Soaking up the Sunshine

The weather has been beautiful, September always is. It has set a perfect backdrop for the multitude of adventures that occur on a daily basis.

Recently it was my good friend, Erik from Saskatchewan's birthday!! To celebrate we made the most delicious chocolate cake with strawberries on top, cookies, jello, and brought lots of goodies on a night hike to Matheson Lake. We left at about 10pm and got back after midnight. It was so much fun!

We tried to light some candles but it was a little too windy. Plus after walking for 45 minutes (we attempted to blindfold Erik for some of that) people were too ravenous to wait. So we devoured the cake and listened to music and huddled together under the night sky. Some crazies (including Erik) jumped into the freezing cold lake. It was a gorgeous night though.

On Saturday the 25th it was....NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL DAY! Regional Days rotate every 2 years so it was the only N. American Regional Day I would attend and oh, it was spectacular.

It began with my reluctantly waking up early to awaken the rest of the campus. All of us North Americans grabbed our trumpets and trombones and loud yelling voices and threw open the doors of all the houses and yelled. It was magnificent. We even stood on David's lawn (David is the Director) and screamed, "HAPPY NORTH AMERICAN REGIONAL DAY!"

With the caf decked out in flags of Canada and the US we enjoyed a lovely brunch a la Quebec which included crepes, scrambled eggs, ham, fruit, and much more. I loved it . Later there was an assortment of activities including: Learn how to talk like a Canadian, eh.

For dinner, it was a Sadie Hawkin's date system (girl asks guy) and I asked my wonderful fellow BCer friend, Alistair. We were all the talk because instead of dressing all formally we donned wetsuits and masks and were a diver couple. It was quite outrageous and fun.

But the best part was the show. It began with a recorded tape and continued with an RCMP and a CIA agent on a mission (road trip style) to find culture in North America. Along the way they encountered Thriller dances, swing dancing - which I was happily a part of -, Single Ladies, story telling, poetry reading, songs.... it was wonderful. The finale was especially memorable because we all got up and danced to a Grease medley. People from Metchosin came to see the performance and I hope they liked it. After the show some of us partied it up in the barn. Or rather the student commons dressed up like a barn.

On Tuesday I'm super excited to see the city again. I'm coming to Vancouver only for a couple of hours (unfortunately) for Me to We Day. I'm so excited for all the speakers including the Dalai Lama and Jane Goodall and mostly for the motivational tone that Free the Children always manages to pull off.

I'll post some photos soon.

All my love,

Em

Exciting Times

There has been a flurry of activity on the shores of Pedder Bay, here at Pearson.

Last friday we watched a professional theatre company perform "My Name is Rachel Corrie," a riveting and controversial performance. It was about a student from Washington State who travelled to the middle east as a humanitarian aid worker and was eventually killed by an Israeli bulldozer. It is an entirely true story and every word of the play is from Rachel's journals, e-mails, etc. The British actor who plays Prof. Snape in the Harry Potter movies compiled her writings into the play; It was an awesome performance and I sat next to my Israeli friend during the whole thing. I was motivated to research the real Rachel Corrie afterwards and spent quite a while learning about her and feel sort of sad.

On the weekend I went on a LOVELY expedition with some friends to Victoria. Because living at Pearson is like being in a bubble, it's really refreshing to see society again. We had sushi, coffee, and handed out surveys for one of my friends' extended essay.

Yesterday (Monday) however was the most action packed day yet.

My amazing marine science class (which usually takes place in a floating building on the pacific ocean) dismantled a dead sea lion that had washed up on Race Rocks (http://www.racerocks.ca/). It was a gory and smelly sight. I stayed for a bit, took some photos on my friends' cameras, and then ran away. We are keeping the bones so we can construct a skeleton. My teacher, Laura, is great and passionate and was there the whole day. FYI - if you happen to encounter a foul smell, you can alleviate some of your discomfort by rubbing Vicks Vaporub under your nose.

After that, I was looking forward to seeing a speech by Rex Murphy in Victoria....however, I walked into McL and another pungent smell assaulted my nose - this time natural gas. There had been a gas leak! So David Hawley pulled the fire alarm and everyone assembled outside. Luckily there was an abundance of small children and puppies so I was occupied. The bad news was this happened RIGHT at dinner time and I was supposed to leave with a group to see Rex Murphy at 6:00. Of course we weren't allowed to leave and I was feeling quite heart broken.

Turns out it wasn't a gas leak after all. Just some gassy smell coming from perhaps a ship on the ocean.

