Sunday, December 28, 2008
Picture Update!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Merry Katima-Christmas!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
fa-la-la-la-la-la-ck.
Last week, (I forget which day...) we had a workshop on "Interpersonal Relationships". It was actually really, really interesting. I don't really feel like going into details about it...but it was fun. For the most part. Apparently I'm a power-hungry control freak, more or less. Fabulous.
Tomorrow, we have our Farewell lunch party thing with all of our work supervisors and billet families. It's going to be at the school here, for a few hours in the afternoon. I think only my billet-dad can come, but it's better than nothing. After school, the four of us that work here will stay to do a staff gift exchange/ Pce-Out Katimavik get-together for a bit. And that evening is the Winter Solstice that Krista has organized at the Clubhouse, for the members. On Friday, we're going to Charlottetown at about 4 to go out for dinner then go volunteer at a concert fundraiser. In each rotation, we have a "Food for Learning" budget, which we can use to go out for lunch or dinner as a group to experience the local cuisine. We're going to an organic café in CHarlottetown. Afterwards, we'll go to help out at a place called the Guild which is holding a "Food and Warmth" concert, as a fundraiser for a local food bank. It's a show featuring a bunch of local East Coast musicians.
On Saturday, we've organized a "Santa's Workshop" fundraiser for the community. We're having a bake sale and raffle to raise money for Oxfam, as well as taking donations of non-perishable food items for the Caring Cuboard, a local food bank, as well as Gingerbread Men decorating and other crafts for kids. It should be a gong show. I've tried to get the baking underway, but not much else has gotten done. I think the crafts that are happening are organized...i hope. It's all really last minute and I'm scared to hell that a huge amount of people are going to show up, we'll run out of baking and craft supplies and it'll be a giant disaster. I sure am optimistic sometimes.
Funny baking story... So far I've made banana-chocolate chip muffins, brownies (which I'll ice on Saturday morning), oatmeal-peanut butter-raisin cookies, almond bark and my Mom's shortbread cookies. Shortbread cookies might just be the easiest recipe ever. Butter. Icing sugar. Salt. Flour. Corn meal.
Wait, wait, wait. Corn MEAL? No...corn STARCH. Oops. I guess I copied the recipe down wrong last year from Mom's recipe cards...
The cookies are a little grainy, which is why I realized the possiblity of a mix-up. They taste fine otherwise...so I need to decide whether or not they're good enough to sell at the bake sale.
Our freezer isn't big enough to hold all this stuff...so I'm going to be up late Friday night and early Saturday morning making more.
Yesterday, I pretty much had the worst day ever. Well, maybe not ever, but it was pretty damn shitty. First of all, the principal wasn't at the school, and he's the one that teaches 2 of the 3 classes that I help out in. Most of the students weren't there either so nothing much happened all day. I hate days like that. Whenever I feel like I don't do anything in this program, I always have work to fall back on. I can justify being here because of the working aspect...so when I have a completely useless day, it makes it a lot harder to be optimistic about staying. A reporter for a local newspaper was supposed to come at 4:30 yesterday afternoon to take our picture and talk to us about the Workshop for an article tro advertise it. So, I rushed to the gym after school and left early to make it back in time for this guy. I was at the house at 4:30, only to find out he wouldn't actually be there till 5:15. Frustrated, I went to take a shower. I was shaving my legs and cut my knee quite badly. It wouldn't stop bleeding and the blood was soaking through like 4 layers of band-aids. It took me a good twenty minutes to get it taken care o.
The reporter guy finally came, took a few pictures and talked to us about the Santa's Workshop that we have planned. I was already totally wound up, and then this man starts asking about how we feel about missing Christmas at home and everything. How do you THINK we feel about it? Eff. When he was asking about that, i got a little teary. Talking about not being home for Christmas was something that I just didn't need at that particular moment. I ended up leaving the living room discussion and hiding out in the bathroom for a while, and then went and cried in my room. Yeah, that's right...I'm on top of things.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
48 Hours
So since my last post...I'm finding myself less often in a constant state of mental breakdown. That's good, right? Hope so. I decided to give myself until the 19th of December to think about what I want to do. I think that I'll end up staying until Port Colborne, and re-evaluate there, unless the next two weeks are completely insufferable.
