Exploring Canada's Capital...

Well, my sister and I finally made it to Ottawa! While we had a smooth and hassle free flight, once we landed we were told by the pilot that the runway had been put on red alert (due to a thunderstorm) and we were not aloud to leave the plane. For the first 45 minutes my sister and I thought of it as an adventure and tried to make the best of the situation. So we sat there with our i-pods and a few good books and began to wait it out, thinking that we would be aloud to get off the plane at any moment. However, to our dismay we were stuck on the plane for 3 HOURS. Long after our books and I-pods had become rather uninteresting, we did anything to keep ourselves occupied. From braiding each other's hair to playing "peek-a-boo" with a three year old child who was sitting in front of us. Needless to say it was a long and tedious wait but we finally made it to NHOP safe and sound.

Despite the rather interesting start to our trip, my sister and I had the best time roaming around Canada's capital and exploring downtown Ottawa! We began our exploration by walking down York street and heading up to Parliament Hill. We finally were able to make it to the peace tower after 3 times of being in Ottawa! After walking through the tower and memorial site we walked around the Parliament grounds taking pictures and enjoying the view of the Rideau Canal.

Shortly after we wrapped up our time at the hill, my sister and I left no stone unturned as we made our way up Sussex and eventually found ourselves at Chapters where I picked up a great new read called " Ask Me Why I Hurt". It is an eye opening account of a doctor who created a travelling medical bus to help the forgotten and broken homeless teens of Arizona. It is such a good book and I am already half way through!

 After we took a quick break at Starbucks we walked across the street to the Rideau shopping centre and eventually made our way to Byward Market (the best market I have been to in my opinion). It was full of all sorts of wonderful smells and explosions of colour!  

We literally turned Byward market inside out as we made our way though all the local shops and vendors. My sister and I then stopped for an amazing lunch at a local Indian restaurant where we had the best chicken curry and naan bread. Seriously. It was so good. Soon after we finished eating we continued walking through the streets of Byward market, where we came across Beaver Tails. Now, if you have no idea what a beaver tail is, then you are missing out. Basically, it is a Canadian delicacy which consists of a long piece of fried dough, powered in Cinnamon and sugar and smothered with any topping you like. In this case, my sister and I had maple butter and chocolate syrup. Delicious!!

By this time it began to rain so we ducked into a little tea place called "the tea shop". Simple name, but excellent tea! There we met up with a friend who moved out to Ottawa and enjoyed her company and conversation. However, I think the tea made us feel a little worn out so after we were done talking, my sister and I headed back to NHOP and crashed for the next couple hours.

I loved being able to share this time with my sister and enjoy the wonders of Ottawa with her. I am excited for the campers to finally get here tomorrow and to see what the rest of the week holds!!

The gourgous flowers of Byward

Mmm...how I love earl grey tea!

                                         
      A view of the Parliament grounds and Rideau Canal

                                            
           The infamous "Women are Persons" Monument

         
                 Enjoying an Indian lunch down Byward.

                                                                       
                            Her very first beaver tail! Yum!

Bittersweet...

So today was my last day of working as an educational assistant. While I am excited to go to Ottawa and move on to new things over this next year, it is a bittersweet experience saying goodbye to my grade 7 kids. Even though I was only with them for a short period of time, they made an impact on my life and have helped seal my desire of wanting to work with kids.

During the short time I was with them, I was able to start building relationships and trust between all the students. I  had so much fun being able to take my "science posse" (as they called themselves) to the library to help them learn and study for science (or any other subject they needed help with). I also loved working with a particular student who had tourettes. While it was definitely a learning experience and sometimes trying, it helped me to see that children all learn differently and with some help and guidance they can flourish. I noticed that he had an amazing imagination and talent for drawing and being able to learn how incorporate that into his subjects was a great experience.

 Some of my favourite times was when I could work with the grade 3 students. Your self esteem is never low when you are around younger kids. With compliments such as " Miss Smith you look really pretty today, especially with that big smile on your face!" or " Your clothes are always so pretty Miss Smith!" my self esteem never suffered when I was with them.  It was the best when I would walk down the school hallway and I would have both older and younger kids saying "Hello Miss Smith" or " Good morning Miss Smith how has your morning been?". But I think the best part throughout my whole (very short) time as an E.A. was when I was able to help 3 girls in my grade seven class with some personal problems involving bullying and other matters. It was then I realized that this is where I am supposed to be. This is what I was created for. While it was only a small glimpse of what I want to do, I realized that God has given me a passion to help kids for a reason. Even though I am not sure what exactly that is going to look like, whether I will be a teacher, a social worker or even a counselor, I know at that moment something solidified in my heart that I am on the right path.  

