Where is she???

Hi! I'm back. My apologies for not updating sooner. Last I wrote here I had just arrived in P.E.I. In a nutshell, I quickly fell in love with PEI (just as I did with New Brunswick); we slept one night in our car by the side of a road in the midst of red potatoe fields and two nights in a lovely Victorian B&B in Charlottetown; we explored several incredible beaches, found a cute fishing village, ate lobster, walked through the haunted woods of Anne of Green Gables, took a picture of Green Gables from the back (too cheap to pay to go in), ate lobster, listened to a Maritime band play in an Irish pub, and visited the room where the idea of the Confederation of Canada was birthed. Here are some pics to give you a taste of the beauty and tranquillity of this province:
Yup - the dirt roads really are all red! We drove down this one and walked past the little graveyard, through the wet grass, and down a little cliff to find a pretty spot to eat our breakfast.This is what we found - it was pretty much amazing.
A fishing village.

The lobster that AmyLou and I ate in Charlottetown.

Yeah, I almost didn't want to come home after such an amazing time in the Maritimes but once I was back in Vancouver I was happy to be here again. For the first time in over four years, I am spending the summer in Vancouver, living with my family. I've just completed my second week of work at a daycamp in West Vancouver - supervising and taking 30+ kids on fieldtrips every day is pretty crazy and sometimes tiring, but I'm loving it. The children are delightful and there is never a dull moment. We've also been having a lot of visitors from out of town staying at our house which has also made home a busy but fun place to hang out. Two of my roommates from my 3rd year stayed here last weekend so we could all go to Melissa's wedding together. I almost feel like I am having too much fun. :) I'm enjoying the fact that my job is just a daytime thing and that my evenings and weekends are free from homework or prep work!

What will happen to this blog now that my 2007 summer adventures are over? Or are they even over? Chances are I won't be writing quite as often, but I know that God will continue sending adventures my way, whether big or small, and at times I may feel inclined to share them. So keep checking back once in a while!

New Brunswick

Just crossed the 13 km confederation and am now in P.E.I! Using the free internet at a visitor's center. Wanted to let you all know that I am still alive and well - and already in love with the Maritimes. AmyLou and I spent the last couple days driving around New Brunswick (in our lovely Nissan...something - i.e. a nice rental car), camping in Fundy National Park, exploring pretty beaches, taking way too many photos, enjoying the pretty houses and farms and forest, watching the highests tide in the world come in,... People here are super friendly and life is generally more laid back than anywhere I've been.

Now we're off to find a campground on PEI before heading to a B&B in Charlottetown. (We decided the skip Nova Scotia altogether because of the time factor - saving it for the next maritime trip...)

I'll post some pics as soon as I can! See ya!

Taking care of the little details

A few days ago, I read in 'My Utmost for His Highest' (by Oswald Chambers - I highly recommend if you want to be challenged in your walk with Christ) that we will not receive until we ask. Another author also challenged me this week in regards to prayer: he wrote that if distracting thoughts come into your mind when you are praying, you should view them as stepping stones to prayer rather than barriers. By this he meant that you can take these thoughts and turn them into prayers. Chances are, if you are thinking about something, it is something that is on your heart - so why not bring it to God? So, earlier this week I was realizing once again that my employer still hadn't emailed me back regarding getting my criminal record check done and a doctor's note as proof of my medical fitness, and I was starting to worry about it and wondering whether I could get everything taken care of before I started work and wondering whether I should email for the third time or call my work... so I prayed about it. I specifically asked God to have my employer email me that day. And, God being the faithful God that He is,... when I checked my email that evening, it was there! Not only that but the whole process of getting all the little details done before my first day of work has turned out easier than I had expected. Just wanted you all to know that God really does care about the little details in your life! You just need to ask him!

In regards to my Quebec experience... we went on an excursion to Tadoussac on Sunday which is a cute little village on the St. Lawrence River. We went whale watching - actually saw a lot of whales but not a lot of them (Hmmm, don't think that made sense... I mean that we really only saw their backs - not stunning jumps or anything). But it was a fun excursion and the St. Lawrence reminded me of the ocean because it was so big (just didn't smell the same). Afterwards, we visited a beach where we had to climb down a massive sanddune to get to it - and climb up it again! Here's a pic.

