Homesick

I needed a few minutes away from reading long french documents so I decided to write this post. My eyes are starting to cross!

I am working from Starbucks this morning since I needed the motivation of actually leaving the house to start working. There are so many distractions at home! So since my mom needed the car and I've been stuck either in the car or at a desk for the past couple days I decided to walk to Starbucks. It isn't far - maybe a 15 or 20 minute walk. As I was walking I was thinking of all the times I walked to the internet cafe while I lived in Rwanda. It was something I did often. Sometimes I would use the internet cafe and sometimes i would go to Bourbon Coffee (oh how I miss you!) where they have free wireless. Sometimes I would take a moto into town, or my driver would drop me off after work, but sometimes on the days I "worked from home" I walked just to kill time, or I would walk home from town (nicer because it is downhill on the way home). So it was a normal part of life.

Walking today, again with my laptop hanging over my shoulder, I was struck by how completely different it is here. For one thing, it was pretty chilly today, only 4 degrees celcius. Also, there was only one hill and it is like a bump compared to the hills of Kigali. I only passed two people in the 20 or so minutes I was walking, there were no children chasing after me shouting 'muzungu' or asking me to give them candy/money/food. No taxis or motos honking at me to see if I wanted a ride, no shocked looks that I was actually walking somewhere (apparently muzungus aren't able to walk?). The only reason i stood out, if at all, is because I was walking while everyone else was in their cars and because my coat is a little bright by Canadian standards since it was made in Rwanda.

Now I am at Starbucks and another difference became clear. We like to think that because we are in north america we are ahead of the rest of the world on so many things, especially technology. This is not true. Technology here is made so complicated and inaccessible. Cell phones are stupid here. For example paying for incoming calls? Automated voice systems that take super long to get anywhere? African cell phone systems are so much easier. And wireless internet. I can access free wireless from so many different places in Kigali, and here I have to pay 7.50 per hour? So there is a lot we can learn from the way technology is used and provided in Africa!

So while I am glad to be home and am adjusting to being back in canada fairly well, today I am 'homesick' for Kigali. It would be nice to look out the window at the hills and banana trees and sights of kigali rather than the traffic jam at the corner of King and Weber :)

weekend report

I had a very green weekend. I went to the Living Green show in Toronto on Saturday at the Ex with Pam and another friend Carla. It was a lot of fun, and there were some really interesting things there. Shoes made from hemp and recycled tires, paper made from elephant poo and a really neat concept house that looked like the hindenberg. Ugly from the outside, but really cool. Also, there were lots of free samples. We almost didn't need to buy lunch since there was so much free food. I came home with green cleaning products, shampoo, soap from lush and lots of free seeds for my garden. I also entered several draws to win cars. that would make my life so much easier! I want a hybrid.

On sunday the green theme continued as I spent most of the afternoon digging in my garden. I haven't planted anything yet since there is frost this week but now the garden is all composted and ready to go. Then my family and I went for a walk in the woods and all the trilliums are out and blooming happily because it is spring. So it was a happy weekend.

Now the weekend is over and I am at work. I am enjoying my job and love that I only have to come in to the office twice a week. Today the people in my carpool came in early so of course I did too. I was here in Mississauga before 7am which meant that I was awake super early. It means I get to leave by 3:30 so cheers to that. If I win a hybrid then this will no longer be an issue.

And that is all

Weekend highlights

A quick overview of highlights from my relaxing fun weekend.

1) I went to a stag and doe for a highschool friend on friday night. I won a tent! So now when I go camping in Algonquin in August I have a new tent.

2) In keeping with the wedding theme I went to a bridal shower saturday afternoon for my good friend Cheryl. It was fun and not as naughty as I expected:)

3) I bought a bag for my yoga mat which is made entirely out of recycled soda bottles. Pretty cool:)

4) Baking. I missed baking while I was in Rwanda because even after I lived in a place with an oven it was an electric oven and it cost about 10$ worth of power just to make tea biscuits. Saturday I made cinnamon buns which tasted yummy but didn't come out of the pan very well so they look gross. Now I am making yummy french bread. I love the smell of bread baking!

5) The weather. I'm glad I'm not buried in snow like people in Calgary! I am very much enjoying the 20+ degree weather and spending time outside. If it had been this nice out when I got home a month ago the transition would not have been so hard!

This week I start my new job at World Vision. I am not looking forward to all the driving to Mississauga because the 401 is crap and gas is tres chere but since I only have to go 1-2 times a week it should be ok. I am still looking into car pooling or finding another means of public transport to save money and the environment, but so far no luck.

Spring is here!

Finally spring. I wore spring clothes today and only got mildly chilly in the shade. I spent most of yesterday doing yardwork for my parents (now I have ugly blisters on my hands) and used the bbq to make dinner. Now I just have to clean all the leaves and junk out of my garden and I can start to get it ready to plant things. I am still deciding what to plant this year. Last year my squash and zuccinni both failed, but they would be so yummy if they grew this year. I will plant carrots, peas, beans and tomatoes. Maybe cucumber? Not quite the same as having lemon and avacado trees in the yard, but once the cherries start coming it will be pretty close!

Employed once again!

I got a phone call today from one of my old bosses from WV Canada and now I am working once again!! The phone call came sort of out of the blue and just as I was starting to get frustrated with my job search. I have been offered a temporary contract as the junior program officer in charge of the programming in Chad. It is only a two month contract but it may lead to something more later. For now it is money, more experience and more learning. And I get to do most of it from home since transport it an issue. I will still be working for my friend at the University of Waterloo, which is also mostly done from home, about 10 hours a week so I will be busy :)

So the pressue is off, I can feel like a productive member of society again but I will be going stir crazy in my house all day! The starbucks near my house has wireless so I can use that as my office once in a while:) Yahoo!!

Adjustments and tulips

Finally the snow is starting to melt! So exciting to see the grass and know that spring is here!! I've only had to deal with winter for three weeks, but I am ready for it to be over! I went to the Elmira Maple Syrup festival on saturday - the largest one day maple syrup festival in the world:) It was fun and I had a pickle on a stick. An annual tradition. yum.

So I've been home now for three weeks and am still adjusting. Live happens so quickly here, even when I don't have anything to do! I'm having trouble catching up. When I got home from South Africa the transition was a little traumatic, but this time it is a more subtle adjustment. Part of me wants to just re-adapt quickly and fit back into life here, while part of me really doesn't. It is confusing!

I have a part time job for the next month 0r so helping a friend who works at the university of Waterloo doing admin and stuff. At least it will keep me busy while I find another "real" job. :)