Since my last post things have been insanely busy!
Luis (my work partner) and I are in charge of organizing the Halloween party for my work (Le Coffret). The party is for all of the partners to the organization, all the people who use the Meridien 74 (the community center), all of the immigrants who associated with Le Coffret, and a few other select groups. In total we are expecting anywhere from 200-400 people.. which means a lot of planning is required!
We have been working away at everything as quickly as possible, but our deadline is approaching. I have had to put to test my artistic skills by making pinatas (or trying to), as well as my cooking skills by planning out the meal and snacks. I'll be the first to admit I'm not much of a cook, so it is definitely a challenge!
On the topic of planning meals.. I am also part of a team that is planning the menu and cooking for our group's "mi-projet" camp next weekend. The "mi-projet" is a three day, two night camp in which the whole group spends time together to evaluate, re-group, and relax a bit. I, as well as a few others, are in charge of planning all the meals, and then pre-making or cooking them during the camp. Once again, I will remind you cooking is not my strong suit (unless burning counts), so this will be a very interesting three days!
Meanwhile.. this Friday (October 26th) is my JAE. The JAE is a day in which my counterparts and I run an educational activity day for the group. The topic of our day is the image of women in the media. We have been planning and working on that to make sure it is all ready for this Friday.
Unfortunately, while all this is going on I have become sick. The kind of sick where on top of the coughing, stuffiness which results in not being able to breathe, and fever, you feel as if you have been hit by a transport truck and you have absolutely no energy. Good timing right?
So, I think its fair to say I have been a little bit busy and that my lack of posts are understandable! :)
Monday, October 22, 2012
For sale..
Apparently I've been put up for sale. Any takers?
My host brother Nic put this sign up above the front door as a joke when he put up the Halloween decorations. What he didn't realize was that multiple people would actually come to the front door to read it, and that some even knocked to comment!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Playing catch-up.. the work placement
And the work begins..
After a few days of settling into Saint-Jerome and getting to know our way around, the group began the visits to work placements. The point of these visits was to learn a little bit about all of the options we had for where we would be doing volunteer work for the next three months. Each work placement would have one Canadian and one Bolivian working at it.
We visited a variety of places; from an Alzheimer community center, an arts studio for people on the street, a soup kitchen/rencontre, all the way to a private school. But the one that stood out the most for me was Le Coffret (Meridien 74); an immigration office and community centre. It is the center in charge of helping all of the immigrants coming into the Laurentians. Most of these immigrants are refugees (a significant number are from the Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal), and more recently many are beginning to come from parts of Africa.
Le Meridien 74 is also the location of a banque alimentaire that is held every Wednesday morning for people in the neighborhood who cannot afford their own food. It also has a small store attached that runs entirely off donated items, and then sells them for a reaaally low price so people living with very little can afford them. (Ex: sweater for 1$). Along with all of that, Le Coffret has a cafe/restaurant that provides a full meal lunch (ex: pasta, salad, bread, and dessert) every day for 2$. This too is a service many of the people living below the poverty line are very glad for.
This seemed like a perfect place for me. I was sure it was exactly the type of work I wanted to do for my placement. So I picked Le Coffret/Meridien 74 as my number one, and I was paired with Luis (25, Spanish teacher, father of one, Bolivian).
We began our work at Le Coffret on October first, and we were immediately warmly welcomed into the tight group of employees and volunteers. Throughtout the first two weeks of work I have worked practically everywhere.. the exhibit upstairs during culture week, "La cuisine des Anges" (my nails are still stained from red peppers), the food bank (on wednesdays), the store attached, and even as a hostess during a special event.
I have gotten to know so many incredible people, (many who have been through continuously hard times, yet they still always have a smile on their face), and I have already learned SO MUCH.
I wonder; if I have learned this much already then how much more will I learn and grow in the next five months?
After a few days of settling into Saint-Jerome and getting to know our way around, the group began the visits to work placements. The point of these visits was to learn a little bit about all of the options we had for where we would be doing volunteer work for the next three months. Each work placement would have one Canadian and one Bolivian working at it.
We visited a variety of places; from an Alzheimer community center, an arts studio for people on the street, a soup kitchen/rencontre, all the way to a private school. But the one that stood out the most for me was Le Coffret (Meridien 74); an immigration office and community centre. It is the center in charge of helping all of the immigrants coming into the Laurentians. Most of these immigrants are refugees (a significant number are from the Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal), and more recently many are beginning to come from parts of Africa.
