Nearly packed!

Leaving tomorrow morning early! Nearly, nearly packed. Under weight limit! Yeah! Now have to clean room which has turned into horible disaster. And sleep. More soon....

Going Away....

So I had a lovely time with some of my friends tonight. Actually, one of them was an ex-boyfriend...but still a really good friend! Anyhow, we all went to my favourite restaurant, and it was really lovely. My friend M. organized the whole thing. He is a wonderful person, but a really hilarious driver. He finds the longest possible route to go anywhere, and he drives that route. It must cost a lot for all the extra gas for the car! And we were also teasing W., L's boyfriend. He has no place to stay at the moment while waiting to hear about an apartment. He is staying with L. in her tiny room and sleeping on her floor. So after we were completely, completely stuffed from the buffet at Ivory, we went to decided that it would be a good idea to go to a movie. The last movie that I had suggested that we all go to was "Atonement". We went to it in January. I thought that it was great, L. thought that it was great, W. thought that it was okay, and M. would give it a 10/10 for boringness. So the entire group of us was not entirely pleased with my choice of movies. M. & W. wanted to see "88 minutes." I didn't really want to see that movie, and L. didn't really care. I wanted to see "21". And I somehow convinced all of them that we should see "21". Apparently I'm going to have to bring them back something really nice from West Africa. M. wants a fertility statue. I'm not entirely sure if I can get one of those, but I guess that I'll have to hunt a little since they all endured "21" for me! It was an okay movie I suppose. I have seen movies that were much worse, but I've also seen movies that were better. But I'd better stop my movie review so that I have enough energy left over to look for the fertility statue.

A Reunion with a Great Friend

As annoying as it can be, I have to say that there are some things about facebook that I truly love. And one of them is that it can help you to reunite with friends. Last fall, a friend from elementary school contacted me through facebook. We had lost touch, and we hadn't seen each other in over a decade, which is nearly half of our lives, at this point! I ended up visiting her, and it was so nice to see her again! I mean, there was the possibility that it could have gone horribly, because over that length of time, people might really change. But we actually got along really well. We'd both been traveling to similar parts of the world and both have a small addiction to chocolate and mint things, so we had a lot to talk about. It's hard to get caught up on years and years in such a short amount of time, but it was at least a start.

She and her boyfriend have a lovely place together, and they seem really suited to each other and happy together which is so wonderful to see. I can't believe how much everyone can change- but I guess that it was over a decade since I had seen her and her family. She and her sister were of course so much taller, but her parents looked so much tinier that I remember from before. I suppose that this is because I have grown a little since I was 10 years old. My friend and her mum said that apparently I had changed a lot, and they weren't sure if they would have recognized me in a crowd. My friend couldn't believe how much my brother had changed. She had remembered him as a little blond freckled five year old, and he's an adult now! Hard to believe. It's funny though, because my brother and my friend's boyfriend like to play the same online game. My friend and I actually had a conversation about this game, mainly based on the bits of information that somehow managed to lodge themselves in your brain while you are nodding and saying "hmmmm" during the pauses when you are hearing about the various quests and realms and items to be collected and groups to be formed etc. etc. and levels to be conquered. Or something like that. Maybe I should have paid more attention..... It was so great to see all of them again though.

We had so many interesting and fun adventures when we were little, and I have so many vivid memories of Christmas concerts, playing in our backyards (we lived on the same street), and sleepovers. It's funny how you can remember some things from your childhood so vividly, yet can't remember something that you learned in a course just last term. I remember my friend telling me at a sleepover about how she had named a turtle fluffy or something like this (maybe it was a joke), and as six year olds (or whatever we were), we thought that this was so absolutely hilarious.

Anyhow, I must finish shoving things into my backpack. It will be an absolute miracle if everything fits....but you have to wish for miracles sometimes! I have a bus and plane to catch home, and I hope that all of the connections go well. It'll be good to see my family again too for a wee while before heading off for more travels. But it was truly wonderful to see my great friend again after so many years.

Adventures in Fernie

Fernie is so beautiful! I'm visiting a friend here at the moment. We went to elementary school together, and we lived on the same street, so we were very good friends, but then kind of lost touch when I changed schools when I was about 9. But then she found me last fall via facebook! I was so excited to hear from her, and then when I was heading out west, it just seemed like the right thing to do to have a wee visit. It is unfortunately a short visit, but nonetheless a visit!

I went for a walk yesterday by the Elk River. It was so incredibly beautiful, until I realized that I wasn't supposed to be walking on that trail. When I got near the end of the trail, there was a sign saying that the trail was closed due to a wild animal. Oops! At least I didn't run into it....whether it was a bear or a moose or...?? Phew!

Learning from teenagers and students in kindergarten and pre-school

I am having a lovely visit with friends that I met through a program to connect newcomer families with Canadian families. Our friends through the program eventually moved to another province, and I'm visiting them now. The kids are obviously growing up! I can't believe how tall they are getting to be. Perhaps I am shrinking though?

I was so incredibly impressed by a lovely supper prepared by A, who is a young teenager. She made a lovely chicken dish with tomatoes and spices, as well as a salad garnished with lime juice. I don't know many other people her age who can cook so well! She seems to be doing very well in her new junior high school.

I was woken up yesterday morning by another A, who is in kindergarten. She explained that it was time to put a puzzle together, and she also noted that one of my eyebrows was white and the other one was the colour of my hair. She informed me that they looked like "Grandpa's eyebrows!" She'll be home from school soon, so I'm sure that she will have something interesting in store or some kind of plan!

Yet another A (there are a lot of kids whose name starts with A in this family!) is in pre-school. He is so adorable! We went for a walk the other day, and he had this indelible attraction to mud and puddles! He isn't talking very much yet, but he does have some interesting things to say when he does talk.

I went shopping with M. yesterday in downtown MH. It's kind of funny to see hills all around the city, because I am used to a very flat landscape. We had a nice time smelling all of the lotions and perfurmes at the bargain stores!

I tried to make a salad today the way that A & M had made it: lettuce, tomatoes, onions (optional), lime juice, corn oil, and salt. It was approaching the right quantities, but it wasn't entirely correct. I'll have to try again later on and get some more tips when everyone gets home.

Attending a Conference in a Backpack

So I shoved all of the stuff that I thought that I might need into my backpack, and got on a bus, and headed off to my first out of province conference to do a presentation of the research that I had been working on for the past months. I wonder how many people choose what they are going to wear by thinking about what might look best after being crumpled into a backpack?Anyhow, whether there are many or few, that is what I did....

I am finished!

I am finished my undergraduate degree....unless I somehow managed to fail something. I am thinking that that is not the case though. I can't believe that I am done. For the first time in my life, I have no homework to do. Thank goodness. After I get over my initial shock, hopefully I can enjoy this....while it lasts!