Yeah, it was gorgeous. Looks like the Pacific Ocean, doesn't it? But don't be fooled - it really is a river.

Sorry, this comp is simply too slow to upload anymore photos on here. Will have to show them to you another time!

Windy Sunday and Cheese Curds

My apologies for abandoning my blog for an entire week! It has felt like a busy week, with most evenings spent at the university for various activities. Yeah, I did a lot this week: went hiking, watched a movie in French (The Great Seduction of Dr. Lewis - I believe that is the English title), had another dance lesson (modern), went swimming, learned some more Quebecois dances and songs, visited the puperie in Chicoutimi, watched students do improvisation theater, went to a costume party with a circus theme. All this in just five days, and all this was organized by the program at the university! Oh yeah, and I have also been attending French class every morning and wrote an exam on Friday.

And, in the midst of all that, I realized that more than half my time in Quebec is already over and gone. Wow, I don t know how that happened! Time is wizzing by. So, how is the french, you are asking? Well, I have definately learned a lot already, but boy there is a lot more to learn... I can now speak in sentences if I have enough time to think about it. But only in the present tense. :) And I prefer the sentences starting with Je (I) because conjugating verbs is really complicated and I have to stop and think about them every time I want to use them! But it is exciting to discover that I can understand a word that my Quebecois mom used, because I learned it in class that day. Or when I can impress her with words like habitullement (ususally).

Today, Pauline (my Quebecois mom), Najat (her friend from Morocco who is living here for the summer) and I drove up to a look-out from which we could see all of Chicoutimi. As you can see from this photo, it was rather windy!

Before going home, we drove to the local cheese factory, since the region is famous for its cheece. Now, I visited some cheese factories a few years ago when my family and I were in Oregon. So I expected something similiar - you walk in, get a little tour of the big machines and the whole process of cheese making, and then you buy some sample cheese. But, with my very limited French, I didnt really know what was going on (something which I am starting to get used to). What really ended up happening is that we drove through gorgeous farm country with rolling hills covered in dandilions to a cheese factory (fromagerie) in the middle of nowhere. We waited in line for about 15 minutes to buy a little bag of cheese curds which we consumed outside the store in the lovely sunshine. And then we drove the 20 minutes back home! That was it - but the pretty drive was definately worth it and it was fun to do a little cultural thing (the place was really busy because its weekend). Here is what my cheese curds looked like - their cheese here is very white.

They were quite salty and - they squeaked when you chewed them! Yeah, pretty fun cheese.

Yesterday afternoon we went on a little cruise down the river. Here is my Quebecois host Pauline (in the red) and her friend Najat. Both are really neat people and I have enjoyed spending time with them this weekend.

Ville de Quebec

So, just spend a lovely day and a half in Quebec City, exploring the Old Town and shopping in the many fun little stores. I will share my experiences via photos...

Here we are - five grey hound type bussess full of students - just arrived at Laval University where we spent the night. By the time we were dropped off in the city center, I had enough of travelling with 200+ people so I took off on my own to explore the old town of Quebec.

This is Porte St. Louis, one of the entrances to the walled Vieux-Quebec (old Quebec). Quebec is the only walled city on this continent, north of Mexico. One of many pretty streets that I explored. I had been told by several people that Quebec City is very European and they were right. I had to keep reminding myself that I really am still in Canada!

Before long, I ran into some of my friends from class so I hung out with them for the rest of the afternoon. When we decided that we were hungry, it took us two hours to find a restaurant. Not because there wasnt an abundance of places to eat - oh no, it simply appeared impossible to agree on a place with nine people! Oh well, at least we got to see a lot of the city as we walked past dozens of restaurants. When we finally agreed on a place that had space for all of us (and which we had already passed by earlier), I just had to take a photo. Besides, it was a pretty place: Capitole Quebec Resto.

The grayness in the background is not due to clouds but to haziness - it was 30 degrees plus!

This is the dessert that my friend, Joy, and I shared - some kind of chocolate mouse cake. Delicious! Taking photos of nicely arranged food is a habit I learned from my dad...

