July 20th was Charlie and Stormie Wayling’s 50th anniversary and they wanted to celebrate with their grandchildren at a restaurant. After a wonderful lunch, we spent some time at our house with the immediate family to celebrate their 50 years together and it was a fun, memorable afternoon. Congratulations to a beautiful couple after 50 unforgettable years together! Here are some memories to honour their 50 years together:
Chris and I left on an epic journey to the Kalahari desert with a school team of 5 teachers and 32 students on June 28th at 7pm. We managed to load the plane with 46 bags of supplies for the school in Ganap, South Africa. We then endured a very long 2 days of travel (11 hour flight, followed directly by 10 hour bus ride) to finally arrive in Kuruman where we would stay for 2 weeks at a hostel (an empty intermediate Afrikaans boarding school). The hostel had no heating and had pretty rough accommodations, but it certainly made everyone appreciate what we have back home.
We spent the next 2 weeks teaching beautiful children in a little village 90 minutes away from our hostel, in a remote village called Ganap. We had teaching teams for each grade and we worked every night on our plans and prepping materials for the next day, which would start at 5am, leaving the hostel at 6:30am for the very rough ride into Ganap. Chris and I were assigned a ‘Dean of Students’ role so we often had to deal with any incidental problems that arose with our ASP students as well as managing discipline issues etc. We also drove the truck (‘bakkie’) and picked up the bread every morning. With extremely rough terrain and road construction, driving a standard on the opposite side of the car and opposite side of the road was a fun challenge that we enjoyed every morning in the complete darkness when we left for our teaching day in Ganap. An additional challenge was the donkeys, goats and cows the would block the road on our journey every morning. However, watching the sunrise over the desert every day was a highlight on this drive.
Each night we would hold a teacher meeting, and then a ‘Circle Time’ with all of the students, and we would eat dinner, then plan our lessons before packing the bus with all of our materials (we brought them back and forth daily or they would be stolen from the school), then there was time for a 2 minute shower and lights out at 9pm. The schedule was rigorous and many people in our group ended up sick with a bad cough or a gastro problem. Two trips to the doctor were necessary for different students.
When we first arrived, we had 3 days to visit the village, attend church and go on an intense hike up Mount Gullable, not far from our hostel. Then after 5 days of teaching, during the first weekend, we took our bus to Kimberely to visit the famous Diamond mine (‘The Big Hole’) and a Lion Rescue Centre. Then we went to a lovely restaurant on the Sunday for brunch and a hike.
After another 4 days of teaching we said our goodbyes to the children of Ganap and began to pack all of the materials for next years group that would stay and be used again. We left our hostel at 5am on Friday the 14th to travel to Pilanesburg to a hotel called the Sun Down Ranch. We arrived there at 12 noon and had lunch and a rest before jumping into safari trucks for a 3 hour Game Drive in Pilanusburg Game Reserve. We were very lucky to see elephants, lions, zebra, water buffalo, impala, rhinoceros and hippos on this drive!! The lions and elephants were right next to the safari trucks, so I was able to get some good photos! After a nice banquet dinner and slideshow that night, we packed our suitcases for the drive to the airport the next day.
The next morning, on the way to Johannesburg we stopped at a craft market to shop for African items and then visited the Hector Pieterson Museum, in Soweto, where students protested Apartheid in 1976 (June 16) which led to the fall of Apartheid. It is a very significant date in South African History and is now known as ‘Youth Day’.
We arrived home this morning after a 10 hour flight and we are very tired, but so happy and grateful we were asked to help lead this service learning experience. It is something we are already very reflective and nostalgic about. It has changed our view on how we appreciate opportunities we have in our lives, after working with children who have nothing and yet exude such vitality and joy. They appreciate the smallest of things, and we learned about ourselves through them in such memorable ways. I also learned some Tswana in order to communicate with some of mine, which was more fun than trying to speak French all the time in Paris. Soon we will be in Canada to reunite with Gregory, Brianna and all our family and friends! We can’t wait for summer to begin! Here are some photos from our time in South Africa:
Wow! Grade 11 was an exciting year, for sure. Greg will have to give his thoughts on it this summer, but for now, here are some pics from his recent prom. It took place on the same night as Brianna’s boat cruise, so at one point they were down at Trocadero (the Eiffel Tower viewpoint) at the same time, all dressed up for a night out on the city. Greg had a very rare experience at a famous restaurant/club in Paris called Les Salons Hoche.
