Just getting midway through the first week of community field experience out here in scenic, beautiful Keremeos BC.

The family that is hosting me is very nice indeed! Cute kids that ask me all sorts of questions I can’t answer! Walking outside of the school I am greeted with an amazing view of what they call the “K” mountain (because it has a K shape on the face), and yes, I could get used to this very quickly.

The hardest part of the first few days for me is always the names – introducing and re-introducing myself to staff and students as I try to remember some discerning features and/or associations; everyone is so patient here.

So far, I have spent most of my time between the wood shop, metal shop, and auto shop, as well as the CAD class and Vex robotics, and as always found myself impressed with the breadth of knowledge the students posses. As it is late in the year, I am not trying to wedge myself in here to teach some lessons, but rather provide my services as a second resource floating through the class to collaborate and hopefully assist the students through some sticking points. But as we all know, things just generally follow their own path, and my role will likely change over the coming weeks.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend something I have wanted to sit it on for quite a while, a First Nations workshop. The speaker was excellent, and led through many self reflective exercises to get us to peer at the base of the iceberg underneath the water level. In addition, I learned a little bit about the creator’s story, and how the plants and animals play a role in the collective DNA of nature. It was a great 2 hours, with some awkward moments, emotional sharing, and even some rhythmic interplay – definitely what a workshop should be!

Looking forward to the rest of the week, and working a bit in the Home Ec/cafeteria program portion with the school chef.