Merry Christmas!

Well, it is December 16 and I am woefully behind in the Christmas card department. This is my "stop-gap" measure, as well as my "in lieu of a Christmas letter" attempt. Paul and I do wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Mom Mills arrived on Friday, and will stay with us until December 28. We are enjoying her visit, but so far haven't done anything too exciting! This morning, we did enjoy the children's Christmas Pageant at church. In the next couple of weeks, we have a few dinner parties lined up, but for the first time since we have been married.we will actually celebrate Christma at home, including Christmas dinner. Since we've already had two turkey dinners and will have another with friends on Christmas Eve, I think we'll stick to Cornish game hen. Then I can proudly maintain my claim that I have never cooked a turkey. If that is something to be proud about....

We will have Bethlehem staying with us again for a few days during the Christmas break. She's quite excited about meeing Paul's Mom. We love her stays with us. She just brings so much joy with her whereever she goes. We joke that the "joy has left" the Mills house when she goes home. It's not true, but it's certainly a LOT quieter when she is gone.

I have one more week in which to keep students focussed before Christmas break. They are already pretty restless, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.... Last Thursday, we took them to see a musical production at Willingdon Church called "Two from Galilee" which was amazing! It was very professional; there was a full orchestra and the sets were exceptional.

I will continue to paddle on Saturdays through Christmas, as our team is entered in an Icebreaker regatta on January 19. The regatta will be 6 km in two OC6s (6-man outrigger canoes) strapped together. So there will be 12 paddlers, which is nice for that length of race. The race takes place at Barnet Marine Park in Burnaby, so it will be ocean paddling. We have to sign away our lives accepting the "inherent dangers" of ocean paddling, which is a bit unnerving, but I think is really more of a formality than anything. The team we're paired with, also from the Fort Langley Canoe Club, is a very strong, mixed team, so I'm hoping we do well. We've only missed one practice, due to heavy snowfall....

Paul and I will enjoy having a week at the end of Christmas break to just spend time hanging out and relaxing. It has been a busy semester, so we need some "recovery time". Both of us will be back in the classroom on January 7.

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year!

Moonlight Paddle

I have to write this while it is fresh in my mind. Earlier today I discovered that a group from the canoe club were going for a moonlight paddle in a voyageur canoe this evening. So, I decided to join them.

We met at the boathouse at 7:00 pm. 10 of us pulled the voyageur canoe from the boathouse down to the water front on its trailer. We had a few strange looks as we crossed the road in Fort Langley. It's about 2 C right now, and not many think, "What a great night to paddle!"

We paddled upstream into the moon, which was surrounded by an enormous ring. It was almost as though we were paddling right into the moon. We continued up to West Creek, just east of Fort Langley, then went up the creek - with our paddles!

We meandered up the creek for awhile before turning around and heading back to the Fraser, and downstream to the launch. I think we're were out there for almost two hours, and I didn't even feel the cold. I had layers of fleeces on, a toque and paddling gloves. My arms are a bit wet, as I dip a lot when I paddle, but that's it. It was an exhilerating experience, and I hope to do it again someday.

I'm not brave enough to take my camera out on the water, so you'll just have to imagine what it was like!

MissFits

Two weeks ago, we had a beautiful, sunny Saturday to paddle in the Fraser River in an OC6, or 6-man Outrigger Canoe. We are the MissFits, 7 members of the Paddle Pushers dragon boat team who are rotating to go out each Saturday afternoon through the winter season. Because temperatures are dipping, and the Fraser River is now quite chilly, we wear wetsuits to paddle. In the event that we huli (OC speak for "capsize"), we have about 3 minutes to right the boat and start to bail before hypothermia sets in. How did we meet? We are all members of the Fort Langley Canoe & Kayak Club, a club that offers programs for young people and adults in both flat water paddling (kayaking) and big boat paddling (canoeing, voyageur canoeing, dragon boating, outrigger canoeing).



Before we could go out in the OC6 as a team, we all had to attend a huli clinic. It was a crash course in the architecture of an OC6 and the technique needed to right it once upended. To this end, we dressed to get wet and intentionally capsized. I did the clinic in October, and it was already quite cold in the Fraser River!!

The outrigger canoe is made up of the canoe body and the "pontoon". The float part of the pontoon is called the ama and the arms to the float are called the 'iako. When the boat is upside down in the water, the ends of the two 'iako, on the opposite side of the boat from the pontoon are called the muku. They are important in the process of righting the boat.