This past weekend was FANTASTIC. On friday, Melina drove us to Summerside so we could catch the bus from there to Charlottetown. We got there at about 5.30 and grabbed some dinner at Timmy Hoes. Our bus didn't leave till 10.30 that night, so Cynthia and I took advantage of the couple hours we had to kill to go get some piercings we had been talking about for a while. The piercing studio was really nice - clean and everything. The piercer had 8 years of experience too, which made us both feel really comfortable. AND they had a buy one, get one half off deal! So for $60 i got the upper, outer ridge of my right ear pierced as well as the rook of my left ear. The first one didn't hurt too much, but the second one killed. If you don't know what those are, then google them.
We got to Charlottetown just after 11pm and took a cab to our hotel. A few people went out, but since I'm 18 and the legal age here is 19, there wasn't much for the rest of us to do. I had the worst sleep of my life that night, thanks to the fact that it hurt to sleep on both sides of my head. At 9.00 Saturday morning, Krista, Cyn, Frede, Amy and I had breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to walk to the Farmer's Market. People on this island have an issue with walking, i think. It was like a mile and a half to the market but the few people we asked about which way to go were all like ''Do you have a car?'', ''You know that's like half an hour away, right?''. Big freaking deal. It took 20 minutes to get there. Anyways, enough about islanders being lazy.
At the Farmer's Market, we found ''Postman Pat" who we met last time we were there, quite a few weeks back with the whole group. Krista and I had spent quite a long time talking with him and then he sent us awayu with 2 bags of these huge Cowboy Cookies (so so so good, oh lord). So this time, we wanted to bring him something to thank him. Last week, I made half a dozen jars of beets and Krista suggested we bring him one. The jar got as far as the hotel...but then Krista forgot it there that morning. Oh well. It's the thought that counts, right? We visited with him some more that morning and also ran into the Wellington group. After lunch, we walked downtown. There was a band playing at a little music store, I forget their name but they're from O'Leary which is super close to Alberton. We hung out there for a bit, then checked out another vinyl and vintage store before settling down at a café called Beanz. It was kind of cold outside so we just killed quite a bit of time at the café. I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of my mom, who's flight came in at 5.30 that evening. At about 4.30, i took a cab to the airport. Once she got there, the two of us took a taxi to the Delta, stopping by the EconoLodge to pick up my stuff from friday night. We hung out in the room while we unpacked; she had my Christmas presents, new running shoes and some food from my dad (Kudos on the granola, poopsie. It's amazing. And almost all eaten already...) and I had all the gifts that I wanted to send home with her for the whole family, as well as some clothes I don't think I'll be needing.
We had a really nice dinner together at the Delta's restaurant. I ordered their "Vegetable Tower", which was black rice, these dumpling things, vegetables and tofu all layered together with this amazing curry sauce. The only part i wasn't a huge fan of was the tofu, because it was really soft and the texture kind of sketched me out. The waiter came by to see how we were doing and was like "Oh, so you're not a huge fan of the tofu?". I said that I just didn't really like the texture..but i kind of mumbled it. I didn't want to be rude...the rest was phenomenal, I just, well, didn't really like the texture. A minute or so later, the head waitress lady came out to see how everything was. I told her it was wonderful, as did my mom (because her chicken was also fantastic). Then, a few minutes after that, the CHEF comes out to see how everything is. I swear it's because I didn't eat the tofu. It was like it was this huge offense or something. Whatever. I found the degree of concern they showed quite entertaining.
I was ridiculously tired after that...we went back to the room and chilled. Our TV didn't work for a while, so someone came to fix that. (All he did was turn it off and back on again...) And Mom ordered a $14 glass of wine which was funny. I crashed pretty early, as did she.
On Sunday, we slept in (according to our definition of "sleeping in", of course) and then had breakfast downstairs again. After that, we went out to meet up with Amy, Krista, Cyn and Frede for coffee at Beanz, so my mom could meet them. Then, we just wandered around the area for a while, checked out some shops and stuff and then had a late lunch at the cutest little restaurant ever, that was hidden in a little side street. If you ever go to Charlottetown (which i wouldn't necessarily reccomend, especially in the winter), go find the restaurant "Off Broadway". It's this cute little place, with maybe half a dozen tables in an old, brick building. The inside is all dark and ambiance-ey and private, and the food was fabulous.
