Gosh, so much has happened it's hard to know where to start. When we got married I told Colin it wouldn't be easy but it would always be interesting. I've kept to my word.
NEW HOME
ADDRESS: 4 rue Abbe Barral 38000 Grenoble, France
TELEPHONE: 09 53 73 93 45
TELEPHONE (from Canada): 011 339 53 73 93 45
We've found a new home and we're relieved, elated and ready to spend our "Moving in (Electrical Appliance) Allowance" on practical things like a fridge, stove and telephone, and we're contemplating some less practical items such as a flat-screen T.V., popcorn maker and a Wii. Colin is the advocate for the last frivolous suggestion. I'm craving a crock pot and some type of expresso machine (I guess that's what parenting can do ... push you to purchase excessive electronic equipment).
We are truly excited about our home. We're not thrilled about the construction that resides just outside our windows, but the area will be fabulous when it's done. There are probably more parks in our immediate vicinity than anywhere else we've wandered in Grenoble. We've even got a climbing wall, a skateboard park and three outdoor pools within two blocks of us. Also, we're right on the edge of the old town, the walking district and the visually appealing architecture. The public transport is fantastic and frequent, there are markets and funky shops nearby (including an Asian shop with cheap prices, curries and fresh lemon grass; an organic farmers' market on Saturdays; and a fair trade tea shop with imported goods from Nepal), some of our close friends live within a block and a half, we're in a district that could be compared to Victoria's Cook Street area, Colin only needs to take one bus to work and I'm two blocks from my language school.
The apartment itself has been recently renovated by the owner, who is quick to respond to reasonable requests. The hardwood floors are in good shape, we've got two bedrooms and a bathtub and there's a lot of natural light. We have two balconies (off the bedroom and living room) and a sunroom off the kitchen, which means great airflow. The living room and two bedrooms face south and we can see the mountains from our balconies (although we have to look past the cranes). I've purchased two sun-loungers for our balcony off the living room, and invite you all to come over and bask and drink gin and tonics or chilled lemonade under the palm tree I'm going to buy (yes dad, I'm going to buy a palm tree. Now will you visit?). We're on the third floor and don't have an elevator, so another benefit to your visit will be all the stairs you'll climb and a butt you can bounce bullets off of.
FRENCH SCHOOL - CALLUM'S
Callum's school is about a block and a half away, which is a good thing because if I bring him to school late more than three times he will be temporarily suspended. I can't believe that I ended up enrolling him in the militaristic local school which requires a uniform, dictates which shoes he wears and has tin soldiers marching on its website, but when we visited the two options on Thursday (the Catholic school nearby and the local school which looks like a prison from the outside), it became abundantly clear which one he should attend.
The Catholic school had the right values, was light and bright and had some instruction in English. But Callum found the teacher "creepy". He's right. She didn't even say "Hello" to him, just asked how to spell his name. Ecole maternelle Marceau (www.ac-grenoble.fr/ecole/marceau) on the other hand, had a teacher that almost immediately clicked with Callum. Maggie, a good friend of mine who is also an elementary teacher, is fond of saying ... it all comes down to the teacher. Personally I find the Directrice of Ecole maternelle Marceaue organized almost to the point of intimidation, but I think she provides a firewall for the parents that allows the teachers to focus on the children. And Callum's teacher, Mme Helene Lazzarotto, in the short 15 - 20 minutes she had with Callum, managed to convey to him IN FRENCH where the toilets were, to blow his nose and put the tissue in the garbage, to say hello to three other children, and to put away the toys he was playing with. She did an assessment and concluded he was bright, social and motivated to learn. She let me know that she's dealt with class clowns and language integration before, and she asked if she could kiss him good-bye. I cringe at the idea of Callum being spoken to ONLY in French at school, the size of the school (~ 150 kids from age 4 - 6) and the difficulty I will have in speaking to the teacher/parents/directrice in French only. However, the teacher totally won me over. She was competent, clear and realistic regarding academic goals, appreciated Callum and saw his potential. In turn, Callum thought Mme Lazzarotto liked him and she was "Cool" and "Beautiful".
Callum will be relieved to make friends, to be able to do art, hear stories, learn new things and have fun with gymnastics and scooters at school. He needs his peer group. It's weird. In Victoria I researched schools for years. Here I had way less time and still went with the local school. To be truthful, the curriculum at the private schools and the public ones are the same. They are strict here, but provide lots of time for physical movement, gastronomic focus, music and sport. They even have a rest time each day. Structured but balanced. Ultimately though, I agree with Maggie, it comes down to the individual teacher. Thanks also to Carly whom I bounced ideas off of before visiting the schools. I had much angst and she had clarity.
FRENCH SCHOOL - MINE
Oh gosh. French is so complicated. I think it's insane when they say little kids learn language by osmosis. Hogwash. It's so tricky and there are so many rules and so many exceptions to those rules. Kids only learn because it's a question of survival. For me, I have to learn and want to learn but I see the years it will take yawning ahead of me. Josie, Colin's aunt, suggested it would take four years to really get it down. No kidding. Especially given that the gender of the article may change depending on whether the subject is plural or the next word begins with a vowel plus you don't pronounce the last vowel if the word ends witha consonant and the pronounciation of the verb changes if the next word begins with a vowel because there is a liaison and then you change how you say it if it's in a sentence because they don't pronounce half of what is written in the first place (and I'm not even getting into the exceptions yet). I'm dynamite with my vegetables though and I can order a really good coffee.
I'm blessed with an exceptional teacher, and those of you who know me well know I'm highly "evaluative" of instructors of all sorts. My standards are up there. But Caroline is amazing. She's fun, respectful, organized, uses teachable moments and really knows her stuff. Colin is being tutored individually, but I actually prefer to pronounce things badly and be teased in a large class. We learn from each other and it makes us bolder in our daily pursuit of language acquisition.
CAR SHOW
I put 60 pictures on FaceBook and that's not all of them. I wasn't really meant to go - Colin was, with four friends of his, but he couldn't wake up. I tried to rise him for over 30 minutes and then we agreed I'd go in his place. What a blast. Innovative thinking, packed with people and stimulating for the artistic and anthropological mind.
Europe appears to be ahead of America where cars and the energy crisis is concerned. I saw hydrogen driven, battery operated and solar powered cars. People are aiming towards zero emissions. An intriguing documentary to watch is "Who Killed the Electric Car?". It was produced in 2006 and explores the creation, limited commercialization and subsequent destruction of battery operated cars in America. Like the no-burn-out bulb that was invented decades ago but for which the specs have been purchased and hidden away, we have more ability to take care of this planet that we might think.
In Europe the standard is to drive a standard. It's faster and more fuel efficient. The cars are also tiny - efficient, easier to drive on teeny tiny roads and easier to park in postage stamp parking spots. I still remember driving to school one day in Manitoba and getting caught in a traffic jam. Two cars ahead was a Mini. When the driver got fed up with waiting he turned completely around in his spot in line and then drove off. The large turn key that was attached to the back that made it look like a wind-up toy stood up tall and defiant as he drove away. I fell in love.
CARCASSONNE
Oh my. If you can go, do it.
Many people have said it's touristy, but we arrived at night and it was magical. Thanks to Callum's curiousity, we explored all kinds of cavernous areas, walls and turrets in the dark. When we saw Carcassonne the next day and learned about the history and the restoration and the controversy about the restoration (during the reign of Napoleon III) we were even more intrigued. It's an amazing and visually stunning place. In my opinion a UNESCO world heritage medieval city cannot be overrated. Couldn't stop thinking of how much Cindy and Richard would love it there. Even the armor for sale in the shops.
Loved the Mediterranean smells and sights. We'll be exploring down south some more for sure. We probably won't opt for the 8 hour drive through the French Alps again, but we will visit the wine caves, stop to eat olives and dip our feet in the sea. One of the things that surprized us was that even in the most touristy areas things were cheaper than Grenoble. Realized later that Grenoble is touted as the second most expensive city in France (after Paris). Jeepers! That means it's less expensive to go on holiday than to stay at home!
PRICE COMPARISONS
There are a few costs that have taken me by surprise here. Vitamins cost a lot, but meds are cheap. I've seen a bottle of Vitamin C priced at 40 Euros, and I've walked away with two medications and a naturopathic remedy for a sick child that have totalled at less than 10 Euros.
Processed foods cost a lot, but fresh organic food is plentiful and cheaper than any of the crap available. Bread, cheese and wine are also inexpensive, although you can buy all three in the pricey range if you so choose. Oh, and sea food in season is awesome. Last week I bought 2.4 Kg of fresh mussels for 5 Euros! Yum!
Internet is unreal. For 29 Euros a month we can get internet, phone and cable (free.fr) ... and I believe that includes free phone calls to Canada and the U.K. I suppose part of that is because we are considered to be the silicone valley of Europe. We have a lot of IT here, and even Yahoo is based here. Mind you, cell phones are ridiculously expensive. Not worth it yet to even consider one.
Toys, stuffed animals and any trendy educational kids' items that would be imported from North America or their distributors are often priced at double to what they would be in Canada. I'm buying Callum's birthday gifts in England because it will be cheaper by at least a third. I'm glad now that we bought some Star Wars figuerines before we left. A simple plastic light saber is 20 Euros (nearly $30 Cdn.).
INTERESTING EDUCATION
There are so many interesting things we are learning here. It's European, 1st world, so you'd think it wouldn't be THAT different from Canada. Yet all kinds of things like economic climate, energy issues and historical precedence have caused France to develop different strategies, habits and technology that impact daily life. Little things are different that make so much sense, like timed lighting for the hallways of apartment buildings, clothes washers that use steam so the clothes don't get wrinkled, solar panels in backpacks to recharge cell phones. Habits that make sense are bringing bags for groceries. People usually don't get charged for plastic bags, but you can donate if you want to, yet somehow it's become so easy to just carry a cloth sack, always, everywhere.
Public transport is assumed. Many people don't own cars. Buses and trams are frequent, even when they are on strike. It's not a panic to get somewhere, it's easy. Transport tickets can be bought at offices, but they are at every tram stop too. And you can travel as much as you want for an hour. The public transport doesn't stop in the city. Many small towns are serviced by bus or by train. Even skiers and snowboarders use the public transport.
Oh, and that brings me to another point. Healthcare is exceptional in this city. This city is also exceptionally flat. How are these two facts related? Lots of people come here to indulge in winter sports. That also means injuries. This city hosts many people on crutches and wheelchairs during the snow season. It's a great place for them because of public transport and flatness. Hence, our medical practitioners get plenty of practice.
Another educational issue has been stepping over and around dog poo. Callum has been amazing at spotting it, partially because he's closer to the ground than we are. Knock wood, no one in our family has stepped in poo yet, despite the fact that we've been here for over six weeks. It would be accurate to say our motivation is high. At the same time, there are a lot of pets in Grenoble. Funny thing that ... pets are allowed in almost all buildings, restaurants and pubs included. And no one, pets or people, put up a fuss or cause a problem. Makes me wonder why it's become such a big issue in Canada
FRIENDS
We've been extremely lucky in making friends here. Andrew, Steph and their cat Mimi are like extended family to us. Many other people have made our lives richer here as well, and have resulted in "Rock Band" nights where we play guitar and sing our hearts out, creative days, coffee chats, hunts for used vintage goods, invitations to sporting events, nights of raclette and fondue, wine tastings and afternoons by the pool.
