Name: Rachel Rauwerda
Nicknames: Rachy or Turdy Bird (Yes..I need some new nick names!)
How would Stacey describe Rachel?
“Rachel is a whole lot of fun wrapped up in a teeny tiny dreaded package. She just might be the most energetic person that I know. She is always using that energy to go on some kind of adventure! She might be in Thunder Bay one day and the next day up in Yellowknife, Chicago or Newfoundland… you just never know with her. She is constantly wearing a huge smile on her extremely expressive face. In fact, her face could be described as a cartoon it is so animated. Rachel has a kind heart and finds the positive in everyone she meets. Spending 9 days on a boat with her is going to be full of shenanigans and unexpected surprises that I am looking forward to.”
Tell us about a favourite memory from your time spent at Open Doors? Oh goodness, I had to think about this one for awhile because I have way too many to mention. If I had to narrow it down to one, I think I’d have to say my favourite memory would be arriving to the school most mornings. As soon as I would step out of the car several of the kids would run out to me with the most joyful and excited energy, enthusiastically calling “Auntie, Auntie!” and then they would grab my bags and take my hands, leading me first to the classroom to drop off my bag and then straight to the field for some running around. Encountering this sheer excitement and pure happiness each morning was so beautiful and precious - one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced!
What are you most looking forward to about the trip? Being in Antarctica…enough said.
What are you least looking forward to about the trip? Running the marathon. Haha just kidding. Definitely packing! I HATE packing. You’d think I’d be much better at it by now, but I’m not.
How many pairs of active shoes do you own? 2 running shoes (Just got my second pair for Christmas!), a pair of snowshoes (those would be active eh), snowboard boots and ski boots.
Would you rather ride a bike, ride a horse, or drive a car? BIKE hands down!!
What is your biggest fear? When I was younger, I was deathly afraid of planes crashing in my house. And the fear worsened when I was staying in a tent. Thank goodness I have gotten over that by now! My biggest fear now is FOMO - fear of missing out. Yes it’s a real thing. I have the hardest time saying no to events or gatherings because of the biggest fear of missing out on something spectacular.
What makes you laugh the most? It’s quite awful to admit, but seeing a friend have a fluky accident (as long as they are not seriously injured - something like walking into a sign or falling) makes me laugh A LOT. Also, being by friends/family when they are scared in a non-scary situation…like on a rollercoaster. Hilarious. Im laughing right now just thinking about it actually. Is that awful?
What did you want to be when you were small? Oh gosh, this is slightly embarrassing - A dolphin.
What is your go to Karaoke song? I am a horrible singer, so I never end up singing the same Karoake song twice. I always think a new song will go better than the last one I sang. It never does.
If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have? I’d be able to transport myself anywhere
What's your favourite fast food chain? Any pizza joint
What is your favourite childhood memory? Oh man. How can any one have a favourite childhood memory?? Of course camping ever summer at Rondeau park and going to Florida or Myrtle Beach with the family are on the top of my list. Who didn’t love family vacations as a kid! I also absolutely loved it when my Aunt Colette babysat us for a week. We would get to pig out on cookie dough and cool whip, wake up at 4am to go snowboarding, play tons of road hockey and of course, prank each other. One memory that really sticks out is the time my brothers and I decided to make the same ‘pepper bombs’ we saw on the movie, ‘Three Ninjas’ (awesome movie by the way) and throw them at my Aunt Colette. We found some coffee filters and threw in whatever spices we could find and then called our Aunt outside. As soon as she walked out the door - powpowp. We whipped those pepper bombs at her laughing historically…Until we realized they actually worked!! My poor Aunt’s eyes were so red and puffy! Haha. What a good Aunt.
What is one thing you will never do again? Participate in a 2L eggnog chugging contest. Ugh our poor stomachs!
What is your favourite food? PIZZA.
