The Carpe Diem Story

Hope everyone has had a great Christmas and is looking forward to a Happy New Year! Click URL to see Holiday Card:  http://www.jibjab.com/view/5U0ak7NyQhGUPR9Qw8_TyA What is next for Gillian:  -Returning to Vienna January 30th for four months - Trips in the Spring to Kosovo and Scotland -Celebrating two great friends special day in April -Return to Canada in June    

I have had over a month to get use to the time change, language and the food. It is amazing the reverse culture shock you go through coming home. One thing is for sure I have a much greater respect for immigrants who's native tongue is not English than I did before I left. But I have been able to keep myself busy since I have been home with a variety of activities. Great view at the end of hiking the Chef The first one is work. I have currently working for my Dad's landscaping company doing maintenance; which really means cleaning up the properties for winter by raking leaves and cutting down perennials . I love being outside but some days it can be very wet and cold. Another highlight from work is that I get to work with my brother a couple days a week. He has a great sense of humor and is very hard working which makes working with him tons of fun. I have also been able to get involved with my home church by partic...

Well I really don’t know how to begin this update but as I  alluded to in the previous post I discovered for a fact that September is a crazy month.   For those of you who don’t know I am actually currently in Vancouver, Canada and I get to be here until December 27 th .   To hear how this occurred just read on… Since June 2012 I have been receiving verbal confirmations from MA-35 (Vienna’s Visa Authorities) of a temporary residential permit for Austria. But I have been waiting since June to receive physical confirmation of this permit such as a letter and an ID Card.   Due to the lack of staff in the summer I was told my letter was to come in the mail but it never came.   I diligently returned to the MA-35 office every month asking about the letter and the officials would tell me it was coming.   I went back in to the MA-35 on Monday September 17 th asking about my case; unfortunately that day I was informed that I actually did not receiv...

August is gone and now welcome to the busy month of September; the month where everyone goes back to school and things start speeding up again.   It was quite a shock to my system once September hit because there was no smooth transition between the slow pace of summer and the hustle and bustle of school season.   The first week it felt like I was treading water for a bit trying to wrap my mind/body around this change in pace but don’t worry I survived J    The last month of summer started with a week of coaching at an English speaking Soccer Camp.   I worked at this camp the previous summer and it was fun to return again.   I worked with all the kids from 7 to 10.   Since this camp took place during the Olympics we had an Olympic themed day and divided all the players into countries.   The rest of the day was spent doing many different activities like best goal celebration, team pyramids, obstacle course and of course soccer matches.   ...

Sorry it has been a while since I wrote but I think everyone can understand how things just are challenging to get done in the summer. So far my summer has been a good one.   I just recently arrived back from France.   My time in France was two weeks well spent enjoying food, wine and laughter with my mom and sister.   I fell in love with that country all over again and hope to return many times in the future.   I loved being able to speak French; took me a couple of days though to gain some confidence in my language skills.   But the French expressed such relief when they realized that I could speak and understand French; all those years in French Immersion have paid off.   Plus I was able to share the gospel to one of our taxi drivers even though my French vocabulary is not up to par.   Mom, Hilary and I in Versailles, France One specific highlight was going to Provence.   There is a relaxed mood in the air there especially in the ...