I've also joined Open House Grenoble and was invited onto the board as VP of Children's Programming (the other VP is responsible for adult programming). They've been gracious and are allowing me to assume my post come September (It's difficult to be on committees when you don't have a home or phone!). It's an amazing organization comprised of French residents and people from other countries; an international welcoming committee: adventurous people interested in a global community: instant allies. Check it out at: www.openhousegrenoble.org. It's very cool, I feel fortunate to be a part of it and I'm glad to be able to contribute to community.
MICRO-CLIMATE
I have to say I love the weather here. Already we've had several days of T-shirts and shorts weather. Each day is unpredictable. It can be hot one day and hail the next. And I don't mind. Nothing stays for long, we have blossoms on the trees and snow on the Alps and the Mediterranean on the wind. And hardly a bug in site. But talk to me in August and see how I feel. Apparently it gets really hot around the collar come summer.
For now though, there's festivity brewing. Every night of warm weather the tables and customers of cafes and restaurants spill out into the pedestrian areas and the many town squares. People are cheerful and shops stay open late. When the students from the four universities leave later in spring it gets quieter, but for now it feels like the circus has come to town.
The feel of downtown is part of what keeps me in the city. I recently visited the home of a friend who lives about a 20 minute drive out of town. She's got a fantastic view of the Belledonne Range and the Velcors, has a pool and can breath deep and easy and won't get too hot in the summer. Her neighbours are welcoming and she has plenty of storage space as well as a garden and a wine cellar. Her place is divine. It's like a spa. At the same time I love the pace of the city, especially when I can see the stars and the Alps from my balcony. It's hard to say though. Perhaps if our financial status were different I'd opt for two cars and a mountain home (which is what Callum has been requesting). In the meantime, I feel fortunate to live where I do, to be able to pursue this adventure with my family, to be able to walk to interesting places and live near friends and the wilderness. Perhaps there is no wrong answer, just a choice for now.
FRIENDLY
I'm finding this city very friendly. Perhaps it's because I always have a freckled four-year-old boy by my side that people find alternately amusing and inquisitive. They ruffle his hair, speak to me about him and offer him free dates (the fruit, not the event). In any case, I find them patient with my french, open to conversation and willing to take the time to teach me more about my adopted culture and home.
I am enjoying my time here. It isn't easy, but it's interesting.
I hope, whatever you're doing and wherever you are, that you are also enjoying life. Feeling the presence of something greater than us, fulfilling your calling, pursuing your dreams.
With joy,
Ramona
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sticky, Sweet and Saucisson: Relocating in the SE of France.
After initiating a transfer process that moved as slow as a slug in snow, we have finally relocated to Grenoble, France. And we have decided to stay. Yippee!
Leaving
It was nobody's fault that it took from April to December for the final decision to be made. For instance, who could have anticipated the Global Economic Crisis? But now it has really happened ... and despite the global crisis we took a leap of faith. In six squashed weeks we shifted from slash and burn purging of accumulated life accoutrements to madly packing to saying "Adios Amigos" (I'm consistently speaking Spanish to the Grenoblois ... as if all non-English language has been placed in the same vacuous drawer in my brain. When I reach for a word I never know if it will be German (Yah), Spanish (que rico!) or even more obscure, Latin (nobis patchem). What I do know is that under stress it is unlikely to be a French word that spills out of my mouth. Merde.).
Saying good-bye to our vibrant community and family members on the wet and wild west coast (or should I say buried under snow coast) was like being inside the spin cycle of a washing machine. I was wrung out. Col was strung out. But Callum was busy introducing friends and neighbours to his "personal pool" at the hotel and showing them how to use the magic door key. What a terrifically flexible kid. What was particularly hard to say "so long" to was the magnificence of the blue green open sky and sea. Until our reconnaissance to Grenoble in December neither Colin nor I realized how vital the beauty, freshness and easy availability of the urban wilderness is to our peace of mind. As parents we had come to count on creeks, beaches and bouldering sites being within easy walking distance. We were spoilt by the availability of great parks, climbable trees and huge green fields right outside our front door. The great thing is, we both feel at home in Victoria, B.C. and know we will return. We joke about how Callum will see the world as a child and then when he moves out he'll relocate just down the street from us in Victoria and never leave the area. OR, he will join an Ultimate Frisbee team and hang out near naked in Mexico until his early 30's. Care to make a bet?
For now we're content to be in Grenoble. We've already adopted some French habits and we've barely begun to discover the wonders of the Alpine region. Plus Europe is our back yard. How awesome is that? Oh, and guess what else. The cheese shop down the street is in the Guinness Book of World Record for two feats:
1. The largest variety of cheese (479 varieties of French cheese)
2. The largest offering of farmers' cheese (150 varieties of cheese from around the world)
And half a block in the other direction is a Circus School. That's so cool that if I'd written it in a book you'd have told me, "It's not believable." True story. Here are the websites:
http://www.les-alpages.fr/
http://www.dauphicirque.com/
If you wish to translate a page from another language into English:
1. right click while your curser is on the page
2. when the selection box appears select page info
3. select translate page into English
Yorkshire
In early January we left Canada for Leeds, Yorkshire. Callum and I stayed for two weeks, basking in the company of three dogs and the generousity of family. Grandma Gilly works at Temple Newsam, which is one of the great historic estates in England. Set within over 1500 acres of parkland, woodland and farmland landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century, it is a magnificent Tudor–Jacobean mansion. It is Europe's largest working Rare Breeds Farm and has over 400 animals set within the original estate. What a place to run around and explore! www.leeds.gov.uk/templenewsam Other highlights of our visit included Callum running up and down the ramparts of York Castle - much to the shock of Uncle Mark who held his heart in his hand while Callum skied down on his heels; Callum meeting and being cooed to by "Spud" Novak - a 21 year old collared dove that Mark's parents rescued from a cat 20 years ago; watching Callum and Millie together (Grandma Gilly's 10 month old Bichon Frise); hanging around the Royal Armoury http://www.armouries.org.uk/ ; getting to know our English/Scottish relatives and friends better; and visiting Eureka! (http://www.eureka.org.uk/ a schmorgasborg of science and imagination for kids). A definite high point for Callum was spending time with cousin William and Grandma Gilly and Grandpa Tim. William - beware - I will practice my ABBA songs and defeat you in our next sing-off! It was a great trip: rejuvenating, playful and a wonderful reprieve before dousing ourselves in French culture and the work of setting up a home while learning a new language.
Ironically, when Callum saw his dad in Grenoble after two weeks of being apart, he excitedly told him, "Guess what Dada ... in England they speak Canadian!"
Schneider Electric
Colin stopped in Leeds only for a quick hello, some fish and chips (Skyliner does the best fish and chips ever!) and a curry. (An aside: One of Callum's favourite jokes is: What does a sea monster eat? Fish and ships!) On January 11th Colin headed down to Grenoble to start his new position at Schneider Electric in Grenoble in the Alpine/Dauphine region/Isere department of France.
http://www.schneider-electric.com/
Schneider is a huge operation in Grenoble. They employ approximately 10,000 employees at 18 locations around the city. Colin is doing Global Technical Support for PMC products and some on-site Application Engineering. Last weekend he was sent to Nancy Ville in northern France and had an evening stop-over in Paris. He walked around Notre Dame Cathedral, the Seine River, Avenue Des Champs and the Tour Eiffel until the sun went down and his hip flexors seized up.
While the professional language of Schneider is officially English, Colin needs to speak French in order to relate to his workmates. He is continually surprising me with how fast he can pick up phrases and vocabulary. I need to be careful when I learn things from him though, since I might end up speaking French with a Yorkshire accent.
Language
OH MY GOSH! How much humble pie can one person eat? I took my "French as a Foreign Language Test" through http://www.alliancefr-grenoble.org/ today and I was brought to my knees. It's tough enough learning to ask for Fromage Sassenage (a local cheese) or medications for a child with a fever who bounces off the walls if the Doliprane contains red food colouring. Why isn't it O.K. to just say, "Ich nicht habla Francaise"?
I'm actually learning a lot by compulsively reading labels and by listening to people order and converse when I'm queuing up for vegetables and bread. I've also had the great fortune to meet up with some ex-pats who are patient and kindly teaching me the ways and wonders of the French. Open House Grenoble http://www.openhousegrenoble.org/ has been a tremendous resource for me. I'm attempting to meet them for coffee on Tuesday mornings and have a perpetual date at O'Callahan's pub on Thursday nights. I've even joined a Writers' Association through one of their members whom I happened to meet while observing a strike demonstration at the Prefecture (legislature)! NaTasha, Alan and their four and a half year old daughter Naomi have been a delight to meet and have been giving me a wealth of insider information. What are the odds of meeting people you want to keep in your life within 48 hours of greeting a new country? And add to that the weirdness that NaTasha and I had actually been introduced via email through a mutual writer friend. And yet we met by "accident". I tell you, the world is a magical place.
The locals are also gracious with me and welcoming to Callum. I've learned my line, "Je regret ... Je ne parle pa Francaise." Please excuse the spelling if it is wrong, but the line is, "I regret that I do not yet speak French". Once I've presented this apology the Grenoblois tend to speak more slowly and are attentive to my fumblings. I am grateful for their generousity of time. I am especially grateful because Colin's aunt Josie has given me a head's up on how long it actually takes for most adults to learn a new language. Four years. Now I was expecting six months of uncomfortable, two years to get oriented to common phrases and get my ear in tune, and if I can converse comfortably about philosophy or politics and make appropriate witty remarks in four years I'll be happy. Long haul but worth it.
Callum has been watching some morning cartoons in French and has made a French playmate (the wispy blonde bilingual Canadian Naomi who is four and a half and has lived here for two years. She has as much energy and inquisitiveness as he does so they're a good match). He is learning a smattering of French, some of which is absolutely correct and other times is as whacked out as a hamster playing cards with a fish. "Excuser moi" ("Excuse me.") was one of his correct sayings. A badly off base one was thinking "Oui" ("Yes") meant "Yummy." We hope to get him into French classes soon. We can't sign him up for school until we sign a contract for an apartment. Where you attend school depends on where you live, and the population is so dense downtown that each school has an approximate eight block radius, and these blocks are short!
Kids are eligible for school at age 3. School is mandatory by age 5. School is Mon. - Fri. 8:30 to 4:30, except everyone takes Wednesday off to do sports, music lessons, etc. The day of alternate activities has its origin in Catechism, but now most people use the time for extra-curricular activities. Schools here concentrate on academics and it's very competitive in that regard. The French are more balanced in terms of time off though. Adults work long hours but also have great breaks. Everything shuts down at Christmas and for the month of August. Kids have two 2 week breaks in the spring (in February and April) as well as the summer and Christmas holidays. Colin gets 52 days off a year!
It is currently break time this week so I signed Callum up for a week of bilingual preschool (10 hours). The night before preschool started I was up all night. When I left him that first day I thought I was going to puke or cry or both. When I went to pick him up he didn't want to leave. What do I know? Mind you, by Wednesday he was exhausted. I can hardly wait until I find him a more permanent community. He misses his friends and wants to show them the B.C. Roman ruins under Grenoble and the Bubbles that go up La Bastille - the old prison on top of the Massif across the river Isere. Fantastic view of the city and a maze of tunnels and walking trails.
