Vancouver, Canada

People have visited many parts of Canada and each time were inspired by its beauty. Many decided during their trip to make it their own home. Vancouver is one city that has caught the eye of visitors for centuries and continues to do so today. It is one of the largest cities in British Columbia and the most populous city in Canada.


Vancouver is located between Pacific Ocean and the magnificent Coast Mountains. Surrounded by ocean and mountains, everyone can experience the ultimate wonders of the land, everyday feeling the ocean mist while breathing clean crisp air. The perfect sunrise on the coast creates a beaming reflection, setting the ocean and mountains indigo blue, turning every building golden yellow making them look like gigantic Olympic medals. Evening welcomes the sunset on the mountainside that brings magic as its shadow moves across the marvelous mountains, promising a new and beautiful day on the horizon. This sets a picture perfect image in one’s mind, a memory to last a lifetime.

The city of Vancouver has a population of 578,000 according to the 2006 Census. Vancouver is an ethnically diverse city due to its location along the Pacific coast and in recent years there has been an influx of Japanese, Chinese and other South Asian groups. The city’s Chinatown is comparable to that of San Francisco, California.

The mild winter climate makes it a popular tourist destination and it is one of the few places in with world that you can swim and ski year round. Vancouver is rich in scenic attractions such as beaches, parks, and marinas. The city boasts over 170 parks the largest is Stanley Park which covers over 900 acres and has a zoo, expansive gardens filled with native species, a lagoon, beaches, nature trails, a outdoor symphony bowl for concerts/plays, and a world famous aquarium marine science center.

The Granville Island Museums and the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site are popular locations for tourists to visit. The city is home to several sport teams: British Columbia Lions Football, Vancouver Canucks Hockey, Vancouver Canadians Baseball and the Vancouver Whitecaps Soccer making is a sports lover’s paradise. Visitors from around the world traveled to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics to watch the speculator events ranging from skiing to figuring skating.

Vancouver is Canada’s key Pacific port; due to its location the harbor remains ice free year round handling coastal and foreign trade. The areas vast natural resources and heavy trade with the Asian countries have made it the nation’s busiest port. It is the western end of all of the nation’s transportations systems including the trans-Canadian railroads, airways, and highways. A pipeline that runs from Edmonton in the east to Vancouver supplies the west coast with precious oil and natural gas. The city is home to a number of major industries including ship building, oil refining, fish processing, lumbering, and sugar refining. There are a variety of processing plants that produce textiles, metal, wood, mineral products, machinery, electronics items, chemicals, and paper.

Vancouver combines the beauty of nature and the strength of industry. It serves as the major port for Canada and it popular tourist destination. Its many attractions appeal to a wide variety of tastes from nature lovers to sports fans. Vancouver is Canada’s Pacific jewel with spectacular ocean vistas and rugged mountains, a plethora of tourist attractions for young and old, and its key port linking Canada to the global economy.

Tribute to Monda

WHAT DEFINES SOMEONE WHO IS PURE, IDYLLIC, AND PHILANTHROPIC?

ONE YOU CAN SHARE YOUR DEEPEST SECRETS WITH AND KNOW THEY ARE SAFE.
SOMEONE THAT CAN SEE STRAIGHT THROUGH YOUR EYES AND HELPS YOU FIND YOURSELF WHEN YOU ARE FEELING LOST.
SOMEONE THAT CUTS THROUGH OBSTACLES AND OPENS YOUR DOOR TO SUCCESS.
SOMEONE THAT BELIEVES IN YOU, GUIDES YOU, NOURISHES YOU, AND PUSHES YOU ON THE HORIZON TO STAND TALL.
SOMEONE THAT OPENS YOUR EYES AND YOUR HEART.
SOMEONE THAT HELPS YOU TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE AND TEACHES YOU TO HOW TO LIVE IN THE SIMPLEST WAY.
SOMEONE THAT MAKES YOU FEEL LOVED AND JOYOUS EVERY DAY.
SOMEONE THAT TEACHES YOU TO PLANT SEEDS AND MOVE MOUNTAINS.
SOMEONE THAT SHOWERS YOU WITH COSMIC LOVE AND MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE A STAR.
SOMEONE THAT IS A BEST FRIEND, MOTHER, ANGEL, FAIRY, MOON, STAR, SUN, AND THE SKY.
SOMEONE WHO IS CALLED MONDA.
I AM SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE HER IN MY LIFE AND I THANK HER FOR ALL THE BLISS SHE HAS BROUGHT INTO MY LIFE.

