What I do at work

Some would call this unproductive. Not me! I call it a sanity saver!
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Clip from our 12 hours on the Streets

This is where we harassed Londoners for 12 hours :D we raised over $800 though! So worth it! :)
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Now it's time for everyone's favorite reality show!

This week on Katimavik: London! our participants have come to the realization that their time left together is slowly dwindling down. Let's tune in and see how they have been reacting to this reality.
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Would you look at that... Poised to jump..




Obviously the result is not favorable as it has sparked a wave of suicidal tendancies..

Let's take a closer look and talk to some of these desperate young adults.

Kristen- 'Someone mentioned not being together and I couldn't take it. I felt something inside me snap.'
Yes Kristen. That would be your sanity. Our records show that Kristen crawled utop Sydney and perched, unmoving when someone nonchalantly mentioned the date of June 16th.


Sandra- 'It's just not possible!'
This statement was made right before Sandra, in a very llama-esque fashion reared back her head and tried to spit. *Luckily this photographer was born with the agility of a superhuman.


Sydney- 'I only mentioned that we had 44 days left together... I've never seen Scott act like that before..'
*Taken one day after Sydney let slip that she had been secretely counting down the days until they would all return home. Scott did not like this news in the slightest.

Well! a picture says a thousand words so I guess it's sufficient to conclude that these Katima-victims are not near ready to be separated.

Thanks for tuning in! Join us next week on Katimavik: London! when our participants are reunited after 9 days of billeting for the final documented time. It will be the most heartwarming, tear-jerking episode yet. Don't miss it!

Gratitude :)

So this week I have been given the glorious title of house manager (or house bitch as I like to call it) once again. My partner in crime is Nikifor which is nice because I know this week is going to be pretty chill and no-stress. This is exactly what I need! Lately there has been some freaking out in our house because well.. We have exactly 50 days left together. This reality is something of a bother to my state of mind. I honestly don't know how I'm going to be able to function without these people. I am convinced that I am now insane and my Katima-family are the only people equipped to deal with me.. Problematic? I believe yes. How can a person go through such an experience as the one that I'm going through; with the intense rules and regulations, increasing emphasis on individuality within a group, intense ecological views and practices and still be able to go back to 'real life'? I've been worrying about this for sometime now and I'm convinced that there will be no way for my life to ever go back to the way it was and I think that in itself is amazing. I'm in no way saying that my childhood was sub-par, because honestly I believe that I had the very best upbringing any person can have. I don't mean to brag but my family kinda kicks ass! I'm just saying that I feel like a completely different person from the one I was upon leaving small town Delburne. I'm sure that I won't be viewed the same in the community and that really doesn't bother me all that much. I told my mom that I was worried about not fitting in when I got back and she told me that I never really fit in in the first place. This was probably the most reassuring thing I've heard in a very long time! I know that there's more out there in the world for me than there is in Delburne; this I've definitely realized in the past 7 months. I now have the confidence to find my own way in the world, all the while knowing that I have family and friends who will be there for me no matter what. That fact is the one that gives me the courage to live like there's no tomorrow and to never look back. I feel I need to express my undying gratitude to those people who have always been there and supported me; even when they don't agree with something I've done or a decision I've made (such as putting a hole in my face..) To my family; my parents, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins I want to say thank you for absolutely everything I am. You gave me the strength to remain true to me and what I believe is right. You gave me so much more love than I will ever know what to do with. You gave me the freedom to spread my wings while keeping a subtle hand underneath to catch me in case I fall. You gave me the morals and desire to make this world a better place for everyone. If it weren't for you then there wouldn't be me. Thank you.
To all my friends, the ones who have always believed that I can be anything I want to be; the ones who would take a punch for me or give one on my behalf; the ones who never cease to help me in and out of trouble. I know that I'm not always easy to be around or tolerate but I've never met a group of people who do a better job of it than you. You put up with my corny jokes and my twisted sense of humour. You tell me when I'm being less-than-intelligent. You listen to my random rants about trivial things. You help me work through problems that don't seem like problems to anyone but me. For this I want to say thank you! Even if I haven't seen you in 7 months you need know that I cherish our friendship and that just by being in my life you have enriched it to a point I would have imagined impossible. Thank you
To my teachers, formal and otherwise; I would like to say thank you for all the knowledge you have bestowed upon me. I am filled with the desire to learn as much as I can about the world and without your encouragement there would be no way that I wold possess this drive. You have provided me with the spark to take my learning into my own hands, on my terms. The spark which has now been stoked into a compelling determination to experience the world and everything it has to offer. I know that if I follow this flame my life and the lives around me will so much better than I could ever hope for. Thank you

