Calgary

After spending 6 days in Iceland we flew back to Calgary, Alberta.  You can even see where Iceland is from Calgary on the map and how far I traveled from Ontario to meet my Aunt.  On a side note: you can also see where my Bestest Friend Ever lives in New Brunswick.  



There is so much to do in Calgary.  It would have been fun going to the mountains to take in some skiing or snow shoeing, but after two big trips back to back it was just nice to stay home with my cousin Calais and unwind before going back to Ontario.  

   

It seemed at first Calais didn't know who I was but, it didn't take long and we were romping through the house and playing all sorts of games cats like to play. We certainly have the same family traits; we look alike and even like the same kibble. 
I am learning to do selfies. I see all of the tourists taking them. 
Well, back to Ontario.  Priority post is third class but after traveling upper crust I think I can economize a bit.

My next adventure stop with be with my cousin in town and  then I am going to visit my long time friends Noonours and Rosalie at Shepard Public School.  My friends and all the grade one students are going to help me learn french.  I am so excited!  Imagine all the new things I am going to learn, see and do.



                                                               
                                            

Iceland

Can't go to Auntie's house empty handed

I know - another trip, right?  
See what happens when  you begin to take the first step. There is so much to explore,see and do in this big wide world.
When my aunt from Calgary found out that I had come out of the closet and was in for another adventure she invited to come along with her to Iceland.  Wow!!!!!!!
Iceland is way  up there, near Greenland.





Icelandair - another pretty plane!

I thought it would be really cold due to the name ICE-land, but all those hot springs really made the transition from the DR easier and it was warmer there than in Canada.  Well, a bit windy on my first day.  Auntie wanted me to toughen up a bit.  So I was brave!

Cruising the Island and seeing the sites.  Waffles were nummy but the getting too close to the sword was scary!

I flew from Calgary to Edmonton, then direct to Reykjavik. Good thing I am a cat who loves water as Iceland is a swimming culture, with the island being full of geothermal pools. They say there is almost one pool per person in the country.

As a cat, I enjoyed the Iceland cuisine of fish and yogurt (skyr).

I toured the art and photography galleries, whale museum, local sites and sculptures. Very enjoyable travel destination!

Iceland is also known for its Aurora Borealis (brush strokes of colour in the night sky).
I guess that is what inspired Icelandair to paint their plane in pretty colours.

                               

Next stop is Calgary to spend time with my cousin Calais. Can hardly wait its been so long.

Jail - Who Me?

My new friend Omar encouraged me to climb a tree across from our Hotel to get a coconut.

We didn't know that though it looked like the tree was above the road, it was growing on private property. The next thing I knew, the Polizia were there! I thought they were going to throw me in jail!  

What happened? I was really scared.  
I did not want to be separated  from my friends and taken to jail in the DR.
What is a stuffed cat to do?  What would you do?
Finally I was set free with a little bribe of monopoly money (of all things!).

Jason finds the money for my release

Someone give me Chocolate!

snuggles with Omar after the ordeal

   

He showed me the Prodigal Son story and I could kind of relate.  When he apologized, he also promised to go after his own coconuts from now on!

                                                                                         

                                                                            

Lydia Project

A note from our team leader sent to all our friends:

The DR experience included some very difficult moments, which shattered our Western perceptions and caused us to resolve to live more purposefully.   After visiting a shanty home of a couple in Aguas Negras, a slum by a major river out of sight of the tourist districts of Puerto  Plata, a seed was planted in the hearts of a couple of students.