In steps Fate, and BAM! It's safe to go at 6:45 - the show starts at 7:30. So we jumped in a car and hoped for the best. We eventually got there and heard a heartwarming speech about the kindness of Canadians by the one and only Rex (Mom & Dad, it was so neat to see him live, he is such a naturally poetic speaker). Even more awesome, they had food afterwards!! I haven't had a grape in 3 weeks. Let alone brie cheese, and crackers, and flatbread, and bruschetta. It was pure heaven.

Speaking of the three weeks thing. It has officially been the longest I have ever been away from my family and I do miss them. I miss my Mom's unconditional and open love and all the discussions we would have. I miss my Dad's goofy jokes and dare I say, even my brother's hugs. I miss my grandparents' wisdom and my cousin's sweet smile. And although I miss them, all I need to do is look inside and I realize they're all a part of me.

I love you all more than you know.

See you soon.
-E



PS: AHA! I realized why anonymous people weren't able to comment on my posts - because that's how the default settings were!!! NOW ANYONE CAN COMMENT!

Pramish

My dear friend Pramish from Nepal has been a loyal follower of my blog since the very beginning. As we were walking to Metchosin Day he casually mentioned that I had not mentioned him even once here! So here goes.

- His favorite foods are fruits.

- He doesn't know what he wants to be yet, but I know he will be great

- He has two siblings that are studying in the US

- He had to go through an INTENSE application process to be here and is one in 500+

- His name sort of means "promise" (cool story behind it)

- He can speak Nepalese, Hindi, and a little Spanish? Probably some other languages too

- He is gosh darn awesome!

- It is his first time in Canada

- and there are many more interesting and great things about him

He likes the photo above, but I don't.... Because I'm not smiling.

Thank you Pramish for reading my blog! And all of you for reading this.


Love,
E

Metchosin Day

Annual event where Pearson College meets the citizens of our town and party it up! Or perform cultural dances and songs....or wear our national dress...and just generally have a good time.

Countries represented in these photos: Wales, Canada, Chile, Uruguay, Estonia/Finland, Malta, Israel, USA, Nepal and Jordan.

Bay Jumping

Weekend Update

Hey ya'll.

Hope you all had a splendid weekend. I sure did. One thing first though - at the moment it feels like no one is reading my blog because on my last 3 posts I've had zero comments. Is this because people are unable to comment? Or is no one reading this? It's totally okay if no one is reading because it's entirely therapeutic for me:)

Okay so on Friday I went shopping in Langford (a nearby district) and oh my goodness, it was lovely. Metchosin is a very small place - around 10 000 people. It has a tiny OVERPRICED general store where they were selling a mug for $17?!?!?!! Do you think I would buy a mug for that price? No siree.

So anyways, Quentin, my friend from Wales, and I bounced off to the dollar store, starbucks, and did a massive shop in Superstore. It was the first time I felt homesick eerily enough. I had a sudden wave of homesickness while perusing the aisles of Superstore. I think it's because ever since I was a wee young 'un I would always go grocery shopping with my dear Momma. This time I had to do it myself.

Sentiments aside, I bought lots of healthy snacks, hangers, mugs, plates, forks, etc. It's weird what you buy when you live by yourself.

When we got home, I got all dressed up for "Red Carpet Affair" first official party. We danced a bit and then had the most amazing time as we walked 30 minutes into the forest and landed in a big soccer field under the star studded sky. It was the clearest night yet. I think everyone else saw about 6 shooting stars. I missed them all. It was wonderful though. We were all lying together and eating and stargazing. Nights at Pearson are often like this. Either floating on the docks, or under the stars, or in music circles, or impromptu games in the common areas, or campfires in the gazebo. It just rocks.

Saturday was a sweet lazy Saturday. It was a gorgeous sunny day so all of us Pearson People slept in and lounged on the East lawn. (Pics below). I went swimming in the afternoon with two second years and we tried to co-operatively teach a guy to swim. It sort of worked. He came a long way! After that we dried off and chatted in the sun.

Today though, was the best. There's an annual event where we live in the beautiful boonies, called "Metchosin Day." Basically it's just a community get together with good food, entertainment, and lots of booths and goodies. I dressed up in my Indian attire and everyone wore their national dress. It was a stunning mosaic of textiles! We performed a Bob Marley song, bollywood, gumboot, and tango dances. I was in the choir and bollywood. It was a blast.
Only downside? We had to walk 2 hours to get there and back. Definitely worth it after a delicious meal at My Chosen Cafe.

I will put the photos in seperate posts according to event.

