Settling in

Five weeks really have whizzed by; not much time to sit and contemplate. We collected our new vehicle a week ago and it really has given us 'freedom'. We have decided to look for property in either the SW or NW of Calgary; this side of Calgary has quick access to Highway 1 and the mountains.

Last weekend we went hiking in Kananaskis/Peter Loughead Provincial Parks. As we passed through Canmore the locals looked fit and tanned - I think we have some work to do in tightening those muscles! The Nordic Centre is well worth a visit as it has maps, trails, biking trails and a new sport disk golf, all good fun and it gets you into the great outdoors. The views really were spectacular. Our journey took us past Grassi Lake off the tarmaced road and onto dirt cum gravel ... our nice new clean car not for long.

We passed long horned sheep, a cute young black bear on our journey to the trailhead; sorry no photographs why? Because we decided to watch and the camera remained on the floor of the car. Next time it will be see the animal and take a photograph. We hiked upto Windy Pass and were greeted by a welcoming breeze, a group of friendly Canadians and views that did take your breath away. What wonderful places Bill takes me to for lunch! Our sanwiches never tasted so good. The breeze meant that there were few biting insects about. We certainly enjoyed seeing what is on our doorstep and easily within an hours drive from SW Calgary where we are staying.

The job front is slow, we have put in a number of applications and are now just waiting to see what becomes of them. Zofia has also put in papers to the Alberta Teaching Association for accreditation of her qualifications: nothing is cheap 250C$ and then a further 85C$ at the Notary. All copies had to be 'notarised' I had a shock as the Notary was signing and stamping each copy as two people before us had paid 25C$ for just one signature on a document. So imagine the relief when he said 85 dollars .. phew! The Association didn't seem to think that sending originals by post wasn't normal. The Notary however did agree with us - never send originals by post. Also UK trained teachers in Alberta must contact every post secondary institution for a transcript of the course studied, these transcripts must be sent directly to the Alberta Teacher Association so it doesn't matter if you have a copy with you it won't count. Also you will need to contact the GTC for a statement of Professional Standing. Once everything as arrived at the Registry the process will take 11 - 14 weeks.

Usually when we come on holiday in the summer thoughts at this time of August turn to returning home and going back to work. We guess that psychologically this week will be one of emotional turmoil for us both, as we are not returning from holiday .. in fact this summer has been busy completing paperwork, applying for jobs (not a usual holiday activity), finding our way around, looking at showhomes and contemplating a mortgage and oh hoping for an improved exchange rate!