Finally it was time to say goodbye… lots of tears and hugs before we boarded the ferry to Vancouver. Theresa had a surprise for us… two stretch limousines waiting to carry us to the airport in luxury! The girls were delighted!!
Once at the airport, there were a few hold-ups as some of the girls had [...]
The last few days have been filled with preparations for returning home, and tonight we held our farewell party for students, homestay families, and staff of VIU. The students received certificates and a gift, then they sang some songs for the parents. Many tears, and photos, then it was time to go home and pack. [...]
On Wednesday, we had a chance to cook our own lunch in the international center’s kitchen. Helped by Emily, we prepared a delicious meal, and everyone left very full! Our menu was:
Pzza (Salami & vegetable, ham & pineapple)
Nachos
Nanaimo bar (a popular local sweet treat. Read about it here)
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Today was probably our most exciting adventure! We went out to Wild Play, and did the Tree to Tree Course! This involved climbing rope ladders, walking across rope bridges, and sliding down zip-lines. All of the students finished the first two stages, which took us up to 15m off the ground. Nine of the students [...]
As it was a holiday, 6 of the girls decided they’d like to have a night together at the hotel I’m staying at. They rented two rooms, and then went downtown and bought piles of food and drink. Fun time with friends…
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Today was a public holiday in Canada (Labour Day) so there were no classes or activities planned. So, I decided to do some walk-training on Newcastle Island. This is the ferry… they’re very cute but practical – they travel at about 15km/h, carry 12 people, need only 45cm of water, and use only 1 litre [...]
Downtown in Nanaimo, very close to my hotel, there is a river in which salmon are beginning to spawn. Every day, the mouth of the river is crowded with fishermen trying to catch ‘pinks’ or pink salmon. These are smaller than sock-eye salmon, but still very delicious apparently. There are always a few seals around [...]
Canada has SO much wildlife… and even on VIU’s campus, we can see rabbits everywhere, nibbling on the grass. They’re not afraid of people, and let you get quite close before hopping away.
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Rabbits…
…and more rabbits!
It may look like we’re just having fun at VIU in Nanaimo, but we do study also!! Every morning, Kathy takes the students through a variety of activities. Here they are, preparing for their presentations next week. Great students!!
Studying hard!
Victoria is the capital city of the British Columbia province, and is about a 2-hour drive south of Nanaimo. It’s a very beautiful city of around 300,000 people, and has a very British atmosphere. We spent a few hours downtown, particularly in the Government Street area which has lots of souvenir shops. As this weekend [...]
Today we visited Victoria, starting with a visit to the Butchart Gardens. These gardens were developed by the Butchart family, and now cover 22ha. They are gorgeous, and the few hours we spent there just weren’t enough to appreciate them. Of special note were the Sunken Garden and the Japanese Garden.
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This morning, the students all visited the Natural History museum on the VIU campus. Following that, they walked about 6kms to their teacher, Kathy’s house for lunch. On the way, they walked through 2 wildlife areas: Buttertubs Marsh Bird Sanctuary and Bowen Park.
Kathy’s house is right next to Bowen Park. It’s a beautiful location, and [...]
Walking on the train tracks from Kathy’s house to the bus stop…
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Walking the tracks
Saori in the lead
In the morning, Kathy taught us about leisure time in Canada, and showed a video about canoeing in Canada’s beautiful rivers. Then, in the afternoon, Theresa, Rebecca, and Brandon took us canoeing at Westwood Lake, a manmade lake about 20 minutes from VIU.
At first, everyone had a lot of difficulty controlling their 2-person canoes, but [...]
The staff of the international studies centre work hard (and play hard!) so to relieve stress, a number of them go walking every lunchtime. You can always tell if they’re having a stressful day by the speed at which they walk! Sometimes I join them for the 5km walk around Buttertubs Marsh. It’s a beautiful [...]