Now that I've been all cheesy and sentimental I'd like to add a final thank you. This one isn't to any one person, place, thing or idea. This expression of gratitude is for Katimavik and everything that it is. If you ask 100 people about their experience with Katimavik; be it as a participant, parent, PL, billet family, work partner you will not once get the same response. Katimavik means so many different things to so many different people. It is an experience unlike any other. It has taught me higher degrees of patience, compassion, compromise, toleration, activism, respect, appreciation, individuality, adaptability, expression, and creativity. When I signed up for this experience I never expected to feel to closely tied to these people, a community or this planet. There were so many surprises and once in a lifetime experiences that I am overwhelmed. I'm sure I will still be realizing more things that Katimavik had taught me 50 years into the future.

Remember the past... look forward to the future... live in the now
<3

~Syd

London Baby!

So I only just realized today after talking with my new PSL (Project support leader for those of you not fluent in Katima-ese) that I have completely neglected my blog! Now would be a good time to update I guess. :p We've been successfully relocated across the country yet again to the beautiful London ON; The city of trees. This name was aptly given as there are trees everywhere you look! There's also the Thames River (not the real one though) and so many beautiful parks and walking paths! Walking downtown you don't get the big city feel although London is a pretty big place; especially for me. There are over 40 different bus routes and 400 000 people. Woah. You can take the girl out of the small town but you can't take the small town out of the girl.
Our house is pretty old but it has so much character and is much better functioning than our last one! (Thank God!) I'm sharing a room with the English girls which is awesome! We have the biggest back yard with trees and shrubs and so many squirrels! I don't think I've ever seen so many squirrels in my entire life!
My new workplace is Habitat for Humanity where I'm basically supervising a construction site. We're building a home for a family in need which I'm super excited about! I get to organize the other volunteers and make sure everyone is registered and fed. I'll also have ample opportunity to work on the house and try my hand at basically any trade this project entails! What a great learning opportunity! I've learned to care with my heart and now I get to care with my hands. :) I'm working with Josh so I won't be alone when I'm opening up the site at 8am every morning. Yay!
Just tonight we all (minus the Frenchies who went to Giant Tiger instead) went to a tattoo and piercing shop so Rachel and Kristen could look at their tattoo design. Unfortunately the artist they're getting to design their tats wasn't working today so they struck out for the day. We figured it would be a such a waste of a 25 minute walk downtown so Danielle and I decided to get piercings! They were buy 1 get one free so why the hell not right? Dani get her belly button done after the equivalent of 12 minute decision time and I went for my nose piercing that I've wanted for a very long time. (as in longer than Mom and Shael!!!) I was really surprised that it didn't hurt more than it did.. but I guess that not much can compare to shoving a pen-sized earring through your ear... When I had read on the Katimavik facebook forum before the program that A LOT of body modifications occur during the program I did not think that it would happen to me. I figured 'Oh I'm smarter than to mutilate my body just out of boredom' ...Well... I guess I'm not but I honestly would not say that what I did was intelligent. I love my 'additions' and that's all that really matters to me. :)

Billeting round 2 :)

