By way of apologizing for the recent dismal and extremely lengthy posts (sorry!!), i’m now aiming for something slightly shorter and slightly more positive. Here goes – these are a few bits and pieces from my first month here....

Free Willy is the fish that lives in a Tupperware container on the kitchen counter (with a few rocks in the bottom and inevitably some sort of foliage from the garden stuck in there like it’s a flower vase). The staff talk to Free Willy. (They joke about how he “speaks English”) Early in the morning, Juni walks over to him and says: “Hi Free Willy.” Juni, noticing his cross is dangling over the Tupperware, holds it and says, “This is Jesus.”

April (4, youngest at respite care) says to me: “Ate Nicole, you are so beautiful and fat.” Not really knowing how to respond I just said, “April, you’re so beautiful.” And she said, without missing a beat, “And you’re so fat.” From the mouths of babes :)

Michael (a childhood friend from Victoria who is here for 6 months) was walking around the yard with the 2 boys wrapped around his legs and sitting on his feet (you know how kids ride on your feet and then you walk around and they think it’s great fun). He walked inside, trying to get them to climb off because he was finished, and the proceeded to climb up his legs. He said, “Do you guys know what leeches are?”

We did karaoke at Mall of Asia (which was hilarious in and of itself...you’re in a little room with a few other people, and you have a tv and a mic and a song book...) – and i’m convinced that they used a Tourism BC video for the background to some of the songs. Michael and I couldn’t stop laughing when during “Can’t Buy Me Love”, a pan of Victoria’s inner harbour, the empress hotel etc. became the background to the chorus.

p.s. next project is to try and post some photos. but so far it's not going very well. i'll do my best :)