Home Again :)

It is 11 52am right now and I am on lunch at Windfall. All morning as I have been working on my spread sheets and contact list for Judy but my mind keeps slipping back to London. I left 128 days ago and although I am not even half way done Katimavik, I am extremely excited to see my friends and family! Just to be able to spend one weekend with everyone and to see how things have changed over the four months, that in itself will make my trip home worth while. I remember when I first saw that I was going to be posted in Newmarket I was annoyed and not too happy about it because it meant that I was not going to be "away" for the full nine months. I realize now that without this reprise from the program I would have gone crazy. I am trying to see as many people as possible this weekend but if you don't get a chance to catch up with me, do not worry because come summertime I will back and I can spend more than a weekend in the place I call home.

Lost in Suburbia

Newmarket is a town of 90 000 people. Coming from London, which is closer to 400 000 people, I did not think I would find it terribly difficult to find my way around this place. I even snickered (my word of the day) at the other members of my group who were scared of moving to the "big city". Then again I guess when you come from St. Louis de Kent, which is in the middle of nowhere and doesn't even have a McDonalds, moving to Newmarket is a big deal. I however found getting around Newmarket to be extremely difficult! Who knew that the buses don't run every half and hour. The 54 Bayview, for example, only runs every 43 minutes! I found this out the hard way. When I missed my bus for work, I thought I would just catch the next one. After 40 minutes I asked a the gentlemen if he knew when it came. He told me that it was only a rush hour bus service so I crossed the street to catch another route to work. I missed that bus (the driver even saw me) and then I got to watch the Bayview bus drive by me because I was on the other side of the street! That gentleman who gave me the so ever helpful advice did manage to get on the bus that was supposedly only a rush hour service. It took me 2 hours and 41 minutes to finally get to work. After missing the Bayview for the second time, my bus troubles had barely begun. That subject is still touchy for me so I will leave the rest of that story to your imaginations.

Another problem I have here is getting to our gym. In the four times that I have gone, twice has it ended in utter confusion. Last night on my way home from the gym, Tom and I ended up taking a scenic root that brought us back to Fit City twice. Feeling deflated I was forced to buy a whole pizza at Little Ceasers and pack on all the calories I lost and the gym and then some. A walk that is suppose to take 20 minutes took us well over an hour. Newmarket is urban sprawl at its finest. You can virtually get nowhere by foot. You are either in a subdivision or in a shopping center. Being a commuter city its streets are congested between 820am and 920am and then between 430pm and 600pm. It is virtually dead the rest of the time. Being the incredible individual that I am, it is my goal that by the time this trimester is finished, I will have figured out a system that does not involve me getting lost and confused every few days.

A Week in Hell (....or close to it)

It has taken me one week to get over the ordeal that was house management! I was forced into being house manager with this really annoying girl whose name shall be, for the purpose of this post, Anahsohs. (I can't have Shoshana find out I am talking crap about her in my blog!) Well anyways being house manager with her was so bad because Anahsohs made me wash and dry the dishes so many times during the week that I needed both hands to count all the times that I was forced to do them. On top of it all we had discussed, before our week started, that she would wash the washrooms all three times during our week but nevertheless I found myself having to do it ONCE! It was an outrage. I still can't get the smell of Clorox out of my skin. Does she not even care for my well being? Anyways I got some relief in the arrival of my friends but even then I was forced into a matching outfit with her which consisted of Salmon (not pink) tights and a nineties Jean shirt (the horror I know!). I have lived through her cruel and unusual punishments before but the embarrassment I encountered with my friends will take a lifetime to get over! If she just once thought about someone other than herself, maybe she would see what kind of horrible wench she is! I finished my week of house management with only my dignity lost, but never again will I put myself in a position where I can be so horribly abused. Anahsohs, shame on you for being so terrible.



My insanely buff legs!....yes I wore these tights out in public! I didn't have a choice



Anahsohs, and the magazine she used to beat me!



Earl, a potato that looks like a shark or dinosaur! (I swear I didn't mean to peel him that way)

6 Diva's, 3 Dudes.....and Me

*WARNING: THIS BLOG MAY CONTAIN UNAPPROPRIATED SUBJECT MATTER. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED*

Last Night I was not in the best of moods. I was still sulking over the fact that now only one friend was coming home to London with me next weekend, even if Elliot Lake (Northern Ontario) is way cooler than Southern Ontario.I was also bumbed out because I wanted to see Jersey Boys on the Friday of my free time but the logistics of getting back to London after the show was turning into a problem. Being the overly emotional mess that I am I decided to barricade myself in my room and fall asleep though it was only 8pm.