By the time we were done there, it was time to go back to the Delta, get all my stuff and take a cab to the bus station, so I could go back to Summerside. It kind of sucked that my mom and I barely got any time together, but I really enjoyed it (based on my state of mind recently, the timing was perfect). And hey, a short visit is better than no visit at all. If you're reading this, Mom, thanks for coming down. I'm ridiculously happy that I got to see you before Christmas. Phew.
When we got to Summerside, we waited for Melina to pick us up at the bus station then since the weather was kind of bad, we all went to the Sumemrside house and waited there for the PL's to decide if it was safe enough to drive back to Alberton that night. We probably could have gotten halfway there in the amount of time they spent deliberating about it. In the end, we went, leaving behind our two house managers, Mat and PM, sice they would have had to come back to Summerside yesterday anyways to do the grocery shopping.
So! Christmas is in 16 days and we have less than a month left in Alberton. Hmm. I'm not gonna lie...I'm not especially looking forward to Christmas...it's going to be really tough not being at home with my family and friends. Oh well... it's only one year and I have a lifetime's worth of Christmases ahead of me to be at home for.
Right?
Sunday, November 30, 2008
whaaaaaaaaa.
I found this horoscope today though. It's quite insightful, I think and it's creepily relevant.
Aries Horoscope for week of November 27, 2008
Have you ever arrived at a mountaintop on a clear day? Do you remember what you felt like? Can you re-imagine the sparkling purity of the air as it sweetened your lungs, the shimmering light that washed through you in lush waves, the exaltation of the sweeping vista as it lifted you to a deeper understanding of where your place is in this life? That's the kind of peak experience you need and deserve in the coming days, Aries. If you can't actually get to the top of a mountain, find the next best thing.
My timing sucks. Christmas being so close is making this decision a lot harder to make. Sorry for being vague.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
a blog about my reply to another blog. nothing to do with katimavik.
As everyone knows, I work hard. All the time. I'm very diligent. So, the other day while I was working my butt off (kind of like I'm doing now), I happened across some blogs on the CBC website. One in particular caught my attention...
Food Bytes
Mega coffee, ASAP!
Monday, November 10, 2008 03:49 PM ET
by Tara Kimura, CBCNews.ca
In the new movie Role Models, the frustrated character Danny delivers a sharp rant against the rebranding of small, medium and large at Starbucks.
Danny – as portrayed by Paul Rudd – orders a large black coffee. When the server tells him a venti is large, he replies: "No venti is 20." He proceeds to bicker with the barista and his girlfriend, charging that only Fellini would order his coffee using Starbucks' terminology.
In an interview at the New Yorker festival last month, Rudd discussed his disdain for the trendy new monikers. Rudd explained that for him, the new cup sizes are on par with the phrases "been there done that," "ASAP" and "24-7."
"What is wrong with small, medium and large?" he asked. "Nothing. [The new labels] just make the world a worse place."
He also noted the demise of small, medium and large has not been limited to the U.S. One coffee shop in England uses Mega for its large designation, he said.
"There are such inconsistencies with language. I'll take a mega coffee?" he said.
What are your food packaging pet peeves?http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/foodbytes/2008/11/mega_coffee_asap.html
And here is my reply, which it wouldn't let me post on the site for whatever reason. So I'm posting it here.
All last year, I worked at a cafe on the Bow River in Calgary. Our sizes were Medium, Large and Extra Large, which even I, as an emloyee, hated. Regular customers knew that by ordering a large they really were getting a medium, but whenever I didn't recognize them I always worried that I wasn't giving them the size that they really wanted.
The sizes we sold were posted quite visibly though, as is usually the case, so I personally think that customers have no one to blame but themselves for size mix-ups.
One thing that threw me off a bit though, was when someone would come in ordering a "tall". In Starbucks-lingo, that's a small and I always assumed that that's what the customer wanted. On numerous occasions, however, I was wrong: they wanted a large.
Also...Starbucks has ruined the Macchiato. A real macchiato is espresso "marked" (that's the meaning of the name) with foamed milk. A few times, someone would order a macchiato and I would make them one. A real one. Problem: What they REALLY wanted was a vanilla latte with caramel sauce in a criss cross on top. Starbucks-style.
