Brandon, the city that doors are unlocked

It was a two hour drive from Winnpeg to Brandon. Not much to see on the way there. The ride was extremely dull. Nothing but flat corn farms for hours. Luckily, I had made two new friends. Which made the ride survivable.

Brandon, Manitoba discovery center, Hugo Morel

Once we got into Brandon, the city reminded me of my hometown. Slow, small and it gave a chill vibe. I met the person who was I staying with. Luckily, she was a very nice person. It was a couch-surfing experience I will never forget.

Unfortunately, my host had to work. So I was stuck at the home for a day. She informed me how she never locks her doors. Of course, I was completely shocked. There was so much trust in this small city. No locks! Unless, it is late at night. This still surprises me.

I was introduced to two new furry friends. These guys were wild and crazy at times. Waking me up and jumping on the bed my host let me sleep on. It was hard not to develop feelings for these little guys. They would eat anything and I mean anything. Caught one trying to eat a rubber-band.

Starbucks with french and English, Hugo Morel

inside of Starbucks, Hugo Morel

After the first day of being stuck inside, one of my teachers came. To find something entertaining, we tried to explore the city. That was over in 10 minutes, literally. The city only has 6 main streets. So we decided to hang out in Starbucks because of free WiFi. Long story short, we stayed there for two hours and some crazy guy kept trying to talk to me. He kept asking if my teacher, was my girlfriend. It was very awkward!!

wolf, Hugo Morel

Wolf with Santa’s Hat, Hugo morel

bear and beavers, Hugo Morel

Brandon, Manitoba is home to some very interesting wildlife. The southern part of the province, there are normal bears with black fur. As in the north, there polar bears and penguins! Also, it’s rumoured Santa Claus lives in the most northern part of the province. He also has wolves helping. One of them, was in the picture above.

20160127_091132 — Brandon’s downtown in the background, Hugo Morel

Thank you for taking your time for reading this post! Drop a like and a follow. Next week we will be visiting my friend’s Maple Syrup factory. Much Love!! Stay healthy!!

March 25, 2016 46

I’m going to Canada, hopefully

New year, new me as the saying goes. For me, new year means new adventures. It was the end of January 2016. New York City just survived a record breaking snowstorm. I was invited to go to Canada for a Capoeira event. The event will have masters of the art to teach us. The thought of it filled me with joy. Little did I know, it would be a journey just to get there.

One word of advice, never call your mother during a storm and your flight is the next day, after the whole city closed down. Yeah, the city that doesn’t sleep had to shut down at 2:45 pm; yet, any mother makes a situation seem more awful than it actually is. Okay yes, the blizzard was bad enough to close the city that never sleeps down but I was still alive. After a few “Are you alive?” calls, my mother convinced me to go three hours early to the airport. I’m still trying to figure out how she did this. Once the taxi dropped me at the airport, I knew I was in for a long night.

As I got into the airport, the place looked like a dead zone. Everything was unusually closed down. The airport is open 24 hours on a normal schedule but a storm just passed. The airport looked like a homeless shelter. The food court was filled with people who were stuck in New York City. Their flights were canceled and the local hotels were closed. The only choice they had was the food court. This was a sight from a horror movie and a traveler’s worst nightmare.

people sleeping at the food court, Hugo Morel

the storm’s aftermath, Hugo Morel

After three hours of waiting, it was take off time. To save money, I bought a connecting flight, New York City to Denver international. The flight was full, due to the storm. They kept asking for handbags and luggage to be put on another flight. The kind person would be rewarded for a thousand dollars worth of flyer points. They asked four times and waited until someone actually volunteered before taking off!!

Denver International airport, Hugo Morel

At Denver International, I was surprised how big the mile high city’s airport was. It felt bigger than JFK. There was a mile long walkway (pun intended) and even a mall. I expected to see the cast of South Park here. This was mind-blowing!!

After all the trials, I was finally in Canada. The country that is the home of Justin Bieber, Drake and maple syrup. Of course, instead of seeing Santa Claus and the north pole, I get a not so jolly welcome. Long story short, the immigration center kept me for about 20 mins trying to understand my story. It’s hard to explain to people, what Capoeira is. Lesson learned, never say you are going to stay at someone’s house that you met on Facebook and learn from a master that you never met in person.

Thank you for taking your time to read this post. Drop a like and a follow. Much love!!! Next week, we go to the city of Brandon. Stay safe and healthy!!

March 18, 2016 32

Boston and Graduation at Tufts

It was the summer of 2014, one of my childhood friends was graduating from a private university. This was a major accomplishment for him. I was and am still proud of him. After the graduation, we explored Boston together.

The bus ride to Boston was crazy. Four hours of just sitting, can do damage to any healthy person. It was 2014, and we still have not created a teleportation machine. The epic struggle!! Anyways, when going to Boston you have a few choices. You can go by plane, train or bus. If you are on the east coast, a bus will be best. In certain areas, it is only 50 dollars round trip. From New York City, I paid only 40 dollars for a round trip. I used Lucky Star bus, they are great and a money-saver.

IMG_20140517_122355 — another shot of Boston from Tufts, Hugo Morel

Once in Boston, I met my childhood friend. We knew each other since elementary school but, didn’t become actual friends until the end of middle school. We took Boston’s subway to get to Tufts University. I got to see where he lived and what his projects were. I’m so proud of him. When I used to visit his home, he would live off MacDonald’s. At that time, he was living in a single parent home with his little sister. Money was very tight for them. For him to be at this university is an amazing achievement. He is the first person in his family to go to college. When I saw him receive his bachelors, it took a lot of willpower to hold back tears.

