Sorry for the lack of updates this last week; I was just trying to find my feet around the hospital and settle myself in
me, working hard on my medical elective.I'm having a totally great time in British Columbia!
(for those who've forgotten why I'm here.....I'm spending 7 weeks working in a hospital in British Columbia living with Dilexit Prior & family who have been exceptionally kind to me and welcomed me to stay with them! I'll be here till mid-August)
So, one week down...6 to go!
Everything from a medical point of view is going great; the hospital doctors and staff are soo friendly and welcoming! I've been in the Emergency Room this week (the 'Emerge' as they call it! Like our A&E in England) and I've managed to do lots of stuff that I'd never done before (like stitches! and putting on a plaster cast!)
Also, local area is sooo pretty!
Forests which lead right up to the ocean, beaches, mountains with snow & glaciers! It's really beautiful!
Forest trail through what looks like a tropical rainforest!
Isn't it pretty?!We went to this totally beautiful place; it's an old quarry which has, over the years, filled with water to become a huge lake.
Seriously, it was so gorgeous, and totally looked like it came out of a book!
My camera is way to rubbish to capture how pretty it is:
Can I live here?
The weather hasn't been too co-operative this last week, but according to the forecast it should start getting a lot better from this week! (however, it's been no where near as horrendous as in England. I spoke to my mum today and she was like "Antonia! It's done nothing but rain all day long every day for the last 2 weeks!" )
We went to a little out-door market:
...I have done some hospital work this last week!
Doe, a deer, a female deer...There are also wild bears and cougars (mounatin lions) which I thankfully haven't encountered (and hope not to!)
Bear tracks? (...or dog paw-prints?!)There are also seals and sea-lions which I haven't yet seen, but hope I will before I leave! Not to mention bald eagles, kestrels, otters...!!
Today was Canada Day and so tomorrow (Monday) is a national holiday which means...NO HOSPITAL!! ( I do like the hospital but, you know, holiday is always good!)
Weather permitting, we are hoping to go on a little boat-trip and maybe see some seals! wow!
Beautiful British Columbia! (as it says on their license plates!)
Also, the local parish here is sooooooooooo orthodox! They have a Communion rail for Communion and most people recieve Communion kneeling down! and no Eucharistic Ministers! I know they are necessary in some Parishes, but I really do think they are unnecessarily over-used in Britain (& definitly in America), and this practice can degarde the percieved Holiness of the Eucharist.
The Priests's homilies have also been really inspiring and the Priests are both really conscientious, which is such a blessing for the local community.
During Mass, at the time of the General Intercessions they say a Parish prayer for vocations, and for the protection of the sanctity of human life.
How awesome is that?!
and Delixit Prior said they regularly hear homilies on the evils of contraception! What a blessed Parish! I have never in my life heard a homily on the wrongness of contraception use or sex before marriage, co-habitation or anything like that. Way too many Catholic people live in constant sin with these behavious, and often they allow their consciences to be muted because they are never challenged by anyone, and they talk themselves into thinking it is okay.
I know lots and lots of Catholics who co-habit with their boyfriends/girlfriends, and regularly have sexual relations outside of marriage, but carry on going to Mass unrepentant and recieving Communion despite being in motal sin.
I know even more who use contraception but willfully and continually carry on ignoring the Church's teaching, thinking themselves better than God's Church.
anyhoo, will save that rant for another day! (I'm reading a book called Catholicism & Fundamentalism at the moment, and it's the sort of book that just makes you want to go "Wake up lapsed Catholics! You have the greatest grace you can imagine being a member of Christ's Body, His Catholic Church! For your own sakes, stop damaging your soul by living constantly in mortal sin!" )
(in case you hadn't noticed from the last 2 years of my blog, contraception-use and especially continually, willfull and unrepentant sex & co-habitation before marriage are two of the behaviours I really dislike in Catholics! and especially when Catholics do it becuase they think they know better than the the Church, or just couldn't care less)
...moving on....!
As I write my better half, Chris, is on a plane heading back for England.
As you may remember, he spent this last week in Hawaii on a conference (he went snorkelling with the turtles, so I'm skeptical about how much 'conference' they actually attended!)
He left Hawaii yesterday and flew to San Francisco where his plane stopped for 12 hours. Luckily for him, he has on old University friend who got a job with Ebay and is living in San Francisco, so he picked up Chris from the airport and gave him a 10 hour tour of San Francisco this morning!
Right at this very moment Chris is on the plane flying back to England. He is due to land Monday 2nd July early afternoon GMT.
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7 comments:
i wanna go to canada too!
Wow. It's lovely. I'm so very glad that you're having such a great time and learning so much. And that Chris did (or didn't ;)), too! :o)
Being that I was baptised last year, I've only ever experienced going up and bowing before the priest before receiving communion, but on my birthday last November I asked Steven to take me to Mass and we went to this Polish cathedral near where his parents live and they had a communion rail. I was completely thrown off at first! I actually much preferred that. I like kneeling. I think it's something that a lot of people don't consciously think of. Heck, before entering the pews, a lot of people don't genuflect. They'll maybe do a quick little bow or make a cross or maybe partially go down on one knee, but most are in too much of a hurry to get into the pew. Not sure whether this is because they don't want to extend the effort or if they're afraid of backing up the line behind them, but it's kind of carried over into communion now (at least that I've seen). A lot of people don't even bow. Though, it may very well just be a matter of things having changed so much that attendance to Mass is what's stressed these days and that people's presence is just so much appreciated that etiquette & proper procedure at Mass are often overlooked or made more relaxed to accommodate more people's comfort levels, I don't know.
Anto; may I have permission to be extremely jealous???
British Columbia looks so much like Alaska. Both are gorgeous!
Hey guys! Yes, it is super pretty here!
(Brendan, it's so cute how you always call me "Anto" ! Noone else does that!!)
RCM: yep, when I look around here I was just thinking the other day "wow! This looks just how I imagined Alaska to look!"
Lindz: I know just what you mean, and I think that's why lots of Priests shy away from saying anything "controversial" because 'at least the people are coming to Mass'.
But I think it does people a great disservice not to say anything, because human life is genuinely impoverished by living daily in those sins, and making no effort to repent or change.
Also, it must really hurt Jesus!
The difficult part is, how to transmit that in a loving (but uncompromising) way!
God Bless guys!
-x-x-x-
Oh my goodness! With outdoor beauty like that, and a nice, orthodox church to boot, why the heck would you EVER go back to smelly, old England???? Mostly kidding, since I've never actually BEEN to England, but I don't think it can compare to the great, white North. Ahhhh, it's home to me! (Well, North America anyway-not Canada, but close!) I hope you have a great time and learn a lot, it would be nice if you could dip down and visit us here in the U.S.! We're not nearly all as crazy as we appear to be!
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