And so it begins again...

I started a new placement today working in the community. While in a way I am going to miss the freedom of research weeks, I do welcome a more structured schedule.

Today was a day of introductions and discussion on what it is I will be doing. This took up a great portion of the morning (well all of it actually).

The afternoon was spent getting prepping for a program that was running tonight. The program pairs local chefs together with teens giving this group exposure to cooking (among other things). I attended the actually cooking portion of the evening and had a chance to see how things ran. The evening wrapped up around 8:30 pm thereby concluding my first day (nothing like a solid first day at work)!

Working downtown shall definitely be an interesting experience...now if only I could find a cheap place to park...!

Cheers,

T.

When the Parents are on Vay-Cay...

I come home to dog sit!

I've been at my parent's place this past week looking after their little pooch, Mac. He's just over a year and pretty darn cute (even if he does bark at just about everything he sees).

Here's a photo of him:



Despite it being the middle of July, everything in the garden is full of colour. I took an opportunity today to snap a few photos in the back yard...


One of the many Hostas in the garden. Still wet from a brief rain shower.



I love the colour of this flower - so vibrant!



The "creek" at the back of the property. From time to time actual herons come to visit it!




Playing around with the features on my camera. Lavender in a planter box just off the deck.

The next few weeks are filled with all sorts of events. I shall try my best to keep this updated as best I can!!!

Cheers,

T.

Second Placement Done? Check!

Wow – it’s now just over a month from my last post. I’m completely finished my second placement and am now into my research weeks. I really did enjoy my clinical rotation...which really pleasantly surprised me!

I made a conscious choice not to post on this placement – I wanted to make sure that everyone’s privacy (both patients and members of the health care team) was respected.

I don’t want you to think that just because I didn’t write about my experiences, that I didn’t find them valuable...this is quite the contrary. I have learned SO much in just those four weeks. I’d like to share a few of the most important things that stuck with me:

- I was surprised to find that that I really enjoyed interacting with patients.
- I enjoy working with seniors. I find their life stories fascinating and could sit and chat with them for hours.
- I am in awe of the strength that patients show on their road to recovery. I only hope that if ever faced with the same situation, I would be as strong.
- Life doesn’t always go as planned but this doesn’t mean that you have to give up your dreams. Disabilities may change your life, but don’t necessarily end them.

All in all, it was an amazing experience and I really hope that each successive placement goes as well as my first two!

Cheers,

T.

Back Home in London...

I made it safe and sound back from Ottawa and am now (somewhat) settled back into my place here in London. I started my new placement on Monday and I can definitely say it is a completely different experience than my last one. The week has flown by and I honestly cannot believe that it is already Saturday afternoon. I've got so much to do before Monday and I'm not quite sure how it will all get done!

My trip home was rather uneventful. I stopped in the Toronto area to have a late lunch with two good friends and was back in London last Sunday for dinnertime.

Perhaps when things slow down a bit, I'll have a chance to catch up on some Ottawa topics that I didn't have a chance to write about while I was there.

Happy Saturday!

Cheers,

T.

Doors Open Ottawa

I couldn't have imagined a better way to spend my last day here in Ottawa then by taking part in Doors Open Ottawa. The weather was fantastic. It was sunny and warm with a light breeze which made walking from location to location quite delightful.

J and I had decided the evening before that we would focus on seeing Embassies and Consulates as these are typically not open to the public on a day-to-day basis.

We were able to view the Algerian and Croatian Embassies, the Brazilian Ambassador's private residence and the British High Commissioners Residence. Unfortunately all of these locations didn't not permit photography inside. We did however manage to get some nice photos of the exterior and gardens of many of the locations. Oh I almost forgot, we also got to meet in person (and shake hands) with the British High Commissioner and his wife!!! Pretty nifty eh?

Our first stop, the Algerian Embassy. A beautiful building with beautiful gardens. We were also treated to figs and wine as we left. Such wonderful hospitality!


Flowers in the garden of the Algerian Embassy.


"Wildlife" in the garden of the Algerian Embassy.

A photo in front of the Brazilian Ambassador's Residence.

In addition to these locations we also visited the Lester B. Pearson Building (headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade [DFAIT]) and we had a chance to visit Rideau Hall and the surrounding gardens.