So, as I was saying goodbye yesterday and this morning I was giving them all personal cards and treat bags thanking them for letting me be apart of their class, when out of the blue all the grade 7 girls came up and gave me big hugs and told me they would pray for me as I go to Ottawa next year and that they wished I could come back next year. At this point, if you know me, it was a little hard to keep it together :) But then one of the students made me burst out laughing because they said " Ya, I wish you could come back too Miss Smith. Mainly because you are young and not old. You are more apart of our generation than the old generation. That means you can relate to us better". Oh those kids made me laugh everyday. They truly do say the funniest things.

Despite the fact that I am sad that I am leaving these kids, I know God has something bigger and greater planned and I am excited to see what it is going to look like!

The "welcome to the classroom" card the kids made me

 A gift a student gave me this morning

its a Willow Tree Figurine called "love of learning"

The Countdown is On...

Wow...I think this is the first time I have actually sat down today. This week has been so busy that I don't even think I have had time to think.  I am currently getting ready to go on a two week trip to Ottawa and Quebec city. I am so excited! Only 2 more days until I will be up in the air, flying like bird, to one of my favourite cities.

My first week I will be in Ottawa, being a camp leader for a program called "Camp Fire" that is organized by the National House of Prayer (http://www.nhop.ca/pages/home.php). I am so excited to be going down with my younger sister and sharing this incredible experience with her. While we are down in Ottawa we will not only be experiencing Canada's capital through the Parliament buildings and behind the scenes tours, we will also have the chance to pray for our government, grow and learn through teaching times and work with the local neighbourhoods. We will also have the chance to go on an amazing zip lining tour through the Gatineu forest and best of all experience Canada Day in the nation's capital. I had a life changing experience last year and I know it is going to be the same for my sister.

During the second week my family and I will be traveling to Quebec City for a little R&R. I am looking forward to being in Old Quebec City once again! One of my favourite memories that I can remember from when we went down when I was 15, is waking up in the morning to the smell of fresh croissants and hearing the clip clop of horse's hooves on the cobblestone roads. I love the whole atmosphere of Old Quebec...I love the little boutique shops and old buildings. The history is just so rich and wonderful! You can just imagine the things that took place as you walk through the pathways of the old city.

But for now I am enjoying the process of packing and anticipating the adventure. Hopefully I will be able to blog a little bit while I am away!

My picture with the Queen on Canada Day (she is on the screen)! 

 Parliament buildings

First Time Blogger

Okay. This is my first time blogging. Ever. But here I go. I am a 20 year old university graduate who is trying to learn how to live with my arms wide open, embracing life to the fullest, learning to love and be loved whole heartedly and be the person that God has created me to be. I have just graduated from my Bachelor of Arts with a plan of eventually going into elementary education. I have a passion for kids and a desire to see children who have been labelled as "invisible" or "unwanted" come into their fullest potential and change the world. One of my favourite books/movies  is the story of Erin Gruwell and her classroom called the "Freedom Writers". What inspires me the most is that this suburban teacher is not only able to connect with the kids in her classroom but she is also able to guide and inspire these children into their fullest potential, reigniting dreams of hope and a future into their hearts.

 I also have a strong desire to travel the world and see everything that I can. I have a list a mile long of all the places I want to see and visit. One of my hopes is to research my family lineage and travel to all the places that my family has come from. Two of which are Spain and the Ukraine.  I also have a zeal for going on adventures, especially road trips. I used to dream when I was little (and still do) of picking a highway and seeing where it takes me. No map, no GPS, just the open road and the pure curiosity as to where I will end up.

 Besides planning future trips, one of my favourite pass times is reading. I love being able to curl up with a good book on a rainy afternoon  (or any afternoon for that matter) and read to my heart's content. My Ikea bookshelf is about ready to burst as its so heavy with books. Two of my absolute favourite books are " The Freedom Writers Diary" and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". 

I also have a love for all styles of cooking, baking and quilting. But most of all I love the organic, get back to the basics style of living. My family always jokes that I should move in with an Amish community. This has also influenced my weakness for anything vintage/antique. I plan on living in house one day fully decked out in second hand/antique store finds. I could spend hours walking around in antique stores looking at all the interesting knick knacks and hidden treasures.

 However, my biggest desire in life is to walk hand in hand with my Heavenly Father and to follow His will for my life. I want to follow His voice and live in true abandonment to Him. He has inspired and given me my dreams and passions and I am so excited for the journey He is taking me on!

 Well,  I could write for hours, but I am sure this blog is already long enough. This is a little bit about me and who I am. Now, I just have to learn to keep up with this thing called blogging  :)

                                                                             - A.