Plant Eating + Mike Chewing

So I said today (Sunday) our whole group will be joined by our PC (project coordinator) Christine for a hiking tour in the Slocan Valley about edible plants in the region. So at 11 am, we set out in the Katimavan and headed to the tour. Midway there, we picked up our PC...wow that was the first time the van contained 12 people in total, so it was a bit tight. But anyways I always enjoyed road trips in Katima-vans, and in BC it is especially great because the scenaries were absolutely gorgeous, with the mountains and rivers...in fact we saw 2 deers running in a field when we drove back.

So the edible plant tour...it was led by these two guys (Michael and Tyler) who were ethnobotanist (professionals who study plants and human interactions with it) and they brought us to 2 different logging sites and see how different logging practices changed the ecosystem of the forest. It was quite interesting, and I think what I was most amazed by was that in a small area there could be so many plants that is useful, and how nature always finds a way to adapt despite human destruction. And we can eat the plants, which is right up my alley. I guess my only complaint about the tour - the weather was a little too hot, which made people a bit impatient (because the tour was from 12-3), and the Frenchies were somewhat bored because the whole thing was in English, with many technical terms. At the end they just kind of sat around while the rest of the English kids listened to the tour. By the way I learnt about a good number of interesting plants...let's see if I can remember them (this is only what I can remember):

- thimbleberry, stalk is edible
- huckleberry
- a mini version of pacific dogwood, only in grass form
- wild ginger (root tasted like ginger)
- cow parsley, edible seed and root (tastes like carrot)
- this plant where, if rubbed on body, gives the worst sunburn (but edible still!)
- aspens (apparently the powder on the bark is equivalent to sunscreen)
- soapberry (very popular within the aboriginal people in the region, but it tastes bitter!)
Much much more...and who can forget about dandelions?
Ooh and it rained a bit during the tour, and that was refreshing on our overheated bodies...that was the first time I saw rain while it was perfectly sunny.
After the tour was over, we stopped for ice-cream in a roadside convenient store...but I forgot my wallet...just as well, I need to save money.

Part 2 - Big Meeting on Mike
One of the reasons our PC joined us was because of this pre-planned meeting on Mike. I am not going into details, but pretty much for almost 3 hours the group (I didn't say much) gave our complaints, with Christine (PC) trying to find solutions. In the end, everyone created a couple of contracts listing a whole bunch of rules that Mike has to follow in order to stay in the program. I don't know how effective this will actually be...but Mike is pretty much walking on thin ice right now.

2 things I want to mention:
1) I think I worked out a schedule for me to do everything I want (blogging/email + exercising + studying Japanese and Navy)
Morning before work - exercise for 30 minutes, shower, breakfast, study until 9:30 am?
Night - Chill, hang with people (working to be more social)
11:00 something - blog time
Let's see how things go...
2) Speaking of blogs, the blogs I have to work on to finish (self reminder)
- Montreal
- Quebec City excursion (quite interesting, actually)
- My work in Alma
- Quebec (thoughts, feelings, opinions...incorporate with Quebec discussion)

Ok I am out...let's see if I can get up at 7 am tomorrow (today)

Angel

First Weekend in Castlegar, BC

LAST BLOG BEFORE I GO TO BED! GO ANGEL GO!

So because I had a wonderful day today, I should share it...

This morning (Saturday) everyone dressed up in their funny costumes that we found in Salvation Army, did a bit of face painting (I didn't because I was breaking out in "hives" due to my allergies...not many though), and we went to the Castlegar Sunfest for a parade (Alex entered us into the parade, for fun and for PR, haha). We were joined by Tracy the '84 alumni (she was a ball of energy and had crazy stories about her Katimadays) and Beth the future participant (her dad did Katimavik and she just got accepted for the September one). Yes that is one thing I forgot - we decorated our van, made water balloons, and katimavik badannas for the parade.
Despite the 2 hour wait time (we left at 9 am, parade starts at 11 am), we had a really good time. The Frenchies were carrying the Quebecois flag, 2 other people (Zach and Cheryl) carried the Katima-flag, and a couple of us threw water balloons at the crowd (to their delight). Tracy/Rebecca/I were hard-core distributing our pamphlets and billeting information...we played Abba music and danced a bit to it, even though the group in front of us were a bunch of Scottish Highlander band who were playing loud bagpipe music, so our music was covered. Dancing/candy throwing/music/costumes/goals met...what could be better?