What is one of the craziest things you have ever done? I tend to get myself in some pretty ridiculous situations from time to time. I once hopped on a train in Shanghai, China to a small town called Suzhou with only a small backpack and a little bit of cash - no credit card, no phone, no place to stay, no tourism book - nothing really that any smart traveller would typically have. In my head I envisioned getting off the train, then purchasing a map which would direct me to a hostel, which in turn would have all the information I needed to figure out best places to go from there. Well, turns out the train dropped you off literally in the middle of nowhere…in the pouring rain. At this point I was not quite alarmed because I figured I would just ask people to help me out…only, no one understood English (duh!). That left me wandering the streets for hours (5hrs and 45min to be exact) in the pouring rain desperately asking whoever I came across if they could direct me to a hostel. Throughout the day I sometimes got lucky and found someone who understood a little bit of English and they would draw me a map - only it directed me to the hospital…every time! Ha, silly me. Needless to say I was finally lucky enough to find a hostel randomly on my own and everything turned out great in the end.
Tell a silly joke. What do you call a deer with no eyes? I have no ideer.
If you could have dinner with anyone who would you choose? All my grandparents together.
Sweet or salty? Both, together. Like French Fries dipped in Ice Cream…THE BEST! Sweet, salty, hot AND cold all in one!
Beer or wine? Beer. Wine is a very close second though.
Movie or book? Book. I love a good book.
M&m’s or Smarties? M&Ms
Summer or Winter? You know, I would have to say it just recently switched to winter. There has to be snow though, otherwise it’d be summer. I just can’t get enough of the winter snow activities!!
Email or Snail-mail? Snail-mail…even though I’m the worst at sending snail-mail myself. Canoe or Kayak? I canoe way more, but I still think I like Kayaking better.
Introvert or extravert? Extravert
Roller-coaster or water slide? Whichever one has the shortest line!!
Surprises: like or dislike? LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
Indoors or Outdoors? Outdoors
Rainy days or snowy days? Snowy days!! But I do love a good thunderstorm as well.
Ice cream: cone or bowl? Cone
Driver or passenger? Passenger
Toilet paper: over or under? Never notice
Ocean or mountains? Ocean
Soup or Sandwiche? Sandwich
City or country? Country with occasional visits to big cities.
Tea or coffee? Coffee. I absolutely need my morning coffee.
Night owl or morning person? Night owl. Although, the older I get the earlier I seem to go to bed and the earlier I seem to wake up.
Nicknames: Rachy or Turdy Bird (Yes..I need some new nick names!)
How would Stacey describe Rachel?
“Rachel is a whole lot of fun wrapped up in a teeny tiny dreaded package. She just might be the most energetic person that I know. She is always using that energy to go on some kind of adventure! She might be in Thunder Bay one day and the next day up in Yellowknife, Chicago or Newfoundland… you just never know with her. She is constantly wearing a huge smile on her extremely expressive face. In fact, her face could be described as a cartoon it is so animated. Rachel has a kind heart and finds the positive in everyone she meets. Spending 9 days on a boat with her is going to be full of shenanigans and unexpected surprises that I am looking forward to.”
Tell us about a favourite memory from your time spent at Open Doors? Oh goodness, I had to think about this one for awhile because I have way too many to mention. If I had to narrow it down to one, I think I’d have to say my favourite memory would be arriving to the school most mornings. As soon as I would step out of the car several of the kids would run out to me with the most joyful and excited energy, enthusiastically calling “Auntie, Auntie!” and then they would grab my bags and take my hands, leading me first to the classroom to drop off my bag and then straight to the field for some running around. Encountering this sheer excitement and pure happiness each morning was so beautiful and precious - one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced!
What are you most looking forward to about the trip? Being in Antarctica…enough said.
What are you least looking forward to about the trip? Running the marathon. Haha just kidding. Definitely packing! I HATE packing. You’d think I’d be much better at it by now, but I’m not.
How many pairs of active shoes do you own? 2 running shoes (Just got my second pair for Christmas!), a pair of snowshoes (those would be active eh), snowboard boots and ski boots.
Would you rather ride a bike, ride a horse, or drive a car? BIKE hands down!!
What is your biggest fear? When I was younger, I was deathly afraid of planes crashing in my house. And the fear worsened when I was staying in a tent. Thank goodness I have gotten over that by now! My biggest fear now is FOMO - fear of missing out. Yes it’s a real thing. I have the hardest time saying no to events or gatherings because of the biggest fear of missing out on something spectacular.
