Canadiana Backpackers Blog

The Magic Bus is one of the great Toronto tour companies that offer discounted prices to backpackers wanting to go to Niagara Falls all year round and Canada’s Wonderland or Blue Mountain during the summer months.

Last night, Magic took the staff from all of Toronto’s hostels on a tour of their very own. This time though it was not on a bus, it was on a boat around the Toronto Islands with a spectacular panoramic view of Toronto City at night.

With a boatful of staff and their hostelling partners there just had to be a night full of fun, games, dancing and drinking in store.

Although most people stayed fully clothed throughout the night and no one decided to take a swim in the habour, Canadiana Backpackers are happy to say that two of its staff members won best male and female dancers.

Congratulations Michel and Mika~!

Get ready for lift-off…..

Michel, our resident wild and crazy guy, hanging from a pole.?

Guests and staff? having fun on a cruise around Toronto Harbour.

Michel showing grace under pressure as he is hoisted over the side of the boat……

By Lesley

Canadiana Staff

?

As mentioned in a previous blog these lads are from Sweden and travelled the US for three months. What we didn’t say is they found the American? people to be very friendly and? the country to be ? safe.? It is a trip they would highly recommend.

There favourite places were:? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Austin, Texas /? ? ? Asheville, North Carolina? / the Smokie Mountains (between the border of north Carolina and Tennesse)? /? and the? best moment was going to a Bluegrass Festival at Chatanooga, Tennesse called the Pox Box? which happens? in mid April.?

..

One of the great things about living in a hostel is you get to meet some really interesting people, people who have? lived life to the full.? They are inspiring.? Bevin Barton is one of these people. ? ?

He bicycled from? Perth? to Melbourne Australia, then flew to Singapore and proceeded to bicycle to Bangkok, Thailand, all to raise awareness? for Aids.? Have a look at? his journal and photographs at www.rideagainstaids.com? ?

He only stayed one night in the hostel (he’s in a rush)? but? I suspect he? would have been a really good person to get to know.? Modest, determined and honest, that was my impression. This is the first time he has travelled by motorbiike and if he likes it he plans to go around Africa.

He doesn’t do things in small measures, that’s for sure. He left Vermont (where he studies)? three days ago and is on his way? to San Franscico where his folks live.

Anyway it was? great to talk to someone with such determination and courage.

Good on ya Bevin.? ?

We have a special “return visitor” here at the Canadiana. We are always going on about our hostel being the place where? lasting friendships are made.

Because it is true!

Tova met Garen, her husband-to-be, right here five years ago! Two years later they married. This is Tova’s second return visit to the Canadiana.

Tova is an Ottawa girl and Garen is Austrian.? They are now living in Vienna and Tova has become a fluent German speaker. She says? she really enjoys the lifestyle in Austria.

She’s back in Canada for the? wedding of a close friend? and (of course) would never think about staying anywhere else except here at the Canadiana.

Tova and Garen are the first of at least three couples to meet in this hostel and later wed. And those are just the one’s we are aware of.

There are plenty of long term relationships that have been formed between couples that have met right here. The hostel is truly has an atmosphere where it becomes easy to meet others. Come see for yourselves.

If you read this and you are a couple who? met at the Canadiana, we’d love to hear from you. So, please post a comment and tell us about yourselves.

Ain’t love grand!? ?

?

?

This picture was taken at our 70’s night party in 2002. Tova and Garen had known each other for a couple of weeks. Little did we know……..

That this was not two ships passing in the night, never to be seen again. Quite the opposite: This picture was taken two years later at their wedding. Tova is Canadian and Garen Austrian. They now live in Vienna, Austria.

Visiting in 2005.? This is? the couple with the staff of Canadiana Backpackers.

26th of May 2007 and Tova (on the right) is back to attend her friends wedding. She looks great!!!!!!!!

Madders is back! To understand the impact of that statement you have to understand who she represents (in a way). She is a sign that the legendary Canadiana “Lager Louts” have (almost) completely reunited right back home where they started!

We heard from Mitch of Kinross, a charter member of the Double L’s who got a job working in a hostel in New Zealand. Our first thought was; “They hired Mitch! What are they thinking!”

Then we realized that we hired two other founding members to work at our hostel! But they are actually a bunch of fun loving, wild and crazy guys. And if the truth be told, they do a pretty good job for such (seemingly) irreverent, irresponsible party animals!

It just shows how a bunch of travelers can meet here at the Canadiana (the group was formed last year) and have warm and enduring friendships.

Her name is Madeline but they call her “Madders” and hanging around with the Double L’s might give you a clue as to how she got that moniker. She’s been away (back home in Germany) for some months; but just had to come for the reunion of the “Canadiana Lager Louts”.

The boys (with Genesis) went to pick up “Madders” at the airport. They got all dressed up in their ’70’s Party outfits and risked getting arrested at the airport. It’s not really the smartest thing to do - going to the airport in what is essentially a disguise - given the tone and tenor of the times.

Only Mitch and Matt from Oz are absent from this reunion. Matt also works in a hostel (of all things!) in Victoria B.C.! Still, we expect Matt to turn up unannounced any day. Nonetheless, he’d better book a bed before he comes because the hostel is running at full capacity and will continue to do so all summer!

And by the way, Madders hadn’t been back more than 10 hours before promptly eating all of my popcorn! Typical!

?

?

Genesis, Jonno & Pearcey - trying to find the correct terminal at the airport.

Genesis & Chris (disco style) trying to locate ‘madders’ at the airport.

We found her! wooo! Madders!

One of the nicest things about staying in hostels when traveling is meeting so many different people. Sadly, most of these meetings tend to be like “ships that pass in the night” - never to be seen again.