If the boat is capsized, seats 1 and 6 have the job of gathering the paddles from the water. Seat 6 also must have the paddlers count off to ensure that no one is missing. Seats 3 and 4 swim to the ama and push it up out of the water and over, before swimming to the ama side to scramble back into the canoe. Seats 2 and 5 scramble over the boat and stand on the muku, then lean over to take hold of the 'iako and use their body weight to help seats 3 and 4 heave the ama over to right the boat. They then also scramble in, at which time any free hands start to paddle for shore, while the rest of the crew bails the boat as quickly as possible.

We are very much self-taught at the moment. As you can see, the OC paddle is quite different from either a regular canoe paddle or a dragon boat paddle. The paddle has a concave blade, and the blade is pulled through the water on the curve side, which is counter-intuitive for my not-so-scientific brain. Seats 1 and 2 set the pace for the boat, and each seat paddles on the opposite side to the seat in front of it. The steersperson can paddle, but may simply steer, which (speaking from experience) is quite a challenge in river currents and eddie!

Every 20 strokes, we cry out "hike hup hoe". I have since found out that hoe means "to paddle." Theoretically, we should not lose our rhythm in the switch-over, but we're still a bit out of time in that department - but improving with each time we go out!

On this particular Saturday, two weeks ago, we decided to paddle downstream, then work away around and upstream past MacMillan Island and the Albion Ferry docks to the east end of the island. From there, we battled (for an eternity, it seemed) the cross-currents to get back into the Bedford Channel and paddle downstream to the dock. We did have to pause briefly, then paddle like crazy so as not to get caught in the wake of the crossing ferries. We waited until they were both docked and unloading, then "power stroked" to get past before they had reloaded and launched. Along the way we saw Canada geese and sea gulls, which are standard fare. But we also encountered a loon in the channel and seals playing in the river. At Fort Langley, the Fraser River still has some salt water. The float planes often fly overhead as there is an airport just upstream from Fort Langley.

Our goal, as the MissFits, is to race in one regatta, perhaps in January. We are working on endurance training, and many of us are doing cardio-core cross-training. The "short" races are 1 km in length. As you may have discerned from the terminology, outrigger canoeing has a South Pacific origin, and the boats are designed for open-water ocean canoeing. I imagine that a huli is much more likely in such conditions than in the relative calm of the Fraser River. Perhaps we'll become very good and race in Hawaii! In the meantime, I'm certain we may be paddling in one or two snow falls, which will be an adventure if nothing else.

October and Part of November, or What have I NOT done?

The 1st Term has flown by. It is hard to believe that school started 2 1/2 months ago, and that Christmas break is just over a month away!

Besides teaching, Paul and I were at the fundraiser party for my dragon boat team, the Paddle Pushers. In October, I also began my winter paddling project. I am paddling with 6 women from my dragon boat team on an OC6 team. An OC6 is a 6-man outrigger canoe. It is narrow, with a pontoon out to one side. In preparation for paddling, we had to learn how to huli, or upend the boat, right it, and bail it. Outrigger canoes are notoriously tippy. Because of this, we paddle in wetsuits, as the Fraser River is already very cold. Having said that, I have yet to feel at any point that we have been in danger of capsizing, and we've had some not-so-pleasant Saturday afternoons. Coincidentally, we all bought the same wetsuit, but in different colours. So, we call our team "The Misfits." Hopefully, we'll be able to participate in one race this winter. The OC6 regattas usually involve distance, with races being 1 kim or more. In the dragon boat, we have only done 500 metre races.

We had a finale dinner for the dragon boat team, in part to say farewell to our steersperson and thank you to our coach, Cheryl MacIntosh, who is moving on to more competitive dragon boating in the next season, and will not be able to be our coach. So, we're now on a quest for both a new steersperson and a new coach. I have steered, but prefer paddling.




Toward the end of October, we took my English 10 Transitional class to Whistler for the traditional "Grade 10 Whistler Field Trip." I drove one of the school vans, and Rick, who teaches with me in the fun August summer school, drove the other. Kevin Krikke came as well, and another teacher, Jordan, who works with my students at their Saturday School.