Natural and Human History, Culture and Sports
The history here is astounding. The Roman Ruins under the square in front of little Notre Dame predate Christ. There is a roman wall downtown that stands next to a public rose garden. The St. Laurent bridge across the river Isere is the site of the original bridge built in 43 B.C. by Roman Legionaires. And there are forts and monasteries that are carved into the rock of the Alps. The Chartreuse Range contains 40 km of protected park in honour of Saint Bruno and the Chartreuse Order started in 1084. The serenity of the place fits the legacy. Nearby is the valley of 100 castles, the Chamrousse area of the Belledonne Range that hosted the 1968 Winter Olympic Alpine skiing events, and the Vercors Range - a paradise for Nordic skiing, snowshoeing and dogsledding. In the summer the villages are surrounded by forests and long green pastures paint-splattered with wildflowers. There are also caves where cheese is made (ie. the Sassenage) and wine is aged.
The outdoor sport scene is rampant here. It's not unusual to walk down the street and be passed by a woman on a bicycle with ski gear strapped to her back. It is equally as common to share tram space with snowboarders. In the summer it's common for people to spend their weekends paddling, rock climbing, caving, hiking, mountain biking and geocaching. A couple of friends of ours just went geocaching last week. It's a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, in urban and bush areas outdoors and then to share experiences online. There are 728,162 geocaches around the world! http://www.geocaching.com/.
Urban sports are a mixed bag because there's such a melding of cultures in Grenoble. According to the Wikipedia, the most watched sport in France is football (soccer), colloquially refered to as 'le foot'. Other popular sports include handball, basketball, rugby union, cycling, sailing and tennis. France is known for winning the World Cup in 1998, holding the annual cycling race Tour de France, and the tennis Grand Slam tournament the French Open. And did you know that the modern Olympics were invented in France in 1894?
Other important sports here include Grand Prix Racing (Formula 1), which was invented here in 1946; Fencing - for which France won Gold at the summer Olympics; Parkour - a physical activity that resembles martial arts; and Babyfoot (table football -the French are the predominant winners of worldwide table football competitions!). Outside, during summer vacations, the casual form of the game of Pétanque (similar to Bocce) is played by about 17 million people in France. Bocce ball games are also common in the parks here because the Italian influence is so strong. Little Italy surrounds the hill La Bastille sits on and there is a plethora of pizza and pasta places which lead your nose right to it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_France
Food and "Why French Women Don't Get Fat"
The French are known for their food. They are also known for a low rate of heart disease, a lack of obesity and mucho smoking (Nobody's perfect. By the way, smoking laws in France are coming in line with those in Canada and the U.K.). Now that I've lived here for a short while, and after having read Mireille Guiliano's book, "Why French Women Don't Get Fat", I'm beginning to understand why the French people are healthy. And the explanation is lengthy, complicated and integrated. Let me try to summarize.
The French have a totally different relationship to food than North Americans. The basic premise is to indulge in everything, but nothing to excess. Do not deprive yourself. If you want chocolate, have a piece of chocolate, and stop at that. Or eat less tomorrow, but truly savour the decadence of that one piece. And French people don't snack. Only children are seen eating while walking, usually right after being picked up from school. People don't carry TO GO coffee cups because they sit down for coffee. Isn't that the point of coffee? To sit down, converse and chill out? Eating an apple in an elevator is considered rude. In Colin's contract it actually specifies that he cannot eat lunch at his desk. Instead, lunch time is a long drawn-out sit down affair. Even the preschool NaTasha introduced me to has two hours for lunch and provides a five course meal every noontime. One hour for eating, one hour for play.
On the other love handle, exercising just for the sake of burning calories is extremely unusual. A single trip to the gym costs 20 Euros. At the current exchange rate that's about $30 Canadian. But who needs to go to the gym when we're climbing eight flights of stairs to Steph and Andrew's apartment, or walking to work, or spending all weekend skiing? I must admit I have not yet mastered the balance of eating vs. working out, but I do find myself continually active throughout the day. What I have automatically in my favour is the local food.
The markets here are incredible. So much stuff is local, and if it's not local it's from nearby: pasta from Italy, seafood from the Mediteranean or oranges from Spain. It's all fresh. People here have tiny fridges and shop every couple of days. After the first week I understood why. If you buy something when it's been picked ripe and perfect for eating, it not only explodes with flavour if eaten within hours, it also goes rotten if it's not.
One of the friends I have made here grew up picking berries between 7 - 9 am in the morning in order to maximize their flavour after sunrise but before losing their freshness. He can tell that the produce here is that fresh, every day. Everything from cheese, meat, fish and walnuts to fruit, vegetables, wine and bread is available locally due to the farming district, or within a three hour drive. And you can tell from the colours and the shapes that they are not genetically messed with or grown hydroponically. This holistic and naturally organic approach, plus dedicaiton to quality, lead to beautiful presentations.
An example of this was the bouquet I ordered in the market last Sunday. Granted, I made a language mistake and asked for a large bouquet of orchids and lilies as opposed to the humble bundle of spring flowers. But how wonderful when the vendor wrapped the buds and greenery in old sheets of music. And then she made Callum and Naomi wee bouquets for free. Something so simple as adding the music was visually stunning. Life as art.
Colin couldn't get after me for ordering the enormous bouquet because his faux pas in the open market was miming for shoulder chops. Before he could stop it the butcher had wrestled a full lamb onto the block and chopped up the shoulder into hunks of what turned into nearly a week's worth of lamb stirfry.
Even the prepackaged food is awesome. It's distinctly lacking in preservatives, pesticides and chemicals (and the other crap we put in food in N. America like corn syrup and wheat filler). It's actually real food. Wahoo! And although isn't cheap, most large grocery stores and even corner stores have an aisle or two of organic or alternative foods. There are also four stores within a 10 minute walk that carry specialized items that are casein and gluten free which Callum can eat. I'm stoked. My son, who has sensitivities to 48 separate edible items, has more variety to choose from in France than he did in Canada. What a relief.
And on the topic of LARGE stores, there's a shop here that makes WalMart look like a carport. The Carrefour close to us has 57 tills! And there are still line-ups.
One thing I've had trouble adjusting to is the coffee. The French love their cups of coffee strong, hot, small and sweet. I keep wanting to hold a substantially larger cup in my hand and have come to the conclusion that I need to order a Grand Creme if I want more than five sips of elixir. The problem is that it's really quite strong. 15 minutes after a Grand Creme I feel like little rabbit Foo Foo who got bopped over the head and I can't feel the ground beneath my feet. Thankfully I wear Merrell approach shoes, which have good grip.
Fashion
Speaking of footwear, I really need to find some boots. Despite being multi-cultural and economically diverse here most people are well shod. And look swish. When I understand how the French style is going to meld with my mountain gear-head attitude and still be naturally me, I'll post a picture. The people in Lyon call the Grenoblois bears because they are mountain people. I actually fit in reasonably well with the sporty and the students, but I'm here to learn, to better myself, to add to the visual package that currently screams, "Mom, eh". I do have a scarf so I'm on my way. I hope to arrive before spring.
Next Post
In my next post I'll cover a few other topics like the crazy expensive prices and what's weirdly cheap, our debate of whether to live in the suburbs or the urban environment, the amazing transport system, the kid-friendly green spaces we've been shown or have discovered, the wacky weather and micro-climates, how Callum makes all uneven surfaces his jungle gym and can find mud half a block in any direction from our Apart'hotel, and how we've managed to avoid stepping in dog doo thanks to an attentive child who's eyes are only 40 inches from the ground.
Living in a new country isn't easy, but we're having a wonderful time. Fellow adventurers like ourselves who know what it's like to arrive blind have made this place welcoming and accessible. I'd particularly like to thank Andrew and Steph, David and Melanie, NaTasha, Alan and Naomi, Mike, Mary Jane and Nicole, Fano, the Open House Grenoble folks, Schneider-Electric H.R. and LOGOS (Sylvie and Isabelle).
Have a wonderful Valentine's Day and I'll talk to you soon.
Now I need to go gaze at the Alps and play in the snow.
Love,
Ramona
Leaving
It was nobody's fault that it took from April to December for the final decision to be made. For instance, who could have anticipated the Global Economic Crisis? But now it has really happened ... and despite the global crisis we took a leap of faith. In six squashed weeks we shifted from slash and burn purging of accumulated life accoutrements to madly packing to saying "Adios Amigos" (I'm consistently speaking Spanish to the Grenoblois ... as if all non-English language has been placed in the same vacuous drawer in my brain. When I reach for a word I never know if it will be German (Yah), Spanish (que rico!) or even more obscure, Latin (nobis patchem). What I do know is that under stress it is unlikely to be a French word that spills out of my mouth. Merde.).
Saying good-bye to our vibrant community and family members on the wet and wild west coast (or should I say buried under snow coast) was like being inside the spin cycle of a washing machine. I was wrung out. Col was strung out. But Callum was busy introducing friends and neighbours to his "personal pool" at the hotel and showing them how to use the magic door key. What a terrifically flexible kid. What was particularly hard to say "so long" to was the magnificence of the blue green open sky and sea. Until our reconnaissance to Grenoble in December neither Colin nor I realized how vital the beauty, freshness and easy availability of the urban wilderness is to our peace of mind. As parents we had come to count on creeks, beaches and bouldering sites being within easy walking distance. We were spoilt by the availability of great parks, climbable trees and huge green fields right outside our front door. The great thing is, we both feel at home in Victoria, B.C. and know we will return. We joke about how Callum will see the world as a child and then when he moves out he'll relocate just down the street from us in Victoria and never leave the area. OR, he will join an Ultimate Frisbee team and hang out near naked in Mexico until his early 30's. Care to make a bet?
For now we're content to be in Grenoble. We've already adopted some French habits and we've barely begun to discover the wonders of the Alpine region. Plus Europe is our back yard. How awesome is that? Oh, and guess what else. The cheese shop down the street is in the Guinness Book of World Record for two feats:
1. The largest variety of cheese (479 varieties of French cheese)
2. The largest offering of farmers' cheese (150 varieties of cheese from around the world)
And half a block in the other direction is a Circus School. That's so cool that if I'd written it in a book you'd have told me, "It's not believable." True story. Here are the websites:
http://www.les-alpages.fr/
http://www.dauphicirque.com/
If you wish to translate a page from another language into English:
1. right click while your curser is on the page
2. when the selection box appears select page info
3. select translate page into English
Yorkshire
In early January we left Canada for Leeds, Yorkshire. Callum and I stayed for two weeks, basking in the company of three dogs and the generousity of family. Grandma Gilly works at Temple Newsam, which is one of the great historic estates in England. Set within over 1500 acres of parkland, woodland and farmland landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century, it is a magnificent Tudor–Jacobean mansion. It is Europe's largest working Rare Breeds Farm and has over 400 animals set within the original estate. What a place to run around and explore! www.leeds.gov.uk/templenewsam Other highlights of our visit included Callum running up and down the ramparts of York Castle - much to the shock of Uncle Mark who held his heart in his hand while Callum skied down on his heels; Callum meeting and being cooed to by "Spud" Novak - a 21 year old collared dove that Mark's parents rescued from a cat 20 years ago; watching Callum and Millie together (Grandma Gilly's 10 month old Bichon Frise); hanging around the Royal Armoury http://www.armouries.org.uk/ ; getting to know our English/Scottish relatives and friends better; and visiting Eureka! (http://www.eureka.org.uk/ a schmorgasborg of science and imagination for kids). A definite high point for Callum was spending time with cousin William and Grandma Gilly and Grandpa Tim. William - beware - I will practice my ABBA songs and defeat you in our next sing-off! It was a great trip: rejuvenating, playful and a wonderful reprieve before dousing ourselves in French culture and the work of setting up a home while learning a new language.
