Notable Guests at the Canadiana |
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Sarah Pingiori arrived from the UK at the beginning of winter 2010 - 2011 with her friend Annie. Annie left for home in March just as spring was arriving. Sarah followed a week later but headed for sun and surf of the Grand Cayman Islands for a six-week break.
Even though she was missed by all of her friends at the hostel, we couldn't fault her decision to opt for the warm tropical beaches of the Caribbean.
Her close friend Annie was home in England for only a few weeks but found she missed Canada. She phoned the hostel and announced she was returning by April. Sarah returned shortly thereafter. Even Toronto's bitter winters can't blunt the city's appeal.
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Until the "Irish Invasion" beginning (2009/2010) most of us had never heard the name "Aoife". It is an Irish feminine name (pronounced ee-fa). We met three ladies named Aoife before we learned to pronounce it. But one thing they all had in common (besides being Irish) was they are all stunning. In Gaelic, "Aoife" means "beautiful or radiant" – unquestionably; no argument there.
Aoife McKeon is a public relations representative here in Toronto for, at least, a year on a working holiday. Like so many Irish, her first stop in Toronto was the Canadiana. She now (2011) has her own apartment but still comes by from time to time for a visit. This photo was taken on our patio on St. Patrick's Day.
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Little Annie Samuels was one of two Cambridge area University grads who came to Toronto at the end of 2010 with working/holiday visas. They stayed and endured the bitter cold of a Canadian winter. Annie left us in early March, just when the weather was getting warmer. What are they teaching at British Universities?
Just as the weather gets good and Toronto emerges from its' winter dolour with plenty of exciting free events to come, she heads back to the UK. This entry is perhaps sour grapes as Annie is really missed here. She has a real charisma about her. As well as being really easy on the eyes! She has promised to return for summer, so we're going to hold her to that vow.
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Anita arrived from Melbourne in September of 2010 with her best friend. Her friend Gemma has her photo on our wall as "one of the kindest, most well-liked and popular guests we've ever hosted".
We were going to put Anita's solo photo up too as she is also a contender for the title. But Anita insisted we put a photograph of her with her dear friend Gemma. Here's a pic of them together with Anita on the right.
It showed us just how popular this lovely lady was when a backpacker from England (whom she met here before Christmas)
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AOIFE. That's not a name you would usually hear everyday. But in this hostel, it seems, we actually do. There were at least four of them in residence in the spring of 2011.
They all hailed from the Emerald Isles and they all had something in common. Each of them lived up to the meaning of her name (Aoife, ee-fa, means beautiful or radiant). This is a picture of Aoife Donovan from Áth an Ghainimh.
Confused? That's just Irish-Gaelic for the Sandyford Area of Dublin.
We are going to try to put all of our Aoife's photos on our wall. Then you will be able to see that we weren't kidding when we said they are all such lovely ladies.
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Lloyd is no stranger to hostels and backpacking. He owns and operates the Backpackers Hostels Canada Association as well as the Thunder Bay Hostel in Northern Ontario. (Both his son and daughter operate hostels in Ontario).
His work with Backpackers Hostels Canada sees him traveling for much of the year and he is a frequent visitor to Toronto. We think it a vote of confidence that during his visits to our city, he always chooses to stay at our hostel and no other!
Lloyd has visited perhaps every hostel in Canada. So, let's face it, he knows to spot a good one.
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Marcelo was a language student from Chile. Back home he is a professional chef and sommelier when he isn't on the beach surfing. He came to Toronto for several months to upgrade his language skills.
During his stay (the Spring of 2011) Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami killing thousands and sparking a nuclear crisis from damaged reactors.
Marcelo put his culinary skills to work and prepared meals for sale to hostel guests and managed to raise close to a thousand dollars to support the Canadian Red Cross' relief efforts in Japan.
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Like a lot of Irish names, we can spell them but we can't always pronounce them. Aine (awn-ye), noun; splendour, radiance, brilliance.
The queen of the Munster fairies was called Aine as was one of the wives of the legendary Fionn Mac Cool. Aine appears in folktales as "the best-hearted woman who ever lived – lucky in love and in money."
Our Aine first arrived in the winter of 2010 and quickly showed that the first part of the folklore was, indeed, true. We're pretty sure that Aine's future will confirm the latter part too.
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We first met Naro Lokuruka in 2009 when she moved to Toronto. Naro is a Kenyan by birth (a Turkana from Western Kenya) but was educated in Ithaca, New York where her father completed his PhD. at Cornell University.