First the grade 11 and 12’s with tickets to prom met at the Eiffel Tower where there was a photographer taking photos. Then a charter bus took them to the restaurant Les Salons Hoche where there was a Rolls Royce and Bentley parked out front and photos were taken there on a red carpet. Then inside there was champagne offered all night and they had a 4 course meal before the dance started.
Later, those who had an ‘After Prom’ ticket, went together to a night club in Paris from 12am – 5am. So, after the dinner and dance they went to a friend’s to change and then went to the night club. When that was over, they went back to the Eiffel Tower to watch the sunrise at 5:30am. Wow! Amazing venues and hopefully the memories of prom will stick forever.
Brianna’s grade 8 graduation took place on June 19th and was an exceptional ceremony, done in style! She made both Chris and I so proud as she received her certificate so joyfully and there was a loud cheer for her as she walked up on stage. There was a slideshow at the beginning while parents waited for the students to be clapped in alphabetically, then some speeches were made before receiving certificates. It was a very hot day, so the students were staying out of the sun and it meant not having beautiful photos out on the grounds. It was 38 degrees, but felt even hotter with suits and dresses on.
The big celebration had been the Friday before. In Paris they mark the end of grade 8, by renting a large cruise boat (supervised by one counsellor and 2 parents), and doing an evening on the Seine river through Paris, all lit up at night. It was all decorated for a dance and the boat had a DJ on it. There was a long table with food and drinks, and the dance cruise went from 8pm – 11pm. It was perfect weather that Friday…about 26 degrees and not a could in the sky. Brianna looked beautiful in her back dress and black shoes…just stunning! Here is a mix of photos from the night:
Maureen and I have finished our first year teaching in Paris! Woohoo!! What a whirlwind of activity this last month has been. Now that we have a little bit of breathing room we felt that it was important to get back to our blog.
One interesting experience that we had at the beginning of June, was attending the American School of Paris’ International Day. We were told in advance that this would be one of the highlights of the year.
International Day is a chance for the whole school community to come together to celebrate the diverse backgrounds represented at ASP. The idea is that each nationality has a booth and sells delicacies and items from their home country. For example, the India booth was selling beautiful woven rugs and scented candles. Meanwhile, the Mexican booth has various ethnic dishes and a chili eating competition (Greg broke the record by going to ‘level 6 – the highest level). Our favorite was the Raclette and wine at the Swiss booth. There were about 30 different booths and each was impressively decorated. The Parents Organization also organized a lineup of cool entertainment ranging from traditional Chinese Dragon Dancing with a huge dragon, to a Jazz Band, Tai kwan doe and singers. They also rented twelve different massive inflatables for the kids to enjoy (climbing wall, survival competitions, jousting, foozball, mechanical bull etc…) which were set up all over the field. All of the proceeds from the day went towards different service projects that the school undertakes.
Maureen and I were in charge of organizing a booth for the Kalahari Experience that we are leading in a week. We sold popsicles to raise money for the program we will run in South Africa. Greg and Breezy volunteered to help out at the Canadian booth (which sold Maple Syrup Smoothies – a massive hit with everyone) and we all had a good day, even though we were ‘at school’.
10 days ago, Brianna returned from a class trip in the Provence region of France, where they spent 5 days touring together and using their French. On May 30th, we walked Breeze to ASP at 6:30am to board a bus, and then that bus took them to the train station where they went to St. Remy de Provence, by train. They arrived at lunch to Van Gogh’s hospital where he painted the surrounding fields, and they had a picnic in those fields and then toured the ‘Residence’. That night they arrived at their Hotel and had journal time because the assignment was to track their holiday in a journal in French.
