today is remembrance day. in ontario - it is a day where we go about our business and at 11 everyone stops and reflects usually in school assemblies --- i've always thought what we did was good - however, moving to labrador has opened my eyes to what the rest of the country is doing. from what i know - here, bc, and alberta all take the 11th of november off from work and school and have huge local celebrations and remembrance ceremonies. in hv-gb it is particularly prevelant as we have such a huge military history here. in our school ceremony (which we had yesterday) we had members of the colour guard, the base chaplain, and people from the legion. i was told early on that this was one of the biggest assemblies that this school has - and it didn't disappoint. the music part went well - including my loverly brass ensemble who were so nervous - but they pulled off the last post quite well. it was good - remembrance was more deliberate than i'm usual.
today was different. there was a service this morning in the woods on base, and a town wide parade and ceremony at the legion at 11am. i did not go to either. i spent my day working on report cards - not that i got far... at all... but i tried.
tonight was something new. the olympic torch came through hv-gb tonight and since i am part of the community choir i was a participant in the ceremony. pam, nick, and i went together and were quite surprised at the amount of people pouring into the park. it seems like the whole town came out to celebrate together. it was really nice just to sit outside in the FREEZING cold air and complain about our freezing toes while just chilling with everyone from the town and watching the torch run in.
i guess you should check out cbc and see if we were on there... peter (one of the news guys from cbc here - in the play with me - and in the community choir) was there with his camera - so i guess it's a possibilty. we were up on stage twice - once to sing a song that no one i was standing around remembered - fortunately it's super easy and we were singing with over 100 grade 2 and 3 students who really know the song. we later came up when the flame was on the stage to lead everyone in o canada - it was good times.
we decided to leave with the flummies came onstage so that we could beat the rush. i dropped nick off and then pam and i went back - as soon as i came inside i heard loud bangs - so i looked outside to see a huge fireworks show going on over the trees. the view was better than sitting on the deck at home and only the low ones were slightly difficult to see through the trees - but you could still see them.
overall - great day :)

so update: mostly because jen told me i had to...
life has been really busy lately.
emotions have been pretty steady on the 'not super excited about life' but definitely no where near hating it.
due to living alone and working on the opposite end of the school - i can end up going for days without talking to any other adults - beyond the quick pass off of students talk.
that being said - i LOVE my apartment -- especially now that things are all homey like.
hv-gb is an interesting little town but i sort of wish we could pick it up and move it within driving distance to... anywhere really. the people that i'm meeting are really cool and i'm glad i've met them.
saturday nick and i spent the day cooking up a taco chili and chicken and rice casserole so that i'd have food to eat this week. charlotte called in the middle of that so she came over for dinner and then we spent the night playing mario party.... lots of tears, laughter, and pouting had by all.
tomoro is the remembrance day assembly - kind of enjoy that nl gets remembrance day off... so i don't have work on wednesday - just have the good old olympic torch ceremony to look forward to.
another interesting thing about this town is the importance of the arts. there is a new theatre around here and my name / picture has been in the paper twice in conjunction with the theatre and i've only been here for like 3 months.
so in conclusion to this -- life is good.

i have been here for 2 weeks now. it sort of feels like forever. it's a little unreal how far away i actually am from everyone that i know and love... i have taught for 3 days total and am very exhausted. it took a while to get used to management in this age group --- but by today things were much smoother sailing.
todays highlights:
*a grade 5 class that was a lot of fun and very productive... good things will happen with that class.
*flyup --- my school has a house system (think harry potter) so today all the new students [and teachers] got "sorted" i am now a golden eagle which i guess is exciting... we came in first place in the tug of wars today... first overall i guess --- our 4/5s came in 2nd and our 6/7s came in 1st... and the other 1st place team came in last for their other one... therefore we're the best :P
*after school made my way over john and kathleen's where it seems i spend a lot of my time... john fixed my car and we had dinner and then kathleen and i 'shot the shit' for a bit.... or rather until 10 when i realized i should prolly leave :P
*i have soooo much more to say --- but am absolutely exhausted
good night

so yesterday i visited my new school - i got to meet the VP and secretary, see my classroom, and get a feel for the building. the VP then called the woman i am replacing and she then came to the school so we could chat about what she has done in the past however many years. she then invited hannah and i over for dinner and we got to meet her husband who also teaches at the school. today we're going on a hike with them...
it's really great to know at least 1 couple in your new town... just throwing it out there :P

i am sitting in my new temporary apartment in goose bay... stealing internet from who knows who... not really sure... but hey - i have a bed and a roof and a couple of couches - and 3 tvs and my wii... what more does a girl need?

i'm sitting in a motel in baie comeau watching tv - 1/2 way between home and new home. i think i'm excited - but not gonna lie... this is a big adventure.

aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

i am in calgary --- have slept in regina, winnipeg, thunder bay, sault ste marie, and north bay since leaving home.
i have been thoroughly enjoying myself --- i think it's crazy how far i've gone...
desite this --- i'm having difficulty finding peace with things tonight... hopefully tomoro is better :)
later

i am leaving at some point this morning for another epic adventure. this time - rather then explore the nation of ham or shem or the other one --- i am going to drive across my own country.

FACING WEST FROM CALIFORNIA'S SHORES
by: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
FACING west from California's shores,
Inquiring, tireless, seeking what is yet unfound,
I, a child, very old, over waves, towards the house of maternity, the land of migrations, look afar, Look off the shores of my Western sea, the circle almost circled;
For starting westward from Hindustan, from the vales of Kashmere,
From Asia, from the north, from the God, the sage, and the hero,
From the south, from the flowery peninsulas and the spice islands,
Long having wander'd since, round the earth having wander'd,
Now I face home again, very pleas'd and joyous,
(But where is what I started for so long ago? And why is it yet unfound?)

we read that poem in first year - and tho the poem speaks of california --- the same can be said for bc as well --- we have a need to push as far as we can go...
so to the pacific i will head: through the north, the prairies, and the mountains...
who knows what will happen

today i took a nap on a bench in front of a still frozen lake wearing shorts and a t-shirt...

i love canada.

i'm leaving tomoro...

this is my note from pratik...
sooo... i know we only talk once every many weeks... but i'm kind of going to miss you! in the sense that it will be weird not having your name online on my msn list. but i hope you have a great adventure
it kind of made my day a little - and it made me get a little excited about not being online for a month

i hope you [jen cuz i'm pretty sure you're the only one that reads this] have a great month --- and happy birthday while i'm gone!!!!