I have to say though, in the GRAND scheme of things, is it really that hard to read the board of coffee drinks when you walk into a cafe, figure out how their sizes work and then order whatever size it is that corresponds with your need for caffeine. Jeez.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
November 25th
Winter is def here. Unfortunately, it has bad timing. We had to cancel our trip to Halifax and Moncton last weekend because of a storm on Friday night and Saturday. Hopefully, we'll get to go this coming weekend, but we don't even know if the trip has been approved yet, thanks to the fact that everything here happens in slow-motion, it seems. Fingers crossed.
Kyla leaves today. My roommate is heading back to Winnipeg, and our group is down to 8 participants. I think I'll be moving into the other girls room, now that there are only 5 of us left. Our PL and I are thinking about disassembling the bunk bed in the room Kyla and I were sharing and then using the space as an exercise room of sorts. Speaking of exercise, I'm gonna buy a month-long membership to the Iron Haven gym in Alberton. I'm sick of being a couch-potato. Well, I'll still be one because it's hard not to be in this program, especially in a town the size of Alberton, but at least I'll be doing something.
Christmas is in ONE MONTH TODAY. WHAAAAT!!?? I'm excited...buuuuut sometimes not so much. It's gonna be hella tough.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
living in a winter wonderlaaaaaaaaand...
School starts an hour late today which is why I'm writing this right now. I kind of whish I had known that an hour ago so that I could have continued sleeping, but that's ok.
We're hopefully going to Halifax and Moncton this weekend...assuming that our excursion gets approved and that the weather holds out. I've heard that the weather is supposed to get milder by the weekend though so hopefully that won't be an issue.
Everything is very mediocre these days...but I think thats just me.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
nine days is too short.
The family that I've been staying with since Friday is amazing. The parents, Michele and Glenn, are both teachers at local public schools. They have a ten year old daughter and a 9 week old puppy. PUPPY! Man, I'm seriously in love with the dog. Her name is Chloe and she is the cutest thing that I've seen in a long time.
They have a really nice house a few minutes outside of Alberton. I get to sleep in a double bed! The first few nights I didnt even go near the other side of it... I guess Ì'm too used to my little Katima-bed. I love staying at their house! I get my own, big room and I get to cook a ton (which Michele and Glenn love too!), and I've met a lot of their neighbors and some of their family which is really nice as well. Cynthia's billet family is actually right next door, so we can hang out if we want to. On saturday, Michele took the two of us, along with her daughter and her daughter's friend, to Summerside. The two girls saw a movie, while Michele, Cynthia and I went shopping for a bit. This coming friday, Michele is taking Cynthia and I, and hopefully Frede as well, to Charlottetown! If there are any good movies playing, we might go see something. Otherwise, we'll just shop a bit, and stay the night at Glenn's sister's B&B. I'm so excited!
On Sunday, everyone will go back to the Katima-house. Although I wish billeting would be for a longer period of time, I'm really glad that I got to be with the family I'm with, because I know I'll keep in touch with them afterwards and hopefully see them again at some point.
Oh! Funny story. It's a small world. Glenn used to live in Calgary between semesters at St. Francis Xavier University, working construction and stuff. So, he was asking me what high school I went to. I told him St. Francis and he asked who the principal was. Guess who he went to university with!? Danny McFarland....brother of John. AKA my high school's principal. WIERD.
Speaking of it being a small world...have you ever heard of the theory of Six Degrees of Separation? The idea is that everyone on Earth is connected to everyone else by 6 links. Example: Michele knows a lady who's friend had the opportunity to golf with Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Kevin Costner. I met that lady, so I'm connected to Costner by three links.
Kevin Costner -> Lady's friend -> Lady -> Me.
So lets say that Kevin Costner sat next to someone on an airplane, say yesterday, who has a cousin living in Australia. That cousin buys their produce from a local farmer in Australia who lives literally in the middle of nowhere.
Farmer -> Aussie Cousin -> Random on plane -> Kevin Costner -> Lady's friend -> Lady -> Me
Voila. We're all connected.
Well class is over. Home time! (The chem class I help out in was writing a quiz...I'm not just a giant slacker, I swear...)