We took the foot picture in Whistler Village after a very full day of Tree Trek Adventures, skating, and painting ceramics. My pictures are in here back end too, so you'll get the back-track version of the trip. It actually ended on Tuesday October 30 as we stopped at the BC Mining Museum at Britannia Beach. The students had fun touring the mine, and panning for gold afterward. They have finished some of the renovations at this mine, which was used as the set for "Scoobie Doo 2", so there was more to see this year. The concepts we learned at the mine reinforced what the students learned last year on the 9T field trip to the Okanagan when we stopped at the Mascot Mine in Hedley, BC.




After our morning of trekking through the rain forest and before settling down to doing some art work (painting ceramics), we went skating. The computers were down at the recreation complex, so we skated and used the rental skates for free, which was a perk. I thought the students might be tired and bored after an hour or so, but we spent the whole afternoon at the rink, and only left when it closed at 3:00. Part of what kept the students interested was a pick up hockey game, which everyone played. Some of the students aren't very good skaters, but we had a great time! I was the [very bad] goalie for one of the teams.

The first morning in Whistler was spent exploring the rain forest with Tree Trek Adventures. We were bussed to the forest, then spent an hour and half walking up and down stairs, over board walks and across suspension bridges. Our guide was excellent - she was both knowledgeable and entertaining.

We stopped at Porteau Cove for a photo on our way up to Whistler on October 28. In past years, it has been too rainy/snowy to stop for a picture, but the rain let up this year for just enough time to record the group.

Last week was very busy. On Wednesday night, Kevin Krikke and I took our Grade 10 students to the Canucks game, with four students from Team Canada. Pacific Academy has Outreach Teams in the high school that go overseas on missions trips during the two-week spring break. Team Canada stays in Canada and works with the International students. Part of their ministry is befriending the International students and building relationships with them, so they often tag along on field trips. They also put on events for the International students, and this weekend I'm taking them to the Fraser Valley Gleaners Society to cut up fruit/vegetables for 3 hours on Saturday (see what we did with 9T at the Okanagan Gleaners Society in my earlier blog).

Anyway, the Canucks played the Edmonton Oilers, and if any of you watched the game, you know it was NOT well played by either team. It went to a four-man overtime period, then the Oilers won in the following shoot-out.

The next day, I packed my bags and headed over to Vancouver Island with the Pacific Academy Synchronized Swimming Team, of which I was selected to be the coach. I know - the irony is unbearable - I am a competitive swimmer...

The twins, pictured here, did very well, taking first and second respectively in the Tier 7 figures and routine. The girls who competed in the much lower Novice Star 1 level also did very well, but I am still waiting to find out their actual placing.

We spent the night before the competition in Victoria, and were up bright and early for the BC School Sports Synchronized Swimming Championships. On the ferry that night, I ran into a couple from our Bible study whose daughter was competing in the BC Sports Swim Meet that started right after the Synchro Meet.

I had reserved a 4:00 pm ferry for Friday as the latest possible sailing we could take to get back to the mainland in time for me to make it to Westminster Abbey in Mission for a women's retreat. We left the pool just after noon, and I felt confident that we had lots of time to stop for lunch and even make a much earlier sailing. So we enjoyed lunch, then arrived at Swartz Bay at 2:00, thinking we might get onto the 3:00 sailing. Well, the 3:00 sailing was already full, and when I pulled out my reservation for 4:00, we discovered that the 4:00 sailing was cancelled all together due to a mechanical problem. So, we booked onto the 5:00 sailing, and settled in for a 3 hour wait. I called Paul to let him know - and he'd been trying to reach us because BC Ferries had actually called the house. Then I called Annette Fergusson to let her know I wouldn't make it up to the Abbey that evening, but would be there for breakfast at 7:10 am the next morning. Patience and waiting on God were two topics at the retreat, and I had a first-hand lesson!

It was great to get home and sleep in my own bed, and get to see Paul for a wee bit before heading out very early Saturday morning.

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the physical and spiritual rest and refreshing. Annette and Jim, who married us (some of you have met them) have been doing these retreats up at the Abbey for several years now, and I always look forward to them when I can make it! There was a collection of women from different churches and denominations, and we had a great time! We have really missed Jim at St. Mark's, although we love Jonathan and Deanna, so it's great to see them. We drop into to St. John's in Vancouver occassionally for a visit.