Came home, tired so got a nap...the allergy pills makes me tired...

Then saw a doctor (at ER because the walk-in clinic was not available...Alex dropped me off while she and Mike and Cynthia went for groceries...man the trouble I had to go through to enter into the hospital), who wrote prescriptions for me for medication and informed me that the "hives" I got were not hives...they were merely mosquito bites (man did I feel so stupid when she told me that).

At 8 pm the Trail/Jonquiere/Sault Ste. Marie group arrived and we hung out a little bit...and at 9:30 pm we left to go to Selkirk College to watch a live band (the band was all right) and at 10:00 pm the fireworks started...for a small town of 7000 the fireworks sure was gorgeous...there were some that I haven't seen before, and everyone just kept ooohing and ahhhing. A fabulous day, overall...

So I am almost done with the blog...
Tomorrow we are going for a hike...but not just any hike...we are getting a guided tour by a botanist on edible plants on the trails...and there will be tasting....we will meet the PC for the first time, and she will join us for group meeting to figure out the Mike situation...
BC is so far so good...
I am getting good at summaries eh?

YEAH I AM DONE!
HIP HIP HOORAY!

Work Site Tours + Interview

Argh it's getting late now, but I have 2 more blogs I want to write before I head off to bed. Let's see if I can still make them short yet informative and entertaining.

So here is a list of work placements for 10 people in Castlegar:
1) Friends of Parks and Trails - trail-building/maintenance, manual labour, 7-2, hard work but seems fun...they get to do canoeing to sites and swim in lakes during breaks. 2 positions
2) Doukobhour (wrong spelling I think but you get the idea) Cultural Museum - working in the museum, but work ranging from gardening (they have a nice garden and lawn) to cleaning displays to working in the bistro to giving tours to other things. 10-5.
3) Station Museum/Zuckerberg Island - similar to the first museum, except more interesting and more fun...they are redoing the displays in the museum, as well as other things. The island is pretty gorgeous. 10-5. 2 positions.
4) Salvation Army - thrift store, cleaning/sorting out clothing, cash/customer service. Seemingly awesome staff. 9:30 - 5.
5) Bear Aware - something by BC Parks Board on raising awareness on bears and environment. Pretty much door to door education on bears, and presentations in school. (2 days only)
6) Kootney Society Care Living - working with people with disabilities, there will be a summer camp for kids with mental disabilities that the participant will work in. 8-4?
7) Blueberry Elementary School - summer camp with kids. 8-4?
8) Birds Emergency and Kare Society/BEAKS - taking care of birds 8-4?

My top 5 choices/interviews (and I did well in my interviews, I must say)
1) Station Museum
2) Salvation Army
3) Dokhobour Museum
4) Bear Aware
5) Blueberry Camp

In reality
Rebecca - Trails (apparently her first choice)
Stephanie - KSCL (1st choice)
Zach - Station Museum (1st choice...jerk...)
Cynthia - Station Museum (1st choice)
Stephen - Bear Aware + Salvation Army (both were his first choice)
Charles - Trail (1st choice)
Maxime - Blueberry Camp (1st choice)
Mike - Salvation Army + mystery job (either trails or Dokoubour)
Cheryl - BEAKS (was not her first/second/third choice...got pissed off when she found out)
Me - Doukoubour (3rd choice, but whatever...I had a really eerie feeling that I was going to work there when I saw the work placement, no joke)

1 thing I realized - having great interviews does not mean you will get the job. It all comes down to PL deciding and making everyone happy. So being good in interviews is only a bonus...we are at the mercy of our PLs...

