My First Visit Ever to Mainland China...

A couple of week ago, I had the amazing opportunity to meet with students in Dalian, Beijing and Shanghai. Here are some pictures of my trip:

Me with two student volunteers at the Dalian Maple Leaf College Fair. I was able to meet with a number of great students wanting to learn more about Quest.

The entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing. Across the way is Tienanmen Square.Inside the Forbidden CityA visit to the Western Academy of Beijing. I was able to see one of our Quest student's former art project that is permanently in the WAB courtyard.

Thailand...what a beautiful country

Amazing temples, gorgeous beaches, friendly people, breathtaking views, delicious foods, inexpensive shopping... Thailand is a wonderful place to visit. Here are some pictures of my trip:

At Wat Pho I visited a temple that holds a large golden reclining Buddha. Wat Pho is the largest and technically the oldest Wat in Bangkok. The Wat is also popular because in the courtyard there is a massage school that offers traditional Thai massages at a reasonable price.

I had the pleasure and privilege of being the first college visitor at Concordian International School. The students were fantastic!!! Dinner at a local restaurant with a prospective Quester, Pink, and her friend.Ah...tuk tuks. So fun and stylish yet a little dangerous. Use with caution :) I had a wonderful meeting with two great students, Yangchen and Pali, from Prem Centre in Chiang Mai. At the end of my visits I had a couple of days to relax and so I went south to Krabi for some quality beach time and...of course, some serious rock climbing.

Malaysia

This year, Malaysia celebrates it's 50 year anniversary of independent rule. I was recently in Kuala Lumpur to visit a couple of high schools and attend the EARCOS Conference. Here are some pictures of KL. I can't wait to go back and explore the rest of the country.

This is a picture of some great students from Wesley Methodist School, their counsellor and myself. Two of the most famous KL building are:
The KL Tower. There's a revolving restaurant at the top that gives you a 360 degree view of the city. It does one full revolution about every 90 minutes. The other famous building is the Twin Towers (notably featured in a movie with Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones called "Entrapment"). The towers glow beautifully in the night sky.I went on a tour with other EARCOS participants to a pewter factory. All of their products were still made by hand.A picture of King, a potential Quest student, and I having coffee in KL. King is really interested in learning more about studying in Canada.Ahh, the chaos and colors of the market. One of my favorite places. This is the KL Chinatown market.

Singapore

Commonly called "Asia 101", Singapore is multicultural city that is quite easy to navigate. Singapore is also known for it's strict rules and fines (chewing gum is illegal!!!). The people are friendly, the food is delicious and the history is interesting.
Here are some pictures:

The landing spot of Raffles. His landing opened the door for other European trades men and women to settle in Singapore.

Singapore has a large Indian community. While I was there 'Little Indian' was colorfully decorated to celebrate the festival, Deepavali. The markets in 'Little India' were fantastic. This is lady I met in the market who was having her hands henna tattooed to mark the end of her fasting for Deepavali. I had the opportunity to try a number of traditional foods with Misha, friend and potential Quest student, and her family. This was the first time I had ever tried a salak fruit (also known as snake skin fruit because of the texture of their skin) Singapore is quite hot and humid. In Chinatown, I found all the employees of this establishment succumbing to fatigue from the heat (a.k.a. sleeping on the job).

The Merlion fountain is a landmark in Singapore. Half lion and half fish (or mermaid???), this fountain has become a national symbol of Singapore.

Some Pictures of Korea...

Korea has been great!
There's so many amazing places to visit and foods to eat.
Here are some pictures of my experience so far...
Changing of the guards at Duksu Palace
I think this guard is trying really hard not to laugh A traditional meal in Insadong with Yunjin, a student from Daewon High SchoolMe and my Korean sister, Seung Hee, in Myeong-dong. I lived with her and her family in 2001/2 and we've been close friends ever since.

A fun karaoke sesion at a popular Nori-ban with Crystal and Heather from the CEC Network

Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand...

