Jan 2001
LAND O'LAKES NewsWeb HomeWe wish you a merry Christmas ... and a happy new year!
by Jos Metivier I hope you had a good and enjoyable Christmas that you won't ever forget, as we, your new Katimavikers, did. I will be sincere with you guys: a few weeks ago when I was thinking about celebrating Christmas without my family this year, I was sad and homesick. For me, Christmas was and always will be an important family celebration. Isn't it the same for you? One of the questions I asked myself during the week before "Santa Claus" time was: Why didn't I choose the Katima-program of January, which starts in the next two weeks? But it wasn't right to ask myself that. We had a house meeting later to plan for Christmas: for example, which day we should have the Christmas supper; and what about a dinner at midnight on Dec.24; and all the other preparations. So, after this "reunion de la maison" , I realized that it was going to be ... FUN, and better than I thought to celebrate with your friends!
We chose to do three exchanges of presents on Christmas Eve: one that you made , one stocking, and one gift. So each participant had to get three gifts for three different people... We needed to be imaginative, funny, crazy and smart to find the best present. It took about an hour-and-a-half to present our gifts and take pictures. Afterwards, we ate a good meal all together, like a big family, 11 persons around the same table
On December 26, about 7:20 a.m., our group leader Marcie woke us up to be sure we'd be ready by 8:45 to leave the Katima-house. Everyone was kind of tired, but very excited too because it was our day trip to Ottawa. Yahoo! After we arrived there, we went to the War Museum first, which was interesting because we learned about the history of our country. Following that we walked in downtown Ottawa, and finished our day at the Sciences and Technologies Museum. Another great thing we did during the week of Christmas was going to Bob Lovelace's sweat lodge on Eagle Lake, which was an energizing and relaxing experience.
On Dec.31, we went to Kingston to work at the New Year's celebration with two other Katimavik groups, Wolfe Island and Kingston. The weather wasn't very good for working outside, but we got to know the other Katimavikers better, and some of them did the "Polar Plunge". I think it was harder to celebrate the New Year than Christmas because back home it's a big event, celebrated for two days with your friends and family.
Before telling you about our group, I would like to tell you that one of our main characteristics is friendliness . So if you've noticed new young faces in your community don't be shy at all to talk with them because it's probably us , the Katima-Sharbot Lake.
Eh oui! Now, let's see where the gang comes from: there are two British Colombians, one Manitoban, two Ontarians, three Quebecois one New Brunswicker, and one Nova Scotian. You'll get the chance to know us better in future weeks because I'll write an article on each of us. I'm pretty sure that you'll like us all just as we are!!
As you know, we came to your beautiful community at the beginning of December as volunteers until February 21. Our first rotation took place in Cold Lake, Alberta , for about two months. Unlike here , it was very flat without a lot of trees, not like here with your "cool" hills. To conclude, I wish you a happy, lucky, and healthy New Year 2001!!
