Proud Canadian

                (Inukshuk at Whistler Mt. Summit)

I'm getting excited about the Olympics in Vancouver starting this Friday! We have been hearing for days now,  the news reports that they had to truck in snow from other mountains and cancel some practice days due to the "spring" weather they were experiencing, and luckily they had a little snow fall today.

The theme song is sung by Nikki Yanofsky - a 15 year old Jazz singer from Montreal. I went to "youtube" to watch it again and found a long version of the song. It brings tears to my eyes when I watch it.
Click here to see video of Olympic Theme Song

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans!"

John Lennon couldn't have said it better.

Our plans have been "stop and go" since Douglas flew to El Salvador in April.  At the end of January I had just been lining up a 9 month sabbatical from my University position to begin at the end of February, busy keeping my eye on the prices of flights to El Salvador on the 'net, Douglas running around looking for a house for us on the coast and then "BAM" the opportunity of a promotion at work is offered.  Now, let me try to convince myself again; with University positions comes tenure, security, benefits and perks - to be honest this has been an enormous - not the only, but definitely -  contributing factor in our hesitation to pack up and move. The education of the girls has been the other very huge factor, when the girls are old enough to go to University, one of my benefits is that 90% of their tuition is paid for by the University! Yes, quite sweet!

Needless to say, it was a very difficult decision that had to be made.  I was quite keen for the adventure of El Salvador, but surprisingly, it was my usually free spirited and "who gives a heck?" attitude husband that thought it might be better for us to stay up here for a bit and see how much longer the Immigration paperwork will take. So, I accepted the position on a 6 month basis & (will review the situation at the end of July); with travel plans modified, but still able to execute.  I started this past Monday in my new position. My head is still swimming a bit with information overload!

I am so inspired when I read all these blogs of American women who pick up and move to Mexico or Honduras or elsewhere, when their husbands have been deported from the country or are awaiting Immigration decisions.  There are so many challenges that they face and yet, they alter their lives forever by staying together.

I don't know if I have made the right decision, but I am relieved that 6 months will "buy" us a bit more time to see how quickly or not Guatemala City will process him.  They received the paperwork at the end of November  and our MP has said that  they are apparently looking at the file again on March 2nd. Is this good news? I have no idea!

The girls and I fly out next week to El Salvador via Chicago and Mexico City. We have 6-7 hr layovers at both airports.  Unfortunately, the indirect flights will make it a long journey to get down there, but the flights were a great price and I am a bargain hunter! We won't be back until mid-March, so Douglas can get a good look at his girls. It has been a long 10 months since he has seen them and they are soooo excited to be finally seeing him again.

Winter

 

"Winter is the season in which people try to keep

the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained

about the heat!"

I don't want to hear about how hot it is in Latin America.  It was - (minus) 20 with the wind chill today and tomorrow doesn't look much better - in fact next week doesn't look much better.  Thumbelina spends her days curled up by the fire after her quick run in the backyard.  We all have perpetual "hat heads".

 

Avalon started a trend with her "Sock Monkey" hat and gloves that she got back in October - unfortunately, now they are everywhere!

From the front seat of the car, Trinity doesn't like the heat blowing on her, so it's a constant battle between the two of us - turn it on, turn it off.  I might have to banish her to the back! The winds have been so cold the past few days that I dread getting out of the vehicle to get gas, so I procrastinate until it starts beeping it's low gas warning to me.  Every Tim Hortons' drive thru is packed.

At least, there are some pretty outdoor skating photo ops:

 

  

 

 

Chrismas & New Years Eve in my Little Corner of the World

This Christmas was without Douglas - he was missed. The girls and I spent it at my Mum and Dad's house. It was wonderful, despite the cloud of Douglas being alone in El Salvador. Our weather was pretty mild this year - not like last year! Last year, the last day of school before Christmas break was cancelled due to a snow storm. We live by a lake - this is what the lake front looked like last year at Christmas time:

                                           

This is a lamp post by the pier.

The only snow this year was from the ice rink down by the lake.

This year my entire family and I celebrated Christmas with a wonderful woman from Prague, her infant and four year old child, who has come into our life - she is my couisin's soon to be ex-wife.  She is going through an incredibly bitter divorce, but his adulterous affair was a blessing in disguise for her and her children. We have become incredibly close, speak everyday and get together a couple of times a week for fun with the kids.  She has brought much love & drama into our lives! There certainly has not been a dull moment since April with Iveta around! Now, the joke is that we are "dating" since we are always together and sans husbands!

