Over the course of a week and a half, so much has been accomplished. On June 2nd, the morning started off with a meeting about an Indian Residential School Commission event that is happening next week and at the time of the meeting, it was for everyone to touch base and to see what all needs to happen in the next few weeks. This meeting was also for Karmy and I to get up to speed with what is happening during the event. It is safe to say that while I am excited to see the whole community come together and honored to experience something that many have not experienced, I also know how sad the day will be as well.
After this meeting, Karmy and I finally got to post a poster around the community about a community cleanup that was taking place the following week. This event was almost completely planned by both Karmy and I (this is our first event that we planned) and I am feeling a little nervous, hoping that everything will work out. As I sit here writing this blog, we have had to move the event due to a death in the community as well as a wedding. The new day that was chosen for the event just happens to be raining, but we hope that the rain holds off long enough. Posting the posters around the community was eye opening. For some of the stops, we did not know how to get there and where to post the posters. One thing I love about being here in the community is that when we don’t know where to go, there is always someone who gives the best directions. Even though we have only been in the community for about 4 weeks, I feel as though I don’t always know where I am going.
The following day was a more relaxed day for me. As it was very hot this day, it was very hard to be out in the sun. One highlight of the day was that we were fed lunch ( a pizza that I don’t know where it came from) as well as were given red sweaters. I feel very privileged to have received this sweater, even though I can not wear it right now as it is very warm here, and know that I will wear it once it is cool enough. To end the day, Karmy and I decided to head into Fort Vermillion thinking that it would be cooler in the car than it was in the loft. We were very wrong about this. It was overwhelmingly too hot in the car which meant that we did not spend much time in Fort Vermillion.
By the time Saturday rolled around, Karmy and I were itching to do something. Our first thought was to head into High Level to gather supplies for the community cleanup. When we got to the store, there was not anything available that we needed. So, after spending some time in High Level, we returned back to the loft empty handed. Upon returning to the loft, I decided that it was a good idea to start washing some of my laundry (I have not done any laundry since coming to BFN).
The week after this relaxing weekend was full of planning on events for the summer. These events included a presentation that Karmy and I would be giving to recent grads on applying for scholarships. We also attended a training with the Jays Care Foundation which taught us about how to create a fun and engaging program for the youth. This training was enlightening as I have no idea how to coach baseball. Later on in the week, the AC unit was finally installed! This was after Karmy and I tried to install it ourselves the week prior, using duct tape (so glad that I brought this as duct tape can be used for anything).
It was also this day that Karmy and I went into High Level to grab the supplies that were needed for the community cleanup, happening in a few days. It was definitely an adventure trying to find everything that we needed in the store. The only thing that made this experience go smoothly was having a list that was made previously about how much of everything that we needed to get. We also had to grab ingredients for a salad that a community member agreed to make for the cleanup. It was decided that we were going to drop off the ingredients later that night on our way back to the community. This was interesting as it was our first time trying to find a home in the community. We ended up going past the house two or three times, got lost by going too far and ended up seeing our first bear of the summer! (wanted to get a photo but did not as I was the driver and the bear got spooked by the time we got close to it) I felt as though the universe was at work here, allowing Karmy and I to go on a scenic drive and see the bear. While the drive was beautiful, it was hot in the car and we had groceries that were in danger of melting. Upon returning back to the loft, both Karmy and I were covered in dust from the gravel roads and I would not change a thing about how the day went. It is not everyday that driving down a gravel road will lead you to seeing a big black bear.
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