So, after dinner I was faced with a dilema - do I go out to the bar with everyone (probably get bored pretty fast as I dont drink and I dont really see the fun in bars and then get into bed really late) or do I take the bus back to the university (alone, at night, in a foreign city). As it turned out, one of the other girls who I had dinner with - Jess - said that she didnt want to go out to the bar with everyone either. In fact, she wanted to do exactly what I did: walk around to see Old Quebec at night and then go back to the university to sleep. Once outside the restaurant, she asked if I was a Christian cause she overhead that I said I go to Trinity and, since she has a friend who went there, she knew it was a Christian university. So it turns out that she also is a Christian! Besides our worldviews, we discovered that we shared many other commonalities such a travelling experiences, disliking the taste of beer, and intraverted personalities. Spent a fun evening walking up and down random little streets and having some good conversations. Meeting Jess was a huge blessing from God!This is the only night pic that sort of turned out - Chateaux Frontenc, the famous Quebec landmark.

This is Jess (red hair) and Joy (she is in my class). We went shopping together Saturday morning - found lots of fun and pretty stores! Then I left them to see a multimedia film on the history of Quebec. Not sure if it was worth the $5.70 I paid as I didnt learn much from it, but the effects were pretty cool. Spent the rest of the day exploring and shopping on my own.

Here is the Fairmont le Chateau Frontenac by day. It is one of the hotels built by the CPR to encourage luxury travels.

This is the little park where I ate my lunch, watched tourists, and took photos of flowers. Nope, this isnt another quaint street - it is a mural painted on the wall of a large building! The mural incorporates the four seasons and peoples of all eras of Quebec. One of the streets of lower old Quebec. The whole old town was packed with tourists on Saturday. I actually got fed up with hearing so much English and I started to hate tourists and wish that I wasnt one!

Yeah, so I would recommend Quebec to all of you - especially if you havent been to Europe. It is one of those places I would visit again.

Children

Last night was one of those beautiful evenings when I just couldn t resist going outside. So I took Paulines dog, Snoopy, for a walk around the neighborhood. Near the end of our evening stroll, we passed a house where two girls were playing in their front yard. As soon as she saw Snoopy - who happens to be a cute little black dog - the younger girl (around 6 or 7) ran across the street to take a closer look at him. Her sister followed right behind. They oohed and aahed and then asked me a question en francais. Oh uh, now I cant just smile and nod and pretend that I am a native of Chicoutimi. The younger sister said something about a name, so I answered with Je m appelle Miriam. When she looked at me quizically and repeated Miriam? I realized that she was probably asking about the dogs name. So I said Snoopy. And then they said Ah Snoopy! and oohed and aahed some more. And asked me another question... Finally, I had to admit: Je parl tres peu en francais! Now they really looked confused, but it didnt seem to bother them too much as they kept talking. Finally, I guessed that they were asking whether Snoopy was male or female. I said I didnt know (which, in retrospect is silly because Pauline is always referring to Snoopy as him).

I was sad when they gave Snoopy a final pat and skipped back to their play. How refreshing and how beautiful they were! I wish the family I am staying with had young children - I realized this week that I miss being around children. Perhaps I need this time to remember why it is that I am passionate about children so that I am geared up and ready to spend the next several months with kids!

My Current Life in Pictures

Okay, so instead of many words, this blog entry is going to be composed primarily of photos that I took this week with my new Canon digital appareil photographique.

Here is my class - class 6c (i.e. the beginners or the first - which ever way you choose to look at it). Our prof is the lady in the middle - Madame Ariane Tremblay - shes awesome. The other students are all pretty cool, too.

This is Nicole on our walk home from school. She lives in the same neighborhood as me so walked together. We live beyond that ridge in the background, pretty much on the edge of town. Its a bit of a trek walking into town or the university (about 45 minutes), but it is worth doing on a nice day like this.

And here is the view across the river from where Nicole and I are. Pretty, huh? It is the Saguaney River and it flows into the St. Lawrence.

And this is the house that I am currently living in. It is a pretty quiet neighborhood, pretty much on the edge of town like I said earlier - farmland is just around the corner a ways.

Thats it for now! Au revoir!