                                                

This was the year of the Sock Monkey for Avalon-she is obsessed with them - big ones, little ones, funky dressed up ones, necklaces etc. !!  For Trinity, it was the year of electronics! (aarrgghh!)

My "hot date" for New Years - Iveta & her kidlets, my Sister and her kidlets and of course my kidlets.  So, for those that have lost count - that is three adults, two infants and 5 other children aged 5-12.  Yes, we are a glutton for punishment! My sisters' husband was smart - oops, I mean "ill". To ring in the New Year, we went to Niagara Falls, Ontario.  We had a great meal at Kelseys on Clifton Hill...

gambled at the Canadiana Midway (we start 'em young)

saw the "Lights of Niagara" (Avalon fell down on the ice post posing) -oh look a picture of my sisters' arm holding her baby pram

and rang in the New Year with Fireworks!  It was a great evening.  We wound it down around 1:45 am on the GIANT Skywheel

where I remembered in mid-air how much I loathed it!! Nothing to grasp in a glass enclosed gondola that holds you  175 feet above the falls, with young children really interested in the gondola doors ("for the fifth time, can you please remain seated in the middle of the gondola before I have a panic attack, please and thank you") that keep us safely inside! Last New Years Eve, Douglas & the kids & I went to a Spanish Dinner and Dance - this year he experienced the authentic thing in Latin America with all the errant cohetes (fireworks)!

Snippets from El Salvador

Tequila in the Pacific Ocean

Lunch in Suchitoto 

Las Orchideas

La Fonda El Mirador

Observations of El Salvador

It was like a second honeymoon with an incredibly sad, tearful (& I do mean tearful) ending. I cannot even begin to describe how wonderful it was to see my husband, Douglas and how heartrenching it was to leave him there.  I cried on the way down in the plane in anticipation and excitement and cried on the way back.  The darn flight attendant remembered me and just had to inquire about my visit - well, that was all I needed to burst into tears! Delays with the kids' paperwork continued, so I headed down by myself.  Ironically, their paperwork arrived on the second day I was in El Salvador.  We will be going down again in February, so now things are organized for them to fly.

I was prepared for a Latin American developing country and perhaps was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed it. We stayed primarily at his house in San Benito but did venture out to a few other places and stayed in beautiful resorts.

Some observations:

1.  I could never drive in this city. I could not get over how disrespectful and lawless the drivers were (& yet, the people are so friendly) - anything goes.  I don't know how it is possible that my husband has not had tons of accidents.  The brave vendors walking in between the cars selling fruits etc. was interesting!  The plumes of BLACK smoke from the busses was disgusting - environmentalism is not even on the radar down here.  I did enjoy not having those canvas grocery bags & .05cent plastic grocery bags forced down my throat at every supermarket though. No seat belt laws seem to exist as I saw so many families pile into the back of the truck beds! Many potholes - the only roads that seem to be looked after are the ones going to the Coast.  Almost killed ourselves on the way to Suchitoto - all of a sudden the highway seemed to turn into a two lane hwy - in looking at the video tape I still don't understand what happened.  We didn't see any signs, just all of a sudden a car was barrelling it's way towards us!  We also barely missed driving into concrete blocks that were set up on the hwy.  - again no signs anywhere - just happened to be following another car in front of us in the dark and all of a sudden we are driving on the other side of the highway!  Maybe someone could explain that to us - I feel we are missing something. Douglas has a great ride, but not for El Salvador.  The rims and tires are very expensive and has had five blow outs in 8 months - at $140.00 a tire - time to get a jeep.  Now, he is looking around for one.  It was an adventure driving up the Volcanoe in his sedan!

2.  The poverty intertwined with the wealthy and the poverty in the outlying villages was very sad to see. The glue sniffers on the street disturbing.  Of course, there is no social safety net to help these people. Toronto has it's share of homeless, windshield washers and addicts on the street even with shelters and social programs aplenty, but what was disturbing was seeing the children.  I kept thinking - "these kids should be in school getting an education, and here they are with no shoes trying to sell us a pen, gum or windshield wash!"  Even with the free education that has been introduced last month with the new President, the financially challenged families still need the income that their children can bring in.

