Lifelong Learner

And we're back in business! My laptop turns on, though the battery is completely dead, thus the cord has now been duct taped to the computer so that I don't lose absolutely everything I'm doing every time I shift position in my chair and knock out the cord. Aaah life. Reading week was great, J and L, two very wonderful friends of mine from the program, wandered all over the island with some friends of ours from Port, Charlotte and Tlell. We dug some giant holes, moved some really big logs, hiked, kayaked, played music and ate a LOT of deer. I've added killing and dismembering animals to my rather extensive list of things I want to learn to do.

Speaking of learning, J and L have taken me under their wings in an attempt to teach me trees. There are only twelve local species of tree here and only five of those are easy to come by. Despite all this I am a suuuuper slow learner when it comes to plant life. So we went for a hike and I had to gather all the little cones and needles and take pictures to test myself with.

Spruce. The bark is like scales and it has nice long cones.

Hemlock. Line-y bark with funny little tiny needles.

Red cedar. Beautiful lined bark with leafy needles.

Alder, the only deciduous of the common trees. It has dorky little cones and...well, doesn't look like an evergreen :)

Now I'm working on ferns. This one has little 'thumbs' on the bottom of the leaves...which I think makes it a sword fern. This is a work in progress.

There are also pines on the island to round out the common five trees but apparently I don't have a picture of a pine. I'm definitely going to fail the final exam.

We started a new class this Monday: First Nations and Forests. So far it's been great, but exhausting. Lots of really amazing guest speakers with incredible stories to tell. We also took a trip up to Old Massett today for the first day of the Embridge consultations. Really interesting to watch that unfold here. Lots of work coming up with projects and readings and so on. Should be an intense three weeks.

In other news, I mentioned some big changes in my life. One of them is that I've decided on stay in Charlotte beyond the end of the program. I haven't committed at all to how long but I've got a job lined up for the summer months to give myself time to make more connections here and figure out where I'd like to go. It's weird to be operating without a five-year plan but it also feels really good and very freeing. There is also a lot of sadness for the things I'm leaving behind but I spend most of most days with a gigantic smile on my face. I've also talked to my landlord and secured my beautiful home, so I have a job and a place to live. Not shabby eh? L is also thinking of staying, at least for the summer, so she currently has first dibs on the second bedroom in the house.

Life is just the most unexpected thing, isn't it?

Masset, BC.

Hiatus

As some of you may have noticed, there have been a dearth of posts here lately. I'm on a slight hiatus for some big changes in my life, reading week and the fact that my usual laptop is currently living in a large bag of rice after a run-in with a mug of hot chocolate. I'm reaaaally hoping it turns on when I push the button on Sunday. Wish me luck and we should, fingers crossed, be back in business next week. Otherwise my dear friend G will be express posting me my other lappy. Eeep.

In other news, I can now identify tree species just by looking at them. Up next: ferns.

All my love to all of you.

Heat!

I lit my first successful fire yesterday! I have officially heated my home with my own two hands (and the ripped up reading package from the course I just finished, and a BBQ lighter and a lot of cedar shingles and logs). Hydro bill, prepare to not be $200!

Queen Charlotte/Charlotte City/QC

I took a 'personal day' (in other words, played hooky) on one of the most beautiful days of the spring last week. And that's saying a lot cause the weather's been so beautiful. Just wandered around Charlotte, took a long nap, bought some groceries. Buying groceries is a major source of stress out here. The shipment arrives on Monday when the ferry comes in, which actually means only if the ferry comes in. By Thursday there is usually no dairy, very little meat (definitely no chicken) and only root veg left in the produce department. Now, for those of you who have eaten with me frequently you'll know that my diet is primarily dairy, chicken, tofu and non-root vegetables. Eeep. Also the grocery store is only open till 6pm, which is a problem when we're in class till 4 or so every day and then I have to hop on my bike, get home, drop off my school stuff, hop back on my bike and make it to the store. Double eep.

That whole grocery thing was a bit of a digression. I actually wanted to show you guys some photos of Charlotte, which I think I've raved about a fair bit but not really showcased here. Looking through the photos I took on my afternoon of wantonness, I realize I mostly focused on the view, rather than the beauty of the actual town (my classmates and I could dissect this and its relevance to my romanticized view of the 'wilderness' but one digression is enough for this post). But here she is. The rather recently incorporate Village of Queen Charlotte. My home :)

The inlet. You can't really see in this photo but the profile of the islands across the bay are a really interesting study in the logging fads of the past 100 years and the old and second growth that remains.

Looking east from the village. My house is in there somewhere.

The community engagement event is coming up in a week or so. Should be intense.

The snow-covered right-most cap is Sleeping Beauty. We're aiming to climb it in April.