Things we also did Wed/Thurs/Fri - Calendar set-up/House tour/Scavengar Hut/Group introduction (this one is interesting...the group introduces each person (many of the stuff they said about me made me crack up laughing...like me being a hard-core feminist and being the most naive in the group)/visiting Tulip Falls and swimming in Lower Arrows Lake...really would like to tell you guys more about them but I think this is good enough...I am tired.

By the way one bad thing about being back in BC...attack of the allergies...my nose is stuffing up as I am writing this, arrrggghh

One more blog!

From Rotation Camp to Castlegar

So...I am officially back to Pacific Time Zone...and back to an English keyboard...

There is quite a lot to say about what happened between Rotation Camp to Castlegar, but because it is quite late (11:13 pm) and there are job interviews tomorrow (yes they are moving fast!), I am going to see if I can summarize, focus on the important things, etc (yeah right)

Before I start, I just want to mention that I am slightly worried about the blogging/computer situation here in Castlegar, because Alex (our new PL) seem to have strict rules about computer usage (no MSN/hogging the computer), so blogging/emails may become difficult. As well, I am keen on starting my navy package/Japanese learning (remember my 2007 resolution?). But we will see...where there's a will, there is a way...

So rotation camp...it was located in Mount Lac-Vert, in Hebertville (30 minutes away from Alma, and also where the awesome fromagerie is located at). We had supper, and at 7:00 pm drove to Mount Lac-Vert...so long, Alma and Valerie...but I was eager and ready for a new change. Overall there is really not that much to say about rotation camp, other than these points:
1) This time camp was shorter (good), but all the girls in the cluster (18) share one big room (bad). Last time camp was nicer looking and almost all the girls got their own room. The boys had to share room too but there are only 6 of them now (not including Mike because he wasn't there).
2) Things we did - reshowing our final presentation/farewell to PL/expectations of next PL/Rhythm exercise/gift to PL...overall the experience was relatively relaxed. Veronique (Quebec PC and a cool lady, I must add) and Cara (old ex-PC in Ontario) have quite different styles of doing things.
3) Got to know some people a bit better from the other clusters, and got to hang out with Robbie (whose grandfather passed away, so he left for a week to return home to the funeral), so that was cool. By this point cliques are forming in the cluster (and
me/Cynthia/Robbie/Devon..ish are kind of in a group...the nerdy under-the-stairs kids, haha).
4) Got confirmation from Veronique that Mike is indeed coming back...and he will be (he did) join us in the Kelowna airport. Unsurprising thing - people were disappointed. Surprising thing - Veronique indirectly encouraged us to find ways to get rid of him. She said we (especially Zach and Rebecca) know valuable information that is useful to the head office, and with enough of this information things can be done. We will see...

Travelling...man that was crrrraaaaazzzzy
Itinerary - bus arrives 11:00 pm, Tuesday night (the bus came at 10:20 pm)
- bus arrives at 5:30 am in Montreal (WHAT? but anyways the bus was earlier and fast...we got there at 4:00 am, and waited for an hour before the counters were open).
- plane leaves at 7:00 am, flies to Toronto and arrives at 8:05 am
- catch a connecting flight at 9:20 am, arrive Kelowna at 10:56 am (PST - which means 1:56 pm in CST = 4 hours)
- bus picks us up at 12 something, and drives us off from Kelowna to Trail/Castlegar/Nelson, respectively (4+ hour drive). I swear, Katimavik always tries to find a way to make the travel arrangements as difficult as possible...I don't know if anyone can beat this...
Important things to mention here:
- Things went relatively smoothly, but Stephanie's baggage got broken on the flight. Luckily, Westjet was willing to fix it and the lady who helped us had a spare suitcase, so we took that and she said Stephanie's old suitcase will be fixed and returned to her after a couple of weeks. In any case, things worked out...I am pretty impressed with Westjet's service.
- We saw Mike in the Kelowna airport. What can I say...he was the same old Mike, sans the colored mohawk (his grandmother cut it for him). Perhaps there are slight changes, because he was relatively distant to the group, especially Zach and Rebecca (apparently Rebecca waved hi to him, but he didn't wave back). Zach thinks someone in the head office talked to him about this and advised him to watch his behaviour if he still want to stay in the program. We will see how things fold out.