Lydia had generously welcomed all 18 of us into her claustrophobic shanty,  bubbling with pride about her children,  showing us water stained photos.  She seemed almost oblivious to the shambles of upturned furniture and clothing draped everywhere because she had become almost accustomed to constantly trying to dry out all her things since the rain always pours through the rusted out tin roof and often a flood of garbage-strewn water washes through her home since it is so close to the river.  The place was so musty and dilapidated that their children had to move elsewhere. Two days later two team members we engaged in conversation on the safari bus and one of them said, “Wouldn’t be cool if we could build a home for Lydia’s family?”  The other one said, “Why not; we could at least raise the funds!”  The idea was pitched, we did a bit of research, and the team immediately committed to it.  The family would be able to be reunited in a dry and secure larger home (small to our standards) possibly even by this summer!  The $6000 USD required for raising and rebuilding in Aguas Negras translates into about $8500 Cdn, but after counting some of the additional funds some team members had already raised, and then pooling our extra spending money in the plane on the way back (our flight attendant even contributed!)  and NEXO (www.nexo.ca) putting their surplus from our food and transportation budget into the pot, we already had a quarter of the funds raised before we landed!

We would love it if you could support this project with us and help see it through!
If you are interested in helping us raise the funds for Lydia please drop me an email and I will be more then happy to connect you.

Dominican Republic

Flying in Frozen Plane

First Class - This is the Life

What excitement waited for me when we got to the airport; we flew on Disney's Frozen plane ;) (to a tropical country ha ha) and to be right up front in first class was just so amazing.  Life is good! Lots of snacks and pampering!!!
When we left Toronto it was cloudy and -1 C , on  arrival to Puerto Plata it was full sun and muggy, 32 C.  We were here for a total of nine days.  Most of the days were with spent with my team mates helping out in a variety of serve projects around the Island.  My teammates and I loved hanging around with the children.  They love cuddles and fun!  We played all sorts of games with them such as basketball, pick up jacks, catch the scarf, soccer and hoola hoo hoo (hooping).  


A number of my mates led art classes in schools, we helped out at a medical clinic, put together soup mixes supplied by Ontario Gleaners http://ontariogleaners.org/1279. The soup mixes were in large barrels shipped from Canada and our job was to package them and then teams went around the Island to provide food for families who were not able to afford to feed their families.

The kids love me

Volunteering is Fun

Way High up in the Trees

We happened to be in Puerto Plata at the perfect time to hand out Samaritan's Purse (Operation Christmas Child) gift boxes to the children in our sister school. Many of the students had participated in putting together the shoeboxes at Christmas time back in Canada, but to be able to put the gifts in the hands of children who rarely get any presents and to see their joy was a great privilege!  


You can’t go to a tropical country without taking in a day at the beach.  

Watching the ocean bubble up all around me made me think I was swimming in a vanilla milkshake (yum!).  

    

Perhaps the story that sticks to my heart full of stuffing... is how my teammates all came together in pooling all their resources for a lovely lady named Lydia that they met whose shanty home is so run down and mouldy from everything getting soaked every time it rains, that her children cannot even live with her and her husband until they get the funds to build a new home.  

When we discovered that it would only cost $6000 to build a house like this we all decided we would raise the money! Seeing this home that the previous team built for Octavia and her sick husband (and a home our team helped pay for!) encouraged us that we could bring the same joy that Octavia is experiencing to Lydia...even more because she will be reunited with her family in a home that is safe and dry!  I will let our leader Mr. W give y'all an update about this in the next post.



See how much fun Eveliina and Brooke are having with new friends they met at Paradio and Munos?

Well I had a blast as well, especially at Gregorio Luperon Public school where some very nice girls listened to my stories and played with me. I hope they will be able to read this blog too.


And Mr. W gave this boy at Munos the "bucket hat" that my Bestest Friend Ever screen-printed for him 5 years ago in Sackville!  I wonder if she will appreciate that? 
    I think she will be fine with  it. After all the boy does not have anything to keep the hot sun off his head, and now Bestest Friend Ever has the opportunity to get a new hat for her dad (that he can give away on his next DR trip :)  I am going to beg to go with him again!  It was a trip I will never forget.  

WARNING: Don't read the next blog if you get bad dreams sometimes... I did have a rather scary experience one day!