Hi everyone,
Sorry
its been a while since the last update. I have been told off for not
filling everyone in :) (thanx sis). Looking back, the last report was
pre Christmas and only went on my blog, so it could be a long one.
Spending
Christmas in the snow and without family was certainly a strange
feeling. Christmas Eve, there was a parade and fireworks and was spent
in -15 watching them. Christmas Day I had to work which was weird. The
office was extremely quite with only two others around but in different
locations meant it was a bit lonely. For dinner, I joined the Ski
School feast - the Kids Centre Manager and his family put on a feast
for all the staff that don't have any family or are wanting to spend it
with friends - was really good.
New Years was a fairly mild
affair compared to other nights I have spent up here. Myself and a
friend spent time as various places throughout the village. A group of
us were attempting to walk back to the centre of the village for the
fireworks but unfortunately missed it. The night was really good, spent
with many friends and I had an absolute blast.
Unfortunately
this season the weather has not been kind the resorts over here. We
opened two weeks late, then had a cold chill hit for a week (-20 days),
so to finally receive a dump of snow shortly after Christmas/New Year,
everyone was rejoicing. I was lucky enough to have a friend (Katie)
spending a few days at Big White at the time and we went out and got to
experience the powder that Big White and Canada in general is renowned
for. I don't think I have had so much fun and been so buggered in my
life, or laughed so hard getting bogged in knee deep powder.
After the dump, the weather gods decided to be unkind again
and we had days that got up to +10 (even higher depending on which
temperature gauge you looked at), which meant a lot of the quality snow
that had built up was melting away. With it, we thought the season as
well, so a lot of mountain staff got laid off. I am lucky enough to
have a job that isn't dependant on the weather and haven't had to worry
about losing hours or my job.
Late January saw Mum, Dad and
Carina come over and visit. Although the first few days were a little
cold for them and took a bit to acclimatise, the blue sky days made it
very easy to cruise around the mountain and show them around where I
have been living for the past 4 months. While they were over, Australia
Day came, and although we were half way around the world from
Australia, it felt like we were at the local town. Big White is
literally home away from home, therefore the only way to celebrate
Australia Day was to do it big. We had Cheesy-mites, meat pies
(pasties) and VB (although only one of the pubs did, as it bought out
the entire stock of Kelowna - which is 100,000people large). Dad and I
did a run of Kangaroo in the morning as the tribute before picking up
Carina from our unit and heading down to Happy Valley to celebrate the
day away. Everyone was dressed up, we even had a guy dress up as an
aboriginal - bear foot and all in the snow.
Unfortunately
the day after I found out that one of my housemates decided he had had
enough of the hill and him and his wife decided to leave the following
Sunday (without of course the typical farewell on the night before).
The
two weeks the three spent in Big White absolutely flew, however I was
able to show them a few of the activities around. Dad, Carina and I
went snowmobiling, which was an absolute hoot!!! We all went on a day
trip to Silver Star, which is the sister resort of Big White and
although it was a good day all, all agree that Big White is far better.
We also convinced mum to come tubing, which was also a blast and going
by mum's screams of scared and laughter, was enjoyed by all.
After
two weeks of having Mum, Dad and Carina at Big White they headed off to
Vancouver for a few days. Unbeknown to dad, he thought the farewell at
Big White was the last he would see of me in Canada. However, I flew
over and visited them on their last night in Vancouver before we all
went to Whistler to spend with Dad on his birthday and to join Carina
showing us around "her mountain" Whistler. Although the snow conditions
weren't quite as good as Big White (love you sis), the village is
incomparable. It makes Big White look like Albury compared to Sydney.
While in Whistler we were able to spend a picturesque blue sky day
skiing Blackcomb, having family photos taken by a crew (unfortunately
some weren't the most flattering) before being able to experience the
thrill of skiing Blackcomb Glacier (a 10.2km ski run that you can ski
even during Summer, and even mum did it). Some of the scenery and
images from that day will stick in my mind for many years to come. The
final day that I spent in Whistler was the one year count down to the
2010 Winter Olympics and they had a big (exaggerated) ceremony to
commemorate the day, including the unveiling of the uniforms and the
torch. To be an Aussie spending time in Canada, it was a very rewarding
experience to become part and join a moment in history for the nation.
As
per Jacob tradition (that is probably only a year or two old), anyone
who fell had to buy a round of shots, which meant a few nights of a few
rounds of shots. Congratulations to Mum and Dad for having everything
that Carina and I made them drink. Mum's face was certainly priceless
on a few occasions, but she did survive and although she may deny it,
did enough a few of them.
Since returning back to Big White, life seems to have
started to have calmed down. I still only have 2 housemates as we have
been struggling to find another 2 people, however one of my housemates
has had her family over from Vancouver Island so it hasn't been quiet.
In general, things have been going pretty well for me over here. I have
got to know a lot of people and experienced a lot of things I wouldn't
have otherwise. With the season end less than 2months away and people
starting to leave to return to normality back home the vibe is starting
to change a bit. Up until this week, fear was that we would be closing
early as we hadn't had much snow and the base is approximately a metre
less than any normal season. Luckily enough this week we have had a bit
of a top up and positivity has started to return.
Beyond Big
White, I found out earlier this week that I will most likely have work
available for me between the season end and heading to Europe in
Toronto which I am looking forward to. It will be working with the
Canadian subsidiary of the company that I was working for prior to
coming to Canada. It will be nice to experience another part of Canada
and one that wont be as Aussie dominated as it is over here. Even my
work colleague (who is Canadian) is heading to Australia for a trip.
Being East will also allow me to explore quite a few different regions
around the area as well.
Well
I think that is about most things. I am sure I will be reminded by
family about things that I forgot, but I think the email is long
enough.
Hope everyone is well and safe from all the bush fires
back home. The yellow ribbons are even available over here and it has
been part of our newsletters to inform people about them.
Cheers to everyone,
Amanda
