I have almost survived my week of House Manager. Today was probably the worst so far, and once today is over, I know that I can get through the last of it all.
Since the entire Okanogan region of Katimavik is closing after this rotation, we have to empty our entire house. That means cleaning, washing, dusting, vacuuming every possible surface and cloth in the house. Sheets, towels, cloths and linens are constantly being washed, dried, folded, boxed and inventoried, while all the food is being evaluated, planned, composted and prepared. We have been cleaning all day and there just doesn't seem to be a foreseeable end. There is always more to do and I can already feel my self running out of steam. I have new respect for my Grammy in her almost OCD cleaning.
Tonight we are going to a Global Music Festival, where we will kinda volunteer but mostly enjoy the shows and enjoy our last bit of Kelowna. As it stands, we have 3 sleeps left here. I can't wait to go home for real now.
During the week, we went to a speaker by the name of Micheal Chikwanine, former child soldier. I was overwhelmed with the emotion and the horror he spoke about. He described the terrible two weeks he was forced to train with the Rebel Soldiers. At the end of his presentation, I had the chance to talk to him. He told us about a program called Me to We. It is a volunteer program where you go to a developing country for two to three weeks and help in many different ways. I was so inspired by his speech and the out comes of the program that I got in touch with my sister and we are going to try to plan for us and a small team of our friends to fund raise and then go to one of these countries. The opportunities in the Me to We are amazing. Kenya, India, China, Ecuador, or Mexico. I can't wait to start planning this with her.
The time to go home is coming up so fast, I can feel the tension in my house. I never fully settled in to this new group and I think that was partly a self preservation move on my part. Why get attached to a whole new group of katimakids when I have to leave so soon? I am just ready to get on with my real life and return to my good old little Fredericton.
The high lights of this week is that I discovered how to play my previously washed Ipod and Jessica found my laptop power cord! Also, coming up, I have arranged to meet with Élie in the Montreal Airport and hopefully see a few other of my old Katima-friends along the way. I am sure that through all the airports and bus stops, I will see others from my past Kaima-life that recognise the orange pin on my tuque or the red hair that will inevitably be in the standard "I'm traveling for 15 hours straight" pony tail.
Every day is a new adventure, so no worries
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Day One Hundred and Sixty Three
I have now been in the Kelowna Katimavik House for two full weeks, and I am half way through my stay here. It's funny you know. Outside of Katimavik, if someone were to tell me I was going to stay away from home for a month, I would have made a big deal of it. A whole month they were gonna send we away! And now, here, staying for a month, it is like nothing. I decided to come because four weeks to round out my program is just a hop skip and jump through the calender. And it truly feels like that but more at the same time.
Scientists figured it out. Katimavik's 9 month program gave the participant ten years of life experience. I cam attest that the new 6 month program gives no less. You have to figure out things faster. Get your act, your group and yourself together faster. I am so happy I did this program.
Last weekend, I had my third 48 hours off. If any katima-kids are reading this, they understand how great that sounds. For this time around I decided I did not want to stay in the house as I did with both my breaks in my last group. This weekend, I went to Vernon. The trip there was fantastically cheap. I was able to use the free city bus pass to ride the city bus all the way to Vernon. So when I say "fantastically cheap", I really mean "free." I spent the weekend with the Katimavik Group in Vernon at their motel rooms. We joked about the incredible sketch factor of our motel, stayed up to wee hours of the morning, and enjoyed our weekend off. On the second day, me and Emily, a gorgeous blond from Ontario, had our epic adventure.
It started off with having breakfast at Denny's (it was my first time and I wasn't all that impressed). While the group decided to go skiing, Emily and I decided to economize our little money and explore the down town. Eric told us of a small mountain we could climb that had an amazing view. We went up and down the hard way because that was our style, and built miniature igloos on the top of the mountain. Our next destination was the center of the city. Emily wanted to show me the few sights that Vernon held for us. We ate the most delicious pizza, wandered the streets, waited at a bus stop for 20 minutes, wandered into a toy store to kill time, and walked out in time to see ALL the buses leave from the stop. In all fairness, the toy store was fascinating. They had a huge showcase of these tiny animals. Emily and I scoured the shelves, finding animals that meant something to us, whether it was from childhood (Emily's budgie named Blue Sky) or recent life (My tiger, Petite Tigre) or simply reminded us of our friends (Junaid's wolf). We loved scanning the shelves, blurting out the animals we found interesting. At the end of it we had picked up the three animals I aforementioned plus two more. Two foxes, one white, one red, sat among the small zoo we planned to purchase. These foxes, the same but different, represented Emily and I. While we were in the same boat on many things (migraines, writing, travel) we were different. The red and white foxes were tiny reminders of the bond we built over the two weekends we had spent together. We carry the foxes with us on our Katimavik journey now, no matter how close we are to the end. They tell us that we will always have a friend who is the same but different. Our journey continued to contain candy on the top of a different mountain in the night, being in the beginning of a horror story, riding in the back of a Lexus, going to a bizarre bonfire and collapsing into bed only to hear that the Katimavik house had lost all their power. Junaid and his sister, who originally planned on sleeping at the house, now were to crash on our floor. Emily and I smiled because we felt like this was the only logical end to our Epic Day of Epic Adventures.
