November 8, 2006
Presenting: Colleen O'Brien - The Grand
Prize Winner of Our First International Story Contest
Our recently concluded Travel Story Contest
was a resounding success. We received over 300 stories from people
all over the world about their experiences in the most diverse destinations.
My team and I spent hundreds of hours reviewing all the various
submissions that came in and were amazed at the quality of the stories.
Strangely enough, the winning story ended up being among the ten
first stories that I read. Colleen's
story literally knocked my socks off - she and her husband,
while studying Spanish in Guatemala, came across an accident in
a rural area. This event left such a big impact on Colleen that
she went back to Canada, took $8000 from a GIC, went out and bought
a used ambulance, gathered a bunch of donated medical supplies and
drove the ambulance back down to Guatemala in a 4-month adventure
to donate it to a village in need. Talk about personal initiative
and generosity....
Colleen O'Brien
Shortly after our contest closed and all the winners had been chosen,
I called Colleen on the phone and she was ecstatic about having
won our Grand Prize: a two-week sailing adventure for two, sponsored
by G.A.P
Adventures, a world leader in socially and environmentally aware
travel.
During her recent stay in Toronto, Colleen and I had a chance to
meet in person in one of my favourite restaurants in Greektown and
it was a pleasure meeting this dynamic woman first-hand. During
our brief lunch I had a chance to learn more about this woman who
is a world traveller, ESL teacher, artist, mother and so much more.
Colleen and I during our lunch
I am proud to introduce to you Colleen O'Brien, the Grand Prize
Winner of our 2006 International Travel Story Contest.
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself and your background.
As a child, my family moved every couple of years, so traveling
was instilled in me at a young age. My father was in the aviation
business, my husband and I started a flying service in Medicine
Hat, Alberta, and three of my four children (and I) got our pilot’s
licenses. Now, travel is my passion.
2. Please give us a brief synopsis of the travel story you
submitted which won the Grand Prize in our International Story Contest.
While visiting in Guatemala, I was witness to a terrible road accident
in a rural farming area. There were no ambulances to transport the
injured and dying. The victims were piled into the back of a half
ton truck which had a siren. This resulted in the conviction that
I would buy a used ambulance and donate it to a small village there.
My husband and I drove the ambulance from Alberta to Guatemala and
did, indeed, donate it .
3. How do you feel today about this experience? Do you know
what happened to that village?
This experience told me how fortunate we are in Canada to have
such excellent medical facilities.
We donated the ambulance through a humanitarian project in Antigua,
Guatemala, which we were familiar with. They gave it to a village
in a suitable and responsible way. Writing my story was my closure,
since I did not hear of the accident or the village again after
the day of the tragedy.
4. Please tell us about some of your other travel experiences.
What type of travel have you done?
I like to travel and live in another country so that I can feel
like a citizen, not a tourist. This June, I spent a month in Rome,
Italy, doing respite care of an elderly blind gentleman. It was
a wonderful experience, as I got to know an exceptional man whose
career was New York Times Journalist and Bureau Chief.
5. You have also taught English in China. Please tell us
about that experience. Did you experience culture shock?
I experienced reverse culture shock when, after 4 months in China,
I went to Beijing and saw a loaf of French Bread and butter in a
“Western” Hotel! Crumbs were flying!
I have taught in China three times, for 6 months each time. I got
back in February of this year from a teaching job at a University
on an Island south of Shanghai. My previous teaching jobs were in
the north of China in DaQing, teaching oilfield engineers and also
in south central China in Wuhan, at a private school.
All of my students had studied English, most of them for 12 years.
They could read, write and were skilled in English Grammar. My job
for the most part was to help them with pronunciation and with listening.
6. Another ESL teaching assignment took you to Estonia.
What did you experience there?
Estonia at the time was eager to join the EEU, and English was
a necessity. I was in Tallinn, the ancient capital and seaport on
the Baltic Sea. There is a heavy Russian influence. My students
were business men and women, administrators and politicians. It
was a very sophisticated ancient city.
7. What have you learned from these various travel and living-abroad
experiences?
Traveling abroad has made me eager to continue traveling. I enjoy
living close to the citizens and I have no problem communicating
even if I don’t know the language. A smile and sign language
has got me a long way! I travel light and remain flexible. Before
I leave the international airport, I get maps, have a meal, use
the telephone, get tourist information and books in English. I ask
about public transportation at the tourist booths, knowing this
might be my last chance to hear the English Language for a while.
8. What are your three most favourite / significant memories
from your travels?
The sooks (markets) in the U.A.E.
The neighborhoods in China.
The unexpected joys waiting around every corner.
9. How does travel fit into your overall life philosophy?
Travel has made me very tolerant of differing habits and mores.
The ordinary everyday people of each country are essentially the
same everywhere: polite, eager to help, curious about visitors to
their country, welcoming.
10. You are also an artist. Please tell us more about that.
I have always drawn and painted, and my favorite subject is people!
I also paint landscapes and still life. I try to have paints and
brushes everywhere I go, and usually do small 8x10 works, which
can be repainted into larger sizes when I am back at home. I am
associated with the Federation of Canadian Artists here in Calgary
and we exhibit and encourage each other to continue to improve our
visual images.
11. Your son is a pilot with Westjet, a Canadian airline
company. You are setting out on a special project that involves
all the destinations that Westjet flies to. What are your plans?
My son has commissioned me to paint in each of the cities which
Westjet flies to. This might take me a year or two, as this means
traveling to thirty five cities. This winter, I plan to start in
Hawaii.
12. You are also planning to spend some time in Havana to
study Spanish at the University of Havana. What are your expectations
of this trip? How are you preparing yourself for it?
Since I have only one language, English, I hope to gain a little
knowledge of how my students feel, when they are learning a second
language. I am using a computer program called Rosetta Stone, to
introduce me to Spanish, and to give me a head start when I begin
my studies in January.
13. Your travel story won you our Grand Prize: a two week
sailing adventure in Greece. What special plans do you have for
this trip?
I am hoping that my youngest son will accompany me on this sailing
trip around the Greek Islands. He and I both paint, so my luggage
will include paints, brushes, palette, canvas. This will be my first
trip to Greece. I am very excited to have won the Grand Prize, it
is the first time I have submitted a travel story, and being published
on the Travelandtransitions website is a life dream come true.
Thanks, Colleen, for taking the time to introduce yourself to us.
I know you are off on more travel soon, including an exciting trip
to Havana and a wonderful sailing adventure through the Greek Islands.
We hope you'll share your experiences with us and look forward to
your reports from the road.
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