U of T’s first Afro-Caribbean dance workshop: 10/10 would go again and again

This past Monday, Move U and U of T’s Black Students’ Association hosted the university’s first Afro-Caribbean dance workshop. It was one of many highlights of my four years at U of T. Seriously. A moving image generated from a clip from the workshop which shows everyone dancing hand in hand.   The hour-and-a-half long workshop was a total blast! It was led by Arsenio Andrade, who was born and trained in Cuba and has performed internationally, and accompanied by the wonderful drumming talent of Richard “Popcorn” Cumberbatch who has been playing Caribbean indigenous drums since the age of 11. There was a great turnout and every single person seemed to be having the time of their lives – I know I was.
Painting of an umbrella (representing and labelled as "self-care") in the rain.

Staying on Track with Your Self-Care

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I think maintaining the self-discipline to actually keep yourself well, both mentally and physically, can be hard at times. Knowing about and trying out different self-care strategies is great, but sticking to them can be another thing. As we’re writing all about self-care this week, I started thinking about why some of the self-care activities and strategies I’ve experimented with haven’t stuck while others have…
Painting of an umbrella (representing and labelled as "self-care") in the rain.
by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer of Balzer Designs.
I love looking through her art journals (click through for an example) when I'm looking for inspirations for my own "art journals" (I use quotations because my attempts are more chicken scrawl than art, to be honest).

An Endless Tug-of-War: Being a Diasporic Asian

My Neighbour Totoro. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Char siu bao. Maple syrup pancakes. Red pockets. Christmas trees. As a child, I never questioned why my life was a mix of Canadian and Chinese culture. It had always seemed natural to participate in each culture’s respective traditions and indulge in its entertainment and food. I didn’t realize that this was partially due to the fact that I was a diasporic Asian.
An assortment of Totoro merchandise.
Any self-proclaimed Totoro enthusiasts here? (Hand shoots up.)