Hello,
I will be in Asia from Oct.21- Nov.18 visiting school and attending conferences.
If you would like to meet up to learn more about Quest during my trip, feel free to email me at keely.stott@questu.ca.

Here is my schedule:
Seoul, Korea Oct.21-28
Singapore Oct.28-31
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Nov.1-6
Bangkok, Thailand Nov. 7-11
Chaing Mai, Thailand Nov. 12-13
Bangkok, Thailand Nov. 14-18

Rock Climbing, Oxford School, Grasshopper Tacos and ASF Fair

Mexico has been great so far! I've really enjoyed meeting so many new people and visiting with old friends. There is still one more week before I return to Squamish but until then, here are some pictures of my trip...

Juan Paublo, a friend and potential Quest student, and I went and visited the Frida Khalo exhibit at the MACRO Art Gallery in Monterrey. Such an amazing collection of her work was brought together.

After the school fair at the American School Foundation in Monterrey, Juan Paublo took me to the Huasteca Canyon. This canyon is a popular place to rock climb.

Her are a fantastic group of students from the Oxford School. We took a serious and silly picture. Can you guess which one this is???Juan Paublo's mom insisted that I try a grasshopper taco. I'm always up for trying new foods.

Today, I had the pleasure of meeting many students at the American School Foundation Fair. It was very successful event!

Going to Mexico Sept.19th-28th

Hello! I will be in:
Monterrey Sept. 19-21
Mexico City Sept. 22-23
Guadalajara Sept. 24-25
...and then back to Mexico City Sept. 26-28.

If you would like to meet to learn more about Quest while I am visiting your city, please feel free to contact me at keely.stott@questu.ca.

THEY'RE HERE!!!!!

The inaugural class of Questers have arrived!

What an amazing group of students with diverse and fascinating skills and hobbies. These students have breathed life into our campus, our courses and our community. We just spent the first week in a whirlwind of orientation at various locations in Squamish. The students are now studying the 'Cornerstone' course for the next month in Rossland, BC at Red Mountain.

To learn more about the courses they will be studying next, go to:http://www.questu.ca/academics/foundation_program/course_descriptions.php

To learn more about our students, check out their student profiles at:http://myquest.questu.ca/yourquest/quest_students.html

I can't wait for them to return! They are truly so much fun!!!
Some of us decided to go for a hike. A student challenge using teamwork!

Quest's giant birthday cake

Camping trip and Nana's birthday

I recently had the opportunity to go on an amazing camping trip in Washington State. There are so many beautiful places to explore in this region. Here is one of them called Twin Lakes. These lakes are located high in the mountains and are glacier fed. They shimmer a gorgeous blue/green.We all did our share of chores. Somebody had to chop the fire wood... might as well be me!

After camping, I went to spend time with my Nana on her 90th birthday. What an achievement! I certainly hope I look as good as she does when I'm her age.

Squamish Triathlon

My most recent achievement is completing the Squamish Triathlon last weekend. Over 300 participants raced the Olympic size course. It is incredible what you can do when you put your mind to it. I am excited to see what goals and feats Quest students will achieve in the coming months!

Here are some picture of the event.

The before picture. Preparing for the transition from swim to bike.

Trying to keep warm before the race begins. The 40km bike ride. Thankfully, my seat is quite comfortable.Some of my support team!So happy to cross the finish line.

Pictures of Hong Kong

The Avenue of Stars features a statue of Bruce Lee.

Young girls in traditional dress getting ready for a parade.

So many colorful dragons danced in the parade. The parade was just one of the many ways Hong Kong will celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the hand over of power from Britian to China

A beautiful trip on the Star Ferry that crosses between Hong Kong and the Kowloon Peninsula The start of a an escalator that runs for over 2 kilometres directly through the center of the city.

June Mak, Quest counsellor based in Hong Kong, and me smiling among the nations.