Goodbye For Now Kirkland Lake

Today is my final day in Kirkland Lake and a busy one it will be. Tomorrow I am making the trip down to Trenton to visit friends and family before heading off on July 30th, but before I can do that there are some last minute things I need to do. Luckily I have finished packing (after sitting amongst a massive pile of clothes for about 7 hours trying to decide what is really necessary.) Now I have a bunch of little chores left to do; clean out the car, do laundry; go say goodbye to friends, and other little errands around town. Yesterday was also a busy day. I started it off by dropping off rolls of change at the bank that I had from my bake sale last month and also change that I had been collecting for the last 5 years for something special (I figured a trip to South Africa was pretty special!) I had 28 rolls just in pennies!! Next I went to Canadian Tire where I purchased a new day trip pack. Not only was the bag I wanted on sale, but I also had over $43.00 in Canadian Tire money so I got it for practically nothing : ) It was a good thing the store wasn't overly busy and I knew the girl at the counter, so she didn't mind counting all the bills, especially since over 50% were only 5 cents! Came home and groomed the dogs and then spent the second half of the day packing.

A big thank you goes out to my friend Beth who has been a huge support since I first considered embarking on a volunteer abroad opportunity. It was actually while I was staying at her apartment back in April that I started researching different organizations and came across AVIVA. We sat and watched videos and read information about it and she told me just to go for it! To help me save costs she lent me the luggage I will be taking to S.A. and yesterday she graciously offered to drive me to the airport next Friday!! I'm so excited, I always look forward to Margaret and Beth road trips!! Thank you so much Beth, you're so wonderful!!

Well goodbye Kirkland Lake, Southern Ontario here I come!!!

Only 10 days until I leave!

To Pack This or Not to Pack That

I've never been very good at packing whether it's for a day, night, weekend, week, month or in this case two months!! 99.9% of the time I pack too much and end up lugging around things that I never end up using. With just a few days left until I head down to Trenton to visit family and friends before I go, I must make up my mind about what to bring. I am currently going through the thought process of different occasions when I might need a certain item of clothing.

For example:

• I will be working approximately 5 days a week with penguins and dead fish therefore I will need a clean set of clothes everyday.
  
• I will have my evenings as well as a couple days a week free to do various outings such as hiking, cultural tours and visiting restaurants and will therefore need a few selections.
  
• During my final week in S.A. I will be doing a tour of the Cape which includes various activities ranging from a visit to a brewery, zip-lining and going on a safari.
  
• Lastly, I will be in S.A. during their winter. I have been told to pack plenty of warm clothes as it gets very "cold" in the evenings and that it will probably be too cold for swimming at the beaches. Now their definition of cold is 8-10 degrees, but after spending the last 2 years in Northern Ontario, 8-10 degrees sounds like a usual summer morning. They will know I'm Canadian because I will probably be the only one relaxing at the beach!

It also doesn't help that I'm a Libra and therefore always have trouble making decisions. Pack, repack, pack, repack - this will be my life for the next few days!!!

Just 13 days until I leave!

One Adventure Ends, Another Begins!

After two exciting years working for Katimavik, I am officially done. I stepped off the bus in Kirkland Lake yesterday at 8:40am after spending four great days with my colleagues for the last time. After handing in my office equipment and meeting with various managers at our Regional Office in Ottawa, I spent the rest of my day with Brigitte, whom I had done the Katimavik program with as a volunteer in 2005/2006. I found it appropriate to finish my Katimavik journey with someone I had started with.

These last couple of months with Katimavik were very long as we were busy shutting down four communities in North Eastern Ontario. Now that my contract is over I can start to focus on getting ready for next big adventure, my trip to South Africa. With this being my first time travelling overseas I feel a little overwhelmed right now and keep thinking that there is a lot that I'm forgetting to do/pack/research/etc. I'm sure once I start packing it will all fall into place. Just three weeks from today until I arrive in Cape Town!

I also want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me so far, both financially and personally. This volunteer trip would simply not be possible without you!!!