Goodbye, old house

Hello, Internet world. This is Daniel here. So far, Natalie has been doing the posting, and so as to not startle and confuse you too much -- I thought it prudent to let you know who was typing. You've been warned -- er, notified.

So yesterday I went back to our 'old home' in Kelowna one last time to hand back the keys to our wonderful landlords. They truly were the best close-proximity neighbours one could ask for. From the baskets of fresh garden produce left on our doorstep, to the hours spent playing with their cat (and now kittens!) it really was a blessing to have lived in such a great place. Not to mention, the view from our front door... and the fact that we were next to rolling cherry and apple orchards as far as the eye could see.

But when I was there yesterday, our old home was just an empty house. I can't wait to head on over to Togo to turn our new house into a home.

The first night

As promised here is an update of what happened after I got off the plane, gathered all my luggage and was dropped off at our new 3 bedroom house. There is a green gate that is covered with a variety of vines that mark the front enterance. When you walk through the front door you enter the living room and dining area of the house. To the left there is a hallway with three bedrooms and the main bathroom. To the right you,ll find the kitchen. Inside the fridge there were pinapples, oranges, tomatoes, lettuce, eggs, milk, bread, drinking water and Gouda cheese!

I spent the first night unpacking until about 10:00 when I tried to sleep. Of course the 7 hour time difference is quite large so I was unsuccessful for most of the night. In our back yard there is a group of animals that like to party until the wee hours of the morning. Some of the animals I hear were fruit bats the others I still have not figured out. Unfortunately that first night I was convinced they were rats. As many of you know I am terrified of rats. This is not helped by all the stories I have heard coming from other parts of Africa where rats snack on human ears, feet and noses. Needless to say the next morning I looked terrible.

On a side note in the villages bush rat is quite a delicacy. Bush rats can grow to be as big as house cats here! I wish I would have gotten a picture of one that aman was trying to sell at th side of the rd but he was looking to sell it not have tourists takes pictures of his prized catch.

More to come...

Update

With Internet down at the house this whole week, I have only able to update and check my email from school. this entry will be short with a long one to appear in the next few days.

I made it to Togo safely with all carryons and luggage pieces. Nothing was lost or misplaced though it was close because a week before I left Canada I forgot a folder of very important documents on a connecting flight from Vancouver to Edmonton. Thankfully the flight attendants were able to track it down and run it to us before we took off. 

Here is a picture of what the front entrance looks like at our new house.

Happy birthday to me

A week after getting to Togo I had the chance to celebrate my birthday here. It didn't really feel like a birthday at first as there were meetings all day long. After leaving meetings at 3:00 I still had to go to the music room to tidy up. By around 6:00 I went home exhausted. I hadn't told anyone it was my birthday so I was quite homesick to be at home celebrating with family and friends. Maybe heading to kelly o!s or doing a free birthday day (this is when d and i circle all the places that offer free birthday meals or birthday drinks or birthday gifts)
Later that evening I headed to the jazz club with all the new teachers. I let one person know that today was the day I was turning 26 and then everyone began wishing and congratulating. Happy Birthday was then sang a number of times even in various musical styles by the jazz band. Overall it was a nice evening. 
I had the experience of eating frog legs and barracuda for dinner with fanta and chocolate mousse for dessert. 
Now I am 26. I still feel like 25 but celebrating a 26th birthday in Africa was not so bad at all. 

Travel status

Currently in London at an internet cafe with other travellers sitting all around me from various parts of the world. I am pretty tired as I am unable to sleep on flights, unless I have a window seat to lay my head against otherwise I am unable to get comfortable. I think I slept 1 hour on the plane in total. Since I have been carrying my 3 suitcases around the airport and up the stairs in the hotel, I am really tired! After I get to the final destination I will have D post a picture with me and all my luggage. It is quite amusing or embarrassing depending on who you talk to. My siblings keep insisting that travelling with a fanny-pack is never cool. So I am not travelling with one fanny pack no instead I have two fanny packs for this journey!

Tomorrows day may start off more hurried and difficult than today did unless I meet some people who are going the same flight path then it may be a bit simpler. The morning begins at 5:00am. I'll arrive in Togo tomorrow at around dinner time...

A goodbye tribute

I wrote this next piece on the way back from my hometown while sitting on the bus in the Okanagan. There are a bunch of goodbyes I have had to say over the past couple days so please bear with me and the drama.

