A Tribute, of Sorts, to the Graduating Class of 2017

As I write, I am supervising one of the last exams of this school year: Science 10.  Supervising an exam largely involves providing Kleenex and seeking bathroom "escorts" for those who cannot make it through two hours.  In short, it affords me time to reflect.

In two days, the Class of 2017 will graduate.  They have participated in the usual grad traditions: skip days, collectively attending school out of uniform, one or two grad pranks... The most recent grad prank, set up during the night before the last day of classes, involved a scrapped car, heavy plastic, water and 150 goldfish.  One of my first early morning tasks was to help the maintenance guys save goldfish.  Said fish were temporarily housed in my recycling bin, then released into the pond of a staff member.

When this class moved into the high school after Grade 8, the high school teachers took note, as always, of their reputation.  Were they badly behaved?  Were they known to be a discordant group?  Would there be a rash of disciplinary issues over the ensuing years?  Word on the street: the students are a great group who are closely bonded.  And so they have been.

I have had the honour of teaching most of this class in various years of English 9 to 12 - sometimes more than once.  Nine students traveled to Trinidad with me last year on an Outreach trip.  When I was on lunch supervision this school year, several of these students were still hanging out in the same area they frequented in Grade 9 - even though they had a more sophisticated Grade 12 option.  I have watched many of them finally pass their drivers' tests.  I have completed countless references for university admissions.  I have appreciated students' musical, dramatic and artistic offerings over the years.  I have watched these students mature from barely responsible Grade 9 kids who sometimes struggled to submit assignments on time to responsible young men and women who are [more or less] ready to tackle the beginning of their adult lives.

In short, on Thursday evening, I am going to be proud of this class, albeit sad to see them leave Pacific Academy.  I am equally excited to find out what amazing things they will accomplish in their futures!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

I have been messing around with "blog stuff" all day trying to get my current students organized for their journals.  I feel like this site is "grandfathered".  It is straightforward and posting is simple - as is finding links to sort out any setting issues.  By contrast blogger is complicated and I have setup an umpteen million gmail accounts when all the while, this is IT.  I can just use this and it is not complicated.

Yup, frustrated!  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

The last time I posted a blog was in 2008.  Five years ago.  Wow!  Now, I expect my students to blog their journals for me, so in the interest of "practicing what I preach" I am going to blog again.  We'll see how long my resolve lasts.

I'm still teaching English - and loving it.

I'm still paddling OC - and loving it.  I am training at a more competitive level than I was in 2008.

I'm now running - and loving is such a strong word, but I like it... sometimes.  It has opened up a whole new world of sport for me, including triathlon.

I was on my first Outreach Trip - and the last minute, with passport mentioned in a blog - to Ukraine in March 2008.  I travelled on a week's notice.  Crazy.  That trip was to Kiev.  Since then, I have returned on another Outreach Trip in 2011, this time to the Crimea.  Outreach 2012 and 2013 found me in Guatemala.  Both Guatemala trips were amazing and memorable.  2012 was the year the team was sick a lot.  2013 was the year all our luggage was stolen shortly after we arrived.  I am returning in March 2014.  I wonder what adventure awaits us this school year?!  It will be another amazing time of connecting with friends and acquaintances in Yepocapa.

After 23 years post-bone-marrow transplant, I found out just over a year ago that I have chronic graft vs. host disease in my left eye.  In layman's terms, the stem cells do not reproduce in that eye and I have a scar right down the middle of my left cornea.  Contact lenses have become the long term solution - and ironically, I can see better than ever with my right eye!  As of Spting 2013, however, I am back on the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic radar and am into a regime of regular visits to a hematologist once again.

Let's see... We now have two German Shepherds, both four and both rescued.  Darby is our male - a big, friendly, furry beast.  Myia is our female, smaller, shorter hair and tons of personality.  Freckle the Cat keeps them both in check.

So... a new entry is now complete.  Who knows when the next will happen?!

Getting a Passport in Canada

Happily Holding My New Passport

(arrival time: 27 days)

For some time now, Paul and I have been procrastinating regarding our passport applications. Our first sense of urgency hit about a year or so ago when the American government decided first that all travellers into the United States must carry a passport. We relaxed, though, when this edict was amended to only those who were travelling by air into the USA. Since we cross by land, usually to shop, we put off the passport application process again.

Then, I registered for the TESOL Conference being held in New York City this year. My administrator, Jan, booked our flights from Seattle, getting an inexpensive fare. Our initial plan was to fly from Vancouver, so I once again determined to get this passport application mess over with once and for all. When Jan announced that we were flying from Seattle, I relaxed once again.