The next day they took a bus to Nimes for a guided visit of Maison Carree (arena), had lunch in Nimes and then went horse back riding on the water. Afterwards, they visited the Camargue. “The Camarague” is region of the Rhône delta in France, characterized by numerous shallow salt lagoons. The region is known for its white horses and being a huge nature reserve. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire when the city was home to 50,000–60,000 people. Several famous monuments are in Nîmes, such as the Nîmes Arena and the Maison Carrée. Because of this, Nîmes is often referred to as the French Rome.
Also during the week, they visited Orange and its Theatre Antique, and Natu’rando Nature park for kayaking to Pont du Gard. While in Orange, they learned about the aqueduct and detente on the shore of the ‘Gardon’ river. Another day they went to Avignon and the Palais des Papes (Pope’s Palace) which was built in 1335. It is the largest Gothic Palace in the word and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They also visited Pont d’Avignon (the famous bridge) which was begun in 1177 and originally had 22 stone arches crossing the river. Here is the group in Avignon. They caught the train back to Paris from here. Can you find Breeze? She is in grey. 🙂
My parents, determined to experience our life here in France, jumped on a plane 29 days ago to come stay with us in Garches. It feels as though they were here a lot longer than a month though, because we did so much together and saw much more than we anticipated we might! There were some definite ‘French moments’ where they learned the saying “WTF” (Welcome to France!!) and we had many laughs!
Some of their French moments would include:
These were all memorable moments embedded within many different experiences and tours, that were all ‘WTF’ moments (whether wonderful or weird). But there were also some incredible travelling experiences that will never be forgotten.
Here is a list of some of the places they toured and explored (often by taking the train on their own!). Check out some of the excellent links!
*Versailles Palace, Gardens and Stables (2 different days)
*St. Germaine en Laye (village and Chateau outside of Paris)
*Catacombs (historical underground tour)
*Martaize and La Chausee to discover the LeBlanc ancestry that began there with Daniel LeBlanc leaving for Acadia in 1646!
*Loire Valley and it’s famous castles (We made it to the first 4 in the link: Amboise, Blois, Cheverny, Chambord)
*Ambois and the house of Leonardo DaVinci (Close Luce)
*NORMANDY: Juno Beach, Canadian War Cemetery and locating a gravesite for a Peterborough friend; Caen and Ardenne Abbey
*City of Rouen and history of Joan of Arc – being at the tower she was imprisoned in there. The city of Rouen, France is where Catholic saint Joan of Arc died in 1431 after being burned at the stake by the English during the Hundred Years War
*Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur, artisian squares and Van Gogh’s windmill (he painted) and apartment. By going to the link above you can have a virtual tour of the Basilica and learn about it’s history and architecture or see the view it has over Paris.
*La Marais – Victor Hugo home in section of original Royal Palace, Place de Bastille
*Hop On / Hop Off Open Bus tour – walked to Pantheon on this day and toured it and the crypt to see the tombs of Louis Braille, Victor Hugo, Raphael, Voltaire and many others…
*Touring Paris and these famous sites by foot (check out the awesome links for pics or a quick history of these places!) : Notre Dame, La Conciergerie, St. Chapelle, Hotel de’Ville, Pere Lachaise cemetery, La Defense, Concorde, Jardins de Tuilieres, Pont Alexandre III, and walking the Seine.
We hope you were able to check out some of the photo galleries or virtual tours above to get a sense of the history that we explored over the past month. All we can say is the month flew by and we are so grateful for all the memorable moments with them! We also flew to Dublin, Ireland and left mom and dad alone to do some of this touring on their own for 3 days and for another 3 days Brianna flew on her own to Vienna in Austria to play in a Varsity Softball tournament ~ So they rolled with our schedule and made it very easy for us to balance work and visiting!
Thanks guys!!
Enjoy a well deserved rest!! (After you cut your LONG grass)
The four of us flew to Ireland on Friday to meet up with our extended family from Switzerland. They live just outside of Dublin now and we wanted to see them because Greg and their son Johnny were close friends when they were little and our families spent much time together!