With LOVE AND Gratitude ~ Jasmina

Monda is amazing…she resembles the most harmonic melody, one that beats graciously everlasting love. She is full of wonder and her rich heart full of goodness. It is the size of the blue sky. At night she keeps New York lit. Every New Yorker can sleep peacefully and dream about their future. Monda is always at her best. She carries immeasurable dedication and passion to help people around the globe. For the past five years she has enlightened so many people in the US including myself. I can truly say, I am what I am and have what I do, thanks to her. My new home, college education, and success never came easier; it is as someone passed it all on to me. My heart sings when I hear her melodic name and I can do the dance of life anywhere. As I venture new endeavors, I will never forget the woman that has done so much for me and my family. I will love you forever Monda. I will make you very proud someday soon.

Jasmina

To learn about Monda, please click link below. 
http://www.redmonda.com/

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Growing up in Kosovo

Raising children in the United States and other countries can be an extremely controversial topic. We share many differences such as freedom and fear, but the main similarity we all share is technology. As a child I enjoyed all the freedom without fear growing up in Kosovo. At the age of eleven my entire family migrated to the United States; that is when I first learned about fear. Now that I have my own children and teach them my native traditions and language I can not teach them life without fear.

Growing up in Kosovo was very simple. Children don’t have a lot, but are very happy. They are free to go outside, play, and do child activities until they get tired. Kids in Kosovo don’t have many toys, but what they do have is freedom. The freedom to play outside, to run in the green fields, and get dirty in the green grass while they get in touch with natures most precious gifts. Unlike other places there are fruit trees everywhere, and if children felt like going apple picking, pear picking and strawberry picking, it was available in front of their noses. Every season offered special treats for all the children. When it snowed they would go outside and sled down the hill while crying words of joy. Voices were heard everywhere until eleven o’clock in the evening as they were trying to perfect their skills in the snow and enjoy every single flake the sky dropped. Smaller children made snow angels and dreamed about their future, while older children were snowboarding with boards made out of some sort of box, wood, or plastic. All were inspired by their own imaginations with no limit on creativity. As spring arrived, trees and flowers bloomed everywhere. The scent in the air was almost irresistible as it quickly spread and reached every town, village, and city. Everywhere children rode bicycles, planted seeds with their parents, cleaned up around their homes, and played with their pets. When the seeds grew and peeked out of the ground, children were so excited with their accomplishments, there were great celebrations year after year. In the summer children would play outside all day long, swim in pools, play basketball and other games with kids from other towns. The coordination and communication during games was so amazing, no pen and paper was ever used to keep track of any score. At night families would gather and camp outside next to small fires, roast marshmallows, and drink fresh lemonade.

When I think about these special times, the sky was so clear and every star was visible, as we distinguished them from one another. I do remember finding my own stars with symbols and wished upon them to come to America. The feeling was magical, the time unforgettable, and it was promising. Fall was full of surprises for children, from ripe fruits and vegetables, to colorful leaves blowing on the trees. Magic was everywhere. Going back to school was exciting, because it meant meeting more friends, having more play time, and being more sociable. We all walked home together from school telling funny jokes and stories. With winter approaching, both children and adults harvested and canned food, chopped wood, and roasted fresh peppers and chestnuts. I would have to say this was my favorite time of year.

When we migrated to the United States, my parents told me I could not go outside to play unless I was accompanied by an adult. This was new to me and it was the first time I learned about fear. As much as I like the country, everything was strange and distant to me. I felt very lonely and missed my friends in Kosovo. In the summer there were no children to play outside with, and I often wondered if there were any children at all. When I did see them outside, they were always accompanied by an adult who watched them like hawks, and repeatedly said the word “NO” in just about every sentence. I later learned they were inside their homes all day playing with their toys, video games, or watching TV.

While I relived my childhood in my mind, I suddenly realized children in the States had to live under the constant supervision of their parents. During the school season everyday, there are cars lined up in front of the schools as parents wait to pick their children. The school playground is a ghost town because no one stays to play. From birth, children in the States are given new toys when they are smaller and a constant supply toys and electronic devices as they grow older to not only keep them in fashion, but so their parents can keep track of them. Parents bribe their children by giving them more and more instead of teaching them values. As a result children are still not happy because they are never given enough. Seasons come and go in the States and kids are still locked inside their homes watching TV or on their computer while their parents try to keep them from potential harm or a predator that may live next door. From my point of view, because of the constant supervision and the giving of video games, clothing, etc. children miss out on the opportunity of being children by not being able to play outside with freedom and without fear.