Life in Chicoutimi

Im sitting in the little computer room of Pauline (my host mother s) basement. (Yeah, I cant find the apostrophe on this comp, just funny è things - sorry!) I decided to take a break from trying to memorize french phrases like When is your birthday. Get this: our prof taught us three different ways to say that simple phrase. And then showed us how to chance each of those phrases from the informal to the formal. Aaaah! Too many different ways!!!! And then she taught us all sorts of different questions and answers and for each new sentence, the form of simple words like you and is and what changes pretty much everytime. Aaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

Yeah, so I needed a break from this crazy language and decided to update you all on my life in Chicoutimi. Remember that vow of silence I thought I had taken earlier this week? Well, I have to admit I am surprised how well I can get by and how much I can say with my very limited French. I throw in an English word here and there and Im sure my grammar is completely messed up, but I can often get my message across. The other day I was even able to have a conversation with another student whose family is from Estonia (and Ive been there, too) - and we were actually able to talk about it! But usually the conversation revolves around comment ca va? And j mapelle Miriam. And Dou viens tu? Feels rather primitive after awhile, so, when my housemate Julie and I decided to walk home in the sunshine after school this afternoon, both of us quickly lapsed into English because we were dying for a more intelligent conversation!

But yesterday we spent the entire day at school so I was immersed in French all day. I think parts of my dreams last night were in French - or, at least, I had to speak French in my dream...

So, our mornings are spent in our French classes. Im in a beginner class, for the first time in my life Im in a class with more guys than girls, and our prof is the kindest and most patient prof youve ever had. Yeah, Ive been finding classes super helpful and, for the most part, interesting, although Im usually pretty tired by the end of it.

During the afternoons, we get to do various activities offered by the program that we had to sign up for. For example, for Wednesday afternoons, I signed up for danse expression - we had our first class yesterday where we were taught a modern dance. Was fun!

Dinner we usually have with our host families. Some of my friends (including Julie) have been going out in the evenings, but Ive declined everytime so far because Im pretty exhausted by the end of the day. Ive been in bed before 10 every night this week! Our prof said it is normal for us to be so tired because this language is so new to us.

Want to know an interesting fact re. Quebecois? Words connected to the Catholic Church - like virgin or tabernacle - are considered worse swear words than our f-word. Obviously theres some hatred of the church going on. Wow, these people must have some skewed up view of Christianity!

Speaking of which, this is the first time in my life that I have been fully submersed in a completely non-Christian culture for an extended period of time. Sometimes I forget that I all these students surrounding me arent familiar with Christianity and I have to remind myself that they wont understand my Christian lingo if I used it. But at other times, I am quickly reminded of the sad state that these people live in without Jesus - like when I hear people talking about how drunk they were last night or when swear words appear to be a normal part of their vocab. Or even worse and sometimes less obvious, a lack of purpose or direction in life. Im kinda seeing how different my life is from theres.

Okay, its almost nine - my bedtime. :) Bon nuit!

The Contract

As soon as we arrived at the university this morning (having been picked up from our host families by our trusty - although usually late - minibus drivers), we (nearly 200 of us) were hearded into the auditorium where we were given a sheet of paper to sign. A vow of silence. At least thats what it felt like as I took a deep breath, accepted the pen that the girl next to me offered, and signed my life away. Okay, not quite, just my priviledge to speak the wonderful language of English. From now on, till the end of the program in five weeks time, I may only speak en Francais. If I get caught speaking English, I get a warning and have to go to some ladys office. If I get caught a second time speaking English, I get a second warning and have to meet with several important people. If I get a third warning, theyre sending me home. No joke.

Gone are the relaxed mealtime conversations. Gone are the interesting conversations with young people from all over Canada (like the guy I met yesterday who said his girlfriend is from Czech, which prompted me to ask how he met her, which led him to tell me that he had studied in Germany and, in the course of the conversation, it turned out that his girlfriend is moving to Wurzburg, where I lived for a time - how cool is that! But no, no more of that.) You see: Je parle tres peu du francais. For those of you like me, a translation: I speak very little french.

So ya, I didnt think Id make it through the day, but its amazing how facial expressions, gestures, pictionary skills, my english-french dictionary, and simple drama all contribute to communication. It also takes plenty of concentration, willingness to make a fool of yourself (such as lumbering like a bear on all fours across the classroom floor to help your class understand what an ours is - yes, that was me today), people who are patient with you (my professor is amazing!), and the decision to accept that I will not understand everything that is said or is going on. By lunchtime, I was absolutely exhausted. I decided to walk home this afternoon instead of getting on the minibus - that seemed to refresh me.

