The last half hour waiting for Josh's flight to come in was the longest half hour of the last 2 months i reckon. :-) But now we're together again and have enjoyed a "free day" navigating around Toronto visiting Ikea and the Fairview Mall where we bought some new luggage (those two events are not related :-) We're staying at a partner mission's guesthouse for 2 nights until after our doctors appointments tomorrow (1 medical doctor appt each and then a 2 hour psych interview... :-) then we're off to the MAFC office in Guelph for the next 2 nights.
It's interesting, even less than 2 months after my own arrival in Canada, to watch Josh's reactions to things during his first hours back in country: his expressions of disbelief at how much certain things cost, how much stuff there is at the mall, how orderly Canadian traffic is in comparison to that in Africa... He's been enjoying the guesthouse TV and getting a headstart on his sports watching. I brought him a small bag of knack-zotes which he is currently knacking on the couch. :-) We're debating just now where to go out for supper tonight. Yesterday we enjoyed a nice Italian restaurant a few blocks away.
It was SO NICE to travel for maximum 2 hours and without a child! (i remember now why i used to love flying). It's SO NICE to hang out with Josh and go to Ikea and the mall and out for meals without a tag-along child impatient for attention... but Josh is, and i am too, looking forward to seeing Judah again after so long! It'll be nice to finally be together as a family in our temporary home in Manitoba.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Star Lake
Star Lake is Josh's mom's family weekend that happens every year. This is my first time in 4 years being able to attend (i think i've only gone 4 years in total) and Judah's first time ever! Like the water park in the previous post, it was fun to watch him encounter new things and new people and enjoy them fully! It was hard though to watch Judah thrive in this environment, and enjoy it myself, without Josh around, who i'm sure would have loved to be part of this long time family tradition this year.
Judah, prepping for our weekend at Star Lake, insisted on getting a pair of goggles. I had thought this purchase would be one of those that, having bought them and being excited about them for the packing and driving to our destination he would immediately forget about them in the excitement of all that goes on at Star Lake, but oh no! Those goggles were an essential part of his water experience! I think on Sunday, our hot and sunny day, he wore those things all day.
Apart from swimming and mucking around on the beach, Judah was also spent a LOT of time on the boat dock and on the boats (motor boat, fishing boat, canoe). He also had his first experience going on a tube ride behind the boat, which had his mom in a mild panic, but he returned nonchalant and declared that he liked the experience. I heard later that his second ride was so 'old news' for him already that he fell asleep while riding the tube. :-D I think this may have been induced partly from the late nights and early mornings, sans siestas during a full packed weekend of playing, swimming, boating, eating, etc. According to Judah he is ready now to try water skiing. 
We had church Sunday morning out by the beach, which was lovely. After the formal service part Josh's cousin, who plays a mean guitar and belts a lovely tune, played a song "for josh" which of course caused me to weep like a pregnant lady. I do miss my husband, there aint no doubt about that! 
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Summer Fun
Yesterday, on one of the few nice days we've had in the last 2 weeks, we went with my mother's sisters to the Lilac water park, about 20 minutes from our house. It was a balmy day and Judah was overwhelmed with the cool stuff at the kiddie pool. I would have loved for you to see his face, Josh, when we first arrived and he was so anxious to get into the pool that he didnt even think to take his sandals off. He was in awe! :-) It was fun to watch him so excited for something.
The water whale slide and landing out on the tongue (above).
Firehose.
Much to my dismay, once Judah discovered the "hot tub" (aka the pee pool) he only wanted to sit there and yak it up with the strangers he met there. Shortly before we left, however, i managed to coax him out of the hot tub for one more go in the kiddie pool and it's many delights. :-)
That same day in the evening i went out with my long-time girlfriends for dinner at the restaurant formerly known as Grapes Pier 7. We decided that we shouldnt refer to it as such anymore because it ages us. :-D LOL. I think our conduct at the restaurant aged us as well, considering that we all seem as though we're well on our way to turning into our mothers. Our poor waitress had to return again and again to take our orders because we were too busy chatting to actually look at the menu, and then later again to discuss what kind of cake we wanted for dessert. I'm sure our husbands were glad not to be out with us in this event. :-) Ah, but it's good to be with old friends! 