Then my imagination began to wander, and I considered all the "what ifs" of travel outside of Canada. Paul and I had the applications, so why didn't we just get them completed at last?! So, on January 2 we forayed into town and had our passport photos taken. That was a bit of a production, as the stuff I use to keep my eyes wet leaks all over, and I had to keep wiping my eyes so that there wasn't too much glare. Paul's photo really looks like a mug shot or something... Neither of our photos are flattering.

So, then on Friday January 4, we thought, "Why not today?!" The night before I had completed my passport application online, and that morning I had completed Paul's. So, we drove down to White Rock to have our guarantor guarantee that we were who we are. Then, we battled traffic up through Surrey, hoping to get to the main passport office that day. Well, finding parking was a dream. Then, we made our way up into the tower. Just before the elevator bank, we were directed outside to .... yes, in Canada, wait in line!!!

The line was long. The weather was wet, windy and cold. The people in line were not patient. The government employee told us we would be out in this nastiness for about a half hour before being ushered up to the 9th floor waiting area. We were a visible minority - and a linguistic minority - in that line up.

Paul made some very negative comments that do not bare repeating, then announced, "We are not in the Soviet Union; I am a Canadian Citizen, and I am NOT standing in this line!!"

With that, we proceeded down to the warmth of the underground parking, got into the car, and drove back to a Canada Services Office in Langley. Low and behold, we did not have to wait outside. In fact, we did not have to wait in line. In less than a half an hour, we were processed, and told that the only downside of handing our application in at a Services office was having to relinquish our birth certificates, and having to wait until the end of February for our passports. Since I am not leaving for New York until April 1, we were not even a tad stressed about the wait.

Well, in one of those rare moves, the Government of Canada has caused us to adjust our political perceptions. Today, January 31, I picked up my passport - and my birth certificate - courtesy of Canada Post.

Reenactment of How to Dress to Apply for a Passport

(using an expired passport)

Merry Christmas!

Well, it is December 16 and I am woefully behind in the Christmas card department. This is my "stop-gap" measure, as well as my "in lieu of a Christmas letter" attempt. Paul and I do wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Mom Mills arrived on Friday, and will stay with us until December 28. We are enjoying her visit, but so far haven't done anything too exciting! This morning, we did enjoy the children's Christmas Pageant at church. In the next couple of weeks, we have a few dinner parties lined up, but for the first time since we have been married.we will actually celebrate Christma at home, including Christmas dinner. Since we've already had two turkey dinners and will have another with friends on Christmas Eve, I think we'll stick to Cornish game hen. Then I can proudly maintain my claim that I have never cooked a turkey. If that is something to be proud about....

We will have Bethlehem staying with us again for a few days during the Christmas break. She's quite excited about meeing Paul's Mom. We love her stays with us. She just brings so much joy with her whereever she goes. We joke that the "joy has left" the Mills house when she goes home. It's not true, but it's certainly a LOT quieter when she is gone.

I have one more week in which to keep students focussed before Christmas break. They are already pretty restless, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.... Last Thursday, we took them to see a musical production at Willingdon Church called "Two from Galilee" which was amazing! It was very professional; there was a full orchestra and the sets were exceptional.

I will continue to paddle on Saturdays through Christmas, as our team is entered in an Icebreaker regatta on January 19. The regatta will be 6 km in two OC6s (6-man outrigger canoes) strapped together. So there will be 12 paddlers, which is nice for that length of race. The race takes place at Barnet Marine Park in Burnaby, so it will be ocean paddling. We have to sign away our lives accepting the "inherent dangers" of ocean paddling, which is a bit unnerving, but I think is really more of a formality than anything. The team we're paired with, also from the Fort Langley Canoe Club, is a very strong, mixed team, so I'm hoping we do well. We've only missed one practice, due to heavy snowfall....

Paul and I will enjoy having a week at the end of Christmas break to just spend time hanging out and relaxing. It has been a busy semester, so we need some "recovery time". Both of us will be back in the classroom on January 7.

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year!

Moonlight Paddle

I have to write this while it is fresh in my mind. Earlier today I discovered that a group from the canoe club were going for a moonlight paddle in a voyageur canoe this evening. So, I decided to join them.

We met at the boathouse at 7:00 pm. 10 of us pulled the voyageur canoe from the boathouse down to the water front on its trailer. We had a few strange looks as we crossed the road in Fort Langley. It's about 2 C right now, and not many think, "What a great night to paddle!"