Yet it is not always the case. We have just had the pleasure of hosting four young Swedish backpackers who met in Austin Texas, of all places! They were two groups of travelers who were not acquainted with each other until they arrived at the same hostel in the Lone Star State!

Each pair had been traveling by car throughout the U.S.A. and met in an Austin, Texas hostel. It was by mere chance that the two pairs of Swedes met at all. They became friends in a brief period finding comfort in their cultural similarities.

Then the two pairs parted ways - one heading east; one west. Both traveled extensively throughout the United States one visiting the deep south; places with names like Chatanooga and Biloxi. The second pair took a far different route exploring another part of the vast North American Continent.

So the four new friends continued their separate journeys like “ships that pass in the night” probably never to meet again, but with memories safely banked. But the world in the 21st Century is really changing. It is much smaller today! The two pairs of Swedes drove thousands of miles in different directions.

Purely by chance, in this “smaller world”, both pairs of Swedes made their way to the Canadiana in Toronto this week arriving at our hostel in Toronto within one hour of each other and rekindled their brief friendship that began weeks ago so far away. Some things it seems are just meant to be.

They commonly call us a “Youth Hostel” because that’s how places much like Canadiana Backpackers first got started. Hostels originally catered only to young travellers more than four decades ago. Times have changed. And just how old is “youth”?

The Canadiana Backpackers Inn is a “family friendly” hostel. We have hosted travellers from eight months to eighty years of age. We find the hostel a more interesting place to be when there is a diverse range of guests–diverse in culture, age, outlook on life etc, etc…..

We’ve hosted young groups such as the Manchester Boy’s Choir and a Boy Scout Troop from Scotland. And we have lodged a lot of young (under 30) travellers on “work visa’s”. It’s a reciprocal program between Commonwealth countries allowing young people to work for a year in another country.

Something new happened this week. We had an older but vibrant couple from New Zealand whom, after retirement, decided to set off on yet another adventure. Pat and his wife Gayel (”spell my name right”) Paterson, pulled up stakes and rented their home (for at least, a year) and headed for the UK!

Both Gayel and Pat had successful careers in the New Zealand civil service; she as a teacher and he as a real estate evaluator, They plan to work in Britain and save enough money to fulfil another ambition. They want to do volunteer work in a less priviliged country; to give back if you will.

So, “Youth Hostels” are not only for the young. A “working holiday” is not reserved only for youths. The simple fact is that definitions are changing in the 21st Century. It is people just like Gayel and Pat that have changed those definitions.

We wish them both well and we are sure that they will succeed in what they do. They are two people who understand that life can and should be a grand adventure, and for them, the next adventure is just beginning.

Ok, so I’m a sucker for another Kiwi. Ive been away from home for near on three and a half years now, the last year and a bit of that Ive been based in Toronto, working at the Canadiana Backpackers and you just do not see that many Kiwis here.

So when a New Zealand couple walked through the door I just could not help but want to know more about them.

Trev and Bev(really that’s their names) are dairy farmers from Te Awawmutu. They came to Canada to watch their son, Brendan, who is part of the New Zealand free style Kayaking team, kayak the Ottawa river. Brendan has also Kayaked the Zambesi and part of the Nile in Uganda. You can just see by the way they talk that they are very proud of their son.

They loved the hostel and the atmosphere here and prove that you do not have to be in the 18-35 age bracket to stay in, and enjoy a hostel.

Maybe we will bump into each other in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

By Lesley

Canadiana Backpackers Staff

Last night at the Canadiana you may have been deceived into thinking that you had gone back to the 70’s.

Pearcey our events guy, did a great job of putting together a fabulous night. People looked at us a bit suspiciously when we told them about the 70’s themed party but once it kicked off everyone was in high spirits.

Jono won the best dressed prize and looked very much the part, his tight trousers leaving very little to the imagination(very little). Pearcey looked great in his red and yellow body suit, blond wig and mo. Our Dj, Michel, had his dark shades on and white shirt unbuttoned to reveal his thick chest hair… sorry to the frightened girls who thought it was fake.

An absolute blast was had by all with lots of dancing, drinking and laughing. YMCA was a hit as everyone joined in and danced along in the very much 70’s, John Travolta, disco fever style. There was a great spread of food put on, thanks to a few of the guests who helped out.

Come on Pearcey…. we’re looking forward to the next one.

By Lesley, Canadiana Staff

We get a lot of ESL students coming through the Canadiana every year. The majority come from the EU, South and Central America and Japan. But most ESL Schools here in Canada requires a fairly strong basic knowledge of spoken English so they can work on the written language as well.

But what if a students’ basic knowledge of English is weak or even virtually nonexistant? We have a “school” visiting from Japan that addresses just such needs. FIA Language Training Company is based in Shizuoka Prefecture at the foot of the beautiful Mount Fuji.

As specialists in corporate training FIA has a program called “Adventure School” - or simply AS for short. It is a unique program for University graduates who have been given what is effectively a “gap year” subsidized by their future employers.

Now in it’s 14th year, AS has evolved from a short ski holiday to a year-long home stay/immersion program. FIA founder Shoicic Kaneko has developed some unique ideas about language learning for Japanese students. One of his most important philosophies is “A classroom without walls.”

AS participants don’t attend regular ESL classes. Instead they are immersed in local culture through home stay and becoming active in their local community. It is sort of like being tossed into the deep end of the pool when learning to swim.

This year a select group of participants have started their year at our hostel in order to get used to meeting people of other cultures and to start utilizing the very basic English they have already studied in Japan.

In the short time they have been with us, we have already begun to notice some signifigant progress. We’re certain they will do well in their home stays and we wish them all success.