Le Meridien 74 is also the location of a banque alimentaire that is held every Wednesday morning for people in the neighborhood who cannot afford their own food. It also has a small store attached that runs entirely off donated items, and then sells them for a reaaally low price so people living with very little can afford them. (Ex: sweater for 1$). Along with all of that, Le Coffret has a cafe/restaurant that provides a full meal lunch (ex: pasta, salad, bread, and dessert) every day for 2$. This too is a service many of the people living below the poverty line are very glad for.
This seemed like a perfect place for me. I was sure it was exactly the type of work I wanted to do for my placement. So I picked Le Coffret/Meridien 74 as my number one, and I was paired with Luis (25, Spanish teacher, father of one, Bolivian).
We began our work at Le Coffret on October first, and we were immediately warmly welcomed into the tight group of employees and volunteers. Throughtout the first two weeks of work I have worked practically everywhere.. the exhibit upstairs during culture week, "La cuisine des Anges" (my nails are still stained from red peppers), the food bank (on wednesdays), the store attached, and even as a hostess during a special event.
I have gotten to know so many incredible people, (many who have been through continuously hard times, yet they still always have a smile on their face), and I have already learned SO MUCH.
I wonder; if I have learned this much already then how much more will I learn and grow in the next five months?
Playing catch up.. my counterparts and host family!
Let's just pretend this is being written in real time.. hopefully when I catch up I will write about things as they are happening. But for now I'm playing catch up, so my quick summaries to get you all up to date will have to do!
After the four day orientation camp in Val-David we discovered who our counterparts (the other volunteers we live with) are. Because one of the Bolivian girls couldn't get her VISA we had an uneven number of girls. So instead of being in a group of two like everyone else, I get to be in a group of three! My two counterparts are Sophie (19, francophone, from Quebec) and Danitza (18, from Santa Cruz Bolivia).
We then went to meet our host family in Saint-Jerome! We live with Regina, and her two children (Nicolas who is 22, and Catherine who is 17). The family has two cats; Blackjack and Double, and their house is in a quiet neighborhood perfect for my runs. They have a lovely home, and a very large basement which the three of us get to "have". Our basement area has a couch/tv section, a bathroom, and a bed and desk area. It is very spacious, and a great place to live. When we first arrived there was a big bed, and a smaller camping cot available for the three of us. The idea was that two of us would share the bed while the other slept in the cot. But after one night of that we decided three of us in the bed worked just fine, and... we've been like that ever since!
:)
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The group!
Welcome :)
Dear reader,
There are a number of reasons you could be reading this. You could be one of my generous sponsors, one my friends or family, or you could be both. Either way, you are likely someone I want to keep updated while on my travels.
This year I decided that instead of going to University like the rest of the people my age, I was going to do something different. I applied for a Canada World Youth program called Youth Leaders In Action, and (surprise!) got in. The program began on September 14th, and it will end on March 14th 2013. It is a six month program that takes part in Canada and Bolivia; half and half. The official languages of the program are French and Spanish, but it has become a trilingual program because of the number of English speaking participants.
Myself, along with 8 other Canadians and 9 other Bolivians are to spend three months in Saint-Jerome, Quebec, then the following three months in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. During the program we live in these communities with a host family, and do volunteer work and run workshops and activities. Since our program is in the health strand, and the focus is violence against women, our work will be involved in this field.
My goal of this blog will be to write AT LEAST once a week.. but no guarantees. I would love to keep everyone updated on here, but I'm not very good at journal type things so it'll be a challenge. I will attempt to rise to it!
I hope you enjoy reading this blog, and message or comment with any questions you have!
Mucho amor!
Catherine
There are a number of reasons you could be reading this. You could be one of my generous sponsors, one my friends or family, or you could be both. Either way, you are likely someone I want to keep updated while on my travels.
This year I decided that instead of going to University like the rest of the people my age, I was going to do something different. I applied for a Canada World Youth program called Youth Leaders In Action, and (surprise!) got in. The program began on September 14th, and it will end on March 14th 2013. It is a six month program that takes part in Canada and Bolivia; half and half. The official languages of the program are French and Spanish, but it has become a trilingual program because of the number of English speaking participants.
Myself, along with 8 other Canadians and 9 other Bolivians are to spend three months in Saint-Jerome, Quebec, then the following three months in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. During the program we live in these communities with a host family, and do volunteer work and run workshops and activities. Since our program is in the health strand, and the focus is violence against women, our work will be involved in this field.
My goal of this blog will be to write AT LEAST once a week.. but no guarantees. I would love to keep everyone updated on here, but I'm not very good at journal type things so it'll be a challenge. I will attempt to rise to it!
I hope you enjoy reading this blog, and message or comment with any questions you have!
Mucho amor!
Catherine
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