Flying over waterfalls and climbing mountains

So my last weekend before I start work was quite the adventure. The IAESTE organization had a trip to Interlaken planned, including one day of white water rafting and one day of hiking. So I decided, why not give it a go... and boy am I glad I did.

Interlaken is basically known as the outdoor adventure sports capital of Switzerland, and we got to experience it first hand. On Saturday, our group of 40 tried out white water rafting on the Black Lutschine near Interlaken. I assumed the basic - we would be rafting down a white water river. I guess I didn't really think too much into it, but it was MUCH more intense than I expected! As we're in the bus in our very attractive neoprene suits and yellow helmuts, I'm watching out the window at the river. With the fast flowing water and many deadly-looking rocks jutting out everywhere. We were going to be going down that? I was a competitive swimmer for 12 years, so the water didn't scare me. It was the jutting rocks that made me feel quite nervous.

As we're practicing, our leader was teaching us what to do in many scenarios. Like if the boat looks like it's going to flip to the left, he'll yell at us to all go right. Wait, what? The boat is going to be flipping and dumping us into that rock infested river?!?! But I gathered some courage, and I got into the boat. Of course our leader also tells us the first section is a fairly difficult section, so there's no time to practice anything in the water and we all better be ready. So off we went, plumiting down the river. And it was SO MUCH FUN! Though, I was definitely a scardey cat.... hovering more to the centre of the boat than the outside where we were supposed to be. But I survived.

These next two pictures were from the "Double Fucker" portion of the river, where we went over a huge waterfall, followed by of some more challenging parts.

They definitely make sure we all had fun though. Telling us "Paddle hard! Harder!!" and then suddenly yelling "Hold on get down" and we look up and realize they just told us to paddle hard directly into a rock. SMASH! The best one was when we were approaching this rock/waterfall thing and he had us all pile into the back of the boat and paddle right over the rock. Three of us ended up getting catipulted out of the boat on this one... including myself! Quite fun though! I think if I did rafting again I would be a lot less of a scaredy cat from the beginning, so perhaps (once I get a paycheck) I'll try it again.

On the second day, we went on a hike in the Alps! Of course one of my favourite activities!! When we were at the bottom of the mountain, there was this nice grassy slope to the left, and a vertical rockface infront of us. I assumed we'd be taking a path through the grassy slope. But nope, we headed straight up the rockface. It was crazy! There were ropes along the way that we could hold onto, but it was still pretty intense, since we were basically rock climbing without being tied on!! But as usual, the view at the top was worth the effort to get up there. :)

And now, tomorrow I start work, I move into my place, and it all becomes real. These last 2 weeks have felt more like a vacation than anything. But with work and an apartment, I think it's all hitting me. I'm living in Europe. For an entire year. In a country where I don't even speak the language. Crazy. And exciting. So the vacation is over (except for weekends), and now I am really getting ready to live in Europe!! :)

Arrival and Austria

I am here!! In Switzerland! I still don't think it's clicked in that I'm in EUROPE!

My arrival wasn't as exciting as I expected it to be. I didn't have a window seat on the plane so I couldn't see the Swiss countryside upon arrival, they lost one of my pieces of luggage, and I felt idiotic not having any clue what anyone was saying. I think that's the hardest part of moving to a country where you don't speak the language, and they speak your language. It's like you're a guest in a country and you expect them to be able to speak your language. I feel that's unfair and rude, and thus I'm going to try really hard to learn German.

I've learned a few key phrases so far. Well, really only "Do you speak English or French?" and "I don't speak German." But people often think when I say those two phrases that I know some basic German so they try to talk to me slower and louder, but I still really have no idea what they are saying. It's interesting though, how often it's possible to interact with others without communicating with language. Generally, human interactions are the same so I can typically guess what someone is saying. "Would you like a bag for your groceries?"... "Do you want your receipt?"... "Can I see your train ticket please?"... "Are you waiting in this line?" ... So often I've been able to get by without people knowing that I haven't a clue what they are asking me. But then sometimes they go on and say another sentence. That's when my clueless face turns on, and they realize, "Englisch?"