We now have exactly 14 days till the end of our rotation and our program. I am keeping in touch with Jessica and we talk like old high school friends on the phone at all hours. I miss her something awful, and she does me, but we both know that we have amazing lives ahead of us, and as for me, I'm just happy I get to be a part of her story.
I have to go to work soon. I am half way through my last week of work. Next week I have been handed the nightmarish task of House Manager. I don't want to leave my job. I have made friends there and the residents are always happy to see me in the day. I will miss many of them.
But as we know, Every day is a new adventure, So no worries
Scientists figured it out. Katimavik's 9 month program gave the participant ten years of life experience. I cam attest that the new 6 month program gives no less. You have to figure out things faster. Get your act, your group and yourself together faster. I am so happy I did this program.
Last weekend, I had my third 48 hours off. If any katima-kids are reading this, they understand how great that sounds. For this time around I decided I did not want to stay in the house as I did with both my breaks in my last group. This weekend, I went to Vernon. The trip there was fantastically cheap. I was able to use the free city bus pass to ride the city bus all the way to Vernon. So when I say "fantastically cheap", I really mean "free." I spent the weekend with the Katimavik Group in Vernon at their motel rooms. We joked about the incredible sketch factor of our motel, stayed up to wee hours of the morning, and enjoyed our weekend off. On the second day, me and Emily, a gorgeous blond from Ontario, had our epic adventure.
It started off with having breakfast at Denny's (it was my first time and I wasn't all that impressed). While the group decided to go skiing, Emily and I decided to economize our little money and explore the down town. Eric told us of a small mountain we could climb that had an amazing view. We went up and down the hard way because that was our style, and built miniature igloos on the top of the mountain. Our next destination was the center of the city. Emily wanted to show me the few sights that Vernon held for us. We ate the most delicious pizza, wandered the streets, waited at a bus stop for 20 minutes, wandered into a toy store to kill time, and walked out in time to see ALL the buses leave from the stop. In all fairness, the toy store was fascinating. They had a huge showcase of these tiny animals. Emily and I scoured the shelves, finding animals that meant something to us, whether it was from childhood (Emily's budgie named Blue Sky) or recent life (My tiger, Petite Tigre) or simply reminded us of our friends (Junaid's wolf). We loved scanning the shelves, blurting out the animals we found interesting. At the end of it we had picked up the three animals I aforementioned plus two more. Two foxes, one white, one red, sat among the small zoo we planned to purchase. These foxes, the same but different, represented Emily and I. While we were in the same boat on many things (migraines, writing, travel) we were different. The red and white foxes were tiny reminders of the bond we built over the two weekends we had spent together. We carry the foxes with us on our Katimavik journey now, no matter how close we are to the end. They tell us that we will always have a friend who is the same but different. Our journey continued to contain candy on the top of a different mountain in the night, being in the beginning of a horror story, riding in the back of a Lexus, going to a bizarre bonfire and collapsing into bed only to hear that the Katimavik house had lost all their power. Junaid and his sister, who originally planned on sleeping at the house, now were to crash on our floor. Emily and I smiled because we felt like this was the only logical end to our Epic Day of Epic Adventures.
We now have exactly 14 days till the end of our rotation and our program. I am keeping in touch with Jessica and we talk like old high school friends on the phone at all hours. I miss her something awful, and she does me, but we both know that we have amazing lives ahead of us, and as for me, I'm just happy I get to be a part of her story.
I have to go to work soon. I am half way through my last week of work. Next week I have been handed the nightmarish task of House Manager. I don't want to leave my job. I have made friends there and the residents are always happy to see me in the day. I will miss many of them.