Cool old barge thing that's beached on the west end of town.

K, admittedly not scenery but I patched my pants BY HAND. It took forever and I'm way too proud.

Up near Port. This is an old, partially carved Haida canoe, from around the time of the second smallpox outbreak. Abandoned because a family member died while it was being carved. The spirit of the dead relative goes into the canoe and the family has to abandon it and move on.

Distractions

The ocean was so distracting this morning that I had to pull my bike over and just watch the sun rise.

To add to the distractions I am now sitting here, on my porch, in a tank top, listening to Thomas King...

...and looking out at this. Homework, eh?

Fearless

I told myself I wouldn't use this blog as an excuse to get introspective and poetic but I haven't taken any photos for a while and I'm worried I'll lose my readership (read: my mom will stop checking this) if I don't post something. Yeah right, I just feel like getting introspective and poetic.

I am a pretty fearful person. Always have been. Afraid of heights, afraid of the dark, afraid of change, afraid of not having a plan, afraid of spiders. Over the past couple of years I have slowly become less fearful, through conscious and unconscious effort. But I have always been afraid.

I have no fears here. I am watching my plans and my ideas of who I am slowly fall apart but I'm not afraid. I walk the streets here in the dark, alone, and I'm not afraid. I climb giant sand dunes and cross freezing rivers and wander into the woods without the latest in expensive gear, and I'm not afraid. Well, I was kind of afraid at the top of that dune, let's be honest here.

At the beginning of the first class of this program, Sean, our instructor, asked us if we felt free and like we could go anywhere and do anything and I said, immediately, 'no, not at all.' He looked kind of surprised (not surprisingly, he looked surprised a lot) and said that I should feel that way. But I genuinely didn't. I don't think I've even ever wanted to feel that way before. But I do now. I want that. I want to be brave and daring and inspired. I am tired of saying "I've never been there." From now on I will say "I haven't been there yet." My body is strong and my heart is full.

The longer I am here, the less I know about my future and the more I know about my present.

I feel that my work so far taught me how to fake it. But in learning how to look like I knew what I was talking about I think I forgot how to think about what I was thinking about. I am now learning how to forget how to fake it and how to just tell the truth. 

I wish Gramma and Grampa were alive so I could go and ask them about where I come from.

By the Power of Greyskull...

...I have interneted my house. Hells. Yeah.

Pesuta

"Hiked" the Pesuta trail on Sunday. I use quotes cause it's really more of a walk than anything else, but so beautiful! We've been blessed with amazing weather the past couple of days, making this whole morning class thing kind of difficult. But we're heading out into the field with a local faller to learn about how trees are actually cut down this afternoon, which we're all way too excited about (this is true of pretty much everything we do actually). Anyway, can't recommend driving down the main road on Haida Gwaii with too many people and too few seat belts in a Westfalia with no headlights on a beautiful Sunday morning and then hiking to an incredible ship wreck (read: giant wooden jungle gym) and then cooking a big meal and going to a cabaret with fire hula hooping (WHAT?). Still have no internet in my house (Telus hates me) but I should have enough time to make it to Officeworks tonight (the only place that sells modems, sigh) and get matches, which means we maaaaay have internet AND heat tonight. Way too much excitement for one day.

River, sand dune, ocean.

We climbed the dunes, which were probably 3 or 4 stories high. You can see the mainland from up there! It's almost like we're part of Canada...

Play time!

New House!

Living room! So many couches. Also there's a wood stove off the left. Haida Gwaii is determined that I will learn how to operate one of these things.

View from my bedroom.

Messy giant bed!

Cutest bathroom ever. I love the houses up here.

Only thing cuter than my bathroom is my kitchen. Look at that island!

We have a lovely, quasi-wrap around porch with benches and a BBQ and a gorgeous view of the narrows.

White house. Red door. What more could I ask for

It still has no internet (oh the internet on these islands!) but I love it so.

Another Update!

New house has no internet. This is being remedied, however, as a local guy told me the secret to getting a hold of the only internet guy on-island, who runs the world from his home. He doesn't answer off-island calls. Having now called from a local number, we are on our way to internet and pictures of my new home!

Everything's coming together, on Charlotte time.

Update!

1. Moved out of old house yesterday.

2. Friends with cars and large beds are amazingly wonderful.

3. Moving into new house tonight.

4. Started new course on Monday.

5. 170 pages of reading in one night is NOT amazingly wonderful.

6. A BIG thank you to Mr. GD for sending me my headlamp. Apparently running an entire archipelago on two diesel-based power grids makes for some rather sporadic service.

7. Readings with friends by headlamp and candlelight is less romantic but a lot more fun than it sounds.