Ironically, when Callum saw his dad in Grenoble after two weeks of being apart, he excitedly told him, "Guess what Dada ... in England they speak Canadian!"
Schneider Electric
Colin stopped in Leeds only for a quick hello, some fish and chips (Skyliner does the best fish and chips ever!) and a curry. (An aside: One of Callum's favourite jokes is: What does a sea monster eat? Fish and ships!) On January 11th Colin headed down to Grenoble to start his new position at Schneider Electric in Grenoble in the Alpine/Dauphine region/Isere department of France.
http://www.schneider-electric.com/
Schneider is a huge operation in Grenoble. They employ approximately 10,000 employees at 18 locations around the city. Colin is doing Global Technical Support for PMC products and some on-site Application Engineering. Last weekend he was sent to Nancy Ville in northern France and had an evening stop-over in Paris. He walked around Notre Dame Cathedral, the Seine River, Avenue Des Champs and the Tour Eiffel until the sun went down and his hip flexors seized up.
While the professional language of Schneider is officially English, Colin needs to speak French in order to relate to his workmates. He is continually surprising me with how fast he can pick up phrases and vocabulary. I need to be careful when I learn things from him though, since I might end up speaking French with a Yorkshire accent.
Language
OH MY GOSH! How much humble pie can one person eat? I took my "French as a Foreign Language Test" through http://www.alliancefr-grenoble.org/ today and I was brought to my knees. It's tough enough learning to ask for Fromage Sassenage (a local cheese) or medications for a child with a fever who bounces off the walls if the Doliprane contains red food colouring. Why isn't it O.K. to just say, "Ich nicht habla Francaise"?
I'm actually learning a lot by compulsively reading labels and by listening to people order and converse when I'm queuing up for vegetables and bread. I've also had the great fortune to meet up with some ex-pats who are patient and kindly teaching me the ways and wonders of the French. Open House Grenoble http://www.openhousegrenoble.org/ has been a tremendous resource for me. I'm attempting to meet them for coffee on Tuesday mornings and have a perpetual date at O'Callahan's pub on Thursday nights. I've even joined a Writers' Association through one of their members whom I happened to meet while observing a strike demonstration at the Prefecture (legislature)! NaTasha, Alan and their four and a half year old daughter Naomi have been a delight to meet and have been giving me a wealth of insider information. What are the odds of meeting people you want to keep in your life within 48 hours of greeting a new country? And add to that the weirdness that NaTasha and I had actually been introduced via email through a mutual writer friend. And yet we met by "accident". I tell you, the world is a magical place.
The locals are also gracious with me and welcoming to Callum. I've learned my line, "Je regret ... Je ne parle pa Francaise." Please excuse the spelling if it is wrong, but the line is, "I regret that I do not yet speak French". Once I've presented this apology the Grenoblois tend to speak more slowly and are attentive to my fumblings. I am grateful for their generousity of time. I am especially grateful because Colin's aunt Josie has given me a head's up on how long it actually takes for most adults to learn a new language. Four years. Now I was expecting six months of uncomfortable, two years to get oriented to common phrases and get my ear in tune, and if I can converse comfortably about philosophy or politics and make appropriate witty remarks in four years I'll be happy. Long haul but worth it.
Callum has been watching some morning cartoons in French and has made a French playmate (the wispy blonde bilingual Canadian Naomi who is four and a half and has lived here for two years. She has as much energy and inquisitiveness as he does so they're a good match). He is learning a smattering of French, some of which is absolutely correct and other times is as whacked out as a hamster playing cards with a fish. "Excuser moi" ("Excuse me.") was one of his correct sayings. A badly off base one was thinking "Oui" ("Yes") meant "Yummy." We hope to get him into French classes soon. We can't sign him up for school until we sign a contract for an apartment. Where you attend school depends on where you live, and the population is so dense downtown that each school has an approximate eight block radius, and these blocks are short!
Kids are eligible for school at age 3. School is mandatory by age 5. School is Mon. - Fri. 8:30 to 4:30, except everyone takes Wednesday off to do sports, music lessons, etc. The day of alternate activities has its origin in Catechism, but now most people use the time for extra-curricular activities. Schools here concentrate on academics and it's very competitive in that regard. The French are more balanced in terms of time off though. Adults work long hours but also have great breaks. Everything shuts down at Christmas and for the month of August. Kids have two 2 week breaks in the spring (in February and April) as well as the summer and Christmas holidays. Colin gets 52 days off a year!
It is currently break time this week so I signed Callum up for a week of bilingual preschool (10 hours). The night before preschool started I was up all night. When I left him that first day I thought I was going to puke or cry or both. When I went to pick him up he didn't want to leave. What do I know? Mind you, by Wednesday he was exhausted. I can hardly wait until I find him a more permanent community. He misses his friends and wants to show them the B.C. Roman ruins under Grenoble and the Bubbles that go up La Bastille - the old prison on top of the Massif across the river Isere. Fantastic view of the city and a maze of tunnels and walking trails.
Natural and Human History, Culture and Sports
The history here is astounding. The Roman Ruins under the square in front of little Notre Dame predate Christ. There is a roman wall downtown that stands next to a public rose garden. The St. Laurent bridge across the river Isere is the site of the original bridge built in 43 B.C. by Roman Legionaires. And there are forts and monasteries that are carved into the rock of the Alps. The Chartreuse Range contains 40 km of protected park in honour of Saint Bruno and the Chartreuse Order started in 1084. The serenity of the place fits the legacy. Nearby is the valley of 100 castles, the Chamrousse area of the Belledonne Range that hosted the 1968 Winter Olympic Alpine skiing events, and the Vercors Range - a paradise for Nordic skiing, snowshoeing and dogsledding. In the summer the villages are surrounded by forests and long green pastures paint-splattered with wildflowers. There are also caves where cheese is made (ie. the Sassenage) and wine is aged.
The outdoor sport scene is rampant here. It's not unusual to walk down the street and be passed by a woman on a bicycle with ski gear strapped to her back. It is equally as common to share tram space with snowboarders. In the summer it's common for people to spend their weekends paddling, rock climbing, caving, hiking, mountain biking and geocaching. A couple of friends of ours just went geocaching last week. It's a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, in urban and bush areas outdoors and then to share experiences online. There are 728,162 geocaches around the world! http://www.geocaching.com/.
Urban sports are a mixed bag because there's such a melding of cultures in Grenoble. According to the Wikipedia, the most watched sport in France is football (soccer), colloquially refered to as 'le foot'. Other popular sports include handball, basketball, rugby union, cycling, sailing and tennis. France is known for winning the World Cup in 1998, holding the annual cycling race Tour de France, and the tennis Grand Slam tournament the French Open. And did you know that the modern Olympics were invented in France in 1894?
Other important sports here include Grand Prix Racing (Formula 1), which was invented here in 1946; Fencing - for which France won Gold at the summer Olympics; Parkour - a physical activity that resembles martial arts; and Babyfoot (table football -the French are the predominant winners of worldwide table football competitions!). Outside, during summer vacations, the casual form of the game of Pétanque (similar to Bocce) is played by about 17 million people in France. Bocce ball games are also common in the parks here because the Italian influence is so strong. Little Italy surrounds the hill La Bastille sits on and there is a plethora of pizza and pasta places which lead your nose right to it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_France
Food and "Why French Women Don't Get Fat"
The French are known for their food. They are also known for a low rate of heart disease, a lack of obesity and mucho smoking (Nobody's perfect. By the way, smoking laws in France are coming in line with those in Canada and the U.K.). Now that I've lived here for a short while, and after having read Mireille Guiliano's book, "Why French Women Don't Get Fat", I'm beginning to understand why the French people are healthy. And the explanation is lengthy, complicated and integrated. Let me try to summarize.
The French have a totally different relationship to food than North Americans. The basic premise is to indulge in everything, but nothing to excess. Do not deprive yourself. If you want chocolate, have a piece of chocolate, and stop at that. Or eat less tomorrow, but truly savour the decadence of that one piece. And French people don't snack. Only children are seen eating while walking, usually right after being picked up from school. People don't carry TO GO coffee cups because they sit down for coffee. Isn't that the point of coffee? To sit down, converse and chill out? Eating an apple in an elevator is considered rude. In Colin's contract it actually specifies that he cannot eat lunch at his desk. Instead, lunch time is a long drawn-out sit down affair. Even the preschool NaTasha introduced me to has two hours for lunch and provides a five course meal every noontime. One hour for eating, one hour for play.
On the other love handle, exercising just for the sake of burning calories is extremely unusual. A single trip to the gym costs 20 Euros. At the current exchange rate that's about $30 Canadian. But who needs to go to the gym when we're climbing eight flights of stairs to Steph and Andrew's apartment, or walking to work, or spending all weekend skiing? I must admit I have not yet mastered the balance of eating vs. working out, but I do find myself continually active throughout the day. What I have automatically in my favour is the local food.
The markets here are incredible. So much stuff is local, and if it's not local it's from nearby: pasta from Italy, seafood from the Mediteranean or oranges from Spain. It's all fresh. People here have tiny fridges and shop every couple of days. After the first week I understood why. If you buy something when it's been picked ripe and perfect for eating, it not only explodes with flavour if eaten within hours, it also goes rotten if it's not.
One of the friends I have made here grew up picking berries between 7 - 9 am in the morning in order to maximize their flavour after sunrise but before losing their freshness. He can tell that the produce here is that fresh, every day. Everything from cheese, meat, fish and walnuts to fruit, vegetables, wine and bread is available locally due to the farming district, or within a three hour drive. And you can tell from the colours and the shapes that they are not genetically messed with or grown hydroponically. This holistic and naturally organic approach, plus dedicaiton to quality, lead to beautiful presentations.
An example of this was the bouquet I ordered in the market last Sunday. Granted, I made a language mistake and asked for a large bouquet of orchids and lilies as opposed to the humble bundle of spring flowers. But how wonderful when the vendor wrapped the buds and greenery in old sheets of music. And then she made Callum and Naomi wee bouquets for free. Something so simple as adding the music was visually stunning. Life as art.
Colin couldn't get after me for ordering the enormous bouquet because his faux pas in the open market was miming for shoulder chops. Before he could stop it the butcher had wrestled a full lamb onto the block and chopped up the shoulder into hunks of what turned into nearly a week's worth of lamb stirfry.
