T minus 13 days until.. BOLIVIA!

In exactly 13 days I will be moving to the extremely large, very exciting, entirely Spanish city of SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA! Yes, I am a little excited.. :)

This is a picture of the aerial view of PART of the city. I will be living just North of downtown, between the second and third rings!

A visit to Mont Tremblant!

Sunday November 11th (Remembrance Day):

We were woken up around 12 by an excited Regina (my host mom); it had turned out to be a beautiful day and she proposed a visit to Mont Tremblant. We were all exhausted since it had been a very late night the night before and we had only managed to get a few hours sleep, but Danitza and I had never been to Mont Tremblant and we both really wanted to go. So we dragged ourselves out of bed, threw on some clothes, and grabbed food on the way out the door. My other counterpart Sophie decided not to come with us because she was too tired, so it was me, Danitza, Regina, and Catherine (my host sister). Since Cat had to work at five we only had until four to get there, climb, sight see, etc, so we rushed out of the house and were on the road before one.
We arrived at Mont Tremblant in beautiful, sunny weather, and began our tour of the small "community" at the base of the mountain. We could see that they had started to produce artificial snow on one part of the mountain higher up, but we thought that was the only spot until we turned the corner and.. there was a field FULL of snow. Sure it was artificial and all that, but to a Bolivian who had never experienced snow before in her life it was theeee coolest thing in the world. We must have spent at least half an hour in the snow having snowball fights, tackling each other, and taking pictures (obviously we needed proof we had actually found snow).

After that we continued exploring all the little shops and places until we found one that makes Beaver Tails. It was decided that there was no way Danitza could come to Canada and not experience beaver tails, so naturally we got a few. YUMMM!
Once we had finished the delishhh beaver tails it was time to climb the mountain.. or as far as we could get in the time we had left. We found a little path that wound through the woods beside a giant rock waterfall, and followed this up the mountain. Eventually it led out onto the middle of one of the ski runs where there was plenty of.. you guessed it; SNOW. And obviously this meant more snow activities.. :)

Like teaching Danitza how to make a snow angel!

 

We also made a (mini) snowman (Danitza's first) and gave him my poppy. On Mont Tremblant with the peaceful, beautiful view seemed like a perfect spot for a small troops memorial especially since it was Remembrance Day. 

This wonderful day in my beautiful country once again reminded of why I am so thankful for our troops, both past and present.

:)

Film: A Fleur De Peau

November 13th the documentary A Fleur De Peau; Un Bouquet de la Colombie was playing at my work, so a few of us went!
The film was on Colombia, and the flower industry. In Colombia there are at least a million different types of flowers, and almost just as many cultures, traditions, religions, and types of people. But because the flower industry is the biggest industry in Colombia, it is also the cause of a lot of exploitation of the workers. Since these people have to work flowers to put food on the table they are forced into working under ridiculous conditions, with very very little pay. The documentary tells the story of multiple different types of "flowers" (people with different perspectives).

I was so unaware of the situation before the film, and it reaaaally opened my eyes. Not only did I learn a lot about Colombia, but I learned that Canada is contributing to a big part of this problem too. Most of Canada's cut flowers (the ones you buy from the flower shop) are imported from Colombia. Because Canada is importing so many flowers from the big, powerful companies, it allows them to continue to be unethical and exploit the workers. There are smaller fair companies that do not exploit workers, but they are being crushed by these larger companies. Naturally, since the small companies have to close the workers from these companies have to get jobs somewhere, so they begin working for the large companies. This allows this companies to continue exploiting workers because no one can stop them.

Also, have you ever noticed the certification of ethical, fair companies that come with the flowers? Well they are often not true. The inspection that happens for the company to receive its "certificate" will often happen only once, when it is pre-planned with the company. This gives the company the opportunity to create the image of a good, fair company. Often what happens is that in the week up until the inspection workers are paid higher, so that during the inspection no one complains. Then as soon as the inspection is over and the company is "certified", wages and conditions return to normal.

It's is kind of shocking, isn't it? North American countries hold a kind of superiority because they are known to be ethical, and have fair values and companies. Yet here we are, one of the largest contributing factors to the exploitation of millions of people.

If you want more information on the film here is the official page: http://afleurdepeau2009.blogspot.ca/2011/01/journee-internationale-des-travailleurs.html

I believe the documentary is accessible on the site as well, though be forewarned it is in French and Spanish. I would recommend watching it, I really learned a lot!

