Update soon

been a crazy week... I'll update soon..

Another late night, keeping up with this blog has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. Especially since I'm trying to keep up with my personal journal at the same time, it's sometimes a bit confusing since I can't quite remember what I have written in my blog or my journal. There's less than 3 weeks now until we head off, so excited but terrified at the same time. Just waiting for the next phase to begin, next week is our last week at the workplacements then we start preparing for Tanzania.

Last Wednesday, I was invited to speak at the weekly Kiwanis meeting. Norbert and I were invited to talk about Canada World Youth and our experiences. It was a delightful surprise to see such an active community group, even though most of the people have been retired for years, they choose to give back to their community with fundraising initiatives and being involved. There were a couple of very talkative more mature members that were quite funny to talk to, telling me about their old stories... way back when....

When I get back after this exchange, I've been contemplating what things I want to get involved with.. Tae Kwon-Do, Badminton, Cadets for sure... but as for the rest I'm not quite sure. I was approached by Canadian Federation of University Women this past summer asking me to get involved with them and be a guestspeaker at a meeting when I return. I will be speaking, but as for any community organizations like such I'm not quite sure which ones I want to be involved with. I'm thinking about going back into Toastmasters as well to get some more experience with public speaking, I tried out a couple meeting before I came and I did have fun at them.
Wait and see I guess, I'm definately excited about things coming up after.....

Wednesday already...

This past weekend was fun... My host family brough us to Toronto since one my my host sisters had an appointment there. We spent the night at a hotel (which had a great pool!).

On Sunday, it was the Annual Toronto Christmas Parade. To say the least... it was a bit disappointing. Tammy mentioned that the parade had seemed a bit smaller compared to past years. Eatons had not participated and neither did GM. There were probably some other big box stores not in it as well... It was funny watching the little ones get all excited about Santa, asking theur parents "When is Santa getting here? How is he gonna arrive on his sleigh? He has no snow.." HAHA So cute!

Later on that evening, we relaxed at the hotel pool/hot tub. We had a "situation" come up during our swim. Rachel, Emma, and Deborah went down to the pool. I jumped in first then my host sisters did, Deborah was taking her good ol' time so I swam away and was watcing the girls... I then turned around and Deborah was gone... I couldn't see her, then I realized she frantically trying to stay afloat, but all you could see were her elbows out of the water. I was so fixed on watching the girls who are 10 and 13, I completely forgot that Deborah couldn't swim. Well, I did know that she was a weak swimmer, but I didn't realize that she couldn't even bring her head above the water. I was about 7 metres away ish so it took me a little while to get to her.. when I did I pushed her to the wall so that she could grab on. So, after that scare... I said... swimming lessons it is. So we started with breathing techniques.. trying to think back to those swimming lessons I has when I was 5 was not easy. Bobbing into the water, back float, front float, proper kicked techiniques and how to move your arms... and telling her not to panic in the water.... hhmm so that was quite a reality check. Many people often take simple skills such as kicking for granted, but for someone who has never formally learned to swim.. Kicking, not so easy....

Yeah! Fun Day!

Last week, I was a bit bored so I decided to google "Peterborough Badminton Clubs". As it turns out, there's a fairly active badminton club that practices pretty close to where I live, so I decided to check it out.. also it was hosting a tournament (which was today). Since I haven't played since March, I thought to myself...why not go into the tournament to see where I stand and just have some fun... so I did. Also, my sister Karen also entered into it (thankfully I didn't have to play her or else...:S) The tournament was just doubles and mixed (guy/gal). I got put with a random girl for doubles and then played with Karen's Friend, Anderson, for mixed. It was so much fun, made me realize how much I miss Badminton.... when I get back to Moncton I'll definitely be getting involved with the Moncton Club. As for how we did... My doubles partner and I lost our first game though it was close (16-21, 17-21), my excuse is that we have just met each other and never played together before. So then we got moved down to the next division.. and WON that one! :D So we won a little bit of moola .,. not quite enough to compensate for the cost of tournament, but still fun. As for mixed.... hehehe.... well that didn't go so well, but it was a blast playing... I'm glad I decided to get back into it.. wish I had googled it, but I guess its better late than never...