I really ought to go memorize some french vocab, but I need to tell you about two exciting things that happened to me today. First, I met a guy from Trinity! Yeah whatever, you might be thinking, you see guys at Trinity all the time... But when youre on the other side of Canada and everyone you meet is from a secular university far from your own (and most arent anywhere near BC), than its pretty exciting. Its Victor - some of you might know him. He went to Lithuania last year (not at the same time as me) so I recognized him because I once talked with him about it. Apparently, theres another Trinity girl here - who I recognize as a Trinity face - but I havent met her.

Second piece of exciting news: Im going to Nova Scotia and PEI! After my program is done here, my friend AmyLou (yup, the one who I was in the Chilcotin with) and I are going camping in the Maritimes for a week. I just booked a flight home from Charlottetown, instead of Quebec. Seeing the Maritimes has been one of my lifes dreams so Im pretty stoked. I will be fly back to Vancouver on June 22.

So Similar, Yet Different

Its (sorry, cant find an apostrophe on this computer) a good thing that I know what the various options are on blogspot simply by where they are placed. Because I cant read them. Why? Ive just been immersed in a foreign language - French!

So I flew through the night and arrived in Quebec City to begin this Quebec adventure in a dazed state (airplane seats are simply not comfortable for sleeping - regardless of how many possitions you try!). My first impression of Quebec? Its much the same as BC. Everywhere I looked, I saw familiar restaurants or stores: Tim Hortons, Costco, Burger King, The Bay, to name just a few. If it wasnt for the French signs and the lights at the intersections being horizontal rather than vertical, I would have thought I was in some city in BC.

What surprised me even more was that the landscape that the bus drove through - from Quebec City to Chicoutimi - was surprisingly similar to what I had just left in Northern BC: Endless ridges covered with pine trees; dry, rocky ground; the occational clump of deciduous trees not yet green; and dots of blue lakes. Reaching Chicoutimi, I realized that I have, for the second time this month, gone back in seasons - most trees arent blooming yet and a cool breeze greeted me as I stepped off the bus.

While the place may look familiar, the language definately reminds me that I am in another part of the world. During the short van ride from the bus stop to the university, I began to feel rather intimidated when the Explore students (from all over Canada) began striking up conversation in French with the driver, laughing and talking. I felt lost. The staff that greeted us at the university were very friendly but they communicated entirely in french and sign language. If you havent guessed already, I dont speak french, except for je mappelle Miriam and a few other simple words. But its amazing how much context, gestures, and a single word will give me a good idea of what people are telling me. Its also amazing how much I miss...

Fortunately, I quickly met several other just as intimidated as me students and I felt a little better. Some of us played cards, speaking a mixture of french and english, while we waited for our host families to pick us up.

So, now here I am, at Paulines house. Shes a really nice lady, works at the university, and has four grown-up children. A lady from Morocco(whose name I cannot remember) is living with her for the summer - shes also super nice - she made dinner for us because Pauline had to go to the hospital. By we, I mean Julie and I - there are two of us Explore stduents staying at this house which is cool. Especially as Julie knows more french than I do so I have someone to help me understand what is going on!

Well, enough for now, dont want to bore you. Tomorrow morning we will be back at the university for info, a walking tour (I think, much of the info Im gathering is guess work at this point), and placement tests. Im excited to get into classes and really start learning - now that Im here, Im motivated!

Home Again

It's over. Yup, I've said my goodbyes and I'm back in Vancouver - never realized this place is so lush and green and colorful! Nothing like the dusty, stony, piney landscape I left this morning.

I'm happy to see my family and excited for Kathryn's wedding tomorrow but I was not ready to leave the school at Stone. I cried as AmyLou and I left the school this morning. It had been another one of those busy school mornings, complete with a mother's day tea in which the whole school took part in. During assembly, we were given cards and pens decorated with tiny beads, made by one of the Chilcotin staff. We had written cards for our students and taken numerous pictures of the beautiful children and staff. The sun was shining and warm, students were back in their classrooms where they belonged, and we were leaving... As we pulled out of the school parking lot and made our way down the dirt road through the reserve, AmyLou suggested we pray once more for these students that have so impacted our lives and touched our hearts. It was a beautiful way to end an amazing experience. I'm missing everyone already!