Even the prepackaged food is awesome. It's distinctly lacking in preservatives, pesticides and chemicals (and the other crap we put in food in N. America like corn syrup and wheat filler). It's actually real food. Wahoo! And although isn't cheap, most large grocery stores and even corner stores have an aisle or two of organic or alternative foods. There are also four stores within a 10 minute walk that carry specialized items that are casein and gluten free which Callum can eat. I'm stoked. My son, who has sensitivities to 48 separate edible items, has more variety to choose from in France than he did in Canada. What a relief.
And on the topic of LARGE stores, there's a shop here that makes WalMart look like a carport. The Carrefour close to us has 57 tills! And there are still line-ups.
One thing I've had trouble adjusting to is the coffee. The French love their cups of coffee strong, hot, small and sweet. I keep wanting to hold a substantially larger cup in my hand and have come to the conclusion that I need to order a Grand Creme if I want more than five sips of elixir. The problem is that it's really quite strong. 15 minutes after a Grand Creme I feel like little rabbit Foo Foo who got bopped over the head and I can't feel the ground beneath my feet. Thankfully I wear Merrell approach shoes, which have good grip.
Fashion
Speaking of footwear, I really need to find some boots. Despite being multi-cultural and economically diverse here most people are well shod. And look swish. When I understand how the French style is going to meld with my mountain gear-head attitude and still be naturally me, I'll post a picture. The people in Lyon call the Grenoblois bears because they are mountain people. I actually fit in reasonably well with the sporty and the students, but I'm here to learn, to better myself, to add to the visual package that currently screams, "Mom, eh". I do have a scarf so I'm on my way. I hope to arrive before spring.
Next Post
In my next post I'll cover a few other topics like the crazy expensive prices and what's weirdly cheap, our debate of whether to live in the suburbs or the urban environment, the amazing transport system, the kid-friendly green spaces we've been shown or have discovered, the wacky weather and micro-climates, how Callum makes all uneven surfaces his jungle gym and can find mud half a block in any direction from our Apart'hotel, and how we've managed to avoid stepping in dog doo thanks to an attentive child who's eyes are only 40 inches from the ground.
Living in a new country isn't easy, but we're having a wonderful time. Fellow adventurers like ourselves who know what it's like to arrive blind have made this place welcoming and accessible. I'd particularly like to thank Andrew and Steph, David and Melanie, NaTasha, Alan and Naomi, Mike, Mary Jane and Nicole, Fano, the Open House Grenoble folks, Schneider-Electric H.R. and LOGOS (Sylvie and Isabelle).
Have a wonderful Valentine's Day and I'll talk to you soon.
Now I need to go gaze at the Alps and play in the snow.
Love,
Ramona
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Late Great 2008
Wow. It was such a big year I can't believe it's over, and now the next one has started with a KABANG as loud as a house-sized popcorn kernel heated over New Years' fireworks. But that's another story.
WINTER - 2008
Let me back up the time-travel machine to December 2007... my parents had a long-cherished plan to go to Mexico for five weeks. My mother was also sick for a lot of the fall with an unknown illness that was so painful her eyeballs hurt, it was difficult for her to swallow water never mind eat and she had next to no immune system left because of her cancers. We were very worried. One week (or so) before my parents were due to fly south my mom finally got in front of a specialist who recognized that she had a severe infection in a disc in her neck. The illness had progressed to the point that the specialist was shocked she was walking with such an unstable neck, immediately placed her on intravenous antibiotics and told her she was lucky not to be a quadrapalegic. Since she needed to visit the hospital once every three days, it was impossible for her to go to Mexico. Also, my parents couldn't get their money back at such a late date, and my dad wasn't going to go without her. Then Colin came up with a solution.
Colin suggested Callum and I go to Mexico with my dad and that my mom stay with him. He could monitor her and we lived only three blocks from the hospital. What followed was a flurry of financial finnagaling (sp?), a panic over Callum's expired passport, and a setting up of alternative care for my daycare clients. And then suddenly Callum and I and my dad and his friend were in the Seattle airport at 1:00 am and wide awake. Callum was thrilled.
What followed was not so romantic for my mother and Colin, but was a wonderful vacation in a sun-drenched location for the rest of us. Callum spent every second day in the pool, ALL day, and learned to swim and dive and even do crazy stunts that stopped my heart and kept me on my toes like trying to somersault into the water off of concrete. Alternative days we went exploring or for lengthy breakfasts or grocery shopping and beach walking. I learned a lot about the culture of my family, how much I play martyr, and how lovely it is to have a Corona a day and watch a dubbed action movie every night. Mostly I appreciated the unique opportunity to get to know my dad better ... and my mom as it turned out.
In the first two weeks Alexander, my parents' friend, was with us, and it was fun being part of such an odd foursome. The Time Share people just couldn't figuere us out. Two older men, a young (ish) woman and a wee boy .... gotta wonder. The last two weeks my mom was able to join us. What a celebration and a great place to heal. During this time though, Callum got bronchitis of the larynx and trachea. It was terrifying. I'm adventurous and had been wishing that I could do something I had never done before, but this was not it. Having my child almost stop breathing in a country where I don't speak the language was right up there next to "feed a shark my left arm". But it happened, and the health professionals were exceptional. Callum loved the return ride in the ambulance because the driver let him sit in the passenger seat up front and work the siren. He was equally thrilled by the golf cart ride back to our hotel room and the fact that he was allowed unlimited popsicles for the next few days. Does it get any better than that?
In the meantime, back in Canada, Colin got to go on a training course in Texas, went snowboarding, ate a lot of pizza, and was chosen to do technical support in Boston.
SPRING
The spring found us busy working on personal goals, enjoying our community, reveling in the fact that the west coast of Canada starts getting blossoms and daffodils in February rather than wallowing in mud for several months like the rest of Canada (Poor sods. To make them feel better we tell them it rains all the time).
In April Colin applied for a training job in France - a transfer within Schneider Electric. He didn't receive that job but was asked if he was interested in shifting from N. America techical support in Victoria to global tech support in France, with potential for some on-site Application Engineering opportunities. What followed was to be an on-again off-again roller-coaster that lasted until the middle of December. Many factors fed into the uncertainty, like the global economic crisis which next to nobody predicted, but it amazes me now that the process started way back in spring and yet we still ended up feeling so rushed and unprepared at the end. Perhaps that's how it is sometimes with the big shifts in life. Shift happens.
Colin also spent a lot of the spring focusing on teaching and practicing Jujitsu in preparation for his Black Belt test. And we took a parenting course together. What was magic about this was that my folks watched Callum once a week and Colin and I had an uninterupted conversation every Wednesday! Can you say, "On the same page"? Valuable lessons: I learned to use one word rather than blast a distractable Callum with a barrage of instructions when trying to keep on time, and to make everything into a game.
Things I was into:
1. PEP - Peek-a-Boo Expeditions Playgroup: My daycare based on adventure learning. The interaction between Callum and Owen (the boy I've been taking care of for the last three and a half years and who has become one of the family) and the other kids in my professional and personal life (Miles and Reese, Malcolm, Lily and Johnny, Millie and Max, Dono, Lucas and Seelja, Isobel and Maya, all the kids from the preschool and my moms' group, etc. Lots of wee vivacious and self-determined spirits have blessed my life and Callum's these last few years). They keep me fresh. We had daily adventures on double-decker buses, at the University of Victoria, on beaches, in fields, around Butchart Gardens, at Mount Tolmie and Mt. Doug, and downtown at places like Miniature World and the petting zoo. Callum and Owen's conversations about Guardian Angels, Transformers, sea creatures, Star Wars, street cleaners, etc. were always entertaining and sometimes frighteningly enlightening. I reveled in their curiousity.
2. The VIC-RWA - Vancouver Island Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. What a wonderful and tremendously talented group. I feel priviledged to be part of an organization that exudes such professionalism, creativity and camaraderie. These people have guided me through the process of writing three books (I provided the sweat); two erotic romance novels and one young adult adventure. None of them are published ... yet. I'm also glad I had a chance to give back to these people by being a member of the Executive during the 2007-2008 fiscal year.
3. OBPOP - Oak Bay Parent-Operated Preschool. Another amazing organization, led by preschool teacher Sue. It was joyful. I was on the Executive for this group as well. I thrived on the passion people had for parenting and on our shared desire to instill a foundation of compassion, responsibility and self-confidence in our children.
4. COMMUNITY - Since Callum was less than one year of age I have been hanging out with a group of women that has swelled to 16 families. What a fabulous network. The gals try to meet up once a month to chat and eat chocolate or other succulent gastronomic items, and we also meet up for playdates and as families. It broadens the minds of all of us.
5. "The GREAT Walk" and the "Weekend to End Cancer" - This year was about health and exercise. My initial goal was the Gold River to Tahsis GREAT walk. It sounded so outrageous I just couldn't help myself. Up at midnight to catch a bus for a 4:00 am start to walk 63.5 km along logging roads ... irrisistable! Along with a few friends I trained like crazy so that we could do 30 km without a blister or an ache. But then I got a cist on a nerve in my foot six weeks prior to the event and it looked like I was toast. I was crushed. I couldn't get past 5 km without breaking out in tears from the agony. Fortunately an understanding Sports Medicine Specialist stabbed me with Cortizone. Like shards of glass. Stabbing. But two weeks before the walk I was able to train again (just when I'm supposed to back off) and I managed to walk the 63.5 km without gaining a blister, and even ran the last half a kilometer (just so this guy behind me wouldn't pass me). Many many thanks to my partner in crime Gary from Tahsis, with whom I talked for 10 hours of our 12+ hour walk. He and his wife Lori even gave us a tour of Tahsis the next day. How cool is that? And many thanks to my training partners and to Lesley for driving up island and back.
The Weekend to End Cancer (Breast Cancer ... but I was raising funds and walking because of the cancer my dad had and mom has) in September was another great experience. I hung out with a fantastic group of women (Trish, Anna, Lesley, Audrey and Deanna) amongst a gazillion other people who raised an equally impressive number of dollars to fight cancer. We walked 60 km through Vancouver over two days, and stayed in a huge field of tents ( not really ... we stayed at Anna's place with a hot tub and sauna ..tee hee) and danced (really) Saturday night before getting up Sunday to walk again. Totally different than Tahsis. 1,000's of us walked along public sidewalks in crazy pink costumes trying to be gracious to oncoming pedestrian traffic, stopping to drink free coffee and then stopping again to use vendors' bathrooms, and even stopping to drink some gin and bitter lemon (ice cold and compliments of Trish) 7 hours after starting walking on the Saturday. It wasn't about achieving a personal best time, it was about community, about loving those who have been lost to cancer, about conquering fear and accepting cancer, and about overcoming the battle and achieving victory. Powerful. Personal. Prayerful.
One fellow, Chad, had many women in his life be touched or taken by cancer. He has walked every Canadian Weekend to End Breast Cancer event since they began. This year The Weekend to End Breast Cancer was taking place in Toronto at the same time as the Vancouver walk. He walked for 30 km in Toronto, then walked the last 30 km on the treadmill in Toronto before getting on a red-eye flight to Vancouver (he had steak for dinner). He then walked 30 km on a treadmill in Vancouver before joining us Sunday morning for the last 30 km. 120 km in ~ 36 hours. The whole time he carried a pair of worn sneakers, shoes that had been worn by the woman he loved. LIke I said, Powerful.