Now I'm exhausted.. tomorrow morning... My host family is taking us to Toronto for the Santa Claus Parade and we'll be staying overnight... My only request is that we go to a Chinese Restaurant and I get to order Authentic food for everyone :) Can't wait... hhmmm.. maybe we'll get some Dim Sum....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....so good....

Less Than a Month!

Time is seriously flying by.. it's almost the middle of November.. we leave in less than a month. Thankfully the weather has been gorgeous lately, so my lack of winter clothes hasn't caused much discomfort. I think my emotions overall now have been a bit more tamed. There still are some issues that bother me. I feel as if the program has so much potential and it's just not there. It's ultimately what we make of it and that's what our supervisor said from the beginning. At the same time so many things are limiting, and I don't have the ability to change it.

Yesterday, I feel as if we had the opportunity to have more fun and change what "normally" happens. About a month ago, I approached the group asking if people were interested in going on a trip to Ottawa for Remembrance Day. Remembrance Day means a lot more to me than some others, my link with the CF is probably one of the main links. When first up for debate, there was A LOT of hesitation. Money was an issue, and some others were just not interested,a nd some just would not give any sort of feedback in what they want. I didn't understand why....

I also hit some negativity from another side, saying that other groups in the past have not been successful at planning a trip outside the community before, due to logistics and probably financial reasons. That made me more determined than ever.... How could you come all the way to Canada and not ever see any other city than Peterborough. It's not about it being a sight seeing tour, but I only wanted to go to Ottawa if it had been on Remembrance Day. 1. cuz of the ceremony. 2. Civilization and War Museums were free 3. Free Parliament tour. 4. other FREE activities you could participate in. Of any nearby city, Ottawa had the most available free options, the second option was Toronto.... well.. as much as I love the food there.... it's Toronto... too expensive... overrated....

Anyhow I'm blabbing a bit now.... as things turned out, I got some help from one of the host dads. He linked me up with some contacts.. and TADA! Camp Kawartha lent us their bus, we just had to pay for the driver and fuel. (which was substantially less than what we would have to otherwise). Then contacted the local Kiwanis Club, and amazingly... they agreed to donate the full amount for the bus and the fuel!!! Because of that, the trip cost ZIP!.. nothing to the participants and the organization. I booked a parliament tour, laid out the options that were available. and that was that.. It's my second time seeing the ceremony, but the cannons still come as a shock... I did feel a bit left out not being in uniform.. but I guess that's that....

I had the chance to meet up a couple old friends (and Prince Edward & Camilla must I add...), it was great catch up time. One of them is even ENGAGED!! Kinda crazy....but I guess in a way.. some of my friends will be settling down and tying the knot in the next few years... I guess some of us are growing up.

Last weekend, after we volunteered for Judy for the church dinner. A couple of us decided to go for a walk... a 3 hour walk... we wandered to the other side of little lake and played at a park despite the sign that said the park was for children 11 years and under.... we had fun and got to be the little ones all over again....

Wall 1, Sally 0 :(

It's been an interesting couple days.... still with it's ups and downs.. maybe even a bit more than before. I'll let myself cool off for a bit before I get into that...

As for today, it started off great... I slept in, the weather was gorgeous and we decided to go for a swim at the nearby wellness centre. I had a great time going off the water slide and relaxing in the hot tub. For some of the Tanzanians, it was their first time in the pool, we were giving some of them little instructions such as keeping your legs straight when you kick, keep your fingers together when you move your arms, blow bubbles out your nose...etc... one of them had to be saved by the lifeguard at one point.. :s (he was fine) Then we had the "event".

