Delta Bessborough Hotel Saskatoon

... camp about 50km from Saskatoon at a small family run campground, again we were laughed at for tenting but are used to this by now. The location of the campsite was amazing though. About 100 metres from our tent was a series of ponds that were used by thousands of Canadian geese as a resting point on their long migration south for the winter. The sound and sight of them taking off on mass every time we showed ourselves from the tent was ...

... thrown into the garbage! I know what we walked through.

The most difficult part for me has been the return to radio and TV. The ads for everything centre around fear. “Wear this, eat this, drive this... or risk old age, frumpiness, unpopularity, theft, ugliness … blah blah blah", and did you know you can strap on a vibrating belt and lose weight while sitting on the couch eating potato chips and watching your favourite re-runs? Yesss finally ...

We are in a very strange position of being home and yet not having a home to go to. Our home is rented until the 13th of August and so we have been staying with Jim's parents and out at the farm. The farm has been a great break from everything and Jim has been working on his strength from sun-up to sun-down doing various projects.

So this is my last day in Saskatoon.  It has been fun, the city is beautiful, the people amazing.  Last night after I posted my blog Beth and I went to the Yard for dinner.  I had this amazing dinner of Beef and Cheese wrap with fries that put me out $9.95.  Then after listening to some Celtic music Beth and I separated for a good night sleep.  This morning we are going to meet up at the Lodge and ...

... Employee: "Oh, how cute. Boy or girl?" 350 pound young woman in ill-fitting sweats holding baby and pushing two other kids in a stroller: "Boy. Just 2 weeks old." Employee: "Wow. I didn't even know you were pregnant" Obese woman: "Yeah, well, I didn't even gain any weight" Employee: "Oh, you're so lucky." Obese woman: "Yeah, I know." 11:38 AM ...

... stop! Our Chinese visa applications were approved, so it looks like we'll be scaling that Great Wall after all. We are excited to see the Olympic venues and maybe even take in a track meet in the bird's nest. We have to put our computer away tomorrow, so our next entry will be from somewhere out there west of here. Our first stop is Cook Islands, then New Zealand, and onto Japan. I think I hear the unwashed floor calling me. Sandy

... of the whole ordeal, none of which I will post here. I'm sure he was thinking about possible blackmail in the future, also quite confident of her recovery, and subsequent reclamation of her role of little sister and her desire to drive him nuts. So when you are riding in an ambulance, placing your daughter on a spine board, watching her not get up after a fall, you quickly realize plans can evaporate in a heartbeat. What is most important in life.....health.

... TV.After a short stint at the Fox and Hound Pub we head back to the house where I start to fade. I enjoyed seeing everyone but I was absolutely exhausted from my binge the night before so I call it quits and go back to my hotel for a wonderful night of sleep.....

... would dying of some strange disease in Asia or being caught up in a coup in Africa. The risk is in getting up and going, the challenge of doing it! Of making a break from our everyday lives. The experiences of living in another culture, learning about the lives of other people and learning about the world firsthand have far more impact that armchair travelling, interesting though it may be. There's just nothing comparable. It's exciting and inspiring like nothing else.

... to understand what the other person is saying. We are not allowed to speak English except in medical emergencies, or if we are phoning our parents so I will be carrying my dictionnaire around even in the residence. I even took it with me to the bathroom, though I doubt there would be much to converse about there. My interaction with the other students seems to be limited to "salut, ca va?" Sigh...it ...