SUMMER
Black Belt: Colin was tested by Ari in July and achieved his Black Belt. It was well-earned, well attended, and agonizing to watch. His shining moment was with multiple attackers. He was so focused and proficient it was scary. Scary for the attackers. I'm glad to have him by my side while walking down dark alleys. Kick butt. Just kidding ... I'm Mennonite and I don't kick anybody.
WINTER - 2008
Let me back up the time-travel machine to December 2007... my parents had a long-cherished plan to go to Mexico for five weeks. My mother was also sick for a lot of the fall with an unknown illness that was so painful her eyeballs hurt, it was difficult for her to swallow water never mind eat and she had next to no immune system left because of her cancers. We were very worried. One week (or so) before my parents were due to fly south my mom finally got in front of a specialist who recognized that she had a severe infection in a disc in her neck. The illness had progressed to the point that the specialist was shocked she was walking with such an unstable neck, immediately placed her on intravenous antibiotics and told her she was lucky not to be a quadrapalegic. Since she needed to visit the hospital once every three days, it was impossible for her to go to Mexico. Also, my parents couldn't get their money back at such a late date, and my dad wasn't going to go without her. Then Colin came up with a solution.
Colin suggested Callum and I go to Mexico with my dad and that my mom stay with him. He could monitor her and we lived only three blocks from the hospital. What followed was a flurry of financial finnagaling (sp?), a panic over Callum's expired passport, and a setting up of alternative care for my daycare clients. And then suddenly Callum and I and my dad and his friend were in the Seattle airport at 1:00 am and wide awake. Callum was thrilled.
What followed was not so romantic for my mother and Colin, but was a wonderful vacation in a sun-drenched location for the rest of us. Callum spent every second day in the pool, ALL day, and learned to swim and dive and even do crazy stunts that stopped my heart and kept me on my toes like trying to somersault into the water off of concrete. Alternative days we went exploring or for lengthy breakfasts or grocery shopping and beach walking. I learned a lot about the culture of my family, how much I play martyr, and how lovely it is to have a Corona a day and watch a dubbed action movie every night. Mostly I appreciated the unique opportunity to get to know my dad better ... and my mom as it turned out.
In the first two weeks Alexander, my parents' friend, was with us, and it was fun being part of such an odd foursome. The Time Share people just couldn't figuere us out. Two older men, a young (ish) woman and a wee boy .... gotta wonder. The last two weeks my mom was able to join us. What a celebration and a great place to heal. During this time though, Callum got bronchitis of the larynx and trachea. It was terrifying. I'm adventurous and had been wishing that I could do something I had never done before, but this was not it. Having my child almost stop breathing in a country where I don't speak the language was right up there next to "feed a shark my left arm". But it happened, and the health professionals were exceptional. Callum loved the return ride in the ambulance because the driver let him sit in the passenger seat up front and work the siren. He was equally thrilled by the golf cart ride back to our hotel room and the fact that he was allowed unlimited popsicles for the next few days. Does it get any better than that?
In the meantime, back in Canada, Colin got to go on a training course in Texas, went snowboarding, ate a lot of pizza, and was chosen to do technical support in Boston.
SPRING
The spring found us busy working on personal goals, enjoying our community, reveling in the fact that the west coast of Canada starts getting blossoms and daffodils in February rather than wallowing in mud for several months like the rest of Canada (Poor sods. To make them feel better we tell them it rains all the time).
In April Colin applied for a training job in France - a transfer within Schneider Electric. He didn't receive that job but was asked if he was interested in shifting from N. America techical support in Victoria to global tech support in France, with potential for some on-site Application Engineering opportunities. What followed was to be an on-again off-again roller-coaster that lasted until the middle of December. Many factors fed into the uncertainty, like the global economic crisis which next to nobody predicted, but it amazes me now that the process started way back in spring and yet we still ended up feeling so rushed and unprepared at the end. Perhaps that's how it is sometimes with the big shifts in life. Shift happens.
Colin also spent a lot of the spring focusing on teaching and practicing Jujitsu in preparation for his Black Belt test. And we took a parenting course together. What was magic about this was that my folks watched Callum once a week and Colin and I had an uninterupted conversation every Wednesday! Can you say, "On the same page"? Valuable lessons: I learned to use one word rather than blast a distractable Callum with a barrage of instructions when trying to keep on time, and to make everything into a game.
Things I was into:
1. PEP - Peek-a-Boo Expeditions Playgroup: My daycare based on adventure learning. The interaction between Callum and Owen (the boy I've been taking care of for the last three and a half years and who has become one of the family) and the other kids in my professional and personal life (Miles and Reese, Malcolm, Lily and Johnny, Millie and Max, Dono, Lucas and Seelja, Isobel and Maya, all the kids from the preschool and my moms' group, etc. Lots of wee vivacious and self-determined spirits have blessed my life and Callum's these last few years). They keep me fresh. We had daily adventures on double-decker buses, at the University of Victoria, on beaches, in fields, around Butchart Gardens, at Mount Tolmie and Mt. Doug, and downtown at places like Miniature World and the petting zoo. Callum and Owen's conversations about Guardian Angels, Transformers, sea creatures, Star Wars, street cleaners, etc. were always entertaining and sometimes frighteningly enlightening. I reveled in their curiousity.
2. The VIC-RWA - Vancouver Island Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. What a wonderful and tremendously talented group. I feel priviledged to be part of an organization that exudes such professionalism, creativity and camaraderie. These people have guided me through the process of writing three books (I provided the sweat); two erotic romance novels and one young adult adventure. None of them are published ... yet. I'm also glad I had a chance to give back to these people by being a member of the Executive during the 2007-2008 fiscal year.
3. OBPOP - Oak Bay Parent-Operated Preschool. Another amazing organization, led by preschool teacher Sue. It was joyful. I was on the Executive for this group as well. I thrived on the passion people had for parenting and on our shared desire to instill a foundation of compassion, responsibility and self-confidence in our children.
4. COMMUNITY - Since Callum was less than one year of age I have been hanging out with a group of women that has swelled to 16 families. What a fabulous network. The gals try to meet up once a month to chat and eat chocolate or other succulent gastronomic items, and we also meet up for playdates and as families. It broadens the minds of all of us.
5. "The GREAT Walk" and the "Weekend to End Cancer" - This year was about health and exercise. My initial goal was the Gold River to Tahsis GREAT walk. It sounded so outrageous I just couldn't help myself. Up at midnight to catch a bus for a 4:00 am start to walk 63.5 km along logging roads ... irrisistable! Along with a few friends I trained like crazy so that we could do 30 km without a blister or an ache. But then I got a cist on a nerve in my foot six weeks prior to the event and it looked like I was toast. I was crushed. I couldn't get past 5 km without breaking out in tears from the agony. Fortunately an understanding Sports Medicine Specialist stabbed me with Cortizone. Like shards of glass. Stabbing. But two weeks before the walk I was able to train again (just when I'm supposed to back off) and I managed to walk the 63.5 km without gaining a blister, and even ran the last half a kilometer (just so this guy behind me wouldn't pass me). Many many thanks to my partner in crime Gary from Tahsis, with whom I talked for 10 hours of our 12+ hour walk. He and his wife Lori even gave us a tour of Tahsis the next day. How cool is that? And many thanks to my training partners and to Lesley for driving up island and back.
The Weekend to End Cancer (Breast Cancer ... but I was raising funds and walking because of the cancer my dad had and mom has) in September was another great experience. I hung out with a fantastic group of women (Trish, Anna, Lesley, Audrey and Deanna) amongst a gazillion other people who raised an equally impressive number of dollars to fight cancer. We walked 60 km through Vancouver over two days, and stayed in a huge field of tents ( not really ... we stayed at Anna's place with a hot tub and sauna ..tee hee) and danced (really) Saturday night before getting up Sunday to walk again. Totally different than Tahsis. 1,000's of us walked along public sidewalks in crazy pink costumes trying to be gracious to oncoming pedestrian traffic, stopping to drink free coffee and then stopping again to use vendors' bathrooms, and even stopping to drink some gin and bitter lemon (ice cold and compliments of Trish) 7 hours after starting walking on the Saturday. It wasn't about achieving a personal best time, it was about community, about loving those who have been lost to cancer, about conquering fear and accepting cancer, and about overcoming the battle and achieving victory. Powerful. Personal. Prayerful.
One fellow, Chad, had many women in his life be touched or taken by cancer. He has walked every Canadian Weekend to End Breast Cancer event since they began. This year The Weekend to End Breast Cancer was taking place in Toronto at the same time as the Vancouver walk. He walked for 30 km in Toronto, then walked the last 30 km on the treadmill in Toronto before getting on a red-eye flight to Vancouver (he had steak for dinner). He then walked 30 km on a treadmill in Vancouver before joining us Sunday morning for the last 30 km. 120 km in ~ 36 hours. The whole time he carried a pair of worn sneakers, shoes that had been worn by the woman he loved. LIke I said, Powerful.
SUMMER
Black Belt: Colin was tested by Ari in July and achieved his Black Belt. It was well-earned, well attended, and agonizing to watch. His shining moment was with multiple attackers. He was so focused and proficient it was scary. Scary for the attackers. I'm glad to have him by my side while walking down dark alleys. Kick butt. Just kidding ... I'm Mennonite and I don't kick anybody.
Callum is turning into a well-rounded kid, from the physical and practical to the philosophical. A sampling of his interests are: swimming, diving (off 1 meter diving boards and he wants to go for the three meter!), building forts, creating sculptures, climbing trees (25 feet up AND down), BMXing (he could ride without training wheels before he turned 4), water pistols, beach walking, snakes, bugs, birds, sea creatures, raptors, dinosaurs, dogs, Transformers, Bionicles, books and Star Wars. He also loves being naked, dancing and jumping on beds. He does not like to sit, wear clothes or go to bed. He's compassionate (has been known to sing to crying babies in the mall until they go quiet). He's a bridger (gets lots of kids excited about the same thing) and a leader (which also can be interpreted as rebel rouser!). He's articulate, curious, a non-sleeper but an exceptional cuddler.
We were very active as a family this summer. We went camping twice in Tofino/Long Beach (with Josie and Ian and then again with Malcolm, Maggie and Franaine), the preschool went camping at Goldstream (and we met up with a FASS friend of mine there - Dave Shipley and his family - too cool that we met after not seeing each other for over a decade!) and we camped at French Beach. The wet and wild west coast is an incredible place to be. Every time I camp in B.C. I am awestruck by the magnificence of where we live.
We also did a few mini family vacations: three days in Greater Vancouver - downtown and the spectacular Aquarium in Stanley Park and then a day messing around with Grandad Terry and Grandma Shelagh in their backyard pool; a day up at Parksville playground and the Coombs market (goats on the roof and mounds of ice cream as big as your head!); and a trip to Kamloops to visit the Stodolas, bask in their company and eat all their food.
Callum and I did a couple of classic road trips with friends: Saltspring Island, Satura Island (including a visit to a winery); Courtney; Granville Island; Fort Rodd/the Lighthouse and the Medieval Village. We had friends come visit from afar, like Kelly/Sandy/Takiah/Couper, Isabelle, my sister and Richard and Richard Clarke. We're hoping we'll have lots of visitors in France too!