People in the United States wonder why boys and girls start dating at an early age and end up making poor choices in their lives. Being exposed to too much television and using the internet for hours at a time seems to contribute to their inability to make choices of any kind. Having the opportunity to grow up in Kosovo with much more freedom and adult role models and less television and electronic devices, I was able to make smart choices at a young age. Instead of negative support if I seemed to make a bad choice, my family helped me correct with love and support. Today in Kosovo there is still freedom without fear but children are more inside their homes because they must use technology to keep up with the rest of the world. Although I miss my Kosovo home, like my parents before me, I try to give my children as much freedom as I can so that hopefully they too make smart choices. Unfortunately I find my self keeping my children inside our home but would want them to experience unlimited freedom.

Meeting Governor Corzine

“I got your pictures on my phone”, is all I heard as we walked toward the side entrance heading out for lunch. “The pictures from yesterday”, he said. “Oh yes, of course”, I mumbled with a blank look on my face as we stood by the door. “Well, I can send them to you if you’d like he replied”.
I somehow managed to get my eyes off the ugly floor and give my email address to him. I watched him type it in his handheld and my eyes quickly filled with tears just ready to pour, but I held back and put a big smile on my face. I just couldn’t believe on the saddest day of my life, when I tried to hide my face from everyone someone actually noticed it. “I'll have these out to you in no time”, he said, as he rushed through the doorway and said goodbye.

Friday July 10th was my father’s birthday; he would have turned 60 years old. I really did not want to go to work that day and the only reason I did was because I had previously signed up to have breakfast with Governor Corzine at work. The original date was scheduled a week before but the Governor had to cancel due to a business matter. I woke up early in the morning that day with misty eyes. I put on my business suit and drove to work. The only thing I was looking forward to was meeting the Governor, and a chance to ask him a question I had sitting on the back of my head for some time. I told my classmates on the previous night that I’ll be meeting the Governor. They all seemed psyched for me and gave me a few ideas and possible questions I might want to consider asking him. At about 8:30 AM the Governor walked in the room with his men. He said hi to everyone and asked how everyone was doing. He looked pretty happy to be there. I started to feel a little bit better about myself. This was a big deal for me, I felt like I was meeting the mayor of NY. As the governor spoke he was throwing funny jokes all over the place. I wanted to laugh but just couldn’t.

The Governor spoke about the different issues New Jersey is facing. One issue in particular that everyone was patiently waiting to hear was the economy. It was no surprise when he said we were in a recession, the economy was pretty bad and difficult to manage during these times. He briefly spoke about his accomplishments and plans to give our economy a push. One thing he made very clear was that there are no plans to do any cuts to education. He mentioned New Jersey has one of the best educational systems and we ought to be very proud of that. In fact he is looking into expanding our schools and investing in any improvements needed to make our schools even better.

After the Governor finished speaking he asked if anyone had any questions. I raised my hand and spoke my question. All eyes in the room were on me, I felt this great power and importance. I was worried that the question did not come out right or that I screwed up somewhere and or maybe no one heard me. But I did it. I asked the Governor the question about furloughs and everyone in the room heard it. I wanted to know how furloughs will help the economy in the long term not the short term. I was so impressed with the Governors answer, he said that the people will not get paid for a few weeks but they will still keep their jobs and benefits while out. It is better than letting them go and forcing them to be without benefits and possibly losing their homes. “Having said that” the Governor replied, “If we can save some money in the short term it will help everyone in the long term”. This law only applies to companies that have less or little growth due to the unstable economy. After the Governor finished answering all the questions everyone had, we all walked over to shake his hand and thank him for visiting us.

I found strength stay in line and wait a little longer to take pictures with him. Our turn was up. There was a gentleman standing there with a big smile on his face who offered to take the pictures. I handed my camera to him, he tried to take a picture but the batteries died. We all stood still for few seconds as another colleague took a few pictures of me with the Governor and my friends. It felt better knowing when the day is over at least I will have a picture with the Governor and a great answer that I can take back to school and share with my awesome Professor and classmates.

But the day had more plans for me than I expected; Not only did I meet the Governor of New Jersey and asked him a question in a room full of people, that left me feeling so powerful and important. It brought a new friend in my life, someone very special that I have so much in common with. For that I am very grateful and truly believe there are angles that comfort and guide us when we are feeling sad and down. They bring the best out of us. The nice gentleman is that special person who took pictures from his phone and emailed them to me immediately just like he promised. We became friends since then and we are so happy to be part of each other’s lives.