201st post

Wachiya!

It’s time for your weekly update!

First off – the weather report. Up until yesterday, we were still experiencing mostly hot and sunny weather. Yesterday, like last Friday, was cool and cloudy (perfect running weather though). We have also had some quick rain showers over the last several days - they typically last 5 to 10 minutes and then it clears up again. On Canada Day, we had our first big thunderstorm of the summer, or so I hear. I was inside the gymnasium at the Gathering Place and missed the whole thing.

And now, the week in review:
On Saturday, the day started off looking like it would pour with rain, but by the afternoon, it had cleared up and it became hot and humid. My roommate and I decided to go for a walk in the woods, but it was short-lived since the bugs came out in full force to greet us. The flies here are huge and nasty. There are some that look like wasps and they will gladly take chunks of your skin away from you. For some reason, these ones like to swarm cars. I haven’t quite figured out the purpose of doing this – perhaps they think they will be able to penetrate the vehicle and get at the people inside? At any rate, all of the bugs have been vicious lately. It makes being outdoors frustrating at times. I now understand why the people here go out into the bush in fall, spring, and winter – and not summer. Even when I go running the bugs are in the way. The other night, there was no wind and it was as if I was running through a force field of mosquitoes. I must have ended up with 6 in my mouth, and as many more up my nose or in my eyes. Brutal. The turn to cooler weather has definitely helped with the bug situation, and I am quite thankful for it.

Anyway, apart from the bugs, all is well here. I did have a couple of setbacks with interviews (mainly people not showing up and the like) and may have had a mini-meltdown earlier this week (it took 3 and a half weeks for it to happen – pretty good if you ask me) because just about everything was going wrong. Fortunately, there are some incredible people here who are always willing to help, so any potential crises were averted. I am so grateful to be surrounded by such kind-hearted people who really want this project to be a success. I don’t know what it is about here – but every time I feel like things are spiralling out of control, there is someone there to help get me back on track. I truly love this community and I’ll be sad when it is time for me to leave (which is probably why I have been so non-committal about choosing a departure date).

The last few days have been insanely busy as I try to wrap up my interviews and focus groups. I took a time-out for Canada Day, which is a HUGE deal here (unlike la fete nationale, where I saw one person with a Quebec flag on his car). There were activities planned for the whole day, and people really got into it. Canadian flags were flying everywhere. I don’t remember the last time I saw so much red and white in Quebec! I managed to get recruited as a judge (along with one of the lifeguards here for the summer who may also happen to be really good-looking – in case you are interested, single ladies, he’s 24 and lives in Ottawa) for the various contests taking place during the day, including “Most Canadian Person” (people get dressed up in all kinds of red-and-white outfits), “Best Hat” (a Canada-themed hat, obviously), and best decorated car (I gave bonus points to the car with Habs flags. Note – thanks to Rob for all the updates concerning the team). Later in the evening, I was invited back to judge the Canada Day cakes (there were 7 to taste, which I only learned after eating a huge meal at the physicians' house – which included delicious bannock, homemade bread, and my own (fantastic) cookies (I know I am tooting my own horn here, but the doctors’ 7 year old daughter, said they were the best cookies she had ever eaten. So...).

Anyway, at 11 pm, the fireworks started. I wasn’t expecting anything huge, but man oh man, did the firefighters put on a show! I was absolutely blown away. For 30 solid minutes, we were absolutely dazzled. Just when you thought you had seen an awesome grand finale, they kept going. It was incredible, especially for a small community – they definitely put the Rosemere fireworks to shame. I’m looking forward to this weekend because I just got my fishing permits (you need to get one from the Band Office to be able to fish on category 1A lands in and around Waskaganish) and we are supposed to go with one of the guys from the Clinic. Apparently there are a lot of walleye right now (which are really tasty), so I hope I catch a big one! On Sunday, there is talk of going canoeing on the river and out into Rupert Bay with the doctors (they are awesome – so friendly and outgoing). I love being out on the water and I love boat rides, particularly when there are no storms (some of you may recall the great fun I had on a boat from Phuket to Ko Phi Phi when I was in Thailand... enough said).

Next week is the big General Assembly where everyone in the community is invited to hear about the latest developments in, well, everything. One of my community contacts wants me to prepare another booth with information about the anti-diabetic medicines project. So I’ll be busy with that, along with finishing up everything related to my project. Then – homeward bound! Expect to see my smiling face back in Montreal by mid-July (July 14th to be exact, just booked my flight back this morning) because I won’t be going to Nemaska, at least not this summer, if at all.

p.s. I’m opening up my social calendar for any and all events, particularly those that involve sangria or mojitos and swimming pools...