Though we live and work in Europe, we’re still Canadian and Canada is close to our hearts. Sometimes we have a thought about Canada; sometime we’re even in Canada.
We moved to Poland in September, 2010 expecting to build a community centre, demonstrate our faith by tackling civic needs, and bridging the gap (perceived and actual) between the church and the community. Three years later there is no community centre and no civic programs. Our move to Włocławek was part of a pilot project,… Read More Stopping Before the Finish Line you Expected
With our upcoming return to the True North getting continually closer, we find the idea of life in our own homeland slightly…odd. There’s a lot of material about reverse culture shock and re-entry, but living it and reading about it are two different experiences. Here are some of the things that we have on our… Read More The (uh) Oh Canada List
A Polish friend recently posted this picture of Ryan Gosling – the other kind of Canadian beef export – and commented on how they’d love this particular gift from Canada. ‘Tis the gift-giving season after all. The holidays exaggerate the feeling of distance that most expats live with. It goes from being background noise to… Read More Presents from Canada / Presence in Canada
Here we sit contentedly in Włocławek in the after-glow of our Thanksgiving meal. It’s not a holiday here and in the absence of festive store displays and turkey themed posters we’re reminded that we have a lot (copious amounts in fact) to be thankful for every single day of the year. This list is hardly… Read More The Thankful List
All 3 of us are together in Poland – now, how great is that? It feels familiar and odd being back. As usual it was a whirlwind of a time as we prepared to travel and Daxon put flights 18 and 19 under his belt (his 3rd trans-Atlantic flight) with style…though baby jet lag is… Read More We Share Colours
“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” –… Read More Happy Canada Day 2012
“I know where you live” is never a statement you want to hear while sitting in a stranger’s car, but we get it semi-regularly. In a flat country subject to the brisk Baltic blast where cab fare is more than affordable, taxis are a lovely alternative on cold Polish days. Not being on any tourist… Read More City Mouse / Medium-Sized Industrial Town Mouse
‘Tis the season of extremes. We’re inundated with the message that we should show those close to us just how much we care by giving gifts. It’s the wishlist time of year. Gift giving is a wonderful thing and for many people it’s an effective form of communicating gratitude, affection and humour. This often leads… Read More Seasonally Appropriate
Life may not have handed us lemons, but with our visa delay it certainly feels like a curve ball. Though we may not be wielding a lemon shooting gun, like this cartoon, we’re making the most of an unexpected situation. It has not been easy reshuffling our fall plans at the last-minute. This added time… Read More Life and Lemons
Like car parts, when plans fail they often do so in a dramatic, last-minute way that leaves you standing on the side of life’s highway wondering how you didn’t see that coming. When we returned to Canada our schedule looked a little something like this: July 14: secretly fly to Toronto July 16: even secretlier… Read More Dear Plans, R.I.P.
the price post 