Thursday, November 6, 2008
...and then there were ten.
As much as I'm sad that she decided to leave, though, I know that she'll be happier doing something else with her year off than she would have been had she stayed. And we'll keep her fully updated on the happenings of our group.
...I feel like I'm writing about someone dying. I'm going to stop.
Lisa, if you happen to be reading this, we miss you a ton already.
In happier news...OBAMA WON! I have to say, I find it really exciting that we're all living through this historical event. Someday, our kids will be reading about the first African-American President of the United States in text books and I'll be able to say that I remember that day! I guess I can't really say I was there, technically. but that's ok.
Other events of yesterday...I almost missed my bus which was fun, and then when I got home, I discovered that the 2nd care package from home came! I got tea, books, the Globe's University report card, DRIED CHERRIES (!!!) and some of my dad's dehydrated specialties.
I have to go actually work now...no more slacking.
Lovelove.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The weekend before last, we volunteered on Friday night at the haunted house down the street from our house and on Saturday, we helped out with a children's Halloween Festival. Both were a lot of fun, although I froze to death in the haunted house on the friday. Also, I don't think I'm very good at scaring people.
We saw a play on Sunday night about the Acadian Deportation, in french. This year is the 250th anniversary of the tradgedy, so there have been a lot of commemerative things happening for it. The four of us at the French school actually saw it again today, with the grade 5-12 students. Our house meeting from last week happened over the course of 4 sessions: Sunday afternoon, then Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. There was a massive amount of discussions about our frustrations, which is why it took so long. The previous week was pretty tense around the house....we were well into our "Storming" period, in Katima-words.
Wednsday night was Kyla's 18th birthday! Her and Lisa were House Managers so they made pizza and cake and stuff, and then we all played a game her family sent her..."Things In a Box". Pretty much the BEST GAME EVER. We play all the time now.
Thursday night saw the last part of our house meeting, and on friday, we spent the evening in Wellington with the other two Katima-groups for our Halloween celebrations - an 80's-themed night. Not gonna lie...it wasn't thaaat exciting. Mostly because we had to leave really, really early to drive back to Alberton. We didn't get egged on the drive at all though, which was nice. And our house was untouched too.
We didn't do a ton this weekend...we had a lot of free time, broken up only by a game of soccer, writing letters in French and the house meeting.
There's more to write about but I'll catch up later. The subjects are Lisa and Obama. Totally unrelated, though.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Housemanaaaagers.
Everything turned out preeeeetty well. Keep in mind that we don't have a pasta machine (one of those things that stretches out the dough and cuts it) so we couldn't get it as thin as would be ideal. Plus, when we were cutting it and putting it on to trays, we didn't put enough flour on the noodles so a lot of them stuck together. It didn't help that our pot of water took AN HOUR to boil. Have I mentioned that our stove is a total piece?
Friday, October 17, 2008
But who's counting?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
windmills and turkey pictures.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Weekly update...
First of all, it was the first week that we really started to settle into a routine, and it finally hit me that I was going to be away from home, in this program and with this group of people, until June. That in itself instilled a bit of homesickness in me, which was magnified as Thanksgiving loomed. Certain conflicts within the group, mostly just small personality clashes, seemed much more serious and stressed a few of us waaaaaaaaaaay out.
Secondly, Alberton must think that I'm a giant homesick mess. (And they aren't necessarily wrong). I guess that's what I get for walking down the street crying, after getting off the phone with my mom, and then continuing the water works on the lawn of the post office. Whatever...Alberton can think what it likes. I was a little wound up, and after calling my mom to ask for recipes, and impatiently jumping at her for who knows what reason, I felt like the big jerk that I am...and that made me even more homesick.
On Sunday, we had a bit of free time in the morning so that everyone who wanted to go to Church could do so. I didn't go, so I used the time to call Courtney and have yet another giant bawl-fest. Have I mentioned that I'm a mess? I'm ridiculously grateful for my best friend. And for long distance phone plans. Quite honestly, I don't know if I would be able to handle all this without knowing I had her to talk to about it.