When I first arrived in Baden, I had rough instructions on how to get to the apartment I am staying at temporarily, but as far as I could tell no one was home from work yet. So I waited outside on the front step. This old lady came out with a glass of water for me, I was very appreciative, but she spoke very little English or French, and I spoke no German. She invited me up into her apartment while I waited. It was surprising how much conversation we were able to have considering that we didn't speak each other's language. I learned that her daughter is studying to be a doctor (she told me this by relating it to Obama's candidacy...I was very confused at first). And she learned that my brother just got married at 22 (we had to pull out some paper for this one to write the age). All of that was shared just using guestures and relations to other things.

Last weekend I went on my first trip... to Salzburg, Austria with Stacey!! Even though we had rain basically all weekend, it was incredibly fun!! On the first day we headed up to a lake near Salzburg and walked around some of the smaller towns. We ended up running into a traditional Austrian wedding, with cannon fire, leiderhousen, broomsticks for the newlyweds to walk under, and an Austrian music group (including an acordian player)!! Talk about lucky timing! We stalked the wedding for a while, following them around and taking lots of pictures. It was quite fun, and I really really wanted to give the bride a Canadian pin. They had already gone in for the reception, so we quickly looked up how to say "Bride" in german. I went up to the door and told the man standing there "Für die braut." He gave me a odd look, but the guy standing behind him understood my terrible german accent and nodded, took the pin from me to give to the bride. It would have been nice to have given it to her myself, but at least she got it!! I was proud. :)

I have the rest of this week off, while most people I know here are working so I'm hoping just to go exploring around Switzerland. Generally I would like to see the main sites around Europe, and go to as many countries as possible. But overall I really just want to tour around Switzerland. While living in Switzerland it would make sense to get to know the country itself, so I hope to do lots of touring around here (especially while I'm poor). Maybe I'll venture over to the French side so I don't feel like such a tourist....

ps. Comments are always appreciated! via the blog or an e-mail!! :)

Leaving on a Jet Plane

So now, it's just about 13 hours until I depart. Exhilarating, terrifying, exciting and nerve wracking all in one. I'm am about to head off on the adventure of a lifetime. One year from now, who knows where I will be, who knows what I will have experienced or the kind of people I will have met. But that doesn't matter too much. As I leave, I have no expectations, other than to experience as much as possible. To work at an engineering company, to explore Europe and to not be afraid. So am I ready? Yes. I have myself and my passport. Anything else I may have forgotten will not prevent me from traveling and enjoying myself.

But what about these last two weeks in Calgary. They have been amazing and so much fun, and have reminded me of why I love life so much. The people here are amazing, and together we make such a wonderful and caring family.

Within the last two weeks I have hiked up mountains and seen the beautiful landscape from 2000 feet up; I have conquered my fear of heights while I climbed vertical rock faces; I have been dragged about half a kilometer down a flowing river by a canoe; I have learned about love, and the fact that it never has synchronous timing; I have cried out of happiness, out of sadness, out of guilt and due to a long awaited understanding. And all of this I have done with friends. Friends that I have known a mere 3 years, or less.

So it scares me to leave. With my dad in the military I have moved around countless times, always making new friends and adjusting to new environments. But never before have I felt as happy as I feel here. I am lucky to have gotten to know the people I have, that share the same love of the outdoors, that share the same general values and that appreciate my friendship as much as I appreciate theirs. I hope to meet just as amazing people in Europe.

So although it's scary to leave this place where I feel happy and comfortable, I know it will be awaiting my return. So farewell Calgary, and here I come Winterthur!!!

Wedding Shenanigans

(Photo Credit: Carla and Katie)

For the past week I have been in Maple Ridge, BC helping my brother and sister-in-law plan their wedding. Let's just say, it was a lot different and crazier than expected.

Firstly, none of us had really been to a wedding before. Thus, planning was stressful because no one really knew exactly what was supposed to be happening. On top of that, since Jason and Caitlin live in Ottawa and were having their wedding in BC, basically 80% of the planning was left for the last week.