We paddled upstream into the moon, which was surrounded by an enormous ring. It was almost as though we were paddling right into the moon. We continued up to West Creek, just east of Fort Langley, then went up the creek - with our paddles!

We meandered up the creek for awhile before turning around and heading back to the Fraser, and downstream to the launch. I think we're were out there for almost two hours, and I didn't even feel the cold. I had layers of fleeces on, a toque and paddling gloves. My arms are a bit wet, as I dip a lot when I paddle, but that's it. It was an exhilerating experience, and I hope to do it again someday.

I'm not brave enough to take my camera out on the water, so you'll just have to imagine what it was like!

MissFits

Two weeks ago, we had a beautiful, sunny Saturday to paddle in the Fraser River in an OC6, or 6-man Outrigger Canoe. We are the MissFits, 7 members of the Paddle Pushers dragon boat team who are rotating to go out each Saturday afternoon through the winter season. Because temperatures are dipping, and the Fraser River is now quite chilly, we wear wetsuits to paddle. In the event that we huli (OC speak for "capsize"), we have about 3 minutes to right the boat and start to bail before hypothermia sets in. How did we meet? We are all members of the Fort Langley Canoe & Kayak Club, a club that offers programs for young people and adults in both flat water paddling (kayaking) and big boat paddling (canoeing, voyageur canoeing, dragon boating, outrigger canoeing).



Before we could go out in the OC6 as a team, we all had to attend a huli clinic. It was a crash course in the architecture of an OC6 and the technique needed to right it once upended. To this end, we dressed to get wet and intentionally capsized. I did the clinic in October, and it was already quite cold in the Fraser River!!

The outrigger canoe is made up of the canoe body and the "pontoon". The float part of the pontoon is called the ama and the arms to the float are called the 'iako. When the boat is upside down in the water, the ends of the two 'iako, on the opposite side of the boat from the pontoon are called the muku. They are important in the process of righting the boat.

If the boat is capsized, seats 1 and 6 have the job of gathering the paddles from the water. Seat 6 also must have the paddlers count off to ensure that no one is missing. Seats 3 and 4 swim to the ama and push it up out of the water and over, before swimming to the ama side to scramble back into the canoe. Seats 2 and 5 scramble over the boat and stand on the muku, then lean over to take hold of the 'iako and use their body weight to help seats 3 and 4 heave the ama over to right the boat. They then also scramble in, at which time any free hands start to paddle for shore, while the rest of the crew bails the boat as quickly as possible.

We are very much self-taught at the moment. As you can see, the OC paddle is quite different from either a regular canoe paddle or a dragon boat paddle. The paddle has a concave blade, and the blade is pulled through the water on the curve side, which is counter-intuitive for my not-so-scientific brain. Seats 1 and 2 set the pace for the boat, and each seat paddles on the opposite side to the seat in front of it. The steersperson can paddle, but may simply steer, which (speaking from experience) is quite a challenge in river currents and eddie!

Every 20 strokes, we cry out "hike hup hoe". I have since found out that hoe means "to paddle." Theoretically, we should not lose our rhythm in the switch-over, but we're still a bit out of time in that department - but improving with each time we go out!

On this particular Saturday, two weeks ago, we decided to paddle downstream, then work away around and upstream past MacMillan Island and the Albion Ferry docks to the east end of the island. From there, we battled (for an eternity, it seemed) the cross-currents to get back into the Bedford Channel and paddle downstream to the dock. We did have to pause briefly, then paddle like crazy so as not to get caught in the wake of the crossing ferries. We waited until they were both docked and unloading, then "power stroked" to get past before they had reloaded and launched. Along the way we saw Canada geese and sea gulls, which are standard fare. But we also encountered a loon in the channel and seals playing in the river. At Fort Langley, the Fraser River still has some salt water. The float planes often fly overhead as there is an airport just upstream from Fort Langley.

Our goal, as the MissFits, is to race in one regatta, perhaps in January. We are working on endurance training, and many of us are doing cardio-core cross-training. The "short" races are 1 km in length. As you may have discerned from the terminology, outrigger canoeing has a South Pacific origin, and the boats are designed for open-water ocean canoeing. I imagine that a huli is much more likely in such conditions than in the relative calm of the Fraser River. Perhaps we'll become very good and race in Hawaii! In the meantime, I'm certain we may be paddling in one or two snow falls, which will be an adventure if nothing else.