But as we know, Every day is a new adventure, So no worries
Friday, February 04, 2011
Day One Hundred and Fifty One
Kelowna BC. is my new home. Nicole, Amilie, Jessica, Katelynn, Mariah and Yannick are my new group. Sun Pointe Village is my new job. Welcome to my new life.
I arrived on Monday night and went through a whirlwind of meetings. My new group and PL received me well enough and I am beginning to settle into my new environment. While the group is vastly different from my last, they are the same in that they are all just trying to get along and enjoy their time in the west and in the program.
I love my new job. I am working at Sun Pointe Village with Jessica. It is a very nice and well organized retirement home and assisted living program. There are five "communities" in the Village, and where you are placed depends on the level of care you require. For example, in Belgo, which is one of my favorite places to visit, the men and women their have a higher level of Dementia. One woman, Ann, came to me and placed her tiny, veined hand on my arm and said "Your father is a great pilot. He'll be fine. My husband knows him. He's getting too old to fly now, but he keeps at it. You'll be safe. How old is your daughter?" I must have reminded her of some one she once knew, since my father is most definitely not a pilot, and I certainly do not have a daughter. Then there is the Joe Rich community. This is the independent living area. These are the people that are capable of taking care of themselves. In this community lives a few people of interest. One is Harold. He was born in 1910. Yes, he is one hundred years old and lives independently. And I have to say, he looks very (well relatively) young for his age.
The last woman I want to tell you about is a woman I met just yesterday. Her name is Maria and she was born in Yugoslavia. She told me about her life and about the five years she spent in a concentration camp in Russia. She told me about how they gave them nothing but quilted pants and a shirt for the winter time because all year long they would work, often outside, for eight hours. She showed me the twisted wire barrettes they made to keep their hair our of their faces while they worked. Her stories were amazing and I listened with more attentiveness than I had ever given to a teacher in all my years of study.
I am learning a lot of things here, many I did not anticipate. I have learned what love is, and what it is to be independent. I am learning to ask for help when I need it (although I am still more stubborn than need be). I am learning to let go and move on, even if I don't feel that the issue has met justice. I am learning how to be an adult while I can still make all the mistakes of a teenager.
There is only three weeks left of the program, and I will be grateful to be able to return home "for real". But as we know, there is no going back, only going on. So hopefully this time, when I leave my katimalives behind me, I will be able to look back and say "Yup, I did the right thing all along."
There is a new adventure everyday, so no worries.
I arrived on Monday night and went through a whirlwind of meetings. My new group and PL received me well enough and I am beginning to settle into my new environment. While the group is vastly different from my last, they are the same in that they are all just trying to get along and enjoy their time in the west and in the program.
I love my new job. I am working at Sun Pointe Village with Jessica. It is a very nice and well organized retirement home and assisted living program. There are five "communities" in the Village, and where you are placed depends on the level of care you require. For example, in Belgo, which is one of my favorite places to visit, the men and women their have a higher level of Dementia. One woman, Ann, came to me and placed her tiny, veined hand on my arm and said "Your father is a great pilot. He'll be fine. My husband knows him. He's getting too old to fly now, but he keeps at it. You'll be safe. How old is your daughter?" I must have reminded her of some one she once knew, since my father is most definitely not a pilot, and I certainly do not have a daughter. Then there is the Joe Rich community. This is the independent living area. These are the people that are capable of taking care of themselves. In this community lives a few people of interest. One is Harold. He was born in 1910. Yes, he is one hundred years old and lives independently. And I have to say, he looks very (well relatively) young for his age.
The last woman I want to tell you about is a woman I met just yesterday. Her name is Maria and she was born in Yugoslavia. She told me about her life and about the five years she spent in a concentration camp in Russia. She told me about how they gave them nothing but quilted pants and a shirt for the winter time because all year long they would work, often outside, for eight hours. She showed me the twisted wire barrettes they made to keep their hair our of their faces while they worked. Her stories were amazing and I listened with more attentiveness than I had ever given to a teacher in all my years of study.
I am learning a lot of things here, many I did not anticipate. I have learned what love is, and what it is to be independent. I am learning to ask for help when I need it (although I am still more stubborn than need be). I am learning to let go and move on, even if I don't feel that the issue has met justice. I am learning how to be an adult while I can still make all the mistakes of a teenager.
There is only three weeks left of the program, and I will be grateful to be able to return home "for real". But as we know, there is no going back, only going on. So hopefully this time, when I leave my katimalives behind me, I will be able to look back and say "Yup, I did the right thing all along."
There is a new adventure everyday, so no worries.
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