But, crazy thing - all these reasons to be stressed out, yet the two of them were the calmest people around!! So why was I stressing about their wedding more than they were!?! I guess that's just me though, I tend to worry about unnecessary things. But after a few breakdowns (from me, not the bride) and with lots of help from family and friends the wedding came together. And it was beautiful.

I was running around helping out with random things when I was called into the change room to help Caitlin tie her dress. I walked in, and oh my goodness. She was just so beautiful. The dress was perfect on her, and she just had a glow about her that made her look happy. Nervous, and happy. As the minutes were counting down, Laura and I pulled and pulled on her dress to ensure it was as tight as could be. Finally, finished getting her dress on (which took almost an hour), we both stripped and changed in 5 minutes. Funny how that works. And then, we were ready.

I walk out into the hall and her dad is waiting there, and you can just see his face light up when he sees Caitlin. He shares the awe of her incredible beauty. And I dunno, there is just something different about a bride's beauty. You look at magazines, models with their perfect bodies and perfect faces. But Caitlin was different. She was radiating beauty through her smile, and the dress/hair/makeup just made it all that much more real.

I walk to the front arm and arm with Jay (my brother's other groomsman) as the audience awaits Caitlin. The minute she starts walking down that aisle I start crying! I can't even contain myself, and I'm trying to smile, but my mouth is shaking uncontrollably. After having gotten to know Caitlin over the last week, and knowing my brother, I was just so happy for them. Happy that through all the worry, stress and anxiety of the prior week, none of it mattered anymore. Because they were here, they were together, and they were so happy. Caitlin herself could barely hold it together. She was also crying, and shaking so badly she could barely stay balanced. The ceremony was beautiful. The weather was perfect. Their vows were incredible (who knew my brother was so thoughtful).

The rest of the evening went on and just kept getting better. We took some beautiful pictures. We had a wonderful dinner. Parents shared embarrassing stories. Parents shared how proud they were of their children. Everyone was happy to just be together, and to be there to witness two people in love, unified.

I helped out a lot with the planning, and I was running around on Sunday looking like I was in charge. Thus, people kept coming up to me and thanking me for putting together such a beautiful wedding. And I felt a little uncomfortable accepting these thanks, but I just smiled and nodded and said I had fun doing it. I wish I had stepped up and spoken to everyone. Said something along the lines of: "I keep getting thanked for this wedding, but there are many people that put a lot of hours into planning today. Yes, I was there with Caitlin and Jason all week keeping them on track, but I couldn't have done it without your assistance. So, I appreciate your thanks very much and I have greatly enjoyed myself. But please, stop thanking me and start thanking yourselves for helping out, and just for being here today to celebrate this wonderful union."

This last week I have learned a lot. I have learned a little bit about love, and how strong it can be. But mostly, I have learned a lot about family. That no matter the differences, no matter the disputes, when two families are brought together through marriage none of that matters. Everyone gets along, and everyone is happy. I love my family, and I think one aspect of myself that I am not proud of is that I am not good at keeping in touch with them. But family is the most important thing. Friends come and go, but family will always be there. So I guess I am lucky for the family that I have. Because even when I haven't spoken to a relative for a long while, they love me just the same. And as my trip to Europe approaches, this odd connection that family has will come in handy for me. My grandpa has given me a list of contacts in Europe. These are people I have never met, never even spoken to. Yet just the fact that they are family means their doors are open to me. It really is quite amazing. And now my family, through Caitlin, has expanded greatly.

The next thing about this last week is it made me think a lot about my own wedding. I was never the type of girl that dreamed about weddings, or even really ever thought about it at all. And I now know two things about myself when it comes to my wedding. Firstly, I am going to be a bridezilla. I think even this last week I was more of a bridezilla than Caitlin was!! And secondly, I am not going to be able to hold it together on my wedding day. Seriously, I teared up so many times on Sunday, and it will be even worse for my own. But I guess before I start thinking about it, I have to find a guy first. Ah well, sigh.

Lastly, I just want to say congrats to Caitlin and Jason! I am very happy for you, and I wish you all the best in the future. :)

(Photo Credit: Marty Paul)