I had barely gotten 10 minutes of peace and quiet to myself when Tom and Jessica came into my room and woke me up by turning on the lights. They came to remind me that we had a KCC (Katimavik Coronation Council) planning meeting tonight for second languages. Grudgingly I agreed to roll over in my bed and listen to them talk. The meeting wasn't terrible long,thankfully,and it was about to finish when my whole group entered and decided to have a full house meeting in my room.The fact that I was only in my long johns matter little to them. What was on the agenda you ask? Well there was the matter of who was using twice the amount of detergent for their clothes but more importantly the showcasing of a new purchase was the more important part. There in front of Nicole, our Project Leader, were 5 little pink boxes. Inside of them were little items that had been a common topic in our household for the past week. It was something called Diva cup. For those of you who do not know what a Diva cup is, a quick description is that it is a system for women who are experiencing their "time of the month" and it is a system that is reusable and environmental. Here in my room were six girls talking openly about how it was made in Canada, came with a carrying bag and a memorable pin which declared them official Divas.

That meeting really showed me that my group is reaching a new level of closeness. If someone asked me three months ago what I would be talking about my group with,the topic of Diva cups would not even have been on my radar. I may have been in a bad mood that night and I am sure more of my mood swings are on the horizon but nevertheless my group never fails to show off their annoying quirks which in the end force me to really really really like them.(I mean I could say love but I am not sure if our relationship has reached that level yet!)

Shopping Overload

Newmarket has been a complete change from Vanderhoof. Although I loved Vanderhoof and its beautiful scenery, Newmarket has one clear advantage over Vanderhoof. Newmarket has something called a mall. This revolutionary idea is when a bunch of stores decide that they should put all their stores side by side in the giant building for the convenience of the shopper. I am sure that the residence of Vanderhoof have thought of this idea before but they need more than a dozen stores before they can even dream of creating a successful mall. It was nice spending three and a half months in Northern BC, where the best place to buy stuff was at Fields (a smaller version of Zellers for all of us Ontarians) because my money didn't seem to disappear meaning I could spend my money more wisely on such great items such as an over priced bag of Crispers at 7/11.However upon arriving in Newmarket I found out that the Upper Canada Mall was located not too far from our new Katima-house.

For those of you who don't know the Upper Canada Mall, it is gigantic. Not as big as the Eaton's Center in Toronto, but still at least twice the size of Masonville mall in London. In the two weeks I have been in Newmarket, I have already erased all the katimavik money which I saved up in Northern BC and literally I have had to have friends forbid me to buy anything (thanks Anda and Jessica). It is like all of the time I lost shopping in BC now needs to be caught up, now that I am back in Ontario. Well I guess I am not perfect and I don't have a problem admitting that. I will keep you guys (my readers, or I guess mostly my mom)updated on my problem and I should have everyone know that writing this blog post is a good because the first step in fixing a problem is admitting that a problem exists.

The Key To Riverside

I have now been in Ontario for two weeks but I have been so busy, or in other words lazy (parraseux for you frenchies), only now have I found the time to write about my favorite place in Vanderhoof, Riverside Place. Helping out at the Assisted living facility was one of the most fulfilling experiences ever. From the tenants to Pam, Barb and Helen I had a blast. If any of them are reading this I would love to get an email because I realized I never got any of your emails before I left! Anyways back to the story. My final day at Riverside was on January 15th! I cannot believe three weeks have already passed but that day was super special. There was a nice little party for me where most of the tenants came down to see me off and to show their appreciation for all of the work that I did there (that statement makes me sound conceded but I swear I am not). The party had gotten off to a great start.

At the farewell party everyone was super talkative and Helen even bought a cake for the occasion. Now this was not any normal cake. It was a cake from Woody`s bakery, only the most amazing bakery in the world. After enjoying the wonderful cake, there was a cute little presentation by Helen where she gave me a few small mementos. They included the do`s and don`ts of of knitting, something about a crochet (whatever that word means :p) a beautiful card, a painting and the Key to Riverside. Over the trimester I had only lost my keys about a dozen times so it was fitting that I should receive a big version of them so I would be sure not to loose them. I will have everyone know that the key and card are on my dresser, against my mirror, and all of the other mementos have been sent home for safe keeping. It makes me feel good to wake up and see them every morning. Leaving was quite hard. My brief three months at Riverside were not long enough for sure. Coincidently, after saying my goodbyes and walking out the door I had to return one last time because I had forgot to return my keys. Thank you for everything, and may the future be bright for Riverside Place.