It isn't that I'm not enjoying myself. I am! It's just that being a participant in this program is a lifestyle that, in certain aspects, is extremely different from the one I've had over the past few years. Living in the same house with eleven other people isn't the worst thing ever...it's just now that everyone is more comfortable with each other, certain personality traits have started to show that not everyone necessarily gets along with. I know - you can't get along with everyone, all the time. Easier said than done. The situation is different when you're at work, for example, becuase you get to leave at 4 or 5 and get away from the people that you find frustrating. But here in Katimavik, you spend all your time that isn't at work with those people.
Free time is one of the things I'm having the hardest time dealing with. We get about 4 blocks of it every week...but theres always more than that. I get home from working at the school at 3.30, and then theres two to three hours before dinner where I have nothing to do. After dinner, if we have something scheduled, it usually only takes an hour or two, leaving another few hours free before bed time. And on nights when there is free time scheduled, then from 3.30 to 10.30 or 11 (with the exception of mayyybe an hour for dinner), there's nothing to do. This wouldn't be a problem if we were living in a bigger town, but quite honestly, there is nothing to do in Alberton. A few nights a week, there's the aerobics class which some of us go to. For the most part though, free time is spent all the same way - sitting in the living room reading or using the computers. Compared to how busy I kept myself the past few years, this feels really slow. All of grade 12, I would go straight to dance from school every day, sometimes with an hour or so at Second Cup to do homework in between, then go home afterwards, have dinner, do more homework and go to bed. On the weekends, I worked 8 hour shifts at the Bean both days, so the only real free time I had was on Friday and Saturday nights. I find that there is just too much sitting around here. And I miss dancing like nothing else. Until last week, I was running almost every day, for an hour on average. But now my left knee is giving me grief (again) and I haven't been able to for the past few days. I think I'm going to give it a few more days off, so that I don't end up not being able to run for two months or something like that. I get really stressed out when I can't do any physical activity, though. There isn't any other means of me getting exercise here besides running and if I can't do even THAT, i'll honestly go crazy.
IT ISNT ALL BAD THOUGH. I have exciting things to write about too! *Ahem!*
Kyla and I made the most fantastic Thanksgiving dinner on Monday night. We cooked a turkey! It wasn't burned, or frozen on the inside or ANYTHING! It was awesome! We had mashed potatoes, carrots, a broccoli/cauliflower/green bean casserole (with a sauce that Melina made...so props to her), stuffing (my mom's recipe...<3), gravy, and buns. Since Melina and Lisa are vegetarians, and Krista and I are toeing the line, we made stuffed peppers for ourselves; with rice, lentils and diced bell peppers inside. For dessert, we had made three pies; one pumpkin, one chocolate and one apple. Also, our very sweet neighbors from accross the street brought us another pumpkin pie!! Everyone really enjoyed it, even though we had to eat pretty late that evening. It was really exciting, because all the people in my group from Quebec had never had Thanksgiving dinner before. I guess no one celebrates it there, so for them Thanksgiving is just another three-day weekend. They thought it was great. We had lots of left overs for lunches yesterday, which were all delicious. Cooking is pretty much the best thing in the world. I find it really relaxing and calming, and it definitly helped keep my mind off of the fact that I didn't get to be at home with my fam-jam. PICTURES WILL BE UP SOOOON!
MORE EXCITING NEWS THOUGH! On November 21st to 23rd, my group is going on an excuuuuuuuuuuursion! Our original plan was to go to Cape Breton for that weekend, but apparently that's too far away and too much mileage to put on the Katima-van. Instead, we're going to Halifax and Moncton!! Personally, i think they'll be way more fun than Cape Breton, as beautiful of an island as it is. So, on Friday the 21st, we'll drive to Halifax. One of the guys in my group, Mat, is from Halifax and hopefully, we'll be able to stay at his house. On Saturday morning, we're going to go to Farmer's Market there; it is supposed to be PHENOMENAL! Visiting the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, the "Tree to Tree" high ropes/zip line course, and the Discovery Centre are the other activities we're looking into doing while we're there. On Saturday night, it just so happens to be the official Christmas Tree Lighting! It's kind of a festival-y thing that happens there. We'll have some free time after that, and a bunch of us want to check out the local indie music scene. On sunday morning, we'll drive back towards P.E.I., detouring through Moncton on the way. There is a historical village we might go see there, or an Acadian museum. We'll leave sometime after dinner to go back to Alberton.