P.S. Sorry, had to take the pics of the children off my blog 'cause I found out that I'm not supposed to do that without parental permission. Just trust me when I say they are beautiful children!

Turning 23

So, I turned 23 on Saturday. And this is what I turned into...

Yup, that's me tearing apart a telephone pole on a gravel road on the way to some hidden lakes.

Okay, you know me better than that. It wasn't me. It was actually a black bear marking his territory until he heard our car and ran into the woods. Pretty cool to watch a bear leap through the trees or, rather, blunder through them - fast! But he had already done some pretty serious scraping. We though about reporting him to the RCMP for vandalism.

Jill took AmyLou and I out for linner, aka dunch, aka lunch/dinner at Tatla Lake. It's the closest restaurant to their house, only a 40 minute drive. :) Then she drove us to see some pretty lakes tucked into the forest in the shadow of the mountains. One of the lakes sounded just like the ocean as the wind was washing waves up on its pebbly shore. Aaah, the ocean. I miss it in this dry and dusty land.

Over the weekend, we've seen plenty of wildlife, like the bear mentioned earlier. Also, deer (we see them pretty much every day when we drive to school), several grouse (they're mating right now), countless birds and ducks, a beaver (or was it a mink?) in the marshes that we visited Friday night, a cougar - oh no, wait, we didn't actually see a cougar. But Boycy - Steve's friend who is over a lot - keeps trying to friek us out by talking about a cougar he has supposedly "seen." He said we should let him have the cat first... :)

By the way, this is what my current "home" looks like.

Yeah, that little white square looking thing to the left of the road is Steve and Jill's house. The white blurb on the path is Kate, their dog. She came walking with me Sunday afternoon - or I should say bouncing, 'cause she can't hold still for two seconds. Hence the reason that she is so far ahead of me. But, yeah, I've posted this pic 'cause it's pretty typical of the landscape - pines (some infested with the pine beetle), dusty ground (never realized that the forests near where are I live are really rainforests until I walked in the forest here - had to wash my feet after 'cause dust got into my shoes), endless telephone poles and fences, and the desserted highway except for the occational truck or car that goes whirring by. People say it's beautiful and sometimes I agree but I do miss the lush green and the many colors in the lower mainland. One thing I do appreciate here is the silence and the open space.

So, besides some exploring and enjoying the outdoors, the weekend consisted of reading, playing piano, working on lesson plans, eating good food, having good conversations, and sleeping in.


That's plenty for now. To end, here is the view from Steve and Jill's porch, early one morning. The white in the distance are snow-covered mountains - the coastal mountains.

Friday

On Friday, I did "math" with some of the K/1's. Actually, the painting pictures using foam shapes turned into more of an art lesson than a math lesson on shapes! They got really excited about mixing paints and then we somehow ended up doing fingerpaints. They loved it! I was scrubbing the table for a while after school was out...

Wish you could meet them - they're wonderful kids!


Friday was a short school day. It ended at noon and fewer students showed up than normal 'cause it was the day that everyone goes to town (i.e. Williams Lake). Apparently, you can't go to the store in Williams Lake on Fridays without running into people you know and having a chat with them - it becomes a social event! To my teacher's surprise, six out of the nine children in our class showed up. I got to do a gym lesson with them outside which was fun - played octopus and tag on the playground. Felt a little like being back at Barnabas - especially when the children insisted that I be It for tag and they were all too fast for me!


I wanted to add some more scenic pics but this dial-up connection isn't the greatest, so it might have to wait until Monday when I'm at the school. In the meantime, I've been having a relaxing weekend and Jill has taken us to some pretty places in the region. We've seen lots of wildlife, including a black bear! But more on that later...

A Typical Day in the Chilcotin

So, what's life looking like here in the Chilcotin? Well, I've been getting up at 5:30 am and leaving the house just past 6:30 am with Jill (she's the principal of the school) and AmyLou (the other "student teacher," as we are known). Then we drive down highway 20 past many telephone poles, countless trees, miles of log fences, numerous cows, the occational deer, and several reserves. After about an hour of this, we turn off the highway at Lee's Corner and follow the dirt road to the bottom of a canyon, cross the Chilcotin River and drive up the switchbacks to the other side of the canyon. And be about 8 am, we finally reach...Stone Reserve (Yunesit'in).

