Boarders DTS - The Beginning

Time flies while you're travelling abroad and it simply couldn't be anymore true here at Eagle Rock near Denver, Colorado. I've only been away for 9 days, yet it feels like months. Life here is good. Comfy beds in dormitories, three tasty meals a day, a beautiful location tucked in the Rockies, 22 other students all striving towards the same goal, and of course, two days a week living it up on the mountains of Colorado snowboarding.

The Beginning. 

It all started with one super sweaty airplane ride into Denver. Thankfully it was only two and a half hours! Meeting up with YWAM staff at the airport, I was quickly on my way into town to the Arvada base to sort out my registration.  Afterwards we loaded up a van and hit the mountain roads till we made it to the Eagle Rock base, my home for the next three months. 

Denver!

Testimonies

A week half full of lessons, introductions, rules, and awkward conversations getting to know each other led us to the start of sharing our testimonies. Our life stories. Full of laughs, smiles and tears. Everyone had their own story that makes them who they are and yet the similarities are evident. What seriously shocked me was the authenticity of everyone and how we ALL opened up completely. Tears welled up and fell from eyes cast down upon the carpeted floor. Voices shook with raw emotion as past wounds surfaced again. With an entire roomful of "strangers" listening, only two days into our time together. These life stories, these struggles, these open wounds brought us together. It stitched us together into one big broken family, and we all knew we were in this together for the long haul. 

Snowboarding.

Which leads us into THREE DAYS STRAIGHT 

of snowboarding! These mountains are huge! Comparable to Whistler and Blackcomb, Breckenridge blew me away with the fact that it has 5 peaks alone! Two days on Keystone and one day on Breck left me with a sore tailbone and an incredibly tired body. My throat was raw from yelling with joy as we tore up these mountains. The thing I love about riding with such a huge group is the range of skill level. I fit somewhere in the middle which leaves me with heaps of room to learn and grow. Already my 180's are getting pretty sick! Day 3 on Breck, we had our first day of helping out with the "Jesus Cookie" ministry. Splitting into teams, we grabbed HEAPS of homemade cookies from these lovely old ladies and hit the mountain, passing bags of cookies to lifties, pass scanners, ski patrol and really anyone we felt who needed a boost. The workers have dubbed the Sunday Cookies as "Jesus Cookies" and we simply just roll with it, blessing people left and right. 

Monday. 

It's been awhile since I've had a Monday, about 8 months in fact. Thus getting sat down after a drive into Denver and doing about 4 hours of lessons sucked. I just suck at sitting, taking notes and paying attention to one voice for so long. For the last 4.5 years and especially the last 2.5 I've been on my feet running. Literally and figuratively. 14 hour work days, outdoor adventures, and  travelling the world have all made it challenging for me to focus on one thing at a time for such a long time (even with breaks). Two more days of lessons have left me with a sore butt and a cramped wrist. Yet the things I've been learning have been mind-blowing. 

Vamos a la X-Games

However as we finished lessons today, I couldn't be more stoked to repack my bag, polish off my snowboard and load up into the vans to head off to ASPEN FOR THE WINTER X-GAMES! The Extreme Games are the apex of Snowboarding and Skiing competition. Drawing around 100,000 people from around the world, Aspen (a town of 3000) gets packed for 5 days straight. Music concerts, free gear, a day on the slopes and one intense competition are lined up for our time here. More importantly though, loving on the people here will be the priority. Whether it be the burly tattooed guy smoking cigarettes or the young teenage punks fighting for their friend's approval. We'll love them all. 

As we're driving out to Aspen, I couldn't be more excited. For the X-Games of course, for the next few months of schooling, for two months abroad on Outreach, and simply just for the future. 

More than anything though, I'm excited to get out of this tight bus, stretch my cramped legs out and have a slice of dirty, greasy pizza.

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

January 21, 2015 - Somewhere along the way to Aspen

Take Off

Well I'm not going to lie, it's quite nice to start the new year surrounded by friends, family, and the knowledge that I'd be leaving again in 12 days! My time home has been short, sweet and definitely eye opening. With exactly two weeks at home, it has been quite a sprint running around for coffee dates, bouldering with friends and the usual shenanigans. 

Coffee. 49th Parallel. Revolver. I don't think I've ever visited coffee shops this frequently and as often as I have in the past few days. The thing about South America is that they are a powerhouse in PRODUCING coffee. There really isn't a coffee culture for drinking here. They export almost all of their first grade beans leaving behind the imperfect beans to be burnt and charred before consumption. Roasted at high heat as to hide the low quaility taste. Besides their secound grade coffee they also drink heaps of instant coffee which produce an instant headache to those willing to drink it for its weak caffeine content. Being away from good coffee or so long, it was pleasant to have as much tasty coffee as I could before Denver. 