Callum attended soccer/tee ball camp for a week (which he hated because they made the kids stand around a lot while one ball was hit or kicked around), took swimming lessons (which he loved because he is a fish in human skin), did a lot of fishing (he can cast well but a real hook is harrowing for whomever is standing behind him) and we attended numerous park presentations on raptors, snakes and bugs. Live ones.
Three random highlights:
1. I attended a Jack Johnson concert with Josie, Ian and company. Soothed my soul. Jack is so charismatic in an understated way. Causes the audience to be open-hearted. He should run for Vice-President.
2. My folks paid for Colin and I to attend Hot Yoga for two weeks. We got totally stretched out ... to the point that Colin injured himself and realized he required knee surgery. It was an old injury that got exacerbated, but now we're glad it was taken care of before moving to France. Hot Yoga was excellent for stretching my spine and re-establishing my sense of balance and centeredness.
3. Ryan and Lisa got married. What a joy to attend a wedding where two people are so clearly meant to be together.
4. And watching the OLYMPICS! There were so many great moments in history this year (in track, gymnastics, diving, swimming) and great Canadian moments too. Go Simon Whitfield!
Three lowlights:
1. My Grandfather Penner died. He was a powerful role model for me, so that was tough. He, of all people, understood my gypsy spirit, the pull to pursue adventure and circumnavigate the planet.
2. My mom started chemotherapy. She had 8 sessions in total. She's finished now and in better shape than when she started. I ached for her. And for my dad. Scary shit.
3. One of my sister-in-law's split with her husband. They have three kids so they've been very respectful, but having been through a divorce I would not wish the experience on anyone. I admire how they are dealing with it all, and the kids too.
FALL
Gosh, it all went by so quickly and I've been way too long-winded already. If you've read this far you are a true friend or an avid reader or just determined to finish what you've started! The three main things in the fall were my mom's chemo, Colin's application for a transfer to France and the discovery of Callum's food sensitivities. Callum had 48 food sensitivities!!! But thank goodness we figuered out part of what was going on for him. He was itchy all the time, had night terrors several times a week, wasn't sleeping through the night, would have episodes of maniacal laughter and impulsive/non-compassionate behaviour, and would lose his sense of physical boundaries (ie. run into the fridge by mistake). It was awful. He would say to me in a scared voice, "Mom, I can't control my body." And we would see in his eyes that he was going vacant.
When I put him on the cleanse his night terrors ceased in two nights and he started sleeping through the night, in a week the bumps on his skin began to disappear, he calmed down and became more thoughtful and compassionate (although still a rascal), and two weeks later he told us, "I was itchy all the time". He became more in control of his body, his verbage and his social interactions. Because he's 4 we don't always agree with his choices ... but he's making choices as opposed to impulsively acting. Now we're slowly integrating foods back into his diet, keeping track of which ones cause itchiness, tiredness, sleeplessness or hyperactivity. So far, milk, wheat, grapes, red food colouring and oranges definitely send him to the moon and back.
One of my goals for 2009 was to do the UBC Olympic-length triathlon or the one in Paris. To that end, I've been swimming with my friend Carly (coached by Maggie and a sweet man who coaches Masters at Crystal Pool) and managed to increase my speed to .5 km in 14 minutes. Unfortunately, I think I have to postpone this goal a year due to moving to France. I will concentrate on regaining health though, and my goal for this summer is to attend Circus School!
Another great thing about the fall was attending the VIC-RWA conference. I attended the Vancouver conference in the summer, but my most embarassing moment was in Victoria. I was in a hallway talking with some fellow writers about the challenge of writing sex scenes and how in moving to France I could now say, "And you can spank my hot little French ass ..." when a guy opened a door and said, "Could you please shut up?" I stared at him in disbelief and said, "I know you!" He said, "I know you too!" The lines of frustration didn't leave his face but he smiled briefly and then shut the door. He was representing the operatic society but was also a member of OBPOP - our parent-participation preschool. I've taught his daughter!
The rest of the fall was spent enjoying where we live, plus purging, packing and selling our acculumated life possessions. In contemplating a move away, Colin and I both realized how much we love Victoria and the community we have developed here. We'll also miss our friends. I also have to say a HUGE thanks to Carly, Bob and Owen for taking care of and loving Callum while Colin and I flew off to Grenoble for a few days of reconnaissance. It's the longest we've been apart from Callum. It was heroic for them to offer and brave of Callum to deal with it.
Themes for the year have been STREAMLINE, HEALTH and ENJOY THE MOMENTS. In retrospect, I can't believe how much we've done. I often feel we've been static, but that is oh so much NOT the case.
When Col and I married I promised it wouldn't be easy but it would be interesting. I've kept my word. And just when we think it's time to coast someone increases the voltage and volume, so now we're off to France: land of wine, Alps and really really good cheese.
Hope your year was one full of health, family, friends and fun.
Please consider coming to visit. We'd love to see you and show you our new home.
With much love,
C & R & C
Monday, February 2, 2009
Update coming!
Hi Friends and Family,
We have moved to France! In the next couple of days I will be posting my Christmas update and an intro to Grenoble. I know the sun does not set and rise in my armpit, but if you are waiting for an update of our adventures, thanks for your patience, interest and support. Cheers!
We have moved to France! In the next couple of days I will be posting my Christmas update and an intro to Grenoble. I know the sun does not set and rise in my armpit, but if you are waiting for an update of our adventures, thanks for your patience, interest and support. Cheers!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
WALK WITH ME
Hello Family and Friends, April 18, 2008
(and it’s snowing!)
In 1998 I stopped being able to walk.
I had bone spurs growing in my spine, wrapping around my sciatic nerve and causing my right leg to atrophy.
Now, three missing discs later, I’m training for The Great Walk in June (63.5 km in one day: Gold River to Tahsis) and The Weekend to End Breast Cancer in September (60 km in two days: Vancouver). I’m doing it to celebrate my current health and to support family, friends and others whose lives have been knocked sideways by cancer.
In the last two years both my parents, an uncle and three friends were diagnosed with cancer. The current odds are that 2 out of 5 Canadians will have cancer. The good news is: 60% survive to live full lives.
Please join me in supporting the quality of people’s lives. The $13 million that has been raised by The Weekend event in the past four years is bound to positively impact someone you love.
If you choose to donate please:
1. Search for http://www.endcancer.ca/
2. Choose “Vancouver” (the event is happening all across Canada)
3. Click on “Sponsor a Participant”
4. Type “Ramona Bucknell” in the search area to access my page.
You can donate on-line, print off a donor form and mail it in or you can ask me for a donor form. My goal is to raise a minimum of $2,000.
Proceeds benefit the BC Cancer Foundation and fund research, education, services and care.
If your financial support is focused elsewhere in the community, please consider passing this message along or sending me a note of encouragement.
Thank you for walking with me,
Ramona Joy Bucknell
Note: My father and three friends are currently clear of cancer.
(and it’s snowing!)
In 1998 I stopped being able to walk.
I had bone spurs growing in my spine, wrapping around my sciatic nerve and causing my right leg to atrophy.
Now, three missing discs later, I’m training for The Great Walk in June (63.5 km in one day: Gold River to Tahsis) and The Weekend to End Breast Cancer in September (60 km in two days: Vancouver). I’m doing it to celebrate my current health and to support family, friends and others whose lives have been knocked sideways by cancer.
In the last two years both my parents, an uncle and three friends were diagnosed with cancer. The current odds are that 2 out of 5 Canadians will have cancer. The good news is: 60% survive to live full lives.
Please join me in supporting the quality of people’s lives. The $13 million that has been raised by The Weekend event in the past four years is bound to positively impact someone you love.
If you choose to donate please:
1. Search for http://www.endcancer.ca/
2. Choose “Vancouver” (the event is happening all across Canada)
3. Click on “Sponsor a Participant”
4. Type “Ramona Bucknell” in the search area to access my page.
You can donate on-line, print off a donor form and mail it in or you can ask me for a donor form. My goal is to raise a minimum of $2,000.
Proceeds benefit the BC Cancer Foundation and fund research, education, services and care.
If your financial support is focused elsewhere in the community, please consider passing this message along or sending me a note of encouragement.
Thank you for walking with me,
Ramona Joy Bucknell
Note: My father and three friends are currently clear of cancer.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
HOLIDAY CHEER
Hello Family and friends,This blog is in response to people who, like myself, enjoy receiving Christmas letters which summarize the comedy, tragedies and transcendent moments of the year. If you don't like these types of letters, skip right to the URL where Callum, Colin and I are throwing snowballs at each other (click on the orange line below).
http://www.jibjab.com/sendables/view/hMAgQFRRXR2bPQmeZCKSTEBF
EPIPHANIES: Here are but a few...
- "The boy's gotta boogie woogie ..."
- "Life is not about how many breaths you take, as long as it takes your breath away."
- "You can't buy happiness, but you can park your yacht next to it." - Barenaked Ladies
- There are two things guaranteed in life: 1. It always works out. 2. Not the way you think it will."
- Having a child is like wearing your heart outside your body.
- Shift happens.
GRATEFUL:
- For having a son who is compassionate, inquisitive, bold and ebullient and who challenges me to see the world with wonder (though at his pace and intensity it can be a bit much even for me. A few more naps would be bliss, right Col?).
- That Colin has settled into a job where he's happy, challenged and genuinely appreciated.
- To be living close to my parents - they both experienced serious health concerns this year.
- For fantastic friends/family locally/nationally/internationally.
- For the opportunity to write and to be part of a writing community that is smart, supportive and seductive (after all, we do write romance).
- That Colin and I are on the same page with parenting and getting on track health-wise.
- That Callum is toilet-trained AND SLEEP-TRAINED!!! He's out of our king-sized bed and sleeping on his own cuddled in his ladybug quilt clutching "Sandman", Dora and a dinosaur - Bless. Colin and I actually get to have "conversations" before we go to sleep. It's great. However much I love my son, I've missed my husband.
- That we live in paradise (with the exception of housing prices ... it's still worth it).
RISKS TAKEN:
- Colin changing jobs. That takes courage. He's actually 100% out of sales now. Yippee! He left Homeworks and now he's Premium Technical Support at Schneider Electric (you can look them up at http://www.schneider-electric.com/ or in the Wikipedia). He's even had a promotion already!
- Moving house - had to because our other home was sold. We gave up a backyard but we shifted two blocks away from the emergency helicopter pathway and gained quiet and sunshine (we face the west and see sunsets from our balcony).
- Approaching publishers regarding my writing.
- We've had bathroom renos twice in the last year. Once in each place. Mold - yuck.