Bus ride - 5 hours long, and was spectacular. I always knew BC was gorgeous, but I did not realize the true meaning of the phrase "Beautiful British Columbia" until that bus ride. Luckily for us, our bus driver was a tour guide so pretty much he spent half of the trip talking about different things in the region and its history (Japanese concentration camps, Gold Rush, Doukhobours)...with pretty Okanagan farms and stunning mountains and rivers to boot. Needless to say I enjoyed my bus ride, despite the fact that a) I didn't really sleep well even though I would love some sleep from the long travelling b) in the airport I spilled iced tea on my new CD player, and it was acting funny on me...=( Anyhow seeing BC in its full splendor made me realize how lucky our group was to do our last 3 months in BC, with the stuff it offers.
So after a good couple of hours we arrived to Trail, which is where Sault Ste. Marie/Jonquiere is staying...they have the nicest house I have seen from Katimavik with lots of rooms and design a bit like an IKEA house...plus it's right by the river, and close to downtown...
Their PL is a guy (something I want just to mix things up) and apparently he is a replacement for the last PL who quit. That should be interesting.

Next - our house. Unfortunately, our house is not quite like theirs (back to Katimavik standards), and it is far from anything...the closest things (7-11, Dairy Queen) is a 25 minute walk, and downtown is like 1.5 hour walk...so you pretty much have to bike everywhere. Despite all this things are pretty cool still. The girls get to have 2 in one room (Maxime + me were assigned to one...the best room in the house) but the boys still had to stay in one room together. And our background is pretty sweet...a gorgeous view of the mountains and Columbia River, and nice and big with flowers and fruit trees and stuff that was planted previously. And our new PL Alex seems very nice, easygoing and sweet...more about her in the future.

Things are moving fast...Thursday is work tours, Friday is interview, work starts Monday.

Last Blog in Alma

Ok I really don't have much to say (well yes I do but that will take forever...), but one certain thing...big big thing...

We just got a phone call from Mike that he is officially coming back to Katimavik...and he will be joining us in Castlegar, BC. Which means we will see him by Wednesday...

(creepy music playing in the background)

So most of the people (especially Zach and Rebecca) are not happy that he is coming back...and I understand how they feel...2 short weeks of freedom and now that is taken away...back to Mike harassing them everyday. Zach already said that he is going to convince Mike to hang out with me 24/7, because I am almost the only one in the group who does not mind having him back.

Let's see how the drama unfolds...I can tell that life after Mike will already be very different...he may even be sorry that he is back, perhaps...

Ciao Alma

(Update) Valerie just said Mike is probably BSing, because she did not receive anything from Katimavik head office...so pretty much people are sitting on the edge of the cliff, tilting back and forth, back and forth for comfort (not literally but you know what I mean)...Mike is like the bad cancer that threatens to haunt the group...and only a few people have immunity (me) for it.

My Thoughts on Work

Ok I have 40 minutes before we (as in Café Sofa) call it a day...let's start...

But before I talk about work let me just say something very cool will happen tomorrow/Sunday/Monday, and I just cannot believe it is happening tomorrow...excursion to Quebec City, à la belle province de Quebec! I am going to see my sister (who is doing a geography exchange program in Sherbrooke and they are having an excursion there also) there too, woohoo! Hopefully I have time to write a blog about it, but we will see...

