Anthropological Digging

Yesterday, we went to the Museum of Anthropology, which I have no recollection of going to, though I believe that I may have. Regardless, it was amazing. Through modern exhibits, historically preserved artifacts and spectacular artistic  showcases, it was a great way to spend the day. One thing that has specifically remained in my mind is the exhibition on residential schools. It was beautifully well crafted and, aided by the full-scale pictures with emotional text, brought out the full feeling of the time period. It was quite sad and touching to read the quotes from survivors of the system, and about the long-term affects of the project, which are still apparent today. As a whole, the museum, specifically in it's artistic and native sections, was beautifully well crafted. It was neat all of the amazingly preserved artifacts in the drawers. The layout and architecture was stunning, and as a whole I took away far more from the experience than I expected. It would be a great place to return to.

Sailing into the Sunset of Broken Dreams

As I write this, my test is in the process of being graded, or waiting to be. Unfortunately, even with all of the skills we worked on, my confidence for this is severely down. Rewind one month. I had gone sailing (at Mac Sailing in fact) with Ryan over the summer, though it wasn't a very strenuous course, and it wasn't one with a test. It was, though, helpful to have some extra sailing experience. It was fun to get out onto the water, and it provided somewhat of a break from normal life. The first time sailing was a great climate, though with minimal wind. Week two we got the wind we asked for, just we should have been more careful with our wish. A rainstorm pelted and froze us as our instructors took us out for a couple of minutes. The swells were immense, and it was quite fun, albeit freezing. Week three was similar, just we had to sail. The numbness racked me as I had tried to help sail around for a couple of tries. Week four was better, although still cold and often with far less wind. It is a good idea to not sail in October with minimal cold weather clothing. Next time we head off I plan to bring a coat and rain pants, with perhaps gloves as well which should make the experience far less painless. The four sessions also helped greatly in teaching me the points of sail and more about the workings of the boat. Sadly, there was much on the test we were not taught. Next time I will assume that we will have to learn the booklets on our own for the test, and that there will be things on the test that didn't pertain to us and our particular sailing experience. Regardless of the outcome, though, I will eventually get the certification, likely via a retake.

I can only wait, and hope.

Signing off for the second time in grade 9,

-Derek

www.flickr.com

Post Camp Post

Sorry about that - haven't touched this site since June, unfortunately. Quite a bit has happened since, although the most significant OEE related topic is definitely camp. We had our sights set on Fircom again, on Gambier Island, but a lightning storm which coincidentally flooded our basement put an end to that idea. So our sights moved west, through the wavy waters of Howe Sound, until our destination locked in on Elphinstone. I'd had many memories of Elphinstone (from grades 4 and 5 when we went there for the spring camp), and most of them very good. Needless to say I was quite excited for this camp. We arrived, and our entire view of the camp shifted. And positively positively. As we had lived for four years, renovations had been underway, and the cabins which were once the low point of the camp had been revitalized into the high point. The next few days went by simultaneously strenuously slowly and in the blink of an eye. Through several fun activities, such as improvisation games, kayaking, talent shows and field games, we furthered not only our existing friendships but we furthered our bonds with the new arrivals. We worked hard to ensure our new community members fit in as best as they could, and in my honest opinion if it weren't for the camp they would not fit in anywhere near as well as they do now. It was both neat and strange that our start of year camp was as long as our end of year camps for grade five. I have to say, I would have rather had the one night camp, as I'm sure we could have still conducted all that we wanted to and the two nights at Elphinstone at this age seemed to drag on somewhat. Regardless, I improved my hard skills, with hiking, swimming, kayaking and games, and my soft skills, as the camp molded our community into the connected one it is now.

seatosky.bc.ca