Just because I would like to avoid frostbite a little while longer, I am writing quickly before I collapse to bed. I am dead tired after a fantastically super weekend in Ottawa and still have assignments to do but can't stop my eyes from closing...plus I will not face losing just yet.
The Ottawa top ten shall make blog headlines tomorrow! So, stay tuned! (muahahaha how idiotic I sound!...) Hope everybody had a great weekend and all the best for the week ahead. Let's all pray for buckets of snow snow snow and for awsomely great fabulous bestest in the universe fathers 'cos mine's 61 in three days!
PS. So I am going to add to this lame post with the one and only OTTAWA TOP TEN (suggestions welcome too)...
10.From fried Mars Bar to Polish Sausages.
9. Stalking Swedish Canadian Ice Hockey players in Parliament and following them to their game the following day.
8. Music renditions, random dance parties and learning new USEFUL words. Hip Hip Hoorah!
7. "Come Girls! Come with me!" *man running with a box of beer away from Anton.
6. Five year olds and a national ice hockey rink: Go Timbits! Go! Shoot a goal! I mean, stay on your feet for longer than five seconds!
5. Anton's unique French counting abilities: 46 = "quartre et six" and Elsa's wonderful teaching skills: "Yes..."
4. Getting stuck in Parliament's Clock Tower Elevator. Matthew the guide was especially great at calming everybody down!
3. Zak's Diner: OPEN 24/7!
2. "I'm fishing for money" *old Timmys cup attached to string attached to stick attached to Canadian beggar in the capital
1. "I'm sorry. Every time I hear one of those, I can't help myself." *Random man falls to his knees in front of us on the sidewalk, with his hands scrunched up on his back as he hears a siren wail.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Day Five. Today I met Stephen Harper
Another beautiful weekend in Canada comes to a start. We arrived late last night chez Bob and Heather Badjik-Bova and what wonderful, hospitable people they are. This morning the sun woke me up and off we went...down the road which leads you straight to the thick of Ottawa.
Wondering around the market and up to Parliament Hill. A visit with the spider outside the National Gallery. Tea with "women that are people" and Polish sausages. A Bosnian-led trip through Parliament followed by Canada's freshest beaver tails. A wonderful day ended off in a hilariously extremely American diner. Fried Mars Bar for four!
Now its time for a quick power nap, a few drinks then its off to see the capital under nightfall. Sweet dreams.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Day Four: A walk through a graveyard
The clock strikes twelve as we walk through Le cimetiere de Notre Dame. We are drawn to the grave in the middle. More like shrine. Angels standing on either side of it and yellow maple trees like guards standing in a line, watching over it, protecting it. The eeriness of a graveyard at night. The lives lost. The souls released. The calm it washes over me.
On one side stand row after row of short uniform gravestones. Precision and exact measurement between each one. From far they appear to be blank, each one after the other, like dominoes one by one. But as we come closer, we notice the words. Soldat, capitaine, sergeant. Memories of lives lived; battles fought; people loved.
We continue on our walk, laughing and chatting. Excited for our weekend away which is beginning. Breathing in the fresh cold air, satisfied, grateful for the people that will so kindly have us to stay. Four people in a land not our own on an adventure which brings us together. Ready to make new memories. Memories like gravestones, testimonies to lives lived; battles fought; people loved.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Day Three. Pain au Chocolat
Crisp and flakey. Tastes like butter. Until you get to the centre. That delicious liquidy chocolate, warmed to perfection. And you think to yourself...wow the French sure do have something going right.
So many memories and pain au chocolat go hand and hand for me, but I would have to say the first person that comes to mind as I take that first bite (more like devour that first bite) is not a Frenchie but a Canadian and a very special Canadian at that. I spent just short of a year and a half living and working as an au pair in Thoiry, France and it was in its small "centre ville" that I was first introduced to the pain au chocolat. However; it was in a French classroom in Ferney Voltaire that our relationship really "thickened." We would have French class every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 9:30 until 11:30am and as it started in would walk Katie, brown paper bag in hand and smug look on her face. Eyes watched (probably rather enviously, when I think back now) as we slowly unwrapped each pain au chocolat. Mouths watering as we only paid slight attention to what was happening on the board in front of us. Sometimes we would wait to get coffee at the coffee machine during the break, but often that inviting smell and apprehension was too deliciously large to ignore.
Katie would buy us each not one, but two of these French pastries at her local bakery on the way to class. Nothing would stop her, come snow or shine. She would rather be late for class than appear sans pain au chocolat and I accepted this as the norm. I mean it made complete sense. Thinking back, I realise that not once was it me in this role. Did Katie not trust me with the important task? or was she really sneaking in one before she got to class? Nope. None of those. Katie is just one of those people. Acts of kindness and selflessness come to her so naturally that she doesn't even realise. Yes, this is an ode to you, Katie. Just because you are such an amazing person and friend and because you are the person that comes to my mind; right in between that feeling of devine anticipation and the first bite.