A visit to the hockey arena :)

Saint-Jerome's provincial men's hockey team is the Panthers, and they play every Wednesday night at the local arena. So, since the majority of the Bolivians had never seen real hockey before.. we decided to go!
We went to the game on Wednesday November 7th; Saint-Jerome Panthers vs. Saint-Leonard. And naturally, Saint-Jerome won :)
It was really fun to watch, and the Bolivians loved it!
After the game, unknown to us, Eliana (one of our supervisors), had organized for us to visit the Panthers dressing room. They were warned we were coming, but for some reason when we arrived the majority of them were undressed..

Congrès Jeunesse d'Amnistie Internationale

On November third there was an Amnistie International conference in Saint-Jerome at L'Academie LaFontaine. Three members of our group (Sophie, Jonny, and Nicole) work at L'Academie, so they helped to organize it. Naturally, if one part of our group is helping.. we all are! So on November third we spent the day running kiosks, directing people, organizing marchers, serving food, and doing security. It was a very busy day for everyone, but somehow between all the work I managed to find time to go to one of the "ateliers".
The one I went to was called "Droits Humains et Santé; Quels liens à faire?" and it was run by the International Federation of Medical Students (IFMSA). We talked about access to medical care, and how people's race, social status, and education affect the medical care they receive. We talked about the situation abroad and in Canada. I found it very interesting to learn that even here in Quebec the race and education you have affect your quality of care. I guess it was something I had never really thought about before, and it shocked me to hear many of the real stories and examples they had of people whose access or quality of care were affected negatively because of their race, social status, or education.
By the end of the atelier it had successfully (like many of the things in this program) inspired me to continue pursuing work in International Development!

On a side note.. I began my university applications this weekend!

Fête d'Halloween au Méridien 74

Wednesday the 31st was.. you guessed it; HALLOWEEN :)

It was also the Halloween party at my work that my work partner Luis and I organized. We were told to expect a lottttt of people, but not nearly as many as expected came. Which was good.. because 200-400 people would have been WAY too much!

Our pumpkin shaped pinatas were very popular, though a little too hard to make breaking them easy, but all of the hard work payed off!

We also had a pumpkin that Luis and I carved. This was Luis' first time carving a pumpkin EVER! I got really excited and took lots of pictures.. which he didn't really appreciate much because it meant I didn't do much actual carving. 

But overall, the Halloween party was a success! :)

:)

Danitza, me, and Sophie (my counterparts) at the mi-projet camp!

Our mi-projet camp!

On October 28th we left Saint-Jerome for our three day mi-projet camp at Camp Jeune Air in Saint-Agathe-des-Monts. We took a small school bus for about an hour over winding roads through the forest and mountains before coming to the camp.
Camp Jeune Air is a fairly large camp on the edge of Lac au Quenouilles, right in the Laurentian mountains. It has a big chalet type building, and a smaller cottage style building. Right beside it is a forest with a ton of hiking trails (which Franco and I got a little lost on when we went running), and a ways into the forest there is an old Indian set-up with teepees and such (these we also discovered while running). Overall it is very quiet, and a peaceful break from Saint-Jerome!

When we arrived at the camp all of the doors to all the buildings were locked, and there was no one around.. we were locked out and it was COLD. The people that were supposed to meet us to let us in and show us around apparently forgot. So Lili and Eliana (our supervisors) walked down the road until they found a neighbor. The neighbor called an old employee, who called a current employee, who sent her husband to open the door because she was breastfeeding. So when we finally got inside about two hours had passed (we spent the time playing road hockey and exploring).
We were staying in the small cottage-like building. It had a loft with beds that overlooked the main room, and the boys slept up there (or some slept in the main room because there weren't enough beds). Then there were three rooms in the basement for the girls to share. The kitchen was attached to the main room. The main room had a stone fireplace, and big windows looking out onto the lake and the mountains in the distance. It was really pretty!
The mi-projet camp is for everyone to have a chance to reconnect and relax, and for the group to evaluate and solve any problems. So that afternoon we did out first group activity called "Linge Sale" (dirty laundry). We all wrote down any problems that we were having in the group on pieces of paper cut out like clothing, and then we went through them all and talked about them, and found solutions. It felt very productive, and a lot of things that needed to be said were said! I was really glad to see that a lot of people were on the same page regarding many things, but because of small misunderstandings they didn't realize they were. It also gave us the opportunity to clear up any misunderstandings, especially ones that were caused because of language barriers. I felt that it helped the group a lot!
That night we had time to just hang out as a group, have a fire, and relax.
Monday morning (day two) Franco and I decided to run before the day started. So we found our way onto the hiking trails and, obviously, got lost. Somehow we finally found the road (not sure how we even ended up where we did), and we returned to camp with just enough time for.. A SWIM :)
Yes; it was freezing cold, and yes; I was the only one who went.
Day two passed quickly, filled with the same kind of group/counterpart activities! That night we had a bonfire outside, and a fire in the fireplace inside, and everyone just relaxed again. This was the night that the hurricane Sandy storm hit Quebec. Luckily it didn't hit us too hard; we only lost power for a bit, it rained lightly, and the wind was the worst part of it. The only (almost) accident we had was when a tree fell right beside the bonfire, and some people had to jump out of the way! No one was hurt though, and after that we all stayed inside until the storm was over.
The camp ended Tuesday evening, and we all returned home relaxed and renewed!
Overall, I found it to be a really good, and productive thing for the group. It felt like everyone re-connected. Sometimes when we are all so busy in Saint-Jerome its hard to keep a tight group bond, and I think this gave us the opportunity to re-bond!
:)