Paul is finished his Monday night teaching for the semester, so it's been nice to share 4 suppers a week!! He'll be finished Friday nights next week, and Tuesdays and Thursdays shortly thereafter, and will have a break until January 7, which is when I go back too. I won't be off until December 21 this year. Mom M arrives on December 14, and we are very much looking forward to her visit. Sadly, we had news today that Sable will be put down tomorrow. We're feeling pretty sad. It's just over a year since Dad M passed away, and Sable has grieved for the year, as her health has deteriorated due to age. She's been a great dog, but really lost heart when her best friend "went away." It's amazing how sensitive animals are to change.

Oh yes - t the biggest news of all for these two months... David is now a father of Benjamin Fraser, and Philip is a father for the third time, this time of a son, Nathan Holden.

September Tidbits

As I mentioned in my previous post, it has been a very busy month. This year, I have a total of 35 students in three classes. The lowest level I teach is called 9 Preperatory. The lowest level of English speakers are enrolled in this class and I teach it like a modified English 8. The next level is 9 Transitional. These students are at an intermediate level, and I teach my ESL version of English 9 parallel to the English Department at PA. Grade 10 Transitional is the highest level. My English 10 students must write the English 10 Provincial in June, so I teach it as a modified English 10. The kids need all the skills to do well on the exam, but I use materials that are appropriate to their level of English.

I have students from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Ethiopia this year. They have done exceptionally well abiding by the "English-only" rule, and there are many cross-cultural friendships being developed.

My favourite part of the week is marking student journals. There are always wonderful mistakes that are sometimes just a product of phrasing, but other times simply a matter of writing the word the way they hear it. I will end this blog with a few student quotes, although I will not name the authors to protect their privacy. I'll add more from school later.

One student has introduced me to a new genre of music. He had been learning to play the Bob Dylan tune, "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and expressed how much he enjoys "fork rock."

Another student went shopping for school supplies, which included "blinders."

One student who is in Canada for the first time stated, "I was shocked that they have Asian restaurants."

One of the girls talked about the "pester" of her church. I thought that one was a bit of a Freudian slip.

There are more, but the file in which I keep the "bloopers" is not on my home computer.

Rock Ridge Canyon

Well, September has come to a close. The school year began with a rush right out of the gate. Rather than begin the year with a week of special events, the High School administration made the decision that we should move right into the academic schedule for the year. Although this has made the beginning of the school year busy, it has been wonderful to actually feel like things have been accomplished by the end of the first month of the school year.

As we do every year, the International Department took the students to Rock Ridge Canyon near Penticton, BC. We left September 16 and returned September 18. After a cool summer, we were pleasantly surprised by sunshine and reasonably warm daytime temperatures.

I was able to travel to Penticton with other staff members, rather than in the buses with the students. Believe me when I say this was a blessing! Not only did we share a lot of girl talk, but we also shared fellowship and laughter. It made the trip pass very quickly.



Once we arrived at the camp, my teaching duties kicked in. I shared a room with half of the teenage girls in our program. Because I was more ready for sleep than they were, I improvised a "tent" around my bunk. This kept out the light, if not the chatter.

Our first activity this next morning was the zip line. It proports to be the longest zip line in Canada, if not North America. To get to the platform, we made our way up a staircase, then a trail that wound up the side of the mountain.

Once at the top, we were waited patiently to fly down the mountain two-by-two. I was signed up for near the end, and like last year was paired with the most terrified student there. His nervousness increased as he watched his peers fly down, some upside down. When our turn came, we stood patiently while the harnesses were belted around us. We then walked up to the blocks to be hung to the zip line by hooks attached to rope. Last year, I went down frontwards, so this time I opted for the superman version, with the harness hooked at the back.

It was exhilerating to feel the wind and see the beautiful scenery. The zip line ends just past the lake, where there is a rope to grab and helpers lower each person down to be unhitched and unharnessed. Victor, the student who flew down with me was thrilled by the experience. He was terrified, put so happy he had enjoyed the experience, and was eager to try it again.

So the first field trip of the year was an overwhelming success!

Summer's End

Summer school ended with a fun week of going to the fair (PNE), shopping and swimming. Part of our time swimming was spent playing water rugby with a beach ball. It was lots of fun, and we all survived! The students did a fantastic presentation for their parents and home-stay parents on the last day using Power Point and posters they had created. All in all, it was a successful four weeks, and I have a fairly good idea of how my new students will fit in with my returning students. I've even created seating plans for first term keeping in mind individual personalities.