So, why do I go on today about the pain au chocolat? Well, this morning myself and two dear friends met at the Green Boulangerie in Lennoxville for a wee bit of breakfast. It was so wonderful starting off the day sitting at the small shop window; sun streaming in; familiar faces walking passed and scrumptious pain aux chocolat sitting before us. Great to catch up over coffee, while French music played in the background and the kind baker worked away in the kitchen. All days should start like this. What a treat to be experiencing a Thursday morning on Queen Street in Lennoxville, Quebec. Could we compare it to the first bite of that pain au chocolat?
I got to spend a month this year with Katie and my special friends from our years in Pays de Gex. What a reunion it was! July, I spent with Julie and Carla in Vancouver. Then it was time for a roadtip to Calgary and Edmonton to spend the rest of my summer in Alberta. So many cherished memories!
A toast to the future with our favourite "Macon Villages," which made it across Europe, Africa and Canada. (Julie, Katie, Steph, Nicole and I)
Nicole revealed her hidden side at Fort Edmonton Park
Time to say goodbyes again at Calgary Airport - hiding ourselves behind silliness and large glasses of wine.
A flashback to 2007 and our obsession with Star Academy (the concert in Switzerland)
So many memories and pain au chocolat go hand and hand for me, but I would have to say the first person that comes to mind as I take that first bite (more like devour that first bite) is not a Frenchie but a Canadian and a very special Canadian at that. I spent just short of a year and a half living and working as an au pair in Thoiry, France and it was in its small "centre ville" that I was first introduced to the pain au chocolat. However; it was in a French classroom in Ferney Voltaire that our relationship really "thickened." We would have French class every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 9:30 until 11:30am and as it started in would walk Katie, brown paper bag in hand and smug look on her face. Eyes watched (probably rather enviously, when I think back now) as we slowly unwrapped each pain au chocolat. Mouths watering as we only paid slight attention to what was happening on the board in front of us. Sometimes we would wait to get coffee at the coffee machine during the break, but often that inviting smell and apprehension was too deliciously large to ignore.
Katie would buy us each not one, but two of these French pastries at her local bakery on the way to class. Nothing would stop her, come snow or shine. She would rather be late for class than appear sans pain au chocolat and I accepted this as the norm. I mean it made complete sense. Thinking back, I realise that not once was it me in this role. Did Katie not trust me with the important task? or was she really sneaking in one before she got to class? Nope. None of those. Katie is just one of those people. Acts of kindness and selflessness come to her so naturally that she doesn't even realise. Yes, this is an ode to you, Katie. Just because you are such an amazing person and friend and because you are the person that comes to my mind; right in between that feeling of devine anticipation and the first bite.
So, why do I go on today about the pain au chocolat? Well, this morning myself and two dear friends met at the Green Boulangerie in Lennoxville for a wee bit of breakfast. It was so wonderful starting off the day sitting at the small shop window; sun streaming in; familiar faces walking passed and scrumptious pain aux chocolat sitting before us. Great to catch up over coffee, while French music played in the background and the kind baker worked away in the kitchen. All days should start like this. What a treat to be experiencing a Thursday morning on Queen Street in Lennoxville, Quebec. Could we compare it to the first bite of that pain au chocolat?
I got to spend a month this year with Katie and my special friends from our years in Pays de Gex. What a reunion it was! July, I spent with Julie and Carla in Vancouver. Then it was time for a roadtip to Calgary and Edmonton to spend the rest of my summer in Alberta. So many cherished memories!
A toast to the future with our favourite "Macon Villages," which made it across Europe, Africa and Canada. (Julie, Katie, Steph, Nicole and I)
Nicole revealed her hidden side at Fort Edmonton Park
Time to say goodbyes again at Calgary Airport - hiding ourselves behind silliness and large glasses of wine.
A flashback to 2007 and our obsession with Star Academy (the concert in Switzerland)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Day Two: Ladumaaa. My blood flows green,red,blue,black,white and gold.
Excitement for the Soccer World Cup is mounting. I just had a Politics class and don't get me wrong; the professor is great and the course content is interesting but some of our concentration was elsewhere - towards a friend's computer screen, as France played Ireland in order to qualify for next year... and this got me thinking. How exciting is it that next year the 2010 Soccer World Cup comes to Africa for the first time, to South Africa?! I feel so proud. Wow, what a chance we have to show the world the nation we have become. Its crazy how much more patriotic one becomes (if thats even possible!) the more one leaves one's country (how many times could I possibly say "one" in one (!!!) sentence!). But, it's true. Well, at least for me. Both times I have left for long periods; on returning; tears begun to naturally just slide down my cheeks. Is it sadness, excitment, relief, exhaustion, overwhelm? All of the above? How do you describe this phenominal feeling of being back on African soil? They say that once you feel it between your toes, you will never be the same again. A piece of Africa remains in your heart forever. I am more than proud to be South African and although my passion for travelling seems never ending at this point, I will always call South Africa home and Africa the place where I want to make the biggest difference.