Holding the torch that will be used for the 2010 Olympic torch relay.

We were fortunate enough to be able to take a tour of the the building but had to wait a while before our tour time came up. With it being around the noon hour, J and I nipped back to a cute little shop called Sconewitch to grab some lunch. We bought AMAZING goat cheese, tomato and pesto scone sandwiches and headed back to Rideau Hall to enjoy them. If you are in Ottawa, stopping at a Sconewitch shop is a MUST!

The delightfully delicious scone sandwich.

During our tour of Rideau Hall we found out during the tour that Her Excellency (the Governor General) was actually in residence. Just like royalty, the flag of the Governor General is only flown when she is actually in the building.

The flag of the Governor General.


J and I in front of Rideau Hall.

As I write I'm in the midst of packing and watching the hockey game. I really cannot believe how quickly the time has gone. I will miss Ottawa and all that it has to offer yet at the same time, I am looking forward to seeing friends and family back home. While I have done a great deal while here, there is still so much I'd like to see. I guess this means that I'll just have to come back to visit!!!

Cheers,

T.

Canadian Forces Day - Run/Walk

I'm going to break with tradition and post out of sequence. I've officially finished my placement and I can't think of better way to cap off my four weeks then to participate in the annual walk/run for Canadian Forces Day. The walk took place downtown along the Rideau Canal and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.

All employees and their families were encouraged to participate in the event and as you can see, there were tons of people there!

Me with some of my co-workers!


The view looking ahead.


The view looking behind...look at all those people!!!!

It was a great day.

I'm off to take my two roomies out to a thank-you dinner. This weekend is Doors Open in Ottawa and so J and I will taking part tomorrow.

Happy Friday!

Cheers,

T.

Last day!

Well I've made it through my first rotation - yeah! Will post more on the week's events shortly.

Tomorrow is Friday - don't forget to wear your red.

Cheers,

T.

PS: A photo of parliament taken while I was waiting in the line for the tour.

Internship Update

I really cannot believe that I'm already three weeks into my first placement. That means that I've only got one week left here!

Things have been going well. Last Monday I finally got security clearance and my pass so I've been able to come and go without having to inconvenience my preceptor with having to sign me in and out.

The module I've been working on has now become two. In presenting what I'd completed on Tuesday, both my preceptor and I could see that there was just too much material for it to work in one presentation. We decided that the best thing would be to divide the topics (emotional eating and then eating out and alcohol) into two separate presentations. I'm glad we decided to go this route.

This week is going to be action packed. In addition to trying to tie up loose ends with the presentations, we have planned a trip to Kingston to watch another presentation and get a bit of a tour of the base. Friday is CF Day and a run/walk is taking place. Much of our office is taking part and I'll be there too!

Cheers,

T.

PS: As you can see I'm almost up to date on my posting. I just got back from an amazing weekend of fun with an old friend. I will post on this shortly.

Poutine and Patty Boland's...

Friday night I was able to experience a little of Ottawa's night life.

The weekend got of to an excellent start with a barbeaue (can't get much better then that). While the weather wasn't entirely cooperating (cooler), we did manage to make it downtown to a popular pub called Patty Boland's. There was a live band and they played fantastic music.

The band. You can clearly see everyone was enjoying themselves!

After dancing for a while, it was time to head out to find a late night snack before heading home. I was fortunate enough to be with some knowledgeable folk who knew all the best places for poutine and we found ourselves at Mello's Restaurant. Walking in it looks like the place hasn't changed since the 1950's!

The nice French man that made our poutine for us.

Mmmm, poutine.

All in all, a fantastic night!

Cheers,

T.

Museum of Civilization

Ever aware that my time here in Ottawa is winding down, I decided to head to visit the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau (Hull) this past week. The museum is open until 8 pm every Thursday. I was able to leave work at 4 that evening and made it to the museum by 4:30 pm.

I'd decided in advance that I was also going to partake in the IMAX experience while there (they have a deal if you purchase museum and IMAX tickets together). Imagine my surprise when I found out that entrance to the museum is FREE every Thursday from 4 to 8 pm. Score! As a result, I decided to treat myself to a double IMAX feature - Mummies and Under the Sea. Being a student, the grand total was only $12. I'd highly recommend Under the Sea. The Mummies feature was good, but palled in comparison to the visuals of Under the Sea. I suppose that Under the Sea had a bit of a leg up as it used the IMAX dome technology (a huge dome screen moves in over the audience so that the images cover even your peripheral vision. Very cool.