Summer school ended on a Thursday, and on Friday morning (August 24) I took Paul to the airport. He spent a week in Ontario helping Mom M sort and pack different things. While there, they celebrated Richard's 60th birthday, Mom M's birthday (I won't say how many...), and Brian & Joanne were able to down for supper one evening.

While Paul was "vacationing", I was back at work for "call in week". On Monday, all the teachers met at the Zajac Ranch, on Stave Lake near Mission, BC. The afternoon was spent doing various outdoor adventure activities. I went kayaking. We kayaked (and some canoed) out to a small island near the end of Stave Lake. We beached the boats, and several of us jumped off a cliff into the water. The first time I jumped, the cold of the water knocked the breath out of me. I took a minute to get used to the water, then climbed out for a few more jumps. It was very exhilerating! When it was time to paddle back to the ranch, a few of us swam from the bottom of the cliff around the island to where we had left our boats. At points, the water felt quite warm, then we'd swim through very cold patches. I wondered if there might be underwater springs or something. The scenery - we were surrounded by mountains - was amazing! At one point, I kayaked behind a loon until it realized I was so close and dove beneath the surface. I never did see it resurface, so it obviously found a "safer" place to swim than near my boat.

Tuesday was a day of meetings, which are a necessary evil. It is amazing how long it takes a room full of teachers to settle down and be quiet for a speaker. Perhaps that is why we are now teachers: we were talkative students.

I took a first aid/CPR/AED course on Wednesday. Any first aid qualifications I had previously elapsed sometime during in my leukemia/bone marrow transplant years, and I had never taken the time to certify again. Since we go on so many field trips, I thought it was prudent to at least get certified in the basics.

The latter part of the week was spent arranging my classroom, prepping for the coming week, and continuing the curriculum development for two of the classes I teach that aren't English. I'm developing some grammar materials for my lowest level English class, as I haven't found anything in print that meets my objectives. I figured that since I couldn't find it, I might as well create it. Maybe one day, if it works well, I'll publish it.

Today is our wedding anniversary. We are spending the evening with friends - two of whom share our anniversary. Eric & Margie have been married for well over 50 years though!!

After Labour Day, the rat race of the 2007-2008 school year will begin in earnest. I was thinking about it, and came up with a paddling metaphor for the school year.

All teams in a heat paddle 500 m out to the start line. The horn sounds to begin the race. To get the boat moving, our team paddles 6 deep, strong strokes. We then move into 16 short, fast strokes to gain momentum.. The team transitions into regular, steady strokes to race to the finish.. At the 300 m mark, the team hears "Finish it now!" and makes strong, deep strokes to win the race.. Only when the steersperson shouts "Let her run!" do we stop paddling, knowing that the finish line has been crossed.

Call in week is sort of like the paddle out to the start line, or a warm up. The horn sounds at 8:10 Tuesday morning, and we get off to a strong start. We gain momentum as first term nears an end and are up to speed by Christmas. It is then a steady paddle through the end of first semester and into third term. By fourth term we are in the "Finish it now!" phase, and "Let her run!" is the day in June on which all our exams are marked and final grades submitted.

Like the feeling I experience at the beginning of a dragon boat race, I am full of excitement and anticipation for what the school year holds in store. I am sure it will be an adventure!

Summer School Continues...

It is so hard to believe that three weeks of the four week summer school program have already passed! Each field trip challenges the students' English in new ways, and gives me insight into their personalities and how they will fit into the International program for the coming school year.

The week before last began with a trip to Grouse Mountain and ended with an evening watching the BC Lions play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Grouse Mountain was... wet! However, our guide for the day was fantastic, and we had Phil, the ecowalk guide we enjoyed so much when we went up with Ruth and hte boys. The students had been forwarned about possible inclimate weather and most came prepared. It was their introduction to Canadians not letting the weather stop them from having fun outdoors. Only a few complained about being wet and cold, but they enjoyed themselves nonetheless.

Our day at the Aquarium was perfect! It was nice weather for watching the Beluga show outside, and to enjoy the dolphin show. I caught a great photo of one of the Pacific White-sided dolphins at the beginning of the show.



Truth be told, football is really not my thing. However, the game we went to was very exciting! It was very close, although the Lions lost in the end. Sherlock, my student from Hong Kong, was very excited about going to see a "football match." I explained that in Canada the term is "football game", which also differentiates it from what he thinks of as "football" and we call "soccer."