What makes you laugh the most? It’s quite awful to admit, but seeing a friend have a fluky accident (as long as they are not seriously injured - something like walking into a sign or falling) makes me laugh A LOT. Also, being by friends/family when they are scared in a non-scary situation…like on a rollercoaster. Hilarious. Im laughing right now just thinking about it actually. Is that awful?
What did you want to be when you were small? Oh gosh, this is slightly embarrassing - A dolphin.
What is your go to Karaoke song? I am a horrible singer, so I never end up singing the same Karoake song twice. I always think a new song will go better than the last one I sang. It never does.
If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have? I’d be able to transport myself anywhere
What's your favourite fast food chain? Any pizza joint
What is your favourite childhood memory? Oh man. How can any one have a favourite childhood memory?? Of course camping ever summer at Rondeau park and going to Florida or Myrtle Beach with the family are on the top of my list. Who didn’t love family vacations as a kid! I also absolutely loved it when my Aunt Colette babysat us for a week. We would get to pig out on cookie dough and cool whip, wake up at 4am to go snowboarding, play tons of road hockey and of course, prank each other. One memory that really sticks out is the time my brothers and I decided to make the same ‘pepper bombs’ we saw on the movie, ‘Three Ninjas’ (awesome movie by the way) and throw them at my Aunt Colette. We found some coffee filters and threw in whatever spices we could find and then called our Aunt outside. As soon as she walked out the door - powpowp. We whipped those pepper bombs at her laughing historically…Until we realized they actually worked!! My poor Aunt’s eyes were so red and puffy! Haha. What a good Aunt.
What is one thing you will never do again? Participate in a 2L eggnog chugging contest. Ugh our poor stomachs!
What is your favourite food? PIZZA.
What is one of the craziest things you have ever done? I tend to get myself in some pretty ridiculous situations from time to time. I once hopped on a train in Shanghai, China to a small town called Suzhou with only a small backpack and a little bit of cash - no credit card, no phone, no place to stay, no tourism book - nothing really that any smart traveller would typically have. In my head I envisioned getting off the train, then purchasing a map which would direct me to a hostel, which in turn would have all the information I needed to figure out best places to go from there. Well, turns out the train dropped you off literally in the middle of nowhere…in the pouring rain. At this point I was not quite alarmed because I figured I would just ask people to help me out…only, no one understood English (duh!). That left me wandering the streets for hours (5hrs and 45min to be exact) in the pouring rain desperately asking whoever I came across if they could direct me to a hostel. Throughout the day I sometimes got lucky and found someone who understood a little bit of English and they would draw me a map - only it directed me to the hospital…every time! Ha, silly me. Needless to say I was finally lucky enough to find a hostel randomly on my own and everything turned out great in the end.
Tell a silly joke. What do you call a deer with no eyes? I have no ideer.
If you could have dinner with anyone who would you choose? All my grandparents together.
Sweet or salty? Both, together. Like French Fries dipped in Ice Cream…THE BEST! Sweet, salty, hot AND cold all in one!
Beer or wine? Beer. Wine is a very close second though.
Movie or book? Book. I love a good book.
M&m’s or Smarties? M&Ms
Summer or Winter? You know, I would have to say it just recently switched to winter. There has to be snow though, otherwise it’d be summer. I just can’t get enough of the winter snow activities!!
Email or Snail-mail? Snail-mail…even though I’m the worst at sending snail-mail myself. Canoe or Kayak? I canoe way more, but I still think I like Kayaking better.
Introvert or extravert? Extravert
Roller-coaster or water slide? Whichever one has the shortest line!!
Surprises: like or dislike? LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
Indoors or Outdoors? Outdoors
Rainy days or snowy days? Snowy days!! But I do love a good thunderstorm as well.
Ice cream: cone or bowl? Cone
Driver or passenger? Passenger
Toilet paper: over or under? Never notice
Ocean or mountains? Ocean
Soup or Sandwiche? Sandwich
City or country? Country with occasional visits to big cities.
Tea or coffee? Coffee. I absolutely need my morning coffee.
Night owl or morning person? Night owl. Although, the older I get the earlier I seem to go to bed and the earlier I seem to wake up.