I cannot live and work overseas without coming to Canada at least once a year. This gives me the chance to see friends and family as well as soak in the familiar things from home. This is why I have up to now only accepted one-year volunteer postings, and it has worked out well for me. This time, I was in Quebec from May 4 to June 3 2007 and this page contains journal entries of my time home.

May 9, 2007

Home sweet home!

familyWow! We are just thrilled to be back home. We managed to make it through customs with our 7 hockey bags and Roxy, our dog. All went well and we have been spending time mostly with family for now. It is just great seeing my niece, who is now almost 2 years old, play with Rémi. And of course, it is great having Roxy around. The weather is nice and cool, just like I like it. Yesterday I went to CECI head-office to bring our passports and begin preparation for departure to Burkina Faso around June 3rd. I am thrilled that against all odds, I found Rémi a daycare at a reasonable cost of 18 $ per day (still much more than 1 $ which I was paying in Nepal!) near my parents' place. He went yesterday and was a superb pupil - he ate, slept and played with kids without crying. And today he kept saying "mami" which means "friends" so he was ready to return. But I will send him 3 days a week so we will go back tomorrow and Friday.

dinnerMy good friend Marie-Annick is also leaving with CECI for her first volunteer posting. We had hoped to both land in Burkina Faso but in the end, she will be in Senegal, not too far away. So I am sure that we'll see each other and have much to share of our experiences. She invited me to her friend's place for dinner where I met some Africans (Cameroun, Rwanda & Senegal) and they were very funny guys. We had some good laughs and this is a sort of initiation to the "culture" that awaits me. More to come soon! For now, I am also getting as much info about malaria as front Internet since this is quite a concern for me. Taking Doxy (an antibiotic) for one year does not seem to be a "healthy" choice. So off I go to the tropical disease clinic tomorrow, armed with all my questions!

May 18, 2007

Getting the job done!

With cousin JessicaWow, so much to do while we are here that I wonder if 4 weeks will be enough. But this sure ain't quite a "vacation" even tho I am enjoying myself a lot also. I had to arrange doctor and vet appointments for myself, Remi and of course our little Roxy ($300 for a few tests and some medicine for an ear infection she has!), then rounds of vaccination for the three of us, passport and certified papers for Roxy, some shopping (got a new digital camera!), visiting good friends one after the other, dinners with a few bottles of wine, helping my father take down the rotted fence, dig a 100 feet long trench and plant 75 cedar trees, and take care of Rémi in my spare time. But thank God I found a good daycare for him and he loves it there. The woman in charge is really cool so I have nothing to worry about....

I am not getting thinner on this trip as I have been guilty of also giving in the eating a few of my favorite things:

  • Ice cream (strawberry cheese cake, Bordeau cherries, blueberry swirl, etc.)
  • Fruit pies (4 wild berries, pumpkin)
  • Chicken and salmon pies;
  • Smoked salmon with olive oil, capers and lemon;
  • Fruits: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, melon, kiwi (all imported at this time of year);
  • Goat cream cheese;
  • Cereals
  • Great micro-brewery beers;
  • BBQ chicken;
  • Oven baked fresh salmon;

May 31, 2007

Wrapping up!

With Ann & LouiseWe are now on our last mile here, with most of the preparation done for our departure to Burkina Faso. I can honestly say that pretty much all is done and we are ready to leave. Ouff, I am now pooped!

Having a volunteer in Nepal pass away recently made me look a little closer into our life insurance. I quickly realized that with a son as dependant, the coverage was insufficient. So I got an additional insurance policy but then I also had to write up a will, just in case. I also invested some funds from the sale of my house with a broker so that when we return to Canada in a few years, we can then buy a new house. We got all our medication for malaria and for other things and are now set to go.

Last weekend we went to a park in Montreal where they had children activities with inflated play pens and slides as well as food (hot dogs). It is great to share these moments with my 2 friends Ann and Louise who both have boys and this is something I will look for when we get to Burkina Faso. I totally need to share my parental experience with others so this will be one of our priorities.