity from spreading.

As for the food, I took one bite and spent all nite debating which was more beautiful....the food or the spirit of the people that made the food and are serving it? The debate still rages on inside of me and I don't think I'll ever really be able to decide.  All I know is that every time I look back on this experience, gratitude wells up within my soul and I find the tips of my fingers touching my lips as my hand moves away from my mouth.....sign language for THANK YOU.


www.deafined.ca

Libby's Not in Kansas Anymore.....LITERALLY

"Friendship is a single soul dwelling in 2 bodies"

 - Aristotle 

Anxiously I glanced down at the clock on my phone.  10:40 am it read.  Where was she? Already a flood of passengers had come out of the arrival area of the Victoria Clipper but none of them were a tall brown haired girl from Kansas I had come to know and love over these past 3 yrs.  On my way to clipper terminal to wait for Libby, my heart skipped a beat when I saw the clipper pulling in knowing that she was on that boat and I was just a few moments away from meeting her in person after 3 yrs of endless messaging via online and whatsapp.

But now my heart and my imagination were racing for another reason....why was she not out yet? My fears were well founded. You see, coming from the Westboro Baptist Church many of its members have been banned or flagged from crossing the Canadian border.  One of her aunts have been banned from ever entering the UK.  Some other of her cousins who had left the church and were scheduled to speak at a conference in Montreal had also been stopped at the border and not let through until they were able to give the proper proof to the immigration authorities that indeed they were no longer part of the church and we're only crossing through to do the conference. But would marriage and a new passport give Libby a new lease on life or would her past come back to haunt her?

Ruling and Reigning on the Iron Throne

 

The moment that we've been waiting for is almost here. In anticipation of the 5 season of GOT I thought it appropriate to post pics of my visit to the GOT exhibit that came to the PNE in Vancouver last August. This indeed is the famous exhibition that had been touring the world and came to Vancouver for the very 1st time last summer. I gotta say that in terms of summer memories, nothing quite beats having the bragging rights that you got to sit on the iron throne (even if it's just a plastic replica of there real one that would be impossible to tour around the world with due to the fact that it is metal and weighs tons and tons).  This exhibit definitely whet my appetite for all things GOT.  One day soon the travel bug might hit me again and I might find myself on a plane to Ireland to visit "Winterfell"

  

 

 

 

 

"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come."

―The Night's Watch oath

 

 

A Sneaky Sudden Sense of Saudade

"Saudade" is one of the most interesting words in the linguistic world.  Linguist and scolars have written blogs and articles about this portuguese word saying that it is unique and untranslatable.  I don't have the time or energy to write a detailed essay on all the marvels of this word but you can certainly google it for yourself and do your research and see what you come up with.  But at a very basic level, "Saudade" might be translated as to yearn for or miss someone or something.  A closer definition of "saudade" means to feel longing for a place, person that you once had but will never return to you again.

If I were to pick one whole word in the world today that sums up my feelings about my relationship with Argentina it would be this very word "saudade", especially being that today is the 1 yr anniversary to which I ended life abroad and landed back in Canada.  Yes indeed, it has already been a year. Jan 15, 2014 my plane touched down in Vancouver International Airport and one chapter of my life closed and another began.