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