A young girl, probably about 11 yrs. of age, approached us one day in the MetroCentro Mall and handed my husband a slip of paper that said she was "deaf and mute" looking for money. She then turned to me, stared at me, and then turned to my husband and asked him "are her eyes real?"  Ha Ha.  Yes, it was quite funny. I did not see many blue eyes down there nor blondes - I don't know where all the "gringos" were hiding!

3.  It is not a pet culture.  I saw one other person with a dog on a leash and I saw many running about. I saw two cats the entire time I was there. This is the newest member of our family - everywhere Douglas goes, this doggie goes - everyone would point and say "I, chee waa waa" - Yes, just like that! It was hilarious! He carries him in a little bag and he just sits in there all day.  His name is Tequila!  A cross between a rat, a bat and a gremlin I think. He is such a cutie petutie!!

4.  No tourist infrastructure and severly lacking in cultural activities.  There is not much else to do in the city other than going to the Malls, but they are fabulous Malls - equivelant to a high end Mall in any other big city.La Gran Via was a great place (Mall and restaurants with outdoor patios - something like a Yorkville in Toronto.)

5.  Amazing meals (I had many different fish dinners) at amazing prices.  We had meals equivalent to a "Keg Steakhouse" meal for just under $50.00 - (I should note: we don't drink alcohol.)

6.  Electronics very pricey.  I would say 50% more than what I would pay in Canada.

7.  Salvadoran people very friendly and polite, very sweet people!

8.  Ocean was of course fantastic - again not Americanized - very raw and quaint. The below pics are from the resort we stayed at in Playa El Tunco - Rocha Sunzal - it was a bargain at $65.00 per night (breakfasts included).

9.  Loved the "cheezy" cemetaries!  (Looks like "The Dollar Store" vomited all over them.)

10.  Homegirl, Mary, was everywhere! Love it! (Even at the Gas Station!)

11.  Came across a Christmas Parade in Escalon.  It was better than any Canadian parade I have attended. I loved the costumes, dancing and the interactiveness of it all.

12.  The high crime rate keeps you sequestered in the gated communities and away from downtown and other areas, keeps you indoors at night.  I didn't have the freedom to just go for a walk without thinking first of my safety and where I was heading.  Also, it was so darned hot, I wouldn't want to walk more than a block or two!  There is no lake or nice vista to really go for a walk to - just really the Malls.  You really have to get out of the city to see the beautiful volcanoes and other spots, but you absolutely cannot live without a car.  I would never ride the bus there - too dangerous and too packed! It seemed that just the poor would use the bus system.  I had my jewellery on and felt safe with my "bling bling" - but again, we stayed in the upscale areas  - if I stuck the camcorder out the window, Douglas would be quick to tell me to get my arm back in the vehicle.  I wanted to see the downtown - particularly the mercado - but he has only ventured down there a couple of times and is leary about going down there.  There is a lot of crime and being "foreigners", we are a target for petty theft/muggings.  Maybe next time I can convince him!

On the day of my departure (Monday), Immigration phoned Douglas to advise him of a package he needed to pick up at the Embassy. Inside it contained his "B" number (Permanent Canadian Resident Number) - so YAY - one step closer to him returning back home to us! I fear though, it will be another 8-12 months from this point on - their online stats show anywhere from 8 months to 22 months from point of receiving application in Guatemala City to point of completion of application.

I'm now back in the balmy temperatures of -3, while Douglas slugs it out in 31 degree weather! We will unfortunately be apart for Christmas this year thanks to Canadian Immigration red tape. :(

Fingers Crossed!

Douglas' 23 year old file has finally been shipped and ARRIVED in GUATEMALA CITY (love you Guatemala!  yay!  Go Guatemala!! Best looking Immigration officers around!) late last week for the bulk of processing.  This is a huge step in our Sponsorship application. If the timeline tables on the Canadian Citizenship & Immigration website are correct - from this point it could take as little as 8 months or as long as 22 months. I am hoping that his file will be in the 30% of files that were processed in 8 months.  For some reason Mexico processes them at a rapid speed of 4 months! 

We have been waiting for the replacement birth certificates for the girls to arrive in order to facilitate them having passports.  They were sent in months ago and for one reason or another are still not processed - the latest was that they were returned to me after sitting on someone's desk for weeks on end, asking me to fill out the forms again and have them notarized yet again (at a cost of $60.00) due to the fact that I wrote the middle names above the place, instead of below the place where they were supposed to go. 

