Postcards from the Edge Episode XI Part II

So I had totally the best weekend. Lemme tell you what I did in this little town... firstly, they had a grand opening of a brand new supermarket (well, actually, the owners re-opened their little food shop and opened a supermarket, and it happened to co-incide with my arrival...), which was REALLY COOL! Who would've thought that it would be exciting to walk through a new supermarket!
However, it's really quite nice; I felt like I was in a Loblaws or something... now don't think that that's lame that the whole town got excited about a supermarket (snobbish urbanites....)... it actually was like participating in something really really nifty... So I got to buy bananas at 29 cents a pound... now that's a thrill! :)
THEN, I got invited to go to a pow-wow. My very first, honest to goodness, pow-wow. What was really helpful is that some of the women there were kind of explaining what was going on so I wasn't entirely clueless to the whole thing. It was also kind of nice, being the only non-native, that my face kind of blended in with the crowd :) . I must say, there's something about drumming in every culture that it just primary, like you can feel it deep inside... thinking about the various drumming events that I've been to with various people groups is making me want to look more into percussion... At any rate, it was beautiful drumming and chanting... and then there was dancing (and yes, I know I can't dance)... and then, I was given the gift of these beautiful (what I call my) Ojibway princess earrings... well, at least I kind of feel like an Ojibway princess when I wear them.... :P
ALSO, (How much more fun could there be in one weekend???) the church that I've visited is so welcoming and kind. One thing that I always hope to see in a church is how it welcomes its visitors and newcomers (one thing I LOVE about CGC), and I must say, I was a bit overwhelmed at the love... I'm already in a Bible Study group, and tonight I'm going to one of the Baptist camps outside of town for a little shindig :) I was even invited over for lunch and stuffed my face full of blueberries... sigh... I cannot believe how much I've been blessed in just a week of being here... God is good. Speaking of which, I did my very first emergency shift, and it went OK!!!! So that's pretty stupendous too. God is really good.
AND! as a bonus, I also got to watch A Bug's Life and Bedknobs and Broomsticks... could life get any better??? :)
julia

Postcards from the Edge Episode XI Part I

OK, so now this is in line with my Pembroke series of PFTEs, as I'm still in the province, but over the next few months, as I'm going to be seeing different regions of our (well, most of the mailing list is in Ontario) beautiful province, I figured I'd share some stuff, though I also know some people on this list have much more experience in the north than I (you know who you are :) )...
So I'm up (at my very first real life grown-up job!!!! It's about time! :P ) in the Sioux Lookout region, which, basically, if you look at a map of Ontario, is almost the entire "thigh" region of the chicken thigh/leg shape that is Ontario. If you look at a map, Sioux Lookout is just north west of Thunder Bay, near Kenora, and is actually halfway between Winnipeg and Thunder
Bay. It's the main hospital for the native reserves that are scattered north of there, serving, I think, about 150,000 people who are mainly of Cree-Ojibway heritage. (or maybe that's 15,000... I'd have to look it up; Steve, do you know the answer to this?). I'm actually sharing a time zone with Manitoba, so that's kind of interesting....
Due to an influenza outbreak that's currently affecting the north, my hospital in Sioux Lookout's been closed down except for essential services. So instead of standing around and twiddling my thumbs, this week they sent me even further north (I think... to be completely honest, I don't know where I am right now... I just got on the plane and four hours later, I got off). I in fact may actually be west, I'm not sure. At any rate, this week, I've been the local country doc in a small reserve of about 300 people. That's right; three hundred people. And, strangely enough, it's been OK. I know I've expressed worry about how well I'd function 'on my own', but it's been OK, so far.
Admittedly, it's hard to get a lot of 'emergencies' when there's only 300 people to take care of, but that's besides the point... It's actually been a nice introduction to work, so that's been excellent.
This week, the town had a 'drum social', where the elders tell stories and the townspeople bring their drums and instruments to play, but, due to workload and such, I was INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTED that I couldn't go. Darn it all...
Incidentally, I've been watching Breakfast Television in the mornings, and guess what? It's actually MUCH warmer here than it is down south... I can actually get around without my coat (which is saying a lot)... bwa ha ha ha haaaaaa to all those people who say that it's much colder up here than in Toronto...
Love,
julia