- Cross-Canada train trip - Callum and I. Vancouver - Toronto: almost 80 hours straight in a train with "Spiderman" and only an hour and a half outside. I thought I'd bought a one-way ticket to Misery on the Orient Express but Callum loved it. He made friends within three minutes of boarding any train. We visited Sherie and Ella in southern Ontario (and Marg and Jim and my cousins): played soccer hung out at the water park rode bumper cars and a Ferris wheel/Woodbine Center observed Old Order Mennonites watched birds caught bugs listened to thunder storms explored the Toronto Zoo stayed in a posh hotel ran around in the pastoral countryside listened to Ella's concert. Linda/Richard/Adrian/Jeremy in Toronto: tried skateboarding rode a roller coaster (and my fearless son put his tiny dimpled hands up in the air!) uncovered dinosaur bones fed donkeys checked out Science Center/Center Island/Ontario Place and all the Chinese Lantern celebrations visited the SPCA rode the subway ate ice cream in the rain. Kelly/Takiah/Couper at their Lake of the Woods cabin on the Ontario/Manitoba border: "played violin" wrestled in mud puddles and with noodle swords examined dragonflies/spiders/moths/grasshoppers/frogs/snakes up close went canoeing blueberry picking identified a loon call watched Couper and Takiah's wacky water sports listened to Phantom of the Opera while watching fireflies and boats and stars while sitting by the lake on the rock cuddled in a sleeping bag. Note: I was also having conversations with my friends either early for coffee or really late with wine. Callum didn't switch time zones. My aunt Karen/UncleTitus/cousins/UncleKen/AuntElaine/MygrandpaAl in Winnipeg and Altona (where I was born): wonderful visit which was mainly about reconnecting with family. Had an awesome day in Altona where we had lunch at Ken and Elaine's and then went to the swimming pool - where my dad and his brother were the divers at the opening ceremony many moons ago. Callum felt an immediate affinity with my grandfather, which was touching to witness. There was a heat wave at the time - over 40 degrees Celsius! Jacquie/Jacob in Jasper: Callum bagged his first peak! Lots of hiking exploring reading swimming running laughing ice cream train tooting wildlife watching jumping on the bed. Maggie/Malcolm met us in Vancouver. I was soooo tired. Callum was ready to go again the next day but with his dad included this time. Colin missed us a lot. While we were gone he compensated for loneliness by drinking beer and eating pizza while playing Lego Starwars.
CALLUM:
- Has been admitted to hospital twice in the last year (1. gastro-intestinal/ dehydration issues [Puked 19 times in 20 hours and I don't even want to talk about his other end]; 2. pneumonia) and visited emergency twice in October (1. a cut above his eye - ran straight into a table. 2. a choking incident which led to the pneumonia). He deals with it very well but it's hard on our hearts. He knows them so well that Callum wants to go visit the people in emergency ...
- Started preschool in September. He's got a wonderful teacher (Sue) and his class (which I'm with on Duty Mommy days) is full of energetic and entertaining characters. He had a few bumpy weeks until we could get his sleep patterns in check and lay down boundaries around his Spiderman obsession. Now he's back to having well-rounded interests. He loves sea creatures, race cars, astronauts, imaginative play, being outside, swimming, the woolly Mammoth at the Museum, mud, dinosaurs, transformers, music, monster trucks, having tea, bugs and spiders, reading, gardening (he grew tomatoes on our balcony), Butchart Gardens, dogs (he wants a green one), Dora and his BMX bike. As superheroes permeate his consciousness the whole city becomes his jungle gym.
- Toilet trained himself - just decided.
- Sleep trained - by us. WE decided.
- He's incredibly social and loves spending time with his friends.
- Has lots of cool intellectual questions these days like: "Do slugs have legs?" "Why don't my hands melt?" and "What is blood for?"
COLIN:
- Loves working at Schneider-Electric.
- Is working on his blackbelt in Jujitsu and hopes to do his test in January/February 2008.
- Teaches Jujitsu and Muay Thai kickboxing once a week.
- Is a fantastic father - compassionate yet clear with boundaries, gets involved in all of Callum's sports and enjoys reading to him and tucking him in.
- Hangs around with three groups of friends: The guys from the Dojo; the culturally diverse group of people from work; some of the dads from the group of families we've associated with since Callum was about two months old. Colin also genuinely enjoys my parents! Please note, Rob and Mark are irreplaceable.
RAMONA:
- Daycare: Downsized it so I have only one regular client - Owen - who is more like one of the family. Really. From January to June I still had five other clients two of which were regulars, both of whom are precious friends for Callum. For the type of outdoor adventures I like to do with them two is more manageable (safety AND mental health).
- Executive Positions: I'm Secretary on two executives: VIC-RWA - The Vancouver Island Chapter of the Romance Writers of America; OBPOP - Oak Bay Parent-Owned Preschool. Both positions are time consuming, interesting and educational. I work with great people.
- Writing: I'm writing my second romantic suspense novel; I've finished/submitted/been rejected/am editing and resubmitting a Young Adult suspense novel; I'm writing and submitting freelance articles (i.e. parenting magazines; Reader's Digest; Globe and Mail); I'm writing erotic short stories (I submitted a story recently to Scarlett Magazine - a women's magazine in the U.K. Their short story section is called "Cliterature"!)
- Singing: I participated in an amazing gospel singing workshop in the fall. So inspiring that when we were learning the 3rd song (out of 9) I burst into tears.
- Walking: A few friends and I walked the Victoria half-marathon in the fall. We intend to walk the Vancouver Marathon in the spring, followed by "The Great Walk" - 63.5 km along logging roads from Gold River to Tahsis here on the Island (http://www.greatwalk.com/)! Afterwards we're renting a room with a HOT TUB.
- Saw Bodyworks (www.scienceworld.bc.ca/teachers_outreach/play_online/bw_games.htm ) - they preserve people's bodies in plastic and carve them into art. Sounds grotesque but it was awe-inspiring. From a health standpoint it terrified me off of sugar ... temporarily. I attended from 2 am - 5 am by myself, stayed until I had vertigo from sleep deprivation and the weird illumination. Unbelievable what our bodies are comprised of. The Bodyworks creators were able to do things like show just the nervous system of a person, produce the real difference between a healthy lung and one which was not, or present the veins/arteries in isolation from the rest of the body. After being at the exhibit I recognized every person around me as a miracle.
FAMILY/FRIENDS:
- We visited England and Scotland in September, mostly to spend time with Colin's family and his mate Mark. We had a fantastic whirlwind of a time. The trip was divided into three parts. 1. Yorkshire 2. The Lake District 3. Scotland 1. We stayed with Grandma Gilly, Grandpa Tim and their three dogs (and a horse) in Leeds/Yorkshire, and also hung out with Jen, Garry and their son William, Christine and Catherine, and Great-Auntie Shirley. We ate fabulous East Indian food at the Aagrar - Colin's favourite restaurant, jumped on a trampoline, played soccer and spiders, explored a children's village, fed Sherie the horse, visited Temple Newsam (where they maintain pure strains of all the local poultry and livestock as well as keeping extensive gardens), saw all the places in Leeds that Colin had lived, ate and talked and ate and drank and drank and watched intriguing late night British programming and had fish and chips. Also spent time with (Great) Grandma Bucknell, Georgie, Ted and Marina. 2. Colin and I went up to the Lake District - Keswick to be precise, and Lake Derwentwater. Grandma Gilly and Grandpa Tim took care of Callum for two nights and essentially three days - I love my son but the break was BLISS. Colin and I ate lardy breakfasts and hiked 7 hours at a time up peaks and around the lake. We also attended the theatre, drank beer, went to a morning market, had tea and biscuits, and after a second morning of hiking up - straight up the way the sheep travel - we met up with Mark, Colin's best friend in the U.K. Together we checked out a rock installation as old as Stonehenge, drove around the breath-taking lake district, and then Mark's GPS unit gave us directions to Glasgow in the voice of Ozzy Osborne. 3. In Glasgow we stayed at Angie (Colin's sister) and George's (and Coco's) heritage home which they've restored beautifully. We had a blast talking, eating and drinking whiskey the first night, visiting a castle the next day, and then attending "Proms in the Park" - a free outdoor concert celebrating Scotland's music which included the BBC Scottish Symphony, the National Youth Choir, Julian Lloyd Webber on cello, the bass baritone Jonathan Lemalu, Johnny Kenny playing the Carnyx - an instrument that was in use from 200BC - 200AD, and the most fabulous Peatbog Faeries - "a Celtic Led Zeppelin" from the Isle of Skye. It was an exceptional night -inspiring and magical. My favourite thing to eat there was Haggis on a bun with peach chutney marinated in whiskey. An unexpected treat was that Angie and George's neighbours were there with us - a policewoman and a barrister. They were tremendous fun and gave us an insider's tour of the city after hours. We also visited York with Mark: the train museum, Jorvik Center (original Viking settlement), bus tour, shopping, eating Guinness pie swooshed down with a local pint, etc. It really was a fantastic trip with wonderful people that went way too fast. Thanks to everyone for being so generous, flexible and fun.
- We've visited four islands with friends this year: Denman, Pender, Saturna and Sidney Spit Provincial Park.
- We've spent time on the mainland with Trish, Dean and Liz and Jack, visited the Stodolas in Kamloops, hung out with family, and we had fun eating Dim Sum/kibitzing about with Josie Chan and Ian downtown. There are a lot of people we're fond of that live on the mainland, as well as old haunts we like to visit, and Callum has developed a passion for the Aquarium. The jellyfish exhibit is truly extraordinary and ethereal in its' beauty.
- My sister Cindy and her boyfriend Richard have had a busy year. They're still in Vancouver but had to move house the same month we did, Sunshine (one of their cats) passed away (which was very sad), they went to Clinton again (they are part of SCA - the Society for Creative Anachronisms - they keep alive the medieval arts and re-enact battles), and they're running their own businesses (stained glass and leather work/prop building) and doing movie extra work (for Blade; L-word; Bionic Woman; etc.). They also bought my parents' van - ROAD TRIP!
- The Adetola household (my sister-in-law's family) has had a very busy year as well. Michael started snowboarding last winter and has graduated from elementary school, all the boys have been playing golf and Christopher and David have been playing football. David's team have won ALL their games, and Christopher's team (the Wildcats) played at half-time during a B.C. Lions' game in B.C. Place - they eventually ended up being PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONS! Also, this summer Jayne and the boys (Callum's cousins) took a road trip to California, Arizona and Nevada. Mickey Mouse to the Grand Canyon to Vegas. Craziness! Jayne quit her job to stay home with the kids ... is it any wonder?
- Grandpa Terry and Grandma Shelagh have been keeping busy with a cruise to Alaska, barbershop singing, ballroom dancing and general romancing it sounds like! They also work hard of course.
- We've had wonderful visits from Rob/Louise/Isobel/Maya; Linda; Trish; Anna/Sean/Zoe/Jake; Liz; Tamara and Amber.
COME VISIT US. I promise we won't exhaust you. We do sleep. It'll be FUN.
Now that I've "talked" your ear off, go hug your hubby or your kids or your cat or your wine glass. Grab a good book, take a bath, go for a run or throw a snowball. Know that you are loved.
A wish for you in the New Year:
MAY YOU TRANSCEND RUBBISH AND EMBRACE JOY.
In health and tranquility at the speed of light,
Ramona Joy, Colin and Callum
Saturday, December 1, 2007
GO CHRISTOPHER GO! and SNOW SNOW SNOW!
A cheer for Christopher, Callum's cousin who's playing football in B.C. Place Sunday in Vancouver. I cannot imagine the excitement and the performance anxiety. We're rooting for you Christopher. Hip Hip Hooray!
It's SNOWING! We woke up to marshmallow world. Callum and Colin have just spent a whack of time outside throwing wet snowballs at each other and at neighbours. These are the glory days of childhood.
Ramona
It's SNOWING! We woke up to marshmallow world. Callum and Colin have just spent a whack of time outside throwing wet snowballs at each other and at neighbours. These are the glory days of childhood.
Ramona
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