We've decided that we cannot wait much longer for the certificates - I am flying out in a couple of weeks to be with Douglas for a bit as the separation on everyone, but most of all Douglas, who is all alone, is very daunting at this point.  As soon as the girls' certificates arrive I can get their passports processed in about a week - so they will fly down then to join him as well.

Road Trip!

The girls and I decided to go on an adventure.  We piled into the mini-van and off we went to the cobblestoned, french speaking, gorgeous Ville de Quebec (Quebec City) for almost a week. In my opinion, this is one of the best cities in Canada. It is steeped in history.  It was founded by Samuel de Champlain in 1608.  We spent hours discovering the city and the historical buildings. We were fortunate to stay at the Chateau Frontenac (opened in 1893 - sister hotel of Banff Springs Hotel where many moons ago, right out of University, Douglas and I worked).  I would thoroughly recommend a stay in this gorgeous hotel - the pool, spa and customer service was exceptional!

It was a twelve hour drive there (stopped for 1 hr shopping & 45 mins lunch) & then an 11 hr drive back (quick pull throughs to get gas and check on the tire that kept going flat!)  The drive was gorgeous, didn't even feel like a long drive - all I can say is thank goddess I purchased them each a  DVD movie player before we set off! 

The view from our window of the courtyard below.

We took a ferry ride to Levis - the city across the St. Lawrence. View of the lower city & Chateau Frontenac sitting atop the hill. The girls have been in French Immersion since Junior Kindergarten - so they were able to order the meals in french and translate for me since it is not bilingual in Quebec City like every other province - it is completely french only.  There are some people who speak English a bit, but it was rare to find and all the signs, menus, etc. are in french.

On our first day we had a gorgeous 45 minute horse & buggy ride throughout the city. Well worth $100.00.  When I went to Quebec City as a teen - this was the only real solid memory I had of it. We went up to the Plains of Abraham - where the battle between French and English took place in 1759.

I love the lower city!  We went on a 90 minute Lantern Guided Ghost Tour throughout the entire lower and upper city.  Wow, was that ever a workout!  We were up and down hills and stairs and the girls' little legs kept going!  It ended with a monologue in a darkened Holy Trinity Church with one lone candle to guide all 20 people - apparently the most haunted building in Canada.  We took dozens of pics trying to capture a ghost!  There is one pic that Trinity and Avalon are sure shows a ghost hovering next to Trinity's shoulder.

 

Quite a few murals on buildings in the city - very intricate and gorgeous.

We couldn't leave without seeing Montmorency Falls.  With trepidation, we took a cable car up and walked over the falls on the suspension bridge.  Quebec was quite a bit colder than Ontario, as you can see from the pic!  It was very unfortunate that Douglas couldn't be with us, but we speak daily so he got an earful of our travels and the girls and I have such wonderful memories from our trip!

Halloween & Dia de Los Muertos

I'm so glad I took the time to take some pics of the fall foilage at the RBG last week.  This morning I drove by this same tree (in the rain), to see that probably 90% of it's beautiful leaves have fallen off and it is now  almost bare.

                                        

On Devils' night we went to the 8th Annual "Screamfest" located at White Rock Ostrich Farm, about 20 mins north of us.  It was very much a scream fest!  Live actors inside the creepiest haunted house and then "Jason" from the movie "Halloween" was waiting for us outside - he then chased us in the mud! Ya, it was so scary and fun that Avalon wanted to go in again.  Trinity chickend out - oops -  I mean, sat by the bonfire while we went through the house.

                                                

Waiting in line for our turn to get scared - old time horror movies played in the tent while we waited.

                                      

I loved this creepy guy in a cobweb!

                                                   

This is a great idea when the kids don't behave.

                                                  

I especially love this one!!

                                                  

Avalon was a "Punk Pirate" & Trinity a "Red Tassled Cowgirl" for Halloween.

                                      

The houses around here are totally into the Halloween spirit - loudspeakers playing creepy music and all!  Awesome spirit!!

                                           

                                          

With Trinity being a "Halloween Baby", we always seem to have a "Dia de Los Muertos" Party for her and this year was no exception!  Fun times!