That was easily the best 9 complete days of my life!! We watched movies, went swimming, rock climbing, bowling and skiing. Yet I believe the best part of my week lied in the Thursday adventure we embarked on! It all started with a day off work. Julie decided to turn a blind eye as long as Josh and I were honest and upfront with our work partners. Score! The perfect day began as we departed the house at 0900 yo pick up our tag along, Sandra and do a much needed Timmies run. Our first stop was at Logan Lake to pick up Darrell's "love interest", Karen. We made a stop at the lookout over the mine where Karen works. It is the largest open faced mine in North America and can be seen from the moon! We then drove to about 20 kms outside of a small town by the name of Ashcroft. We pulled out the bikes as Darrell, Sandra, Josh and I rode while Karen followed in the truck with the 4-ways on. Averaging a speed of35 km/hr I was hypnotized by the natural beauty and the pure freedom and exhilaration of riding, no-handed down the highway. It took us about an hour and was totally worth the winter gear and wind burn. It was really cold at the top of the hill but the closer we got to town the warmer it became. The entire ride down I couldn't stop myself from thinking just how humbling nature can be and how much we, as a society take it for granted! This was easily the most liberating feeling of my life! It even beat out my first solo drive (once I got my licence of course!). The absolute rush of adrenaline and feeling of invincibility was so much better than anything I'd ever felt before. We had a coffee break (chai latte and carrot cake for me) at Cowboy Coffee before heading deeper into the Fraser Canyon. We came to a stop at the Fraser river (I think) and climbed down a ladder to the river bank where we stayed and took pictures for almost an hour! The beauty of the river, so calm then so treacherous a mere 10 feet apart, surrounded by the most beautiful mountains in the world was a sight unparallelled in my mind. It was mystifying breathtaking. I have no other method of attempting to describe it. It would be futile to even try. Upon being pryed away with the promise of even more amazing sights and experiences we returned back to our 4-wheeled vessel and continued down the road. We came across a powerful waterfall some 200 feet up a gravelly embankment. Sandra, Josh and I climbed up to the base where there were snow banks. While Josh headed further up the hill to investigate a smaller fall and the possibility of a little pool I chose to venture across the base of the big waterfall to the other side. I was contemplating climbing down on that side but I was unsure of the stability of those rocks so i took the trek back across the fall. I began climbing up; following Josh and Sandra but when Josh called out the disappointing news of a lack of a pool I began to strategize my decent. I found a small, dried up stream bed running amongst the loose gravel and opted to take it as the safest route down. It would have been a perfect idea had there not been two people following my little trail uphill from me. Sandra kicked up a rock (accidentally I hope) that bounced down toward me and hit me square in the rear end! Not 45 seconds later Josh stepped on a rock he had incorrectly deemed stable and it also came a-tumbling down. This rock. however, was not small like the previous. Oh no! This rock was bigger than my head by a large degree and with more bumps than Britney Spears's career. It also had more distance to gain momentum and a tiny hint of a smirk. I was completely oblivious to this boulder with a vengeance until I heard 4 voices all calling my name in unison. I turned with just enough time to safely tuck myself in a crevice and allow the potential killer steam by. I had to laugh because I was the one who remained the most calm in the situation and I was the one ho could have been permanently maimed. After my near death experience we decided to mosey on; but only after Josh decided to steal my thunder by cutting his finger and bleeding all over the place! Our next stop I believe was the George Fraser Bridge. It was a slight walk toward the river and we found a uniquely ancient bridge that used to be a part of Highway 1 way back when. I got some pictures that would make Grandma die of fear/stress. Perhaps sitting precariously upon a railing 500ft above a ferocious river wasn't the safest thing to do, but it sure was fun! When we returned to the truck I dropped my sunglasses on the ground and attempted to lean out to retrieve them. I only succeeded in tearing the crotch out of my jeans! This meant that I had to go the rest of the day with a gaping hole in my jeans. It posed only slight problems while we posed with the tree carvings in Hope and as we watched some Olympic hockey at the Blue Moose. On the return trip home we had dinner at that cutest Japanese restaurant in Merritt. I do not like sushi, but I loved it!! After we were all fed up we hit the road. It was 8:30 by this time so we took the perfectly clear night sky to our advantage and stargazed. I howled with the coyotes like the redneck I have come to accept that I am and we watched shooting stars. It was so utterly majestic! We didn't end up making it home until almost 10:30pm, bringing our adventure to an end at almost 13.5 hours! Amazing.

As billeting drew to an end I realized just how much I appreciated everything that my billeting was to me! It was meat, a warm bed, a loving family, the ability to do things without applying for permission from the gov't. It was almost like being home again. I really did not want to return to the Katima-house. Thank God I have my Katima-family or else I would totally lose my mind. Actually without them I would probably be at home right now and have no need to write this. I thank my lucky stars every day I'm surrounded by their love and company. Amazed as I am at the strength in these bonds it seems so natural, as if I knew these people from birth. They are the family that the universe forgot to give me.

