Nadine and Patrick have initiated us to jump shots. The idea is simple. We find a place that is symbolic of the life experience of the moment. We get in jump position and we attempt to all jump together on the count of 3. Of course we spend a lot of time laughing during this entire process. Kamloops in July 2011 was the city where the first jump shot came to existence. Now we have 2 other jump shots to add to our repertoire: Kassa Island and Soumba Cascades in Conakry, Guinea, Africa.
Our two kids gave us the best Christmas gift ever or should I rephrase that and say WE gave ourselves the best gift by having them come to Conakry for two weeks. They got to experience Conakry and our daily life as we have been living it for the past 18 months. They lived a slice of our life and loved every minute of it…and so did we! Then we embarked on the grueling 33 hour plane trip that took us back to Vancouver and now Whistler, the beautiful ski resort. One side of the spectrum to the other…poverty of Guinee and the richness of Canada. I am adjusting to the contrast slowly, day by day, processing everything I have lived and seen.
In Guinee, Nadine’s adventurous spirit led her down suspicious looking back lanes in Conakry, eating street food voraciously and dancing the night away in the Guinean night clubs and meeting interesting, out of the ordinary people. She dove head first into the Guinean lifestyle and tried everything. She learned a few local words and knew how to hail down a taxi with the different hand signals needed for going into different parts of town. Then she got sick with the stomach-diarrhea illness for eating couscous with curdled milk, something only the locals can “stomach”, literally speaking. Ohhhh did she suffer! Too much, too intense and the hot climate to add to this……but that’s my girl: intense living! She bites into life and gets the Full MONTY experience wherever she goes.
Patrick is more cautious. He’ll let Nadine lead the way and once the ice has been broken, he will absorb LIFE as it comes to him, minute by minute, letting experiences permeate him as if by osmosis. Reflective philosopher that he is, he will patiently sit and wait to take a picture of the fearful, scurrying gecko. Or he will walk around a tree only to lie down on the ground to get just the right snapshot angle of it. He will talk to the locals as if he has always known them. That’s my boy, taking life in as it happens, as he experiences every moment, peaceful and serene like his hero Mohammet Gandhi.
Extrovert and introvert: I have one of each. How interesting their personalities, their life goals and their passions! When we come together the four of us, we are like pieces of a puzzle that just fit well together. We know each other, respect each other and trust each other. Our many overseas experiences have brought us closer perhaps because so often, we only had each other. We were for each other at all times, supporting each other through the challenging times and laughing together with the absurdities of life in Saudi Arabia or the comical situations in Belgium. We have been together through thick and thin.
Our new teacher at AISC noted our connection. She said: “You guys really get along well, your relationship with each other is harmonious. I wish I had that with my parents.” I took her words in, letting them sink inside of me. I had never really thought about how connected we really are. Conakry, Guinea, Africa and now Whistler, BC, Canada…we are together the four of us and that’s what is important and beautiful. Today, this is what I know for sure.