We caused a bit of a stir with all our giggling and then traipsing about the terasse to have our photo taken as we usually do. These women, for those of you on the other side of the world, are girls that i either graduated with and/or went to highschool with. We've been meeting regularly (those of us in country, that is) for, i'd say, well over 15 years now, first as a small group and now more as a group of women who want to laugh and gab together. We're meeting again next Wednesday because another member of us is arriving in from Hawaii this weekend.Friday, July 10, 2009
Culture Shocking... (part deux: Judah edition)
Quickly before Josh posts more photos of his birding weekend in Uganda i thought it a good idea to post a bit about how i see Judah coping with the cultural differences here in Canada. There's not much to post really, but i reckon for future reference it'll be nice to have a written account of the fact that he did show some signs of everything not being fine and dandy.
Perhaps it has something to do with Josh still not being with us, so Judah may identify being in Canada as being away from daddy. Could be, but i think his dis-ease at times has also to do with the fact that this is not his home. Of his 3.5 years Judah has spent 5 months (now 6) in Canada. This means that, understandably, Madagascar is the only real home he knows. Madagascar holds the only real close friends (with the exceptions of his biological cousins) he knows. Madagascar houses his bed, his toys, his bike (although the one he's using now is a very good substitute).
Often in the evenings or when he wakes up in the morning Judah will tell me "I want to go back to Madagascar". This will also come up randomly in conversation at specific points of the day, usually after an event that, i assume, was a bit much to handle. If I'm feeling stupid and at a loss as to social customs and requirements when i still call Canada my home country (most of the time), i cant imagine how he feels when everything is foreign (or, not foreign, in his case, since he's more used to interacting with people from a plethora of cultural backgrounds on a daily basis). Every now and again, after a particularly fun thing he'll tell me that "i like Canada". It seems like more of a verbalized gauge of his cultural reactions and 'temperature', if you will, then i show perhaps, but most likely no less overwhelming. Judah has been a lot more clingy and emotional since we've arrived here. I would most likely be like that to, but i have no one to cling to or be emotional with :-)
As i've noticed Judah's reactions to his surroundings i've tried to make an intentional effort to do special things together with him and provide opportunities to talk, as much as a 3.5 year old can do so, about the things we're experiencing in Canada: what we like about Canada, what we miss about Madagascar. What we're thankful to Jesus for as we snuggle before bed, what we ask for help with. Judah and i have retained our afternoon tea ritual, which we did in Madagascar since he was 2. It's a nice reason to retreat to our retreat every day. Soon we'll manage to get some friends over to join us for a cuppa, but in this faster pace of life it's a bit more difficult than in Mada.
I'm hoping that once Josh arrives we'll be able to provide a more stable and secure family environment that, no matter what's going on around us, we'll be able to find rest in our little flat at 17 siskin.
Perhaps it has something to do with Josh still not being with us, so Judah may identify being in Canada as being away from daddy. Could be, but i think his dis-ease at times has also to do with the fact that this is not his home. Of his 3.5 years Judah has spent 5 months (now 6) in Canada. This means that, understandably, Madagascar is the only real home he knows. Madagascar holds the only real close friends (with the exceptions of his biological cousins) he knows. Madagascar houses his bed, his toys, his bike (although the one he's using now is a very good substitute).
Often in the evenings or when he wakes up in the morning Judah will tell me "I want to go back to Madagascar". This will also come up randomly in conversation at specific points of the day, usually after an event that, i assume, was a bit much to handle. If I'm feeling stupid and at a loss as to social customs and requirements when i still call Canada my home country (most of the time), i cant imagine how he feels when everything is foreign (or, not foreign, in his case, since he's more used to interacting with people from a plethora of cultural backgrounds on a daily basis). Every now and again, after a particularly fun thing he'll tell me that "i like Canada". It seems like more of a verbalized gauge of his cultural reactions and 'temperature', if you will, then i show perhaps, but most likely no less overwhelming. Judah has been a lot more clingy and emotional since we've arrived here. I would most likely be like that to, but i have no one to cling to or be emotional with :-)
As i've noticed Judah's reactions to his surroundings i've tried to make an intentional effort to do special things together with him and provide opportunities to talk, as much as a 3.5 year old can do so, about the things we're experiencing in Canada: what we like about Canada, what we miss about Madagascar. What we're thankful to Jesus for as we snuggle before bed, what we ask for help with. Judah and i have retained our afternoon tea ritual, which we did in Madagascar since he was 2. It's a nice reason to retreat to our retreat every day. Soon we'll manage to get some friends over to join us for a cuppa, but in this faster pace of life it's a bit more difficult than in Mada.