Goodbye house. You have been such a great place to live. We have many memories that we will hold dear to our hearts because of you. Thank you for being spacious and accommodating when we had people over. Thank you you for having all that cupboard space in the kitchen and a bath tub in the bathroom. We were so happy to live above ground and bask in the light from your many windows. You not having air conditioning has actually helped prepare us for Togo's climate. We will miss you.

Goodbye car. You were such a good car! So good in fact, that, it was hard to see you get towed away (even though it was by that good organization that helps people). You were my first car and you were given to me by opa. For seven years you drove me around to all the places I needed to be. We went everywhere together from the pacific ocean to the prairies, the north okanagn to the south, in winter and in summer. You drove others around to the places they needed to go and even experienced a few road trips with good friends. Thank you for all those memories.

Goodbye cabin. Every time we were together I knew that summer had officially began. Leaving you always meant that fall was fast approaching along withball it's changes including school, relocating etc. I have so many memories with you that I treasure. You welcomed so many people onto your dock over the years including dear friends and aging family members. The sleepovers with the cousins in the pink room and on the covered deck were something all of us looked forward too. The stories we will take with us are numerous. Know that we are looking forward ito a time when we can come to you again.

Goodbye Toby the dog. I never got to say a real goodbye to you or hug you one last time. You are the best dog a girl could have asked for even for a girl who is more a cat person than a dog person. Thank you for always being so excited to see me whenever I came home to visit especially after a hard day somewhere else. Please Keep mom & dad company while we are gone. You are a good dog Toby and know I will miss you a great deal.

Goodbye Tommy the cat. Alas you were the landlord's cat but, you became our cat too while we were at the house. You were so friendly & playful. You also did a fantastic job keeping the mice away which we really appreciated. You make a great mommy and know we will miss your two kittens too. They provided endless hours of entertainment these past few weeks.

Goodbye violin (also known as my baby). Dearest violin where will I be without you? We have played so much music together over the years. You were with me through symphonies, orchestras and all around the world You know that I would love to take you with me but I can not. It is safer for you here than it would be there's especially with the climate and humidity differences. You will not be forgotten. I know that my fingers will still know how to play when I get back as I am taking your cousin along. Take care of yourself dear friend.

Goodbye fast Internet connection. One doesn't realize what they have have until it's gone and that is how I feel about you. Over time we have become so comfortable with one another. I rely on you everyday and you almost always come through for me which is why I am having a difficult time imagining life without you. In Africa things just won't be the same without you. I won't be able to load YouTube videos at the same speed as I could before, streaming movies will be out of the question as well. The good news is those very annoying video ads will no longer be able to work where we are going.

Bittersweet

The countdown is drawing to a close fairly quickly here. In exactly 17 days I will be landing in Togo. That being said there are only 15 more days before I leave Canada and only 9 more days until I leave the Okanagan.

How am I feeling about this? Well it really depends on the day.

A majority of this past weekend was spent out at the cabin with family and friends laughing, speaking german, eating junk food by the handfuls, sunathing til we all turn red and swimming in the freezing cold water to cool off. I treasure this time.

I find myself trying to take snapshots with my mind so the memories stay with me for the next two years. Its interesting that I say this now because years ago I would not have really made an effort to remember all these little moments.

Sometimes we don't know how precious life is until we are faced with it not being quite the same way it always has been. What I am trying to say is that as time carries on I appreciate how important family and friends are.

Up until recently you would have never heard me say that I experience homesickness. In fact when I left for Africa the first time I did not feel sad at all. Perhaps that was I knew that 3 months was short term and quite temporary so not too much could change in that amount of time. I would get to see everyone again soon enough. Fast forward to Christmas 2 years ago when I was away from home for the first time during an important family time, I felt so homesick it almost hurt to breath during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

I was close to tears because there is comfort in familiarity and community and I really missed the community that has been apart of my life
since I was small. Now it wasn't that I was in a place with no people, there were people there just not all the people I had grown up with or felt familiar with. Will I expereince the sme feeling in Togo? I would imagine yes whenever there is a wedding/anniversary/birthday/celebration I can't be at.

I will miss those familiar faces and the traditions that come with such events. As time goes on I realize that those events are also changing. When I come back things will not be the same as before I left as change is inevitable. This makes me sad too. Like I said earlier there is comfort in the familiar. As much as I love adventure and I can't wait to get back to African soil where I will have the chance to experience new things and make new friends a part of me can't help but feel sad.

Leaving is really bittersweet...