In every end there is a beginning, in every tear a gleam of hope and in every choice a shining opportunity. <3

~Syd

Katima-update

Let me explain why exactly I have not been updating my blog recently. I was brutally maimed by our ruthless, cannibalistic vegan project leader; Julie. I was sitting on the couch minding my own business when from the roof descends (in a Spiderman fashion) this mass of curly blonde hair, aimed directly at my face. I didn't have time to react so my only defense was to emit a loud girlie scream. Then everything went black...... I woke up 3 days later in hospital with human bite marks on my neck and hands, not to mention countless stitches and one extremely nasty black eye. Okay this isn't true but I bet I got your attention.

So in case you weren't able to tell my lifestyle is starting to affect me mentally.. There's just something about sharing absolutely every aspect of your existence with ten other people that causes you to lose your marbles. I'm not sure exactly what it is but if I had to hazard a guess I would say that the reason falls between nightly farting competitions and being stalked by my own roommate... while still in my house. Okay but seriously I promise that I am going to get into the good stuff.. The kind of writing that you are actually wanting to read. The type in which I talk about my job and roommates and experience and how much I love BC and blah blah blah. And here it comes:

We're starting our second round of billeting this weekend and I'm really looking forward to it! I'm billeting with a great family who is so involved in Katimavik I'm surprised they don't have weekly KCC meetings as well! The father; Darrell is an official "Katima-stalker", but in the best possible way! He has three children; two of which are fully grown and have done Katimavik and one daughter in grade 12 who wants nothing to do with being a participant. Here's where the real scary part kicks in.. Darrell's oldest daughter is our next PL! She is the project leader in London! Crazy right?? What are the odds! I will also have a co-billet.. Josh-ishu! :D We're the only two billeting together and it's going to be stellar! We're going to go skiing (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! :D), watch movies and most likely go on many adventures into the unknown! I'm really pumped for this next week and a bit as it will be a bit of freedom, not only from the rules and regs but also from the group. I think that this will be a prime opportunity for a lot of us to have a bit of a breather from being together so extensively and it will put into perspective just how much we appreciate one another. (*Cross your fingers!) I think that after spending so much time under the same roof patience are starting to run a little short and this will be the perfect chance to defuse any future conflicts that may or may not be threatening to occur. Personally I am not involved in any real conflicts; or none that will result in a fight anyways. Don't get me wrong, we all still are deeply in love with each other but it's time.. you know?

Last night Kristen and I went on a date. It was so romantic! Mocha lattes at Timmies, a beautiful ride on city transit, a little window stalking, her holding my hand while I sobbed my eyes out and (the best part) our romantic kiss on the doorstep at the end of the night. All in all a wonderful evening. It was cheap night at the theatre so naturally, being Katimavik, we attended. We saw 'The Lovely Bones' (any of you who have seen this movie or read the book will now understand the sobbing part). It is actually a really good movie.. different from any other one I've ever seen. (I should probably mention that Julie was our third wheel and laughed at me in the middle of the movie for crying; thus giving merit to my opening paragraph)

This Friday we are doing a CIP which stands for Community Involvement Project. This is basically where we all volunteer together supporting or creating a project that benefits the community, be it Kamloops or the global community. We are holding a bake sale for the MS Society. We're doing it by donation so we're hoping that poor suckers will feel guilty for not paying $2 per cookie and we'll make more money than if we actually set prices. Okay I shouldn't say poor sucker as all the money is going toward a wonderful cause.. I should probably say outstanding philanthropists. I am really excited as I love baking (and eating baked goods) and I love our group and I love interacting with the public and I love doing things to help other people. (Wouldn't my English teacher just be so proud of me for that sentence!) We do CIPs every week starting the one past on which we did a penny drive for Haiti relief. We raised $205.09 in one afternoon! Not bad for a bunch of kids eh? Needless to say we're really proud of ourselves and we're looking forward to raising that much, if not more on our bake sale!

I figure this is as good a place as any to end this post; mostly because I can no longer feel my hands and Candy is sitting on the couch shooting me dirty looks every thirty seconds for hogging the computer. Well until next time, stay classy San Fransisco! (How's a little Anchorman quote for ya?)

<3 LOOOVVVEEEE!!! and peace and all that good stuff :)