The museum itself is very impressive and definitely worth a visit.

One of the very large totem poles on display.


A boat in the Tsimshian exhibit (from the Pacific Coast). Really well done.

A breathtaking mural painted on the domed ceiling of the museum.

One of the special exhibits was on ancient Egypt. They had lots of interactive activities for kids (both young and old) to do. One of them involved writing your name in hieroglyphics which obviously, I had to do!

Part of the display of the Canada Hall. This is located on the third floor! The church you see on the right hand side was donated by a parish in the prairies. It was dismantled and reassembled in the museum in it's entirety!

Walking through the exhibit. This is meant to mimic the streets of Quebec City in the 18th century.

Me inside the Merchant's House on Ontario Street. This is meant to represent a parlor in the later 19th century.

Mock-up of the Vancouver airport circa late 1960's, early 1970's. This little vignette was complete with overhead announcements for boarding. The phone booths in the back worked - you could dial a number and then hear accounts of immigrants' experiences on arriving in Canada.

Part of the Mythical Creatures Exhibit.

Cheers,

T.

One Night in Kingston...

Last Friday night I got a text on my phone asking if I was interested in a ticket to the Hip Concert in Kingston on the Saturday. I am a fairly big fan and so how could I say no?

I packed my bags and headed down the road to Kingston to meet up with some friends. It was an amazing concert followed by an even more amazing after party featuring the Trews and an 80's cover band called 80's Enuff (which by the way, were fantastic).

The Hip doing what they do best.

The next morning we had a great greasy breakfast at Morrison's Restaurant (those who have been to Kingston will I'm sure be familiar with this establishment). Before I knew it, I was back on the road to Ottawa. I decided to the 1000 Islands Parkway and was able to capture some very nice photos (it was a beautiful sunny day). This road always reminds me of when I was a kid and travelled with my parents to visit our extended family.

View of the St. Lawrence River (I was trying to drive and take photos but soon realized this was dangerous and pulled over).

Chimney Island in the middle of the St. Lawrence. When I was small I would always look for the island. There is a story as to why the chimney is there, but unfortunately I can't remember.

Cheers,

T.

Great Glebe Garage Sale

I apologize for the lack of updates. There is just so much going on (and so much that I want to write about) that I think I've been putting off writing an update. I think I will have to look at taking a different approach. Shorter posts with less detail may be my best option in ensuring more consistent posting!

Okay onto today's post topic - the Great Glebe Garage Sale. This is an annual event held in Ottawa in a neighbourhood known as (surprise, surprise) the Glebe.
The area is quite nice (I'd liken it Westdale in Hamilton and Old North London (by St. Joe's)) and there are a number of cute stores along Bank Street which seems to be the heart of the neighbourhood.

The event is HUGE. There were literally hundreds of garages sales going on and thousands of people walking the streets. It was really a sight to see.

Street Shot of the Garage Sale. This was taken mid morning.

By mid morning it was even more packed!

I myself didn't purchase anything (save a hot dog from the boy scouts) but the two people who joined me pick up some really great deals!

Me with J showing off one of her purchases at the Great Glebe Garage Sale.

Some tips for those heading to the sale for next year:

1. Get there early! Even though events do not officially start until nine am (when we arrived) there are hundreds of people there out at the crack of dawn scouting out all the deals. If you want some of the great furniture or really great deals, you have to get there early.

2. Parking is a challenge so be patient. Public transport is best. If you buy a large item, you can always come back and pick it up later.

3. Wear comfortable shoes and bring your money with you (small change!) The bank machines all have very long line ups and run out of money by mid morning (yes it's that busy)!

That's it for now!

Cheers,

T.

Tulips, Tulips and More Tulips...

Tulips are one of my favourite flowers. There is something refreshing about their vibrant colours and how their appearance seems to signal the entrance of spring weather. I`ve always wanted to see the Tulip Festival in Ottawa and fortunately this past Sunday I had my chance.
It was a bit cooler than I would have liked, but I`m told that was better for the tulips as it keeps them from opening too much. I started my day off at Confederation Park where there was quite a display of blooms.

