These last two summers I went on a cultural and intellectual adventure.

I tried my hand at elementary carpentry whilst volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity Restore and subsequently learnt five different ways of removing splinters from my hands. During my breaks, I spent my time with francophone exchange students trying to understand the oh-so-exotic Québécois French dialect over iced coffees at Timmy’s.

7000 miles away in Kathmandu, I met 30 precious souls at the Special Education and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children (SERC) where I spent the most of my time as a volunteer in the physiotherapy department. On Tuesdays, I embraced a hands-on approach to Nepalese cuisine and helped cook and serve hearty meals to over three hundred of Nepal’s homeless through Curry without Worry. In the evenings, I helped the children from Nepal Orphans Home with their homework at the Chelsea Education and Community Center (CECC) and even picked up some Nepali from them.

More recently, I spent my summer insulated by lead whilst helping out at the Diagnostic Imaging Centre at Markham Stouffville hospital – an experience which illustrated both the strengths and shortcomings of the Canadian health care system. I fervently cheered for France at the Euro 2016 and even fancied myself a Picasso of sorts while painting our old fence – just kidding