I'm hoping that once Josh arrives we'll be able to provide a more stable and secure family environment that, no matter what's going on around us, we'll be able to find rest in our little flat at 17 siskin.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
So I'm still sitting in Kampala waiting for my aircraft to be put back together. The good news is that the pars are expected back from the UK either tomorrow or Friday which means the guys will work on putting the engine back together starting either Friday or Monday and I should be back to the Sudan mid next week. The other good thing is that all this downtime has given me plenty of time to work on our home assignment presentation stuff which has filled more of my days than I thought it would have.
To tell you the truth there is not much to photo in the city of Kampala itself but for Joc's sake I will post the place I am staying at and a few of the local sites I have been seeing.
Below is one of the local ranchers moving his heard to better grazing ground I guess. Check out the size of those horns!!!
As mentioned above....
This is looking down on a part of the city. I have no idea what part. Kampala is a lot like Tana in that it is built on hills. The big difference is that there is no rice being grown in the valleys and unlike Tana they still have a few trees left.
From the back yard of the guest house looking at the patio. The house is half way up a hill so the view is actually pretty good looking down on the city, although there is usually smog or smoke hanging in the air.
One of the numerous guests besides myself who frequent the back yard. It's quite entertaining watching these guys because when they see something unexpected they start doing push-ups.
I still must take a picture of the Boda Boda's. The Asian manufactured motor bikes that are used as taxis. Don't worry though I have not gotten on the back of one of them. Traffic though here would warrant the use of a bike if I were living here long term.
Well I can't wait to head back to Juba for a little more flying before it's off to Canada. We are almost there.
To tell you the truth there is not much to photo in the city of Kampala itself but for Joc's sake I will post the place I am staying at and a few of the local sites I have been seeing.
Below is one of the local ranchers moving his heard to better grazing ground I guess. Check out the size of those horns!!!
As mentioned above....
This is looking down on a part of the city. I have no idea what part. Kampala is a lot like Tana in that it is built on hills. The big difference is that there is no rice being grown in the valleys and unlike Tana they still have a few trees left.
From the back yard of the guest house looking at the patio. The house is half way up a hill so the view is actually pretty good looking down on the city, although there is usually smog or smoke hanging in the air.
One of the numerous guests besides myself who frequent the back yard. It's quite entertaining watching these guys because when they see something unexpected they start doing push-ups.
I still must take a picture of the Boda Boda's. The Asian manufactured motor bikes that are used as taxis. Don't worry though I have not gotten on the back of one of them. Traffic though here would warrant the use of a bike if I were living here long term.Well I can't wait to head back to Juba for a little more flying before it's off to Canada. We are almost there.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Hecla. July Long Weekend.
Just down the hill from our camp site was "the rocks" where my mom and Judah would hang out and throw stones into Lake Winnipeg. The water and weather were too cold for swimming, i think, but the next day when my brothers came up to golf and then later hang out with Judah, i found Geoff and a naked Judah lounging on the rock beach jumping on the rocks and dipping bums into the chilly water. :-D (well, Judah did that at least). How fun.
I think Judah ate hotdogs every day for lunch and supper... :-S And s'mores too. My stomach was quite ready for normal non-camping food by the time the weekend was over :-D Judah wanted a hotdog for supper after we arrived back home. 
My dad cut off one of his golf clubs and had it made to fit Judah so he could golf together with grampa on the weekend. They now think Judah is a left handed golfer.
Saturday morning we were stuck inside the camper for most of the morning and afternoon because it was raining. (blah!). Judah thought it was great fun. :-) But the rest of the weekend was lovely weather. We only battled the mossies.
While i attended the EMC Convention in Riverton (a 40 minute drive away) every evening and also Sunday morning, my parents took Judah on numerous long bike rides. He's thriving on all these biking-to-destinations activities. i said to my dad yesterday that when we finally return to Madagascar he'll be very dissatisfied simply biking 'round the compound. :-D
I found the weekend difficult in other ways than simply sleeping on an airmattress with a pregnant belly and battling the clouds of mossies (you could hear the roar of mosquitoes especially loudly at night, it was quite distressing). The drive up and the back and forth commuting to the Convention had me planning ahead to bring along Josh and my "road trip tapes" that i found in the shed. The music reminded me so much of Josh and our drives around the country. It's the first time i've camped without Josh since before we were married and it made me miss him desperately, not to mention the fact that i was sad he was missing out on watching his son experience camping for the first time ever! Although i'm sure he would have been as miserable to battle the bites and the rain, it would have been better had he been there with us. alas.
"...i want to fall asleep to the beat of you breathing..."