Hugs and smiles,
Emmy xoxo

First Day of Classes

Day 10

Life here at Pearson is lovely. Every day brings new challenges and adventures. Today we started classes! I had English with Geoffrey (we are on a first name basis with all teachers and staff), History with Seb, Marine Science with Laura, and Anthropology with Stella.

Our teachers are from very diverse places also, and are some of the best I have ever come across. The average amount of people in a class is 10-12. And get this - nobody minds if you wear your pajamas for your first class!! I have been meeting so many talented and intelligent beings I feel surrounded by them all the time. I feel blessed.

I learned how barnacles reproduce today. It's quite disturbing.

We had a great time camping on the beach....besides that I've been enjoying some alone time in the spiritual centers, movies in the lecture halls...we have to sign up for activities soon and there are so many wonderful choices like:

- Fire fighting
- Sailing
- Kayaking
- International Dance
- Choir

I'm performing at a community event called Metchosin Day next week. We live in a remote village called Metchosin and Pearson is going to perform at their annual day. I'm in the Bollywood dance routine, the choir, and I'm singing for the gumboot dance.

I love it here.
I love love love it here.

Smiles and love and blessings,
Emmy

More photography

Photos Pre-Pearson & First Days

In Tofino with family before moving:

My roommates Techi (Uruguay) and Lee Qi (Singapore)

My room from one angle:

MORE COMING!

First Impressions

We drove down the picturesque driveway. My heart was pounding and we saw three adults. Kimberely said, "Be prepared for the swarming." Swarming? What swarming?!



I walked down the pathway holding my Mom's hand and all of a sudden a body slammed into mine. I looked up and it was the lovely face of Alistair (a Pearson student I knew before I applied) and about a second later there were about 30 people instanteously giving me hugs. Hugs and kisses and hand shakes and beautiful faces. That was my first impression of Pearson.



These last few days have been more than incredible....better than I could have imagined and I'm not just saying that. Here are some of the highlights:



- I am in McLaughlin House, which is better known as McL. My roommates are Techi from Uruguay, Lee Qi from Singapore, and Daphine from Uganda...they're all very sweet. Our room is cozy.

- Wrote tests the second day (aptitude...)

- There are 10 rooms (co-ed) with four people in each room

- The food is surprisingly good

- I lay on my back on the floating docks with friends. Then I talked for hours

- The spiritual center is absolutely stunning

- Tribal Olympics (ropes and capture the flag - I got a stinging nettle allergic reaction but it was so much fun)

- Huddled together under the stars at the top of a huge hill at the Observatory. Watched the moon pass in and out of floaty clouds

- BBQ on the beach...some crazies decided to jump in.

- Listened to some incredibly boring Foodsafe, even though I already had certification

- and met some of the brightest and most captivating people



A taste of some beautiful friends I met:



- Timo is from Estonia and Finland. He is the national champion for swimming, and he is SO fabulous. We took these jumping photos and he is my adopted second year. He is also the leader for the international dance activity.



- Eric cannot dance. But he is from Chestermere and he is a FIRE LEADER at the College. He is a improvisational trombone player....and a lifeguard.



- Nadine from Switzerland is a bundle of joy! So full of life and so bubbly... and she is my beloved neighbour

- Abdulla is my incredible buddy from Iraq. He is very kind and holds all the doors open for me! He is the FIRE CHIEF!

- So many other wonderfuls...Aly, Savita, Techi, Lee Qi, Erik from Saskathewan, Colin from Kentucky (who doesn't have a southern accent), Logan from California, Ashley who is Ms. Teen Bahamas and is gorgeous and TALL!....and many many more.

My courses:

- Social and Cultural Anthropology
- History
- English
- French
- Math Studies
- Marine Science
- Theory of Knowledge

It's beautiful here. There are trails leading everywhere (they house bears and cougars too, apparently)....and we can go biking, swimming, diving, kayaking, skipping, dancing, sailing, running, and a billion others. Mostly I like to just sit and hang out in rooms and talk.

Yesterday we had Regional Dinners, so everyone from North America hung out and I had some deep philosophical discussions about everything from the word "anachronism" and the Queen....to the confusion and complexity of Pearson relationships.

Tomorrow I'm going camping with my lovely house - McLaughlin. Or better known as McL.
"McL....What the hell, what the hell....McL - WHO WANTS A PIECE OF THIS -...McL what the hell, what the hell....?"

All my love and peace and faith and everything wonderful,

Emmy

PS: I'm going to write a post of all the reasons why I decided to come to Pearson, just so I never forget.

PPS: photos to come!