My Goodness Gracious

Wow so I have not blogged in FOREVER! I have to talk about apple picking, tree-go, and the phantom tour! Then in later weeks, the relay for leukemia, packing, travel travesty and everything else that's happened in the last 19 days. However I don't have time so I thought that I'd just post a little preview to let you know whats been going on. Hopefully I'll have time to blog later.
Talk to you soon!

Let's play some FOOTBALL!

Hello y'all! it's been a pretty normal week of work. However yesterday we went to a FOOTBALL GAME! It was the university league and the teams were Quebec City (Laval) VS Montreal. There were so many people there and some got really into it. The guys in the picture were so nice (even though they smelt like beer) and spoke to me in English, yay! it's a weird feeling when you talk to someone in french but they can hear your accent and reply in English, its like right people can speak that here. And there were real cheerleaders! They were pretty cool and there was pump up music playing throughout the game which made it a lot more interesting if you don't really understand the game and want to play cards... not saying that was me or anything.

So we did that then we came home to eat dinner which kinda took a while then we went back to Quebec and did a scavenger hunt! It was pretty fun and we had to go around getting pictures and napkins from restaurants and business cards and stuff. We finished around ten thirty and some people went clubbing after, there was a bit of a miscommunication and Matt and Pete ended up waiting for Lauren and Rosie even though they had already left to catch the ferry. So Matt and Pete ended up missing the 1:30 ferry which you have to take it you want a chance to make curfew of 2:00. So while they were waiting at the ferry for the 2:20 ferry they ran into Etienne, our PL who told us to MAKE SURE WE CATCH THE 1:30 FERRY! I think they got into a bit of trouble which sucks cause they were just waiting for everyone to go back as a group.

Anyways today we've got a bunch of meetings and stuff but we had the morning off which was nice cause we got to sleep in. I think I'm getting sick because yesterday I had a sore throat and now I'm wheezy and my nose is kinda runny. SHIT! I hate being sick.
XOXOX Marina

PS It's been ten years since 911 and I can't believe how quickly time passes. Heart goes out to everyone who lost someone that day, or any day for that matter. Always tell loves ones how you feel about them, because you never know what might happen.

We'll Pass the Time Away in Quebec

Hello ok so it's Sunday and leave is almost over :( After a normal week of work we finally had our 72 hour leave.

We went to Quebec City friday after work and stayed there for two nights. It was pretty fun, we went to Dag (the big club) again friday and then went shopping the next day. We explored a lot of the city and after shopping we went out to dinner with Robyn (Boobie) and her boyfriend George who is visiting. After paying our very large bills for the fancy dinner we went to the FREE Cirque De Solei show. I didn't really get the plot since it was pretty short (only an hour) and we were sitting behind this big tent thing so we missed half of it, but other than that I thought it was really cool. It was called Le Royaume de Tôle (Kingdom of Tin) and there were so many people there. The music was really cool too.

Then today Beth and I went back to Simons but it was closed so we all checked out of the hotel and carried our heavy one suitcase down back to the ferry. We took the bus back cause it was pouring rain and went to the mall. Needless to say that I spend quite a bit of money this weekend. I can't see myself buying too much more though because

1) I don't have room in my suitcase
2) I don't have a lot of money left

Well now we're going to play some cards so I'll let you know what trouble we get into later. Bye!!


XOXO Marina

Camp De L'Arche

Wow, so I'm blogging after finally coming to terms that I'm totally not the type of person who is good at blogging. I put it off at camp cause I thought the internet would be too slow and then when we got home I got distracted and now... I have no excuse.

Ok so first things first is we did our billeting at the gorgeous Camp de L'Arche. We chopped firewood almost everyday from around nine after a nice breakfast and ended at 3. We ate really well, I loved the lady who ran the place and campfires were a welcome addition to the starry nights. We spent a lot of our time down at the tiny little lake, playing battle boats (canoes), giving each other ballpoint tattoos, and just enjoying the summer weather. It rained once (I think) when we were there and they let us set up their projector and borrow movies, so every night we watched a movie or had a campfire. Lots of the time at the lake I was worried about the huge leaches we saw (and caught) but that didn't stop us from swimming or skinny dipping one of the first nights, which was one of the best decisions ever lol.

Ok after that when we got home I promptly found the package my mom sent me filled with typical mom stuff. She sent me thank you notes, nail files and a pocket notebook thing, all matching. Included was a handwritten letter that was filled with what she did that day and telling me how proud she is of me and how amazing I am. Needless to say I started crying and wrote a thank you note to the Camp for being so nice to us the past week. Like mother like daughter, except Kathy doesn't cry as much as me.

This week has been kinda weird since we had a temporary Project Leader named Will. He did his rotation in Wolf-ville last year and has implemented some temp rules to help us restrict technology in common areas and last night we played this crazy game that we named Beelzebub. We turned of all of the lights and one person (at first) was designated the Beezlebub. Everyone had to search for the hidden flashlight somewhere in the house to "kill" the Beelzebub before they kill you. It was so fun and scary and I'm going to have to bring it and battle boats back to osoyoos to teach everyone.

Will's leaving tomorrow so tonight we watched Food Inc. to teach everyone about our food industry and encourage us to shop at local food markets. I think it'd be cool to try and reduce our impact on the world and the movie served as a good refresher to remind me that even making food from scratch and not buying packaged foods isn't the only way to eat healthy.