I'M SO STOKED THOUGH!
Well, enough of me pretening to work while blogging. I have the 11/12 Math class to go help out in now.
(Just so you don't think I was actually slacking...there really was nothing for me to do this morning)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Work it ouuuuut!
On tuesday night, a few of us, Kyla, Lisa, Krista, Fréd, Mat and myself, found out about an aerobics class that happens a few times a week here and decided to go check it out.
We've had a lot of free time lately. Tonight, we were supposed to go to the Phillips Residence (a senior's center) to do Halloween crafts with them, but it was moved to tomorrow night. Therefore...more free time! Tomorrow, I think some people will go to that, and some of us are going to aerobics again.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
List of Excellent Things!
2. Bulk Barn is exciting. I've never been in a bulk store before, and man, was I impressed. You can buy anything there, and that was a relatively small store. Dried strawberries and differently-flavored dried cranberries, and chocolate covered ANYTHING. I didn't actually buy myself anything, as I thought I would, because I had already bought some things at Superstore. I'm trying not to touch the money I've got saved in the bank, and to only use the $21/week allowance we get from the program. It's hard.
3. The parcel my parents sent came! THANKS GUYS! I now have my sweatpants, the wool sweater my grandma just sent me, my almond butter, tea and coffee...and my high school diploma? Can’t say I necessarily want to have that out here with me right now. I suppose it’s a good reminder of how I’M DONE HIGH SCHOOL FOREVVVVVVVER! Yes please!
4. The teacher that teaches the grade 11 Chem class over teleconference to the students at the school that I'm working at said I was a "miracle worker" and that she was really glad I was there to help them as she's teaching. I have to say, I really appreciated hearing it. Yee!
I’ll write soon...as long as Blogspot stops locking and unlocking my blog like craaaaazy.
Ericaaaaah. =)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Let's Learn About Potatoes! Yeah!
There's actually a lot to know. Like, did you know that waayyyy back when, people thought that potatoes caused leprosy - because of their uneven, sometimes scabby peel? And they originated in South America. Bet you didn't.
After the Potato museum, we drove up to West Point to walk at the beach for a bit. On the way, we passed tons and tons of windmills. There are a lot of them here, but the Islanders, or so we've heard, aren't happy about it because all the energy from the windmills goes to New Brunswick. Either way...it looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie, which was cool.
Again, the beach had really nice red sand with tons of seashells and rocks that were perfect for skipping. We walked up and down picking up ones to make necklaces with. If we actually do, I'll be surprised; but in the meantime I've got a lovely pile of pebbles in my room. The West Point lighthouse was there too, which is Canada's only functional lighthouse in an Inn. (Quite the uh... accomplishment, I must say). Here are some pictures from our stroll...
Cartier, Red Sand and Bagel-Making!
Yesterday afternoon, we drove to the Jacques Cartier Provincial Park. It's where Cartier landed on the island, apparently. We wandered up and down the beach for a while, talking about ... bilingual communication or something. Yeah.
Oh, and this morning, I made bagels! We had a bread-making workshop last week, but I hadn't had the chance to make any yet. Since I haven't had a bagel since I left home and I was craving them, I decided to skip bread and go straight to bagels. It definitely took a lot longer than I thought, but it was a lot of fun!! Especially the boiling part. There's a lot of room for improvement...but I've got lots of time to work on my bagel-making skills. They're good though!
I'm very proud of myself, if you didn't notice.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Potatoes, Potatoes, Potatoes
Today, we've got the morning free. I went for a run and now I'm working on this. I've been running on the Confederation trail, which is a pathway that goes all across Prince Edward Island. It's really quite boring and monotonous. I mentioned to some of the students that I've been helping out that I run there in the mornings and they just kind of looked at me, adn then one of them told me that people have been killed and gone missing while walking alone on it. Pfft. Whatever.
At 1 we're all meeting up to do some kind of contract-ey thing...I can't remember what it's about though. Tonight, we're going to all have a game of soccer together then, as our weekly "second-language" activity, we're gonna translate songs from english to french and vice-versa.
Tomorrow morning, we've got free time again and in the afternoon we're going to a POTATO MUSEUM!!! And a wool museum or farm or something. It's pretty exciting, I'm not gonna lie.