Stone Reserve is a small community of Chilcotin First Nations and they have a school of almost 40 kids (and you thought West Coast Christian School was small...). And that is where I've spent most of my time! I'm absolutely loving it. After my first few hours in the kindergarten/grade 1 classroom that I'm helping in, I totally fell in love with the kids. They are so much fun, they love having me in their class, and most of them have a real eagerness to learn. My class has just nine children (when they're all there, which hasn't actually happened this week): three in grade 1 and six in kindergarten. The teacher I'm working with is awesome - she has a real passion for teaching, loves her students, and manages her classroom well. She's also First Nations but comes from the Yukon. Even though her classroom is well structured and managed, it feels so relaxed to me! I think this is because I'm used to being in a classroom with 20 children all needing to be occupied or seeking your attention. When you're working with only seven or eight children, it makes for a much calmer environment - I love it! I'm not as exhausted by the end of the day as I was with my other practicums and I feel more at ease. The whole school feels small. Besides a couple of the other teachers, the rest of the staff are all from Stone Reserve. And they've been really friendly and welcoming to AmyLou and I.

Yeah, I've only been here for four days and I already know I'm going to miss Stoney and the school and the people. Today one of the students in my class asked me about having a snack and I said, "I don't know. Ask your teacher." Her reply: "But you are my teacher!" Aww, my heart melted, of course. After school today, I was outside in front of the school trying to take a couple of pictures (but apparently my camera battery was dead) and two of the girls from my class were playing on the playground and came over to me when they saw me there. Hailey, after showing me the rocks she and Saraphine had collected and were "selling," asked me where I lived and wanted to know if she could come visit me. I really wished I could've said, sure, I live just down the road, come by sometime!

School starts at 8:30 but some students come early to get breakfast. The school provides lunch for all the students and staff so we eat together in the lunch room at noon. And then dismissal is at 3. But, since Jill is the principal and always has plenty to do or people to meet with, we usually don't leave the school for another couple of hours. (Fortunately, the school has several computers which AmyLou and I make good use of to check email, write lesson plans, do our required journals, etc.) So, by the time we leave the school, make the hour + drive home, and get dinner ready (if Steve hasn't already - today he barbequed some excellent salmon for us...), it's 7 or 7:30. And by the time we're done eating a large, scrumptious meal (and they eat lots and well in this cowboy country!) and we've had some good discussions (just had an indepth one on global warming this evening), we try to get some lessons and journals done before dragging ourselves into bed by, well, I've been aiming for 9 but it is currently 10:15...

And that, is a little glimpse into my daily life in the Chilcotin. I'd love to tell you more about the people and culture here but that'll have to wait for another day. Let me just tell you that today I had to teach music to the K/1's so I taught them Silly Willy - they absolutely loved it! In fact, they wanted to sing it a second time but I was to sweaty and exhausted to do it again...

Picking up Garbage

Yup, that's what I did all day today. Literally. School was cancelled for the day and the entire community of Stone Reserve worked together to pick up garbage on the reserve. We were given garbage bags and latex gloves and off we went to pick up the empty chip bags, syrofoam cups, glass pieces, pop cans, plastic bags (partially rotten so they disintegrate into a million pieces when you touch them), rusty car parts, pieces of metal, ... all scattered beside the roads and in people's front yards. By the end of the day my back was sore, my knees hurt, my arms were scratched up from the prickle bushes, and my clothes, face, teeth, ears were covered in dust. But it was worth if. It felt good to be outside in the fresh air and open space. We were able to help out the community and, therefore, bless the people. And, best of all, we got to meet lots of the people from the Stone community and spend some time with them and understand their culture a bit more. We all ate lunch together that some of the ladies had cooked. I love these people - everyone was friendly to us and they seem excited to have two strangers around.

Monday and Tuesday we spent the entire day at the school. I've learned so much already! But it will have to wait for another day because I'm almost falling asleep after a whole day in the fresh air and I need to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning. So... keep checking back!

Arrival in the Chilcotin

I wrote this last night...


It’s too late to blog right now, i.e. it is 9:39 p.m. and I got up at 5:30 this morning and will again tomorrow morning… But I do want to just say that I’m here in the Chilcotin, slowly adapting to life in the middle of nowhere, and teaching some of the sweetest kids ever. I fell in love with them right away!