We had several extra tickets to the game, so Paul tagged along. At the last minute, since there were two remaining tickets, we called Donna and Alvin and they met us at the stadium. Both are avid football fans, and it was fun to have them join us with the students.

Some of the students enjoyed the game - especially due to the close score. However, quite a few were ready to go home after the second quarter. The game didn't end until about 10:45 pm, and we spent a very long time sitting in traffic trying to get out of the city. This got us back to the school at almost midnight, and Paul and I only got home to be in bed by about 1 am. I had to park the bus, alarm the high school and lock all the gates.

Paul and I had to be up at 5 am the next morning to get me to Cultus Lake for the regatta. Regatta day had that dream quality all day, as I was operating on adrenaline alone!!



Last week we shuffled some activities around based on weather. As you can see, we had perfect conditions for a day at Crescent Beach in South Surrey. The tide was out during our time there, which created a lot of different options for the students as they decided how to fill their time there. The boys had a soccer game going on out in the tidal flats. Other students dug up clams and baby crabs, and found egg sacs and dead jelly fish. Of course, there was also frisbee and kite flying - and before we went home, I bought everyone icecream.

The day after the beach was even hotter, which was perfect for a day at the waterslides at Cultus Lake, near Chilliwack. All the students enjoyed a full day of running up to the top, and screaming all the way down the slides. Lineups were fairly long, but the students were patient, and except for the odd sunburn, everyone had a great time!

We also went to Science World one day last week, and on Friday visited the Mountain View Wildlife Conservation Centre near Fort Langley. The latter has a goal of raising and breeding endangered species from around the world. The centre is only accessible by appointment, and only two tours go out each day. Over the 2 hours, the students saw some very unique animals and heard a lot about conservation. The owner's daughter attends Pacific Academy, and we noticed one compound that had been donated by the school. Each habitat area is as big as the natural territory for each species.

It has been a fun summer so far, and I look forward to next week's adventures!!

Cultus Lake Dragon Boat Regatta

Last Saturday, August 11, my dragon boat team, the Fort Langley Paddle Pushers, competed in a women's regatta at Cultus Lake. The weather was perfect, and the lake sure felt warmer than the Fraser River, which is where we train.

The day begins with the blessing of the dragon boat, and at the mid-day break there is a special breast cancer survivor ceremony. The breast cancer survivor teams do an honorary race. After the race, pink carnations are dropped into the lake as a memorial to those who have died of breast cancer. It's a nice gesture, and quite moving.

We raced consistently in three heats, reaching our best time ever of 2:47 in the 500 m race. This was enough to win first place in our division, and we were ecstatic! In each regatta we try to better our times, which we accomplished again. However, the feeling of winning a race is pretty amazing regardless of the time.

In the above picture, I am the fifth paddler from the front on the near side.

Summer School Begins

Well, July 30 marked the end of my summer holidays. Once again, I have taken a fun contract working with the new students who will be in the International program for the fall. The first two days are filled with a lot of administrative details, such as purchasing school uniforms. To keep the students busy, we did a scavenger hunt throughout the campus, went grocery shopping for picnic lunch supplies, and spent some time in the high school gym.

This year's group of students isn't as self-motivated as last year's group, so it's been a challenge to keep them busy in the "down" time. We've got students from Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong right now, and will have a couple coming in from Mexico for September.



On Wednesday, took some time to make our picnic lunch, then drove the students to Derby Reach Park, along the Fraser River. Besides eating, the students enjoyed croquet, bocce ball, frisbee and badminton.

After lunch, we drove over to Fort Langley and the students explored the fort. We watched the blacksmith make a candle stick holder, which was a very hot activity on an equally hot day. As well, there was a chance to learn some Chinook language, and the kids had fun finding words on the list that looked like English words they new. A few tried panning for gold, but no one found anything.



On Thursday, we left Pacific Academy at 6:45 am to drive to North Vancouver to catch the train to Whistler. Like last year, the weather was perfect. The trip begins with breakfast, then the observation cars are open. The views are amazing as the train winds up the coast along Howe Sound, then through the Cheakamus Canyon. The students spent time chatting, and moving around from car to car taking photographs.

In the picture below, the student next to the window is Sherlock. He is living with Paul and I until August 10, when his home-stay family will be back from vacation. He has been a joy to have in our home! He is helpful, and loves to chat while I'm making supper. Sherlock will be in my Grade 10 class this fall, and has come out of the British school system in Hong Kong. Unlike the other Asian students, he has a better sense of multi-culturalism by virtue of his homeland.