She was "discovered" in the bakery where she was working by Jeannie Becker, the host of Fashion Television (CITY-TV) who encouraged her to try modeling. Ms. Becker introduced Naro to a reputable agent – the rest is history.
Naro is now a much sought after high-fashion model on the Toronto, New York, Paris and Milan fashion runways. Even with her success, when in Toronto, she always makes time to drop in for a visit at the hostel - her first "home" in the city.
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This year (2010/2011), we've had an Intern for the very first time. Michelle is a young Co-operative High School student who works a few shifts per week as a part of her school curriculum.
Michelle avers that she got one of the best assignments when she was sent to work with us assisting the staff at our hostel's front desk. If Michelle thinks she was lucky when she was placed with us, we know what she means. You see, we think that when her school sent her to us for the year, that we got lucky as well.
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Guro Belsvik is a proud citizen of Norway. "I am Norwegian, therefore I am amazing!" That's a direct quote from her Facebook Profile.
Whether or not you agree with that synergy, the truth is, Guro is quite an amazing lady. She arrived here shortly after the New Year, 2011. She came to upgrade her English language skills, then return to Norway and complete her studies in Bio-Chemistry.
Guro arrived about the same time as several Latino students with whom she became good friends. She had also studied Spanish in Norway. The result was Guro managed to improve her English but her Spanish as well.
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She's slim, trim and English and unlike the original "Twiggy" she's not anorexic. The only reason for her moniker is because Leanne's surname is "Twigg".
It's hard to say just when Leanne first came to the hostel. We think it was in either 2009 or 2010 when she was on a year-long working holiday visa. She quickly became a part of the "Canadiana Family".
Even after she moved out into her own apartment, she still found time to visit and participate in hostel events. She has already paid us a visit after returning to the U.K. and we look forward to her visiting again. Here at the Canadiana hostel in Toronto, all "family members" are always welcome.
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The first time you lay eyes on Sandi Wenger your first thought is that she is an "athelete". Her form, features and all of her movements are as precision as the Army Knife with which she shares a surname.
Sandi arrived for a brief stay with us from her native Switzerland in the summer of 2011. She made quite an impact on us here during that visit. She is wholesome and adventurous. Since she was traveling alone, she participated in a lot of hostel"events" and was able to make a lot of friends.
At first glance, this stunning Swiss Miss is obviously an athletic lady, perhaps a dancer. She is actually a Long-distance Cyclist, Kayak Competitor and an accomplished Rock Climber. By profession, she is a physiotherapist.
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Wouter (Walter) Winters arrived in Toronto, Canada from Holland in early 2009 with a working holiday visa. He worked as part of the hostel's staff between sightseeing and adventures around North America by car. We gve him the name 'The Flying Dutchman' due to his love of driving cars at high speed.
As he soon learned, speeding on Canadian highways is frowned upon as well as expensive! Shortly before he left, he was stopped by police for driving way over the posted limit.
By the time his trial and conviction on the charge was completed, Wouter had sold his camper van and returned to the Netherlands. We had someone from the hostel represent him in traffic court. Its really fortunate that he left Canada when he did. When (and if) he returns to Canada, there is a $5000 fine waiting for him.
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Why would a stunningly beautiful natural blond wear a blonde wig? Don’t ask. Just take a look at the photographic results.
Marnie McIlrath from Perth, Western Oz is the kind of girl that commands your attention. During our recent (2011) Toronto Film Festival, she ran into Cory Monteith (of “Glee” fame) on the front steps of our hostel. Seems that Mr. Monteith was more than willing to spare the gorgeous young Australian Art/Drama teacher a minute or ten. And they say that many celebrities are standoffish. Go figure?
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Like most hostels, we get our share of Australians. Most are "passing through" and others, have come for a year-or-two long "working holiday". Some even refer to their lives and homes in Oz as akin to Paradise. And after experiencing a Canadian winter, many might grant them that.
Paris is lovely - both the one on France and the one from Perth! Parastoo (Paris for short) arrived in the fall of 2010 and really "likes" our fair city - brutal winters notwithstanding.
A former scientist (a technician in Forensic Pathology) plans to use Toronto as the base of an effort to "reinvent" herself. She is planning to open up a photography business right here.
We love Paris! (both the one in France, in general, and the one from "Downunder", in particular.)
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