So ya, AmyLou and I drove up here on Sunday: 7 ½ hours straight with a quick stop in Cache Creek for gas and a Subway dinner. Other than that, we spent a good part of our trip talking about finding your ideal spouse, differences in culture between the North and the City (she’s from the North and I’m from the City but she says that I don’t act or appear like a city person which I took as a compliment!), friendship, the role of women, the life of a tree planter (AmyLou tree planted for several summers), and our understandings of the Aboriginal people in BC. As we drove north, we left the fresh green leaves and blossoms of the Lower Mainland, headed through red cliffs in the canyon, passed the dessert region of the Kamloops Forest District, and ended up in ranch country on a plateau covered in ridges of evergreen trees, small strips of weak, rocky grass, and birch trees still stripped of their leaves. Although we’ve headed backwards in season, we do have longer days up here. We drove into a lovely color-streaked sunset as we headed west out of Williams Lake and made our way into the Chilcotin region.

And now we are here, in a real ranch house with bear skins and antlers hanging off the walls, dishes decorated with moose, and chickens and horses in the backyard. Steve and Jill are both great people and I feel at home already. Steve is a real fun, cowboy type of guy – he told us stories of crazy pranks he did when he was a student at Trinity over 30 years ago (like picking the lock to the presidents office and smelling up the place by smoking a pipe. Apparently, he was never caught…). He cooked us bacon and omelet (with fresh eggs, mushrooms, and peppers) early this morning. Jill is doing her very best to ensure that we get the most out of our stay here and we’ve had some really insightful conversations with her today as we drove to the school and back.

So much for going to bed early. But I really am going now. I’ll try to post about the school soon…

Graduation

Well, I have now officially graduated from Trinity Western with a Bachelor of Arts. Wearing a gown is actually quite comfortable - I don't think it would've been all that terrible wearing them all the time like the academics of the middle ages did. The hood is annoying, though, as it kept slipping off. Besides, the shape of the hood is so weird that you couldn't really wear it as a hood anyhow! As for the cap, well, it looked cool when everyone was wearing them but I prefer to go without it and it did get itchy after a while.

So, besides the unusual regalia, we had a nice, although somewhat long, ceremony. My family came out to cheer me on and take lots of photos. The place was milling with smiling people, friends in dark robes, and professors a large variety of robes. Introduced some friends and profs to my family, ate rich chocolate squares, took more photos, and drank punch from a punch fountain...

(For more pics, see http://www.tonysanz.smugmug.com/gallery/2774905#147736474)

Then it was back to Fort Langley to pick up the rest of my things and now I'm in Vancouver for one night before I head up north to my practicum. Apparently, learning doesn't end with graduation...

What is this blog all about?

Welcome to my first ever newly-created blog! Its purpose is to keep all my family and friends updated on my many adventures this summer as I'll be exploring various corners of my country - the spacious, majestically beautiful land of Canada.

Here's what the summer holds for me, or, at least, what I think it holds for me...

April 28: I walk across the stage in a baggy, zip-up gown, a hood that I couldn't figure out how to wear, and a hat that is a combination of a bathing cap and a flat piece of carboard. And I will officially be graduated from Trinity Western University with a Bachelor of Arts.

April 29 - May 10: Will be spending two weeks on an Aboriginal reserve in the Chilcoutin (just west of William's Lake) where I will be doing a practicum in their school.

May 11: Get back to Vancouver just in time for Kathryn's wedding.

May 12 - June 16: Flying to Quebec - specifically Chicoutimi - to learn french for five weeks through a government sponsored program called Explore. Will be staying with a host family and attending french classes at a university. Probably won't be talking much for the first few weeks as I'm not aloud to speak english and I know almost next to no french!

June 17 - August 26: ???????????? This is the part that is yet to be determined. Maybe work in Quebec? Maybe work in Vancouver? One thing I know is that I am planning on spending some time with my German "parents" - Uli and Inge - who are coming to Vancouver in August.

August 27: I begin my Professional Year Program (PYP) at Trinity - i. e. my teacher certification year. Doing my practicum in a grade one classroom with amazing, adorable kids.

So, that's the plan. I'll try to keep you all updated on my adventures, challenges, and lessons so check back often!