When we arrived we spent the day in Dublin, using the ‘Hop and Go’ bus tour where we saw lots of interesting sites in Dublin. We walked through Christ Church (1100’s), toured the Guinness Storehouse, and walked through the bar district of Dublin taking in some music at ‘Temple Bar’. Greg grabbed some shot glasses for his Irish friends back in Peterborough and we picked up some other memorabilia. We learned a great deal about the history of Dublin and area based on this bus tour and had a fun driver who sang and made jokes the whole afternoon.
After we toured Dublin, we rented a car near Trinity College and drove out to Julianstown where our friends the Osters live. The boys reunited and we had a relaxing visit that night. They were such gracious hosts considering they are preparing to move very shortly!
The next day we drove to Powerscourt in Wicklow County to see the world famous gardens and learn about the history there. The largest waterfall in Ireland is also close to Powerscourt, so we went to see that as well!
That night we enjoyed a great BBQ with Arthur and Mary (Fiona’s parents). The kids got to know each other better and we agreed it was so important that we had brought them together again!
On Sunday, we drove to Newgrange to see the famous UNESCO Heritage site where stone age man built tomb structures over 5000 years ago. These tombs are older than the pyramids and were very impressive to see in person! For details on this site go this link.
After Newgrange we visited the Old Bridge House where the Battle of Boyne took place a few miles west of Drogheda. It is a spectacular site. No year in Irish history is better known than 1690, when William III’s won victory over James II in a famous battle at the River Boyne. James, a Roman Catholic, had lost the throne of England in the bloodless “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 and his battle against William to try to regain it, is infamous. The house was built in the 18th century, but what is important is the historical significance that the site that it’s built on.
After touring these two sites (Newgrange and Old Bridge House) we went back to the Oster’s house and the boys went to play a (9 hole) round of golf from 2:00pm-4:30pm before our evening flight. It was a sunny, warm afternoon and everyone had a great time. Thank you so much to the Oster’s for hosting us; it was just so great to reunite with them this weekend on their anniversary!! The Waylings loved Ireland!
March 28, 2017 – The LeBlanc’s from Peterborough arrive in Paris! I met them at CDG airport at 7:30am. My parents were happy, alert and ready to hit the train system! By the time we got home (3 trains and 1 our later), the jet lag was setting in and they got settled and slept from 1pm-4pm, when the kids got home from school.
Since that day, they have gone to markets in Garches and Versailles, been to the Eiffel tower at night to see it sparkle, visited Chateau St. Cloud, watched a musical at the school, shopped at La Defense and taken the train system themselves to Versailles Palace and La Defense. This week they have tickets to the IIHF Championship hockey games (Canada vs. France!) and next weekend we go to visit the town that LeBlanc’s originated from and trace my dad’s roots (Martaize).
We will update again before they leave for home at the end of May.
Happy Travels mom and Dad!
What a fun day! Paris held it’s annual ‘Color Run’ which is a 5km ‘run’ beginning at Hotel de Ville in the city centre and finishing at the Eiffel Tower with a concert and celebration! Bri and Greg were not feeling 100% yesterday when we bought the tickets online, so we decided they may not be able to wake early and go into the city for a 5km run. That’s when we decided to make it our own Easter fun and go in for what we’d heard is an amazing experience. It didn’t disappoint. We had so much fun tattooing ourselves up before the run and then partying and dancing along the way. There were DJ’s at the start line to get everyone pumped and we were all dancing and singing for half of this ‘run’! This is Europe… so of course, there were beer-stops and restaurants on route, to sit for a rest and enjoy the atmosphere. Music pumped out at every color station and people danced and partied throughout the run. It really was electric and SO much fun!! We will definitely do this again one day! It is difficult to describe the ‘vibe’; you just have to be there and Paris on a sunny day is magical anyway, so this was simply unforgettable.
For more photos of the event in general go to this link.
Here are some photos of us at each color station and the after party!
C M G B Overseas 