Blogs from British Columbia, Canada, North America - page 426

Leaving a little sleepy. At about 3:00 last night, there came bloody animal screams from what sounded like the living room. Being somewhat uncurious, I did not explore but merely lay awake for the next two hours instead. True to form, dear Cajun had managed to find, bring inside and kill a smallish mouse. He also then proceed to produce a very large hairball that he kindly deposited in Tiana's bedroom and that I found as I went to kiss her goodbye. So, the day began with good squirts of Folex stain remover. Not a portent of things to come! Larrye (Lorraine by birth) and her husband Kirk arrived promptly at 6:30 and we got to the airport without incident. Tiina and Sandi were here to meet us. Checked in and ready to go. There isn't ... read more

Hello from Vancouver, Brittish Colonbia, Canada. Yes after more than a year in planning we have finally arrived in Vancouver. After an arduous 17 hour flight, including a fleeting stop in Honolulu for fingerpriting and photographing (over the top? yes since we only walked off the plane and straight back on) we touched down at YVR (the best airport of the trip so far - more like a museum with waterfalls and totems poles and displays etc) and were greeted with a typical Invercargill day (dull, drizzly abd 7 degrees). Our first reaction to what we had arrived in was one of surprise. It was 8am on a Sunday morning, nothing was open and the only people about were the homeless and off their face drug addicts. As we were basically sleeping on our feet we ... read more

终选训练第二天Day 2 of Selection Camp North America » Canada » British Columbia » Vancouver » West Vancouver By XiangFebruary 13th 2007Qin Qing Xiang 今天早上十点钟时，大家在睡梦中被叫醒来。五分钟内准备好，并穿好泳衣，泳裤。北风潇潇，天空下雨，山上下着雪。25人的大组被分成五小组，每组得搬重木头（5个人刚好能抬起来），要越过礁石，一边在海里游泳一边拖着木头，然后再越过礁石。这个活动主要训练团队沟通，合作和领导能力。他们扛着摄影机，相机，还有穿着保暖衣和雨衣在旁边观察。活动开始前每人都必须自己在海里游泳一分钟，作为热身。有着竞选的压力，我没有顾得上会有多冷，没考虑就往水里跳。大家也都是依次往里跳。这时候听到的只是嗦啰声和其他的叫喊声。这一分钟怎么就这么久呀！活动开始了，由于，天气寒冷，队员心里也有压力，再加上扛着木头在滑溜溜的石头5人一起走，真的不容易。有些人跌了，身上很多处刮破，流着血。在海里拖着木头游泳也是个痛苦... read more

Well, Rod is in the shower right now and we are getting ready to go to the airport. I have spent the last couple of days (ok....weeks) being soooo sad about leaving everyone at home. My friends, my family, my clients.... I just love where I work and have the best boss in the world. I love the great people that I work with. I can't imagine not being there every day. One of my bestest friends in the world and the most dear person ever will be having a baby while I'm away and I'm gonna miss it!!! I have also been sooo worried about all the what if's about the trip. All of the unknown's that I have no control over anyway. And then just now I realized that I am about to fly ... read more

Das war eine unglaubliche und unwiederbringliche Möglichkeit mal tiefe Einblicke als Ziviler in die Marine zu bekommen. Nun, das mag wohl möglich sein, wenn man in seinem eigenen Land unterwegs ist, aber bestimmt nicht, in einer völlig fremden, westlichen Nation, die man nicht einfach mal mit ein paar Mäusen bestechen kann. Umso bestechender war, einmal auf einem richtigen Kreuzer Manöver zu fahren bis zu 30° Schrägneigung, über Strategie und Hilfsmittel der Seeüberwachung und Bekämpfung von Schmuggel aus erstklassiger Hand zu erfahren, und am eigenen Leibe mal richtige Technologie zu spüren. Hunderte Tonnen volle Fahrt voraus... rückwärts... Mann über board... Schiffsicherung.... 3h auf hoher See unter der Canadischen Marine. Warum? Um die Canadier für ihren Job zu begeistern. Und das alles von mit studentischen Kontakten organisiert. - Was ich nicht abkonnte, waren die ... read more