Everyone is hoping that this week will pass quickly because this weekend is our 72 hour leave. Robyn, Brandi and I wrote a letter proposing our need for 72 hours instead of just the regular old 48. Thanks to our superior writing abilities and the fact that our group has been through a lot during the past two months, it was approved and now everyone's super excited. The girls are going to stay a couple nights in Quebec City and do the touristy stuff while the guys are visiting Alex's town which is near Montreal. Boobi's (Robyn) boyfriend George is coming to visit tomorrow from tuesday until after leave so we're all apprehensive to meet the much talked about Jonathon aka George.

Ok well that's everything kinda. I've skipped some stuff because I don't have time/can't remember everything that's happened so if I remember, I'll make sure to let you know.

Have a great day and talk to you later.

XOXOX Marina

August 6th

Hey so it's been a long time since I last posted anything and a lot has happened since then.

First off on Wednesday we went to this really cool circus show in this old Anglican church. It was like cirque de soleil but funny and on a smaller stage. There were about 9 performers and each one did a different act. There was a contortionist who did this creepy ankle thing with super high heels on (looked like she was breaking them...ugh) and this cool guy who spun around in a giant metal hoolahoop. Two other guys did some cool balancing acts and there was a lot of jumping, flipping, teeter tottering and hoops to jump through. I'm really glad we went and it was a really cool show. After the show we went to the world famous "Chocolat Favoris" ice cream parlor.

They do this cool thing with soft serve that's dipped in chocolate. Oh yeah Marina, they do that in lots of places..Big whoop! Well here it's milk chocolate thats probably better than any chocolate bar you've ever had and then somehow they make the chocolate SO THICK! its like a centimeter thick and it hardens into the richest best thing ever. But the last two times I've went I've felt kinda sick after so you have to get a smaller portion..even if you really want a big one.

Ok then the next day Pete and I needed to go grocery shopping. After the oven decided to stop working, it was necessary to only cook with the stove top. From Sunday to Wed I made tzatziki, gyros on naan, an asian noodle dish and hamburgers. It was time to stock up the fridge. Sarah, one of the higher up supervisors of Katimavik was staying a couple nights to help Neil out with some organizing and stuff cause he seemed to be having some troubles. So that morning Sarah said she would take us grocery shopping so Neil could have a break. After shopping we went back to the ice cream place cause sarah said we deserve some ice cream. After settling down with our tasty treats, she broke the news that we would be getting a new Project Leader. Neil had been fired/let go. Not because he's a bad person nor that he was bad with us, he was actually really good with us, but it was because the stress of the job and all of it's responsibilities were a bit too much for him. Which really sucked. We're gonna miss him.

Later that day after we helped Neil get his stuff together and give him some company, I made Napolean. Which is the best dessert ever. The bottom is vanilla pudding, then a layer of graham crackers, then whipped cream on top. I made the whipped cream from scratch and although it was kinda frustrating at first I actually got pretty good at it. I'm sure I'll make it a couple more times in the next few months. Then Sarah went and collected Rosalie and Stephane, our two new housemates. It was Rosalie's 18th birthday so we all went down to the Corsaire (the pirate bar) and celebrated their arrival and also said goodbye to our Taiwanese friends, Mark and Harkat.

Yesterday we volunteered at a Festival for Levis (they have so many) and it was pretty good. Brandi and I just strapped little kids (and some lg's and lb's) into these belt things for this weird haning rope/log game/ride. It's hard to explain but basically they get strapped by their belt to a long rope that gets clipped into the roof? its weird and then the kids have to walk and balance on these log things so I guess the rope is meant to catch them.

There's been some more drama in the last few days and for a while tension was high. After cleaning the whole house today for the morning everyone has been kinda tired and cranky so hopefully after some much needed naps and snacks people will calm.

Wow this has been a long post and I don't even know if anyone reads this but at least I'll have a reference to look back on my trip and reflect.

Miss all of you and I hope everyone's having a good summer.

XOXOX Marina

August 1st

Hi! Even though I'm not working there at the moment or even next week, I'm finally posting some pictures of the CPE (Centre de les Petites Enfants) where I usually work. It's really cute and clean and I can actually see myself working in this type of environment (or at least early childhood) later on in life. Like sister like sister?

July 30th

Hey y'all! The last three days have been pretty similar. We've been directing traffic at a parking lot for a free shuttle to the Celebration de Levis, and we decided not to go to the land of heros show on friday because we were all pretty tired and the show seemed pretty lame. Then yesterday most people left the lot right after we were finished and Beth and I went home with Neil to pick up Robyn and then trying to get back to the festival the traffic was so bad that we had to turn back. So it was kinda lame that Beth, Robyn, Neil and I didn't get to go to the festival. Then tonight after staying until like 9:30 (when we were supposed to be done at 8:00) we finally got to see a show. ROD STEWERT! Alex, Matt and Pete went to Quebec to visit Alex's friend Laurence and the rest of us went to the show. It was pretty good and I had a lot of fun dancing and singing along to the music. I thought that I only knew that "if you think I'm sexy song" but it turns out we all know a lot of Rod Stewert songs, we just don't know that they're his songs. Then we came home and I finaly finished my laundry that's taken me soo long to finish. I'm thinking that I should put up some more pictures and maybe start posting pics daily. Anyways it's pretty late (2:25 am for me) and I should be getting to bed. Talk to you later!

Marina