When we arrived in Whistler, we were shuttled by bus into the village. After eating lunch, we took the students up the tram to the top of Whistler Mountain. For some of the students, this was the first time they had seen snow. The trail we hiked a year ago was closed due to snow and construction for the 2010 Olympics, but the students were more than satisfied to have a big snowball fight with my colleague, Rick.

We returned by tram to the village, and had some time to explore and shop before taking a luxury bus back to our school vans in North Vancouver.




En route, our driver stopped at Shannon Falls, near Squamish. We got off the bus and hiked up the trail to the falls.

It was almost 8:00 pm by the time we returned to Pacific Academy, and the students - and teachers - were tired. It was a wonderful day, though!





After a long day, we had only planned a 4 hour session for Friday. The original plan had been a field trip to the bank, but the bank cancelled at the last minute. We wracked our brains for an alternative plan on short notice - and in the process found out that we couldn't use the school vans after 11:00 am. This narrowed our options.



We decided to go to Planet Java, a coffee shop within public transit range of Pacific Academy. Rick shuttled us over by school bus. We spent a couple of hours playing pool and drinking coffee (well, I drank coffee....). The kids had a great time, and we introduced them to an activity that they can do with their friends in their free time. I had purchased transit tickets, and we took the public bus back to the school - a good introduction to local public transit for most of the kids.

We've had a long weekend after the first week, which has given me time to prune my Yucca plants, repot several of my indoor plants, and generally regroup after company and my first week back at work. I look forward to the adventures in the weeks ahead!

Ruth and the Boys - Day 1

Ruth and the boys arrived in time for supper on July 22. There were bodies everywhere - the spare room, the living room, and the family room. We really had a lot of fun during the 5 days of their stay, and saw a lot in a very short time.

These blogs, Days 1 to 4, are least recent to most recent, which is a bit backwards, but it is how the holiday progressed, and the four blogs do go together.



We began our adventures on Monday, with a trip to Stanley Park and the Aquarium. James had been to the Aquarium with me a year ago, but another wing has been opened since his visit. We took the horse drawn wagon tour of Stanley Park first.

It was a rainy day, but the wagon was covered, and there are wool blankets just in case anyone gets cold.

The driver gives a commentary throughout the ride of the history of Stanley Park and Vancouver. It was day one of the municipal strike in Vancouver, but except for some picketers, our ride was uneventful in relation to the strike.

Our guide stopped at various points of interest, and we had a few minutes to get out and look at and read about the totem poles. This is the first time I have visited Stanley Park since the winter wind storms, and the devastation in real life is much more heart-rending than pictures on the news. The Red Cedar trees, so prevalent in the park, have a shallow root system, with one tap root that reaches into the earth. When exposed to high winds, they easily blow over. The parks board and local scientists have come to an agreement regarding what needs to be removed to prevent a fire disaster and what must stay in order to keep the ecosystem healthy. Some standing trees have been marked with blue dots for possible cutting. The clean up process is going to take a long time, and parts of the park are still closed as the sea wall collapsed and has yet to be rebuilt.

In the Aquarium, they have built a new wing that contains more jelly fish tanks, including a series of tanks showing the various stages of the jellyfish life cycle. In the new wing, there are lots of hands on exhibits, including a new children's area. There is also a theatre in which we attended a 15 minute talk about Great Horned Owls. An injured owl was brought in for the talk, so it was "up close and personal". The owl has been used for teaching after losing one of her wings when hit by a car. So the talk was partly biology and partly about environmental responsibility.

Ruth got some great shots in the tropical rain forest exhibit. Outside, we took in the beluga whale show, and spent a lot of time watching my favourites, the otters. It was a great way to begin a week that was full of fun!

Ruth and the Boys - Day 2

On Tuesday, we got up really early in order to drive to Tsawwassen to catch the 8:00 a.m. ferry to Vancouver Island. The weather had been wet, and it was a bit overcast when we left, but thankfully, through the crossing, the weather cleared up.


When we arrived in Victoria, we began our day of touring at the Royal British Columbia Museum. Parking was as bad as when I took my students for the field trip in June, so I made use of my "top secret" parking location. We walked 8 or so blocks past historical buildings that are now bed & breakfasts, and past the BC Parliament Building. I'm not sure why the legislature in BC is called "parliament," but think it might be due to the British history of this area.

