Friday night proved to be a difficult commute home to say the least. I boarded the packed subway car and braced myself for the long ride back to the Katima-house! The lot of us arrived at Bloor and Young Station and we were prometley told to leave the car! The station was now closed and we all had to make our way to street level.

After getting hypatheically sea-seek in the mob of people pushing to and fro to get to the street- we all merged into even more people who were already standing on the street! We were now supposed to get in line for a shuttle bus to arrive and take us to our specified destination. The only problem was there stacks and stacks of people trying to rush onto one bus. 

I waited patiently to get a spot on the bus. Boy, that was not the right call! A fellow, who obviously could not wait a moment longer in the massive line decided it was his turn to enter the bus! He ran as if he was a backliner running down the football feild. I was the football he tackled to the grownd. I landed flat on my back and was in a good amount of pain when a police officer helped me to my feet. He gave me a nod and I nodded back and he was off to help the next person who had been pummeled.

To add to the caious the wind suddenly picked up. There were so many people and such a big wind that I was sure there would be people flow right into the air! This was no joke (well maybe a little.)

I decided to step out of the way of all the quarter-backs, feather weights to be carried away and police officers by calling my Katima-family to come and gather their important parcel (myself) and travel away from the madness at Young and Bloor Street. 

Photo by: WV http://www.flickr.com/photos/wvs/

There is a problem with leaving, in that I will inevitably have to pack my bags and walk out the door. The city has been a hoot. Packing is never easy, but what about packing up your life? I now have to fit everything I own, accumulated and worn over the last year- into ONE luggage bag!!!

This is a task I have been putting off, and I am not even a procrastinator.

Any suggestions? 

Photo by: jainaj's http://www.flickr.com/photos/pizzagirl

400 Bad request

There are currently 12 days left in the Katimavik program. 12 days to make Katima-bread, 12 days to live with my 12 roommates and 12 days to say goodbye. 

As things are wrapping up with our volunteer work we are nearing the end of this venture. Our collective project initiative is happening tomorrow night. We are hosting a Katimavik Alumni Renuion guests are encouraged to bring canned food products to we can then donate them to a food-drive within our community in Toronto. A lot of preperation has been done and our group is excited the day is finially coming! 

The days are winding down quickly, more than what I would have expected, we are stripping down everything we have posted in the house in anticpation of being busy the next week. As our posters, drawings documents and flags are being plucked off the wall... there are feelings of emptiness. I really never took notice to how white the walls are in our Katima-house. These walls are white, white, white! 

Our group has had a blast! Our white walls are now subject to the next group and their three months of adding to the white walls to make it colourful, creative, crazy and SMART.

To the next chapter!

Photo by Roland: http://www.flickr.com/photos/roland/

400 Bad request

Samba for the soul.

Over the weekend I was given the pleasure to jam with some of the members from Toronto's Samba Squad. The Katimavik, Toronto group was invited by Katimavik Project Assistant/ Samba Squad member, Robbie Dupriest  to learn a few beats from, "the most dynamic and sought-after acts on the Canadian World Music scene." Samba Squad uses the sultry Samba rhythms and matches with a harmonized beat. Rick Lazar, an incredibly talented musical instructor, uses his background in jazz to make a sensational fusion with Afro-Brazil, Afro-Cuba, North and West Africa, as well as elements of Urban Funk and Hip-hop to create "global grooves!" The group had previously volunteered to help the Samba Squad during the Fire and Ice festival and was rewarded with a performance that truly inspired us and left us wanting to learn more!

I was apprehensive to jam with the group and especially with Lazar, but the group was more than welcoming and patient. I picked up the bells which are a strange resemblance to cow bells which have been welded together. I chose them because I was informed they would be one of the easiest to discover. Easier sure, but they are one of the loudest instruments in the circle making it very obvious if I were to make a mistake. 

Lazar showed me that even I can hold a beat! Our group hit along to beats which derive from Brazilian carnival drumming. Which essentially sound like "brak, brak, brak- tack, tack" or at least that is how I grove to it in my head. We eventually became our parts and moved on to calling and answering. Lazar made sure I never went astray by using a whistle to keep me focused on the beginning beats. The unity of the group was amazing in my opinion, we actually played as one (which doesn't happen in the Katima-group too often- just joking!) Once we had faintly mastered the call and answers we then took small marching formations, my favourite part!

We were not perfect by any means but it was our first lesson and I am impressed with myself as I walked away from the workshop recognizing how to count  beats inside rifts for the first time in my musical life. I can relate the sensation to skipping, when you are first learning to play double dutch (with two skipping ropes) and you have no idea when you should leap in, when to jump/ land or when to dodge out. With a patient teacher, slower speeds and repetition you can now pick up the pace of your feet. 

I spent my entire commute home on the subway listening to the beats the steel on the tracks made. Counting, listening and enjoying (in my head) what I had recently gained knowledge!

I suddenly have an inkling to go dancing!

By Rachel Ward, Feb. 14

Photo by 

Jess Loughborough http://www.flickr.com/people/sunface13/  

Katimavik group Toronto, made it a point to endure

the weather yesterday afternoon to

Geo-cache into East York

quarters of Toronto to discover what  treasures lye to be found.Geocaching is a world-wide game of hiding and seeking a treasure. The goal is to pinpoint a geocache using a GPS technology  and coordinates to define the location of each geocache you are seeking. There is however an etiquette to the game so all seekers can enjoy. The game etiquette states you can take a treasure once found,

as long as you replace a new one back in the EXACT location you find your treasure. 

You