Canada - A nice place to visit

My three-week stay in Canada is about to come to an end. It has been a hectic, but productive time and given me a great recharge before going away for another year. I've been able to select my certain-to-be-victorious hockey-pool team, inhaled two turkey dinners (not counting leftovers), suffered through a few runs and bike rides, and did some visiting. I was busier than I expected and wasn’t once able to sit through an entire hockey game on TV.

I spent about half of my time staying at my parent's place in Mission which was some-what entertaining. I felt a bit ridiculous asking to borrow the car. My mother not only requested the phone number of a friend’s place that I would be staying with in Vancouver, but she actually phoned. Upon my arrival I was informed that my mother had called. In her defence, there was a legitimate reason for calling as she was forwarding a message from Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). I teased her about calling me and she joked back that she just wanted to make sure that I actually went to where I said I was going. Once a parent always a parent. On the positive side, it was nice to hear her call when dinner was ready.

Watching on TV and reading the news on Pakistan has been a bit surreal. MSF has quickly ramped-up its operations since the earthquake took place, sending 40 emergency personnel and planeloads of supplies. I don’t really know much more about the situation than what I’ve seen on the news and the internet. It is unbelievable what has happened and hard to believe that in three weeks time I’ll be arriving in Islamabad. With what’s going on in Pakistan I feel strange to be first attending orientation and training course. However, the reality is that without the training I’ll be getting in Amsterdam it would be difficult for me to quickly become a contributing member of the team.

My schedule for the next three weeks is as follows:
- October 13 – depart for Bonn, Germany (via London) for MSF orientation course;
- October 23 – depart for Amsterdam, Netherlands for MSF Financial and Human Res. course;
- November 2 – depart for Islamabad (via London).