So back to the world cup, how exciting it is becoming as we watch who qualifies. A few weeks ago it was Halloween. At Bishops, one day is really not enough to celebrate this largely North American Holiday. We needed at least three! Thursday, the first night of festivities saw myself and my dear Frenchie, being as patriotic as you can get. Faces painted in our nation's flags and writing strewn across old sports tshirts, we were crazy 2010 fans. What a fun night of costumes it was but better still, what a priviledge it was having those colours painted across my cheeks. Just a taste for next year?
Here are a couple more pictures from Thursday the 29th October.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Day One - Taking a shower with the meteors
Well, just a short post to begin with and some reflection of the day.
Sometimes, actually pretty often, I feel annoyed with myself. I am forever thinking "I should have, could have..." but really somebody should (!!!) take those words out of the dictionary. I need to learn to strike them out of mine. So many of us forget to live for the day, for the moments, for the special people we spend a second of it with. We are always fretting, thinking, living in the future or the past when today is what counts. I know this may not be the most exciting to read but hey, why don't we wake up more mornings and thank God for the new beautiful miracle of a day He has given us. I know I sure don't - being the wonderful morning person I am. We should be shouting to the rooftops to show our gratitude for what we have and the magnificent earth we live on.
Connected to that, last night I was lucky enough to witness a few meteor showers. It felt weird and cold cold cold waking up at four in the morning to walk in the dark, a thick layer of frost crunching underfoot through the forrest and onto the Lennoxville Golf Course - strange to think my dad wakes up often near to this time. But back to the point, there we were shivering on a small blanket looking up at the big balls of gas (Thanks, Pumba) staring down at us, all most like guardians of the night. Every few minutes a flash of light as a meteor went by...and you think to yourself, wow. I'm me. I'm this tiny little speck in such a ginormous universe and I think I have problems. Problems, what are those? Let me just think for one moment how lucky I am to be here, to have this unbelievable concert of the stars unveil itself right in front of my miniscule eyes. Wow, that in itself is a miracle and the funny thing is that every day I wake up, so many miracles are about to happen.
So, that's all for today (as the clock strikes 12). Bring on Wednesday!
Sometimes, actually pretty often, I feel annoyed with myself. I am forever thinking "I should have, could have..." but really somebody should (!!!) take those words out of the dictionary. I need to learn to strike them out of mine. So many of us forget to live for the day, for the moments, for the special people we spend a second of it with. We are always fretting, thinking, living in the future or the past when today is what counts. I know this may not be the most exciting to read but hey, why don't we wake up more mornings and thank God for the new beautiful miracle of a day He has given us. I know I sure don't - being the wonderful morning person I am. We should be shouting to the rooftops to show our gratitude for what we have and the magnificent earth we live on.
Connected to that, last night I was lucky enough to witness a few meteor showers. It felt weird and cold cold cold waking up at four in the morning to walk in the dark, a thick layer of frost crunching underfoot through the forrest and onto the Lennoxville Golf Course - strange to think my dad wakes up often near to this time. But back to the point, there we were shivering on a small blanket looking up at the big balls of gas (Thanks, Pumba) staring down at us, all most like guardians of the night. Every few minutes a flash of light as a meteor went by...and you think to yourself, wow. I'm me. I'm this tiny little speck in such a ginormous universe and I think I have problems. Problems, what are those? Let me just think for one moment how lucky I am to be here, to have this unbelievable concert of the stars unveil itself right in front of my miniscule eyes. Wow, that in itself is a miracle and the funny thing is that every day I wake up, so many miracles are about to happen.
So, that's all for today (as the clock strikes 12). Bring on Wednesday!
The 48 day diary
Dear friends,
Well I am not going to even dwell on how bad a blogger I have been! That's boring and old news. But instead I have a brand flashing new proposal! From hence forward (dum dum dum)... This shall be a 48 day diary...from Eh to Eish and back again in 48 days, which is kind of neat as 48 days left in Canada but 50 days til I land on African soil again.
I propose that I will write each of the next 48 days. Thoughts, dreams, daily routine, a walk down memory lane, aspirations, 2010 goals... and sometimes just a few lines. I vow to do this unless I have no access to technology/ have been eaten by a bear/wild moose/the many Canadian hunters of the former two. Let's see what the next 7 weeks minus 1 day have in stall - maybe they will be a good reflection of my time here in Canada. Who know's?
Well I am not going to even dwell on how bad a blogger I have been! That's boring and old news. But instead I have a brand flashing new proposal! From hence forward (dum dum dum)... This shall be a 48 day diary...from Eh to Eish and back again in 48 days, which is kind of neat as 48 days left in Canada but 50 days til I land on African soil again.
I propose that I will write each of the next 48 days. Thoughts, dreams, daily routine, a walk down memory lane, aspirations, 2010 goals... and sometimes just a few lines. I vow to do this unless I have no access to technology/ have been eaten by a bear/wild moose/the many Canadian hunters of the former two. Let's see what the next 7 weeks minus 1 day have in stall - maybe they will be a good reflection of my time here in Canada. Who know's?
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