Week 7

Greetings friends! Again, I'm sorry that the blogs are starting to get more delayed, but I am trying to get them written and posted as fast as I can. Anyway, last week was another great week and certainly full of activity. On Tuesday, Tiffany finally made it back to Klemtu after she chartered a boat from Bella Bella with some of the other Klemtu people that were stuck there. I was so happy she made it home safe and sound. We watched "Contact" that night at the youth center as she had just purchased it while she was away. She also brought me back a really nice necklace and my very own Canadian shirt complete with the Canadian maple leaf. I am almost officially Canadian now, eh?

Wednesday morning I did not make it up to the school because I wanted to bake a cake for a big dinner that was going on up at the Hall that evening. After finishing the cake and getting some other things done, I went over to a friend's house to help her set up for her daughter's 6th birthday party. The basement was decked out in Hannah Montana paraphernalia and I helped her get all of the yummy treats ready for the kids to come over. They all arrived shortly after school let out and I helped chaperone while they watched "Bolt" and played games. I even got to lead them in my own rendition of the Hokey Pokey. After the party, I rushed home to grab the cake and bring it up the Hall for the dinner. One of the women had just graduated with her Education Coordinator diploma and there was a big dinner to celebrate. After dinner, there were speeches and some traditional Indian dancing. Tiff and I then went to the youth center and played some games with the kids until it was time to close.

Thursday was a day off and we made plans to have a big pitch in at Tiff and Brent's that evening. I convinced one of Tiff's friends to make lasagna, Tiff and Brent were going to make corn on the cob, and I was to make an angel food cake. Shortly before dinner, we learned that our lasagna provider was no longer going to make it, so we had to make a quick change and decided to have nachos as our main course. It ended up being a great meal, as odd as it may sound. The corn on the cob was really good, and I told Tiff that I am a pretty harsh critic when it comes to corn on the cob since it is so good back home, but it definitely got my stamp of approval. After our meal, I had to hurry up to the Field because it was soccer night. Although I was unable to get the goals and it took us awhile to get going, it ended up being our most competitive match as a bunch of the workers from the hydro ended up coming to play. We only played for an hour or so, but it was a lot of fun and good to play at a high level. After our game, I went to the Hall to help with some of the set up for the school graduation celebration that was going on the next evening. I didn't stay too long as I was feeling pretty tired from the days events, and I was home and asleep in no time.

Friday was another busy day that started with me volunteering at the school. After lunch, I opened up the youth center but closed early so I could go home and get ready for the graduation ceremony and dinner. As I mentioned in the last post, the kindergarten graduates and high school graduates are both honored at the end of the year and Tiff's youngest was one of the ones graduating from kindergarten. I got to sit at their special table reserved for family and friends of the graduate and enjoyed watching Tiff's daughter receive her diploma in her pink cap and gown. After the graduates were honored and given their diplomas, we had a dinner that was prepared by one of the teachers and his students and watched slideshows of the graduates. After dinner, there were speeches and awards given out to deserving students in each grade. It was a wonderful evening and I took a lot of pictures that I unfortunately will not be able to post until I get home. The celebration went pretty late and since we were only able to open up the youth center for a couple hours, we decided to watch a movie instead of playing Rock Band.

Instead of making pancakes Saturday morning, I decided to try my luck at french toast. I called my dad to get his recipe and ended up making some pretty tasty french toast for Tiff and her family. After breakfast, we headed to the youth center and played our usual round of Saturday afternoon Rock Band. I then went over to Tiff's for Chinese food and we watched a movie until it was time to open up the youth center again for the evening round of Rock Band. I continued to work on my skills on the drums and am now pretty solid on medium difficulty. I'm sure you are all quite impressed by this.

Sunday (Father's Day) morning, Tara and I decided to go on another trek to the hydro, but this time we were determined to make the challenging hike up to the lake that contains the water they are using to generate the electricity. Tara fearlessly paved the way through trees and bushes and we made it pretty far until we ran into a road block. We had been following the pipeline, but were forced to turn around when we realized the pipe was no longer close to the ground and we would have to crawl across it not knowing where we were headed. Disappointed, we made what turned out to be the more challenging descent down the mountain. We decided that we would have to try again, but this time with someone who had already done the hike. After we got back, I called my dad to wish him a Happy Father's Day and then went to Tiff's for crepes, bacon, and eggs that she had made for Brent's Father's Day breakfast. We then had our last round of Rock Band at the youth center before going back to Tiff's for a Father's Day dinner with Brent's mom, dad, brother, and his family. We had turkey, stuffing, rice, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and cranberry sauce. Anybody hungry yet? For dessert, Brent's mom made her famous pineapple upside down cake and Tiff made a delicious apple tart. We even had ice cream, which made me very happy as it was only my second time having it since I've been here. I then went to church for what would be Tara's last service in Klemtu, as she leaves the following Sunday to go back home. She got the chance to share how much she has enjoyed her time in Klemtu and how thankful she is for her church community, and I know we will all be sad to see her go. After church, I went to the youth center to watch a movie with the kids before calling it a night.

Monday morning I woke up and went down to watch the school parade in celebration of National Aboriginal Day (which was actually on Sunday), a day of recognition of the cultures and contributions of the First Nations people of Canada. I then went to visit with Nanny Violet and she invited me to stay for lunch. I felt guilty sitting down while a 95 year old woman prepared tea and lunch, but she wouldn't have it any other way. After wonderful conversation, I headed back home, went for a run, and prepared spaghetti for the Monday night pitch in at Tiff's house. After dinner, we went to Melody's for a bonfire and marshmallow/hot dog roast. I was so excited to have s'mores as this is one of the Brown family's favorite things to make. It was the perfect night for a bonfire and we sat around talking until late into the night.

It is now Tuesday and as of tomorrow, I only have two weeks left here in Klemtu. I know I've said this before, but I really can't believe how fast the time has gone and I am not ready to say goodbye to my friends here. Hopefully time will start to slow down a little bit and I pray that I will make the most of the short time I have left. I still love and miss you all back home, though, and am looking forward to seeing you again very soon!
And Happy Birthday to my best friend, Betsy! Love you friend and hope you have a wonderful day!