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 July 5 to August 9 2009 and in Vancouver from August 9-15. This page contains journal entries of my time home.

July 7, 2009

Beautiful Vancouver with Florence and Montreal with family...

JessicaWe spent a short 24 h with my friend Florence whom I had not seen in 8 years, arrived at 8 pm at her house and had good cheese and yummy summer fruits (cherries, apricots, strawberries). We managed to get a full night sleep and in the morning headed for the sea, walking on the beach at low tide. Then we went for lunch with Fish and Chips, did some strawberry picking, headed downtown for an outdoor concert before going to the airport to say good bye. Now in Montreal for 2 days, Rémi has already started day camp with other children. But it's not easy for him to be in a new place with new people, so yesterday I had to go to school to see him because he'd been crying for 1 hour. He calmed down and was able to finish the day, and hopefully today will be a bit easier. They have many great activities planned, including going to the zoo, the water park, the beach, etc. We have been going to my sister's house every night and Rémi has been having great fun with his cousin Jessica, playing, singing and chatting away in kids' babble. As for me, I am calling friends, trying to make plans in the short time that we will be here, and also attending to things that need my attention like life insurance, investments, legal documents, bank, etc.

July 13, 2009

Finally meeting with friends...

Antoine et GéraldineWe spent lots of time during our first week with my sister and niece, and now it is time to meet up with friends. So on Thursday we went to Géraldine and Antoine's place in downtown Montreal for dinner. She is now very pregnant, about to give birth any time now so we hope to meet her daughter before we leave August 9th. As always, it was fun to talk, share stories about work, volunteers who have reintegrated to Quebec and news about the NGO CECI for which we all worked. Then on Friday I met with my friend Marc, went for a beer and dinner, and again talked for hours. Saturday we drove 1 hour east of Montreal to Joliette to visit the Renés and their new addition to their family - Joséphine, now one month old. It was Anna's birthday (4 years old) so this was a good opportunity for Rémi to play with other children. Then I met with my friend Marie-Annick who is now based in Senegal but home for the summer. JaccuziSunday we went to Ile Ste-Hélène to the amazing swimming pool, one of the few sunny days we've had since I arrived. Rémi swam for 4 hours and is now getting great at holding his breath under water and is quickly becoming fearless. Sunday night, back to my parents and then off to a friend who lives nearby for dinner - Nathalie. She came in April with her oldest son Thierry to visit us in Vietnam, so it was nice to see them again. She had invited Vietnamese-Canadian friends with their kids, so they all had fun playing and soaking in the hot tub outside. Oufff, busy time but fun for sure. Today, Monday, Rémi is back at school/day camp and I can catch up on things to do and relax at home...

July 22, 2009

Off to Ottawa...

Rémi fishingLast weekend we left Montreal on Friday with directions deep into Québec's countryside, to a friend's summer cottage. Somehow, we didn't get lost and found our way down big and small roads. I had not seen Lise in over 10 years, so it was a wonderful reunion. Her family was so much fun and kind, plus there were 2 young boys (her brother's kids) 3 and 5 years old who hit it off instantly with Rémi and played non-stop. But, it rained all night and most morning, then at times it would clear, so we would all go outside and take out the chairs, then it would rain, so we'd go back in, then it would stop and out we'd go again - all afternoon. We managed to go fishing on the pier for only 10 minutes, and both Rémi and one of the boys caught a big fish, so they were really excited. For Rémi, it was a first ever.

BluesfestThen Saturday evening we hit the road to Ottawa to visit Andrea, an old high school friend. We went out for dinner to a Tex-Mex restaurant, and Oh-My-God was it expensive for just regular food! Two people for 60$ + 10$ tip = 70$! Dear, dear, I'd better get a good job when I return to Canada! We stayed overnight, then the next morning drove to Michelle's house early and caught her as she was waking up and putting on the coffee. We relaxed, talked, had breakfast, lunch then we headed for Ottawa Blues Music Festival. Between 3 and 8 pm, we saw 4 different groups, and Michelle stayed on till 11 pm and watched 3 more singers while Rémi and I returned to her place to rest. Monday morning, we headed back to Montreal.

July 27, 2009

Camping in the rain...

CampingLast weekend we left Montreal to Upper Canada Camp sites in Ontario with 2 good friends and their kids. We arrived as it started to rain and had to put up the tents. It rained all evening Friday and through the night, but it cleared up late Saturday morning. It was nice to spend time with my friends, and Rémi had fun especially with 2 kids his age. We managed to swim and have some fun on the beach, tho the water was very cold. We ate our meals outside together and each slept in their own tent. Sunday morning, it was raining so we had to pack and undo the tents in the rain, which was no fun. By the time we were done, the sun came out. Upper Canada VillageWe then went to Upper Canada Village, a place which has created a Canadian village as it was in 1863, with a bakery, a church, newspaper, farms, and many other buildings. They also have people dressed as they would have been in those days to explain about life back then. For example, the cheese store actually makes and sells cheese and the bakery really makes bread. It was fun, interactive and interesting, plus the kids could run outside as much as they wanted. Then we returned home at 3pm, all exhausted from our weekend.

August 5, 2009

Saying goodbye already...

Les RenésTime is going by quickly and already, it is time to start saying goodbye to friends. My sister left Friday with her husband and Jessica for her own summer vacation across Canada, so it was a tearful goodbye. I had gotten used to having her around and having dinner together almost every night. Then on Saturday I went to see the Renés again and thank God, we had a nice hot sunny day so we were able to stay outside, swim and have a BBQ. The pool was too deep for Rémi but he learned for the first time how to swim so it was a great achievement. EmmaOn Sunday it rained so we went to an indoor playground with large climbing structures and slides so Rémi could have fun while I chatted with my dear friend Marc. Last night, I visited my friend Géraldine who gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Emma, 5 days ago. It is great having her join the club of parenthood and I look forward to seeing Emma grow up into a young girl. I also met one last time with my friend Violaine and we went to the French Music Festival to see an african signer - Tiken Ja Fakoly - but it was raining pretty hard so we did not stay long. Just 4 more days to get things done before we leave on Sunday for Vancouver, then 6 days there before the return to Hanoi. It is almost time to go home, find Roxy and get back to work...

August 14, 2009

Leaving Vancouver for our journey home

JudithIt had been about 10 years since the last time I came to Vancouver, and to date I could still count 3 good friends with whom I had stayed in contact. So I was looking forward to seeing them again. We arrived at Vancouver airport last Friday and got on a bus which took us to the ferry terminal, across the straight to Victoria. But the bus driver forgot to let us off the bus once at the ferry terminal where a friend was waiting for us. She got angry at me and let us off on the side of the road and continued on her route. Thank God for mobile phones, so I was able to call my friend who was waiting for me at the ferry. Off we went to her place, and talked on and on to catch up on news of her, her work and her family. ClareIt was not easy without kids around to keep Rémi from being bored, so on day 2 I asked her to help me get him a Nintendo video game called Game Boy. But just like TV, we limit the time spent to about one hour per day. On Tuesday it was nice and sunny so we went to Victoria wharf, walked around and had great fish and chips while watching a sea lion come to greet us. And wednesday I took the ferry to Salt Spring to visit Clare and her 2 adopted kids from Nepal, Nima and Pasang. It was great seeing them again, now all grown up and nice kids. Nima was wonderful with Rémi and played with him and home and by a nearby lake. Today we head back to Victoria to take the bus, then the airport and the 2 flights which will bring us home. See you soon guys...