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Canada Day
It was the first Canada Day that we've been in Canada for since 2005! so i felt we HAD to go to the fireworks despite them being at 10:30pm in the city (about 45 minute drive from where we live) and we being now readjusted to bedtime at 9. For those of you from southern/equatorial areas, these photos were taken after 8:30pm and you can see that it's still quite bright and sunny out. (that's why, obviously, the fireworks begin at such an insanely late hour of the night!)
Canada Day at Assiniboine Park, the fireworks at least, are always a bit of a zoo. The traffic is out of control, it's hard to find parking and the thought of leaving at midnight in a huge traffic jam is almost enough of a detterent to not go. But we braved these obstacles and i was very glad my mother came along with us to help with crowd control (aka. ensuring Judah was happy in the mayhem). Here we are at the entrance to the park after we'd stashed the van at CMU and walked 2 blocks already.
This is the view from the Shaftesbury entrance to Assiniboine Park with the Pavilion in the background and the Cricket field to the left. I took this shot for the Clegg's benifit, to show that people in Winnipeg (probably mostly recent immigrants ;-) play cricket.
We felt a bit like tourists taking all these photos, but then again, i sort of feel like a tourist in my own province these days. After being away for so long things look new and beautiful. Below are the two of us and my little brother Geoff. Notice his Marc Ravolomanana shirt that he seems to always wear when he sees us. (My brother's fashion statements are no indication of our own political leanings!)
"uncle geoff is so cute... because he's my best friend!" Judah, July2.
Here's me knitting a baby afgan. Always the life of the party i am. ;-) LOL.
Canada Day at Assiniboine Park, the fireworks at least, are always a bit of a zoo. The traffic is out of control, it's hard to find parking and the thought of leaving at midnight in a huge traffic jam is almost enough of a detterent to not go. But we braved these obstacles and i was very glad my mother came along with us to help with crowd control (aka. ensuring Judah was happy in the mayhem). Here we are at the entrance to the park after we'd stashed the van at CMU and walked 2 blocks already.
This is the view from the Shaftesbury entrance to Assiniboine Park with the Pavilion in the background and the Cricket field to the left. I took this shot for the Clegg's benifit, to show that people in Winnipeg (probably mostly recent immigrants ;-) play cricket.We felt a bit like tourists taking all these photos, but then again, i sort of feel like a tourist in my own province these days. After being away for so long things look new and beautiful. Below are the two of us and my little brother Geoff. Notice his Marc Ravolomanana shirt that he seems to always wear when he sees us. (My brother's fashion statements are no indication of our own political leanings!)
"uncle geoff is so cute... because he's my best friend!" Judah, July2. Here's me knitting a baby afgan. Always the life of the party i am. ;-) LOL.These are (below) Judah's photographic endeavours of us all enjoying the Canada day party atmosphere while waiting the 2 hours until the fireworks started. We were altogether 7 people: My mom, geoff, me and judah, my cousin steve and his wife joanna, and my friend fiona. 
I like this photo (above) because my mom and i look almost identical. :-D
I can confess that this event made my blood freeze for the most part. Although i was glad we went, i was so stressed out the whole time about losing my child or having someone take off with him. I've been having nightmares to that effect for a while already. I do believe Canada freaks me out now more than Madagascar (and even Kenya) does. It's part of my culture shock i guess, but Canada no longer feels comfortable and benign to me. It's full of threats and dangers at every turn, which is a pity. I do hope that as we continue to live here i'll grow re-accustomed to the way things are and be able to more wisely discern where there are legitimate potential dangers and where i should just chill out. It does go to show though, that we fear what we are unfamiliar with. For most of my family and friends Madagascar is the unknown and therefore fearful place to live. Right now Madagascar is looking pretty safe and secure to me ;-)
I like this photo (above) because my mom and i look almost identical. :-D 
I can confess that this event made my blood freeze for the most part. Although i was glad we went, i was so stressed out the whole time about losing my child or having someone take off with him. I've been having nightmares to that effect for a while already. I do believe Canada freaks me out now more than Madagascar (and even Kenya) does. It's part of my culture shock i guess, but Canada no longer feels comfortable and benign to me. It's full of threats and dangers at every turn, which is a pity. I do hope that as we continue to live here i'll grow re-accustomed to the way things are and be able to more wisely discern where there are legitimate potential dangers and where i should just chill out. It does go to show though, that we fear what we are unfamiliar with. For most of my family and friends Madagascar is the unknown and therefore fearful place to live. Right now Madagascar is looking pretty safe and secure to me ;-)
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