Moving to Gabriola Island!

My days in Vancouver are numbered. I'm checkin' out of the big city and movin' to Gabriola Island. I got a job, a "real" job, as a planner for the Islands Trust. I can't really believe it's real, to be honest. I had my summer all planned out: I'd move back to Victoria, work a summer job with Parks Canada (where I worked also last summer), write my graduating project, then look for permanent work in the fall. I applied for this job kind of on a whim. I figured they'd want someone to start earlier than September, but I didn't think I'd get the job either. Making the decision to back out on the summer work with Parks to take the job on Gabriola was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make.

Now, I'm disappointed that I won't be in Victoria for the summer where I have some of my closest friends, and lots of family. But, it's a permanent job, and this is what I've been going to school to do. It's a GREAT job in fact, and I can't turn it down. If it was in Prince George I'd turn it down, but it's really not that far from Victoria or Vancouver (or Gibsons, for those who are interested ;).

Now that I've come to grips with this massive change to my plans, I can start getting excited. I'm looking forward to Gulf Islands life and to checking out Gabriola. I'm also really looking forward to the job. To be honest, I'm nervous. I have a hard time explaining to people what I'll be doing, because I don't really know! I'm nearly finished two years of planning school, but I'm still not sure what a day in the life of a planner for the Islands Trust is like. There will be a steep learning curve, but I'm encouraged by the fact that they picked ME, so they must know what they're getting themselves into. I did get a technical question wrong in the interview, so they are under no illusion that I am a pro at municipal planning.

I'm not looking forward to being lonely. Maybe I won't be lonely, but I already feel lonely thinking about it. I know, I shouldn't focus on the negative, but I'm not being too negative, just a bit apprehensive. I know one person on Gabriola; a wonderful gal who I had a class with last semester lives there with her partner. I imagine she'll be happy to introduce me to people and help me get oriented when I arrive. I imagine I'll also enjoy the change from the big city, and will be happy to spend exploring time alone.

I'm also hoping that lots of people will come and visit me. If you're in Vancouver, it's easy to get to via Horseshoe Bay, and if you're in Victoria, it's just an hour and a half drive to Gabriola ferry. It looks like there are some summertime community events to entice you all, such as the "Himalayan Festival" from June 6-8. Don't ask me why Gabriola would have such a culturally specific festival when I am fairly certain there is no Himalayan heritage on the Island, but perhaps you should come and check it out for yourselves.

With such exciting things to look forward to, it is proving especially difficult to motivate myself to finish the mass of papers and presentations I have to do. Really, really difficult. Please send motivating energy my way.

This is Work

My work this summer has me half of the time at the Tsawout reserve working from the office of an alliance of 4 First Nations. Most of the time I just sit in the office and do my stuff while I absorb the atmosphere around me. A couple of weeks ago, however, was a canoe blessing ceremony for a brand new dugout canoe that a few men from Tsawout built. This is it. The name means mermaid in the Sencot'en language.

The blessing ceremony involved dancers in regalia, which noone was allowed to take pictures of. Then the canoe was loaded onto a flatbed trailer and taken down to Saanichton Bay for its first dip into the ocean.

Last week I also had the opportunity to observe a meeting with Tsawwassen in the Tsawout longhouse. The meeting was to do with the Tsawwassen treaty, and was from what I gather a momentous first step towards nation-to-nation talks in a more traditional setting than the typical hotel conference room. The treaty commissioner was there and said something to this effect. I feel so lucky to be a part of things like this.

Another interesting day at work had me out with the archaeologists on a beautiful day on Sidney Spit. We didn't find anything earth-shattering, but I learned about "cores", that are distinct basalt rocks that have been hit so that flakes will come off with sharp edges on them to be used as tools or weapons. It also got me out of the office enjoying the sunshine.