Boston’s freedom trail, Hugo Morel

A Different view of Boston’s freedom trail, Hugo Morel

After the emotional graduation, we went to explore Boston. We did what tourists do in Boston, walked the freedom trail and go to the infamous Fenway park. Sadly, we did not care who would win and none of us were Red Soxs. After the game, we went bar hoping in Boston. So apparently, Boston’s bars close at 2 am. Living in New York City for awhile, really changed my views of late nights mean.

Baseball game at Fenway Park, Hugo Morel

Wanted to dedicate this post to one of my closest friend that helped me out so much growing up. I was going down a wrong path in my life and he encourage to get back into reading. Which eventually lead to this blog and me starting my company! He encouraged me to do what I love. As you guys can tell, I love traveling and being able to write. The friend I’m talking about is the one that graduated in this post. He is now a few years away from getting his PhD. I’m so proud of him. May he continue to inspire others and change more lives.

Guys, we just reached 500 likes!! Thank you so much!! I love you guys so much and I’m so humbled you guys see my life as interesting. Once again, thank you. I hope, I can inspire you all to travel!! Much Love!!! Drop a like and a follow. Next week, we will start a Canadian adventure. Stay healthy!!

March 11, 2016 24

We just got the Liebster Award!!!

Hey guys, just wanted to say thank you for all your support. We just got the LieBster Blog Award. I never really heard about this until last night, when I got the notification. The award is given to new up and coming blogs that another blogger nominated them for their work. I was nominated by the beautiful Ravine Sierra. Once again thank you, Ravine!! I am Humbled for your nomination!!!

So Here are the Rules:

Thank the person who nominated you and link back to his/her blog.
Copy and paste the Liebster Award badge to your post.
Answer the ten questions the person who nominated you asked.
Nominate 10 new bloggers that you want to share with the world.
Then create ten new questions for the bloggers you are nominating
Notify the bloggers that you have nominated by leaving a comment on their blog.

liebster-award-L-QSGhF9 — brought to you by google

Here are the questions Ravine asked.

1. If you could live anywhere, where would it be? It would have to be Australia. I love this country so much! My heartaches for the Aussie culture.

2. What is your favorite book to read and why? I don’t really have a favorite book. I love books all the same.

3. What is your favorite movie to watch? It has to be around the world in 80 days. It inspired to travel and create this blog.

4. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life? Haha no one. My life is not important enough to have a movie made of it. I honestly, don’t want a movie made out of my life.

5. What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you? Every time im in a new country and I get the feeling that I’m remembering an old memory.

6. How would your friends describe you? My friends describe me as that weird guy that travels a lot lol

7. What does your perfect day look like?
My perfect day is on the road feeling free.
8. If you could live in a book, TV show or movie, which would it be? If I can live in a TV show, it would be anyone from the travel channel. I love traveling, if you have not noticed.

9. What was your dream job growing?
My dream job was working in NASA because my grandpa was a rocket scientist.
10. Who is your favorite celebrity?
I do not have a favorite celebrity but any celebrity that inspires people, I like.

Once again thanks guys for your support 🙂 Stay healthy! Much love!!

March 9, 2016 46

Teaching English in Monterrey, crossing the usa/mexican border

After a few days of workshops in Dallas, it was finally time to go to Mexico. We were all excited to teach English and to get out of Dallas. For many of us, it was our first time to America’s Southern neighbor.

mountain range in Monterrey, Mexico- Hugo Morel

As we got on the bus, we had no idea how long of a bus ride we were in for. Once about 8 hours passed by, we arrived in Brownsville, Texas. A border town with lots of social problems. The atmosphere completely changed, you could cut the air with a knife. The city looked very poor, broken houses everywhere. It was as if, we were in another country and not the USA. The people walking on the streets looked very tensed and scared. This was completely another world.

Once at the border, the air became thicker. All the guards had semiautomatic guns. This was not a laughing matter. The border control made us get out of the bus and checked our bags on a white table, as shown in the picture above. As one of the guards was checking my bags, I looked him in the eye by accident. The other two were quick to put their hands on their guns. It was as if, I was some type of criminal. The lives these guards live, there is not much smiling. I didn’t felt love here and I only sensed hate mixed with fear.

USA/Mexican border on Christmas day, Hugo Morel

After the scare from the border control, we passed through the border. On Christmas day, we were finally in Mexico. You can see the differences and it was heartbreaking. A lot of women showing off their bodies on street corners. There were a lot of men just sleeping on the floor with a look of despair. The hopelessness in people’s face, made us realize how lucky we are to be Americans. Seeing all this, made us want to teach even more.

another shot of the Mexican mountain range , Hugo Morel

We finally arrived to where we were going to teach, the University of Tecmilenio. Unfortunately, they did not allow us to take photos of the school or the classroom. As the classes started, we saw the looks in the adults’ faces. Their faces expressed friendliness and warmth. As we taught more English, their faces lite up and English was finally clicking. This experience was so amazing. A lot of the adult students, invited us to their homes. The stories they gave us really touched our hearts. Many of them, have seen crimes unthinkable. Coming to the USA, for a lot of them, was their only way for a better life. The rest that will stay, learning English is needed to getting better jobs. This was one of the most memorable experiences on my travels.

outside view of the school we taught, Hugo Morel

Thank you for taking you time to read this post. Drop a like and a follow. Much love!! Love you guys so much! Next we will be heading to Cambridge, Massachusetts for my friend’s graduation at Tuffs university and explore Boston!! Take care and stay healthy!!

March 4, 2016 57