The end of the lineup at the museum was actually in a different area than the regular lineup, because there were so many people waiting to get in. We staked a claim in the lineup, and spent the wait eating our lunch, then checking our knapsacks.

Once in, we began our visit with the Titanic Exhibit. This time I was a French woman who was married to a Haitian man and had two children. We were travelling in second class. At the end of the exhibit, I found out that I and my two daughters had survived, but that my husband had gone down with the Titanic.

James was Benjamin Guggenheim, and was travelling with not his wife, but his mistress!! He did not survive, but in the exhibit, found a quote attributed to Guggenheim that he thought was pretty cool. "We are dressed in our best and prepared to go down as gentlemen."

After Titanic, we explored the Natural History, First Nations History and Modern History galleries. This took us a few hours, then we decided to make our way over to the Wax Museum.

The Wax Museum doesn't take too long, but it really is a lot of fun. We didn't like the crowds much, though - especially Eric. After the Wax Museum, I was wiped, so I sat on the promenade people-watching and enjoying the sunshine while Ruth and the boys went to the Undersea Gardens.

Afterward, we walked along the promenade, looking at the various booths set up by artisans, and watching the buskers. Eric was especially entranced, and thought it might even be a career option. We watched one fellow juggling torches on a unicycle - but he was really funny at the same time. The kids all put money in his hat.

We finished our day with a meal at the Old Spaghetti Factory before making our way back to the ferry. The weather was perfect for the crossing back to the mainland, and we could even seen Mount Baker!

Ruth and the Boys - Day 3

Paul was able to take a break from work on Wednesday, so we all drove to North Vancouver to go to Grouse Mountain. There are two ways to get to the top of Grouse Mountain. The first is the famouse "Grouse Grind", which is a steep hike up the mountain. People like to better their times for this hike, so it is not for those who like to smell the roses. The second way to get up the mountain is to travel in a hundred-passenger gondola. That was our route of preference. The views of Vancouver and across to the islands were spectacular! It was a perfect day, weather-wise.



Once at the top of Grouse Mountain, there are several things to do. The first event that we took in was the Lumber Jack Show. The show is very entertaining, and demonstrates skills used by early lumberjacks with a lot of humour thrown in. The audience is divided into to two, with each half supporting one of the lumberjacks with cheers and encouragement. There is a sawing competition, as well as log rolling, tree climbing, and several other events. Things get wet, and even blown up. The finale is a "stranger" who climbs to the top of one of the very tall poles, does several stunts up top, then jumps off via a zip line.

After the lumberjack show was over, we decided to go on a guided hike. Our guide was very enthusiastic about his subject: Grouse Mountain and its natural and native history. He explained how this high up the mountain, the vegetation was primarily hemlock, Douglas Fir and Yellow Cedar. Unlike its Red Cedar cousin, Yellow Cedar has deeper roots and is less likely to blow over in heavy winds. Thus, there was little damage in the November wind storms to the top of Grouse Mountain. Stanley Park, full of Red Cedar trees with shallow root systems sustained a lot of damage.

The snow is at least 30 feet deep in the winter time, so the trail markers are very high on the trees so that snow shoers and cross country skiiers can still use the trails in the winter. There are downhilll ski runs at the top of Grouse Mountain, as well, and many hiking trails to other summits in the area.

There is a long house built in the woods, as well as a carved tree called the Grandmother Tree.

After our hike, we spent a great deal of time watching Coola and Grinder, the two male grizzly bears that live in a 5 acre fenced area. This was the first hot day after a series of cooler days, and the bears were quite active. I took a lot of video footage, including commentary from our guide about the bears, which I can't post, but did take some stills as well. The 5 acre area will be increased as the bears grow older. They cannot, for reasons I cannot remember, be rehabilitated into the wild. The picture below is Grinder, the smaller of the two grizzlies, playing in the water.

Our last outdoor activity on Grouse Mountain was the Raptor Show. There was a talk about birds of prey, followed by demonstrations of several raptors. We saw a Great Horned Owl, a Turkey Vulture, a dessert variety of hawk and a young Bald Eagle. They swooped from post to post and back to the falconer, with Mount Baker hovering in the east-facing backdrop.

After a full day at the top of the mountain, we took the gondola back to the parking lot, then spent over 2 hours in bumper to bumper traffic getting home. Talk about contrast: the beauty and solitude of nature vs. the manic pace of society!