The "Event", the competition was fierce, who would it be.. to make it to the other side and back.... JP called the shots and we kicked and kicked our way across the pool... I was focused so hard on beating the others... (been a while since I last raced) I kicked hard, with my arms pulling hard through the water... then as I got close... took a peak at where I was... and BOOM... there it was.... the wall :( My hand and nose collided with the wall of pool. I was stunned for a moment and instantly grabbed my nose fearing that it would be bleeding... I hopped out of the pool and ran to the washroom. There was instantly a purple line across my nose and I also had heard a crunching noise when I hit the wall. So that led me to believe that I had broken my nose, also the little bump on the side. I made my way to the hospital, 7 hours later ( I had contemplating leaving earlier since it wasn't serious), I finally saw a doctor and he simply said " I can't do much with a broken nose, you'll have to wait a week until the swelling goes down then if its still crooked, we'll fracture it and align it back up". Well! YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT 7HOURS AGO!!! bahhhh...... I dislike emergency services at hospitals, oh I forgot to mention there are no walk in clinics or after hour clinics in Peterborough...uhh....

Well Well... So here I am.. Hoping that I wont get a black eye in the morning or more bruising, but the doctor assured me that I would... So I've been icing my face like crazy.. hoping for the best.... but as things go.... the score is Wall 1, Sally 0....

Up, Up, Down, Down, Up, Up, Down, Down...

35 Days till TANZANIA!!! :D but no one's counting eh....

I knew this program would be different and that's why I got into it. In one of the first blog entries I mentioned at of all relationships that will form on this program, there's bound to be one that may not work out. Well... I think I discovered which one that is for me. I can't necessarily say that it's that bad, it really depends on who you ask. When two people who are completely different from each other suddenly get shoved together, and are constantly forced to work together 24/7, something is bound to crack. Even the best of friends have their moments when they drive each other crazy. So, it really doesn't surprise that this has occurred.

When I have a problem, I usually try not to run away more often than not, I'm the stubborn one, the one who decides to take it on head on no matter what. It's either deal with it now or never... but for some others conflict resolution is a whole other story. Working as a group/team takes a lot of push and shove, and of all things I learned from MTA that's definitely one of the most prominent lessons. I had some .... difficult groups to work with over the past 4 years especially with all the commerce group projects, at the end of 4th year, finally I had the most amazing group of all time. (Thanks Josh and Niel :) I good part of that I think was because we each had matured and understood what our strengths were in the group and more important I think I knew to to handle myself a lot better in a group setting and the guys knew how to handle me...even when I was a bit crazy....

So for now, that's my task... how to figure myself out a little bit more to work with someone who is the complete opposite mind set as myself. I realize that I can come off as intimidating, direct.. and bitchy sometimes... and I've been told that I really let my emotions show when something bothers me. I know that I'm stubborn, I know that I'm very direct, I know that I sometimes want to "pick fights" because I like to debate ideas and I want all ideas on the table. I'm the type of person who asks a question... and I want the answer now... My parents have always told me...."slow down".... and I've always ignored them because I want to be efficient in everything I do.

But now.... I think I really do have to slow down or else, it'll annoy people even more. hhmm and my patience... will have to endure a whole lot more. How is it that someone who is the complete opposite of going to make it with me?? How do I make sure that I'm not over bearing with my demeanor and/or personality. I don't plan on changing the way I am, but someone I have to alter the method which I express the way I am. I think I'm just blabbing a bit now.... but I'm hoping for the best, I'm trying to let little issues go and deal with the present. Afterall just 4 more months of this once in a lifetime experience.....

This past weekend was a good one. One of the other host families (whom are a younger couple) hosted a Halloween party. That same day a couple of us attended a bowlathon to raise money for the international group at Trent. We also helped out with the "Trick or Eat" campaign, collecting non-perishable foods. The party was a hit! All the Tanzanian were dancing, Canadians too! I finally got my dancing fix... I was really missing just simply going out dancing with friends... we played some games too like Apple Bobbing... I had dressed up as the Paper Bag princess... but it jsut so happend to be another paperbag princess, so we had a face off with the apple bobbing.

We even went for a haunted cemetary walk at the end of the night

I'll post some other pictures in the slide show soon....