Wait, back to Vancouver. Ok so.  Bouldering. Climb rocks. Fall. Repeat. Dinner. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. Vancouver Island. Workout. Elk Falls. Nap. Mean Girls. Dodgeball. Archery Tag. Flying Pig. Prospect Point. Phnom Penh. Craft beer. Lots of craft beer. 

Which brings me to last night. After a busy final day with friends and family I ended up packing for most of the night.  I finally zipped up my bags, shrugged my shoulders at the thought of a secound check and got ready for bee. Feeling like a snotty nosed 7 year old going to Disneyland though, I ended up getting about 1.5 hours of sleep instead of my potential 3. Being behind the wherl, we started the drive down to Seattle and it was going smoothy until we reached a bridge close to downtown Seattle. A big-rig started skidding out just in front of us to the right and that instantly turned into it drifting into our lane! Luckily my mom's scream saved the day and I managed to swerve around it and past harm's way. Thinking about it, there could have been a car coming up on my left, we could have skidded out and flipped, we could have smashed right into the truck.. seriously a close call for a casual drive at 8am. 

Which I guess brings me to right now. I'm in Seattle. Currently waiting for my 10:59 (not 11:00) direct flight to take off and bring me to Denver! I'm seriously stoked to be living and riding up in the mountains, excited to share my time with a big class of about 30 or so other rad chicos, and to be honest, most excited to finally have my own bed and space for the next three months! Oh, and obviously God and Jesus and the Bible and such.. Obviously. 

Hasta pronto amigos en seis meses! Estoy excitante para el futuro. See you soon friends in six months! I am excited for the future. 

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

January 12, 2015 - SeaTac & Denver International Airport

A Finale & A New Beginning

South America. Usa, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Over 2000 photos, 10 new patches on my backpack, a half dozen stamped filled pages in my passport, and one Travelapse are all that I have left of my journey through 9 different countries over a period of 6 months. Cheering teams on at the FIFA World Cup, hiking through Patagonia, exploring Easter Island, driving through Salar de Uyuni, trekking to Machu Picchu, falling in love with the Galapagos Islands, battling mud and rain for Ciudad Perdida.. the list could go on and on but these are simply a few of the highlights. What more is there really to say about the subject?

South America. You've been good to me. I'll be back for you soon, I promise.

Which leads me to my new beginning. In four days I take off again for Denver, Colorado! In four months I take off overseas for Mexico, Indonesia or Nepal! In seven months I'll start a road trip heading for New York City in search of a job at one of the World's best restaurants! To think that I could end my year living in a new country on the other side of the continent is simply thrilling. Equal parts excitement and fear! All of this simply can't be achieved alone though. With all my friends and family who've been with my on every step of this journey here's another way to help out!

The real important information. How you can support me and my travels?

Do you like reading about my adventures on my blog? Do you like seeing my travel photos on instagram or facebook? Would you like to put a huge smile on my face? If you'd like it all to continue and you wish to support me then please feel free! Look to the right on my blog near the top where you'll see a big DONATE button sitting all neat and pretty up there. Your support will go directly to me and straight into my travel funds without any hiccups in between! A dollar, five or five hundred are all lovely numbers and I couldn't be more grateful for your support. Love you all and hope you're enjoying the new year as much as I am!

Cheers to Adventure

Salut to Photgraphy

Saúde to Exploration

Channy
Instagram - itsnathanchan
January 8th, 13th and Prince Edward St, Vancouver

Welcome to 2015

What better way to start 2015 off then to take a freezing cold plunge into the Canadian Pacific Ocean right?

With it being day two of the new year I would say that it's been fantastic already. English Bay was electric with the atmosphere of spectators, nervous newcomers and already drunken veterans for the 2015 Polar Bear Swim. I managed to convince Joel to come along to take the icy plunge with me. Having friends and family cheering us on before and after only made it that much better. One epic bowl of steaming hot extra pork, extra noodle shoyu ramen and I was about as content as one could be. 

Then I took off. On a short trip this time to Vancouver Island. Visiting one of my best friends Josiah as his Christmas break ended just as I landed back home. A weekend of adventure is definitely in store now that I've finally arrived!

Which leads to the future. 

In 10 days I'm off on my next big adventure bound for Denver, Colorado! Will be apart of a biblical training program with an organization called Youth With A Mission. Lecture and training phase will commence for three months with weekends spent snowboarding the epic mountains of Colorado. Following lectures It'll be off overseas for two months, either to Mexico, Indonesia or Nepal to volunteer on Outreach!

Then a quick roadtrip home through Yellowstone National Park. Then an even quicker two week stint back in Vancouver. Then a 1 or 2 month roadtrip across USA to The Big Apple. Then.. well, then unfortunately I think I'll be out of money. I plan to stage around NYC for a few weeks in hopes of landing my dream job and taking off on my next adventure in my culinary career!

Cheers to the future!

Channy

Instagram - itsnathanchan

January 2, Departure Bay Terminal, Nanaimo