Going waaaaay back

I know this is REAAAALLY late but I just realized I haven't posted about it yet!
On October 10th our Canada World Youth group went to Montreal for an official visit and an awards ceremony. We took a bus from Saint-Jerome to Montreal, and on the way we stopped to pick up another Canada World Youth group in Terrebonne, QC. The exchange is a Canada/Benin one, so their exchange language is french. It was really cool to meet up with another group and have the chance to hear all about how their exchange is going!
After picking them up we continued into Montreal to the "hotel de ville" or city hall for an official visit and tour. We spent the afternoon learning lots about Montreal's history, and how the city hall works. Then in the evening we went to the Prix Jeunes Leaders de Jeunesse Canada Monde. The awards recognize CWY alumni who exhibit the qualities of Youth Leaders in Action. The winners are people who have gone on to develop projects that help others. Each winner receives 3000$ towards their project, and the opportunity to travel and speak about their projects across Canada.
It was really interesting to see how the same program I am doing has affected other people, and what these people have created out of the inspiration they got from the program.
The night ended with some time for dinner in Montreal, and then we headed home, sadly saying goodbye to our new Terrebonne/Benin friends!
Here is a picture of some of the two groups at the awards ceremony :)

Nuit Des Sans-Abris Picures

Here are some more pictures from the Nuit des Sans-Abris event:

One of the fire dancers!

Everyone in their ponchos during the march!

I'm really bad at this.. sorry!

Wow. I have A LOT to write about!
The last few weeks have been packed with stuff. I'll begin with the weekend of the 19th of October.. That Friday night was the Nuit Des Sans-Abris. The Nuits Des Sans-Abris is an awareness event held all across Quebec for the homeless. The general idea of the event is that it includes a march, some speakers, and the goal is for participants to stay up all night.
The Nuit Des Sans-Abris held in Saint-Jerome was at the local community art center called Ici Par Les Arts. Two members of our group whose work placement is Ici Par Les Arts helped organize the event, and the whole group was partaking and lending a hand throughout the night. The event began around 6PM with a march through Saint-Jerome. Unfortunately for us we were accompanied by a rainstorm as well. So just before the march began bright yellow ponchos were handed out, and then off we went. To be honest I think the ponchos attracted more attention.. and hopefully this helped raised more awareness! After the march the event moved inside for bit so speeches could be made, and soup and coffee could be distributed. Later on in the evening there was a fire show, tam tam jams, multiple performers, and much much later on; a documentary on the homeless. By the time the documentary came on the majority of people had gone. Even most of our group couldn't make it all night! By the time the "breakfast of champions" rolled around at 7AM there were only me, four other CWY volunteers, and about ten other people still awake!
Here is a picture of the CWY "survivors" at 7AM:

Even though we were exhausted after not sleeping at all Friday night we couldn't sleep all day. I had time for about three hours of sleep and then it was off again because we were going bowling, and then we had a surprise party for Luis (my work partner) who was turning 26!
The surprise party ended pretty late Saturday night, and even though it was fun, I think everyone was glad to go home and sleep. Unfortunately though, that wasn't the last of the plans for the weekend!

Sunday morning we were up bright and early for the commemorative march for Dr. Dominique Ouimet. Dr. Ouimet was a cardiologist at the Saint-Jerome hospital who died recently while climbing a mountain in Nepal to raise money for the hospital. The march was expected to attract between 500 and 1000 people! Unfortunately, (once again), we were joined by rain and very cold weather. But by the time the march got going most of the rain had cleared up, and it was just very cold.
My CWY group was there to work security for the march, and help keep everyone organized.
Here is a picture (from the local paper) of the march: