i smell fall

i can't believe it has now been over 6 months since i arrived in ottawa...time flies. plenty to report so i'll get straight to it...

it looks like we finally have confirmation of when the first law course (on the immigration and refugee protection act) will start! this is excellent news for all of us who have been anxiously waiting to have some shape to our lives. the course really sets the milestones for the next year leading into our first posting. our course is meant to start mid-november, which is perfect as this breaks the year up into nice manageable chunks. so course in november, break for christmas, stage in the new year, then get ready for posting! i'm starting to realise it will come sooner than i think....which is good, i'm starting to get itchy feet ;)

in more personal news, i now have a date for the boy to join me in ottawa. i'm popping over in october (with a quick stop in paris :) to collect him. exciting new start for both of us, it will be really nice to have him here and have some back up on this adventure.

it's also time for us to hand in our posting preference forms! it's a lot harder to fill in than i thought it would be. i've got my heart a bit set on damascus....and then beyond that i have to fill in 4 more choices. i really wish we all were just spinning a wheel of fortune that would land on our selection! it feels like we're getting a hand in shaping our destiny and every choice has it's plus and minus sides! i've been given plenty of advice...but i know ultimately it's up to me to make the choice. well sort of anyways...at least in what i give to the posting assignment officers! i can't wait to find out....:)

saying goodbye

so i've been having a really awesome couple of months in ottawa (finally!). feeling comfortable and settled and met loads of good people. work has even been interesting, learning lots about my future role and got to play a part in a big project. even got to use my hard won security clearance in being entrusted with 'secret' info. good stuff.

my situation is a bit different than most fsdps because i came mid way through the recruitment cycle due to all the problems with clearance. each year there are usually two 'groups' because they run two sessions of the law course we need to take before getting posted abroad. people in each group tend to bond since they end up spending so much time together. so far i've really been without an official group, so i've ended up making friends with people from all of the groups instead. which has been awesome...but means that i'm feeling really lonely right now since group 1 and 2 are now out of ottawa and on post. it reminded me of one of the fundamental aspects of this job, moving a lot means meeting and then saying goodbye to a lot of people. this isn't all negative obviously....getting the chance to meet lots of interesting people and letting them into your life is an amazing opportunity. but getting left behind is hard (or leaving people behind). also anti-climatic when you go to 2 weeks worth of goodbye parties and realise you still have to go into the office lol.

wishing everybody the best of luck on their postings...i can't wait to get out there! and a big hug to those special people who touched my life and made me smile...until we meet again!! :)

office doldrums

i guess i've been working in the office for almost a month now...time flies! it's mostly been quite, well officey. i've worked in enough offices to know what to expect, sit at desk, stare at computer, work on projects, pray for email. or a cookie.

the people are nice and the cubicle arrangement allows me to overhear lots of interesting tidbits from long time FSers which is helping me put together a picture of what people do when they're abroad. so far it's mostly meet foreign women or get divorced (often a combination of the two). enlightening stuff really. but i guess it's a tribute to how hard this lifestyle can be on personal relationships. i guess the advice is choose wisely (and i've also heard marry a teacher). i'm not really worried about the boy, i don't think he has a particular taste for phillipeenas...or not that i know of yet.

i've also met a lot of the earlier group of FSDPs. they've finished their training, done 6 weeks abroad and are now just tying up loose ends in ottawa before going to post. it's exciting just being around them knowing that will be me next summer. and im finally glad that i didn't just sneak into that group as word is the only post left was dhaka (which i'm sure wouldnt be horrendous....but i hate the idea of being forced to go to the last choice of anyone!)

tale of two cities

french is finally done and dusted. and somehow i managed to pull off an E...which means i never have to do french grammar ever again. that's a huge sigh of relief for me. so that means that the only thing i'll have to keep up for my 5 year/promotional qualification is my speaking ability. so as a present to myself for all my hard work and frustration (lol) i took a few days off to spend with the boy (who traveled all the way from london to see me!). it's been lovely, spent some time getting to know this city that i've been living in for a few months and then we rented a car to go to montreal for the weekend.

on the way out we stopped at a french sugar shack for a meal and a 'traditional' canadian experience for my british man. i had remembered going to a sucrerie outside quebec city years ago and having one of the absolute best meals of my life, so i was eager to share. did some research and found a really sweet cabane (haha...) half way between ottawa and montreal (www.sucreriedelamontagne.com) which seemed to fit the bill. it's a bit off the beaten track, but entirely worth it in my estimation if you're looking for something authentic. although it didn't quite live up to my remembered standards (i knew that was going to be difficult!) the setting was quaint and the meal and entertainment was great (there was even a guy who played a saw). especially of note was the sugar pie....delicious....i want some more right now.

absolutely loved montreal. it was like going back to europe. lots of great architecture, cute little streets, awesome shops and sweet restaurants. it even had the boy asking if it was possible that i could live there instead...i have a feeling it would sweeten the pot to get him to move over!! we finally got our first bit of sun and soaked it up walking the streets of the old town and sampling some more french canadian food in the form of poutine and smoked meat sandwiches. yum. also made a trip up to the Jean-Talon market which gave me fresh veg envy. the market in ottawa is not even close to this awesome. i got some quebecois honey and lavender oil and got to sample some of the other local wares. did i mention i love montreal? :)

growing on me

sorry for the time between updates, but i guess ottawa isn't exactly an exotic locale. i'm finally properly settled in with a bed and a sofa and real plates...life is full of little luxeries. the best thing of all though is having my bookshelf (and adjoining alcove) stocked full of my books that i haven't been able to have for 3 years. i know it's a bit stupid, particularly with my lifestyle, to have such an attachment to loads of heavy objects that take up a lot of room, but i can't help feeling like they're part of me and immediately make my house feel like a home. i'm actually really enjoying the city as well, it's not as bad as i was expecting! the weather is starting to get sunny and i've met some really cool people to sit on patios drinking beer with. there's really only one thing..err person...who could make me feel any happier right now and he'll be making an appearance in less than a week, so sorted! the long distance thing is a hard reality of this line of work, something to get used to, but manageable by the patient and foolhardy.

i'm now in my final week of french school, the big grammar test is scheduled for monday! thank goodness! i really have a lot of respect for all of those learning from scratch. though as someone pointed out to me, we really should feel lucky to have the opportunity to learn another language (or in my case re-learn..) and get paid to do it. it's true....but that does little to relieve the day-to-day of it! i'll be sad to leave the new friends i've made there and hope they join me in the office sharpish. wish me luck for monday.

connect 4

back on the scene....have been without internet for 2 weeks after moving due to some rogers related problems. oh well, back to being connected to the world. it's amazing how these days being cut-off from the internet feels a lot like having a limb or one of your senses removed. i felt lost, disconnected and uninformed...realised i not only communicate through the internet (a lot!) but also use it all the time for things i take for granted like checking the news or the weather, listening to songs i love (i was cut off from don't stop believing for a whole two weeks!!) and using maps to find places. i guess in a modern life the internet really has become a sort of extension of our daily reality, a commodity i feel naked without....lol i hope it doesn't take this long to set up the net at my posting :)

so i've now been in ottawa for 2 weeks. not too much to report really. i'm set up in a new flat, which is pretty much entirely empty as my stuff is still in alberta due to some organisational mishaps at headquarters. i have a really fancy blowup bed though. language training is hard going....i definitely feel for those who have had to learn from scratch, i honestly don't think that i would've had the patience or perseverance to go through with it. the 4 weeks i need is excruciating enough! grammar 7 1/2 hours days a week. boo urns! then i get to move over to the CIC office and commence something i've gotten really good at/used to.....yes, more waiting. but should find out posting availabilities come summer....

all clear

yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard right....i am finally cleared to start! and as i suspected things are going to move quite rapidly for the next bit. i'll be moving to the national capital in a week or two and starting on february 13th...which i can't believe my luck is actually a friday. i'll be taking that as a good omen...

i'm unbelievably excited and nervous....in a lot of ways i don't think i ever really believed that this would actually happen. and now i'll be starting in a few weeks and i don't really know what to expect and i still have so much to organise.

good news...should be on my first post by summer 2010. so just have to put up with one more canadian winter....

auld lang whatever

2009 already...is it just me, or did that one fly by?! i can't believe that a year ago i was on my way to move to the uk without much of a plan beyond following my heart to where it wanted to be. i never thought that a year later i would be in canada again! it isn't where i planned to be, but i guess that's what life's about..gotta roll with it :)

so new year, new adventure, new life (well coming soon), what more could a girl ask for? turns out not much lol. no resolutions for me this year...just keep on moving forward, move to ottawa and start the new job and get my arse to the uk as often as possible. oh and finish ulysses by bloomsday...