I made my way through the park and then took the path along the canal to my next destination – Lansdowne Park. On my way I happened across a mother duck and her ducklings.

Lansdowne Park housed the International Pavilion at the Tulip Festival this year. Over 20 different countries participated and of course, Holland was one of them. Many of the booths had traditional food and drink for sale and at some you could even dress up in national costumes and get your photo taken.

Here is a short synopsis of my time at the pavilion. Get poffertjes (little small pancakes) from the Dutch display. Mmm, lekker!

Purchase mittens from the Ecuadorian display (It was CHILLY!) Check out the Turkish display where two ladies were making roti. I bought one filled with ground beef. Very Tasty.



Try on Korean traditional dress (Hanbok). Very cool!

Purchase coffee from Colombian display and a donut from the Portuguese showcase and head out to catch the bus to downtown.

The final stop on my tour was at Major Hill Park. There were some more tulips on display as well as a carnival for the children and a display of art made from canned goods (with donations going to the local food bank I believe).

I capped off my day with a trip to the parliament buildings. This is worthy of a post in itself and so stay tuned to hear more about this!

Cheers,

T.

Tulip Teaser...

What a busy day! Despite the cooler weather, I did manage to make it to the Tulip Festival today. To help tide you over until I have a chance to log my adventures, here's a photo.

Cheers,

T.

A Rainy Saturday Well Spent...

I knew heading into the weekend that the weather was not supposed to be great for Saturday (today). Earlier this week Jo and I made of list of things I should do before leaving Ottawa. Included on this list were a number of museums. With today's forecasted rain, I thought this would be a great opportunity to check a museum off the list. I've already made tentative plans with Jo to see the Museum of Civilization next Sunday so this left The Canadian War Museum for me to tackle today.

I took the bus to the museum (it was great - I just caught it outside the house and it pretty much dropped me off in front of the museum) and was fortunate that the rain held off until I got inside the museum. The museum itself has quite a unique design. I'm told it's meant to mimic a ship.

I got to the front doors (just out of the photo to the left) and was met by a group of about 100 or so CF soldiers being addressed by their commanding officer! At first I thought, oh crap, I've totally come in the wrong entrance, but then realized that I'd just seen people go in the doors about ten or so seconds before me. It turns out this group was there to visit the museum (being part of the forces, they lwere all lined up all nicely to get their instructions).

Anyhow, after walking past these folk (and feeling a little self conscious) I went to pay my admission ($10 for students, $12 for adults) and then made my way into the museum.

WOW. In total I spent about three hours there and the time pretty much flew by. The museum is a nice mix of artifacts, displays and personal stories all wrapped up with a good dose of multimedia to keep both young and old interested. There are four sections to the museum which take visitors from first contact with Native Americans right through to Canada's peacekeeping work and the war on terrorism. I took over 100 photos and could have easily taken many more. I've chosen just a very small selection to show to you here.

This painting is of the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April-May 25, 1915). Apparently there are no photographs from this battle as soldiers were not permitted to carry cameras into the trenches. To document the war, an official war art program was established in 1916. The museum has a number of stunning war paintings. I would estimated this photo to be at least 12x15.

This photo shows an interactive display of a First World War trench. Visitors can walk through the trench and feel what it may have been like. The flash distorts it a bit as normally it's much darker (the first shot I took without a flash was completely black). They also have sounds of guns firing to enhance the experience).

This is an actual Mercedes Benz parade car that Adolf Hitler used. It was captured by the Americans in 1945 and a few years later brought to Canada.

Example of one of the displays. This one is showing a tank from World War Two. (NB: The CF guys are not part of the display).

Lebreton Gallery houses a number of different military vehicles (both new and old).

A photograph of a Cougar armoured vehicle which was driven in Bosnia by Canadian Peacekeepers. Dents and scars on the vehicle are a result of exploding mortar shells.

Just in case there was any doubt, a photo of me in the Lebreton Gallery to prove I was actually the one taking the photographs!

If you are in Ottawa, I would definitely recommend that you take the time to go through the Canadian War Museum. It has left me with a profound respect for the sacrifices that Canadians past and present have made to ensure that we may all continue to live in freedom and safety.

I will be sure to sport my red to show my support for Canadian Forces every Friday from here on it!

T.