So our group is leaving Alma very soon (May 28), and I feel I should dedicate a blog on my work before I leave, as a reminder to myself (and perhaps to the "lucky" person who will work here after me...but maybe not). Anyways what can I say about it? I guess I should explain what it is: Café Sofa is opened by La Boite à Bleuets, an organization with a team of dedicated people from all walks of life (doctors, politicians, students) that works hard to attract young people from the Lac St-Jean region to stay in the region. The profits from the cafe then goes to projects and other developement plans that La Boite à Bleuets have. As well, the café itself is pretty cool: it serves as a venue for meetings/entertainment, and it sells fair-trade coffee and other items for third-world aid. The café is one of those totally hip/chill places that is anti-starbucks, where people go there to chill because of its atmosphere and stuff, and they can enjoy the chillax music they play (yay, I even got to play my choice of stuff one day when I worked with Aurelie) and the art/photo exhibits the café has going on (right now it is Aurelie's art...very cool). Unfortunately, because the café is in a small town, not much people go there. But I can guarantee that if it was in Vancouver/Montreal/Toronto, the place would be buzzing...which is a bit unfortunate (but if it is too busy then it would lose that intimacy). And another crappy thing about the cafe - everything is pretty pricey...

...Aw shucks...not enough time due to distractions from my friends. To be continued...after Quebec City...

Blogging Rant

Yahoo...the Carnival is in town...so instead of doing our healthy lifestyle (water aerobics in the community center), we got to use our hobbies budget and blow it all on the carnival...$12 per person. Anyways I used that and bought myself 12 tickets ($1 per ticket) and went on 2 rides with Billy/Sabrina (who were just coincidentally there) while others bought more (they had to subsidize anything over $12) or brought the all-you-can-ride $25 bracelet. It was all right, and though I enjoyed it, it just made me realize that I am getting too old for rides because my body cannot handle it like I used it...after Music Ride (a medium-mild spinning ride), I had to find a seat and calm down the tornado in my head...

Here`s just a little something I thought about these days about blogging. Blogging, I found out, is actually hard business, especially in Katimavik and the way I am doing it...days pass by everyday, with something going on everyday and it is hard to capture that. Even when one can capture that, there are still thoughts/comments/intimate feelings, which are more important to capture. The balance between both things is what makes a blog interesting to do, and I hope I have been doing that in them...however there are so much things happening, and so much subtle emotions conveyed in them that it is pretty much impossible for me to record everything. There are still a number of blogs that I would like to write about, that are still in my head...especially The Big Group One (tickling Charles`s curiousity). Anyways despite all the words I write, I haven`t even covered many of the things/dynamics happening in the house. And the days just grow longer and longer, with more to write about...I feel like a poor gardener battling in a land of dandelions...as soon as you finish weeding some, more pops up.

Another thing that occurred to me is the old saying about living life versus reading about it. I think one of the reasons I am not able to capture all the subtle emotions between people is because I am so busy occupied with the idea of trying to write/catch up with blogs, instead of sitting down and just enjoy doing stupid yet crucial (crucial in a sense that it promotes closeness) things with the group. In a way, I am like the hardworking parent that works all the time to make ends meet and make sure everyone in the family is financially stable, but really have no idea who the children are and what they are like. I feel like an outsider...something to think about.

Finally, the thought of Charles reading my blog means I should watch what I say, haha...read the comments if you do not know what I mean. Although if I do that, I really shouldn`t be writing this blog anymore. However reading Charles`s comments today made me realize that I am only getting a narrow vision of what is happening, and many times my vision may not be true (again referring to the "feeling like an outsider" comment). And I guess in a more philosophical level, what is the truth? What I see/say versus what others in the group see/say will definitely be different, despite the situation being the same. I think a great example is putting a bunch of artists in front of an apple and telling them to draw it...and you would get everything from your classic apple picture, to abstract, or even a sculpture of it made from paper. Who is to say there is one definitive picture/truth? Alright I think I am ranting too much right now, but my point is with this blog I am telling what I think is right, and even though others may disagree or even feel offended, I am going to continue doing what I do (in order words, too bad..:P).

Mike update - not that Mike told us anything...but now the group enjoys the house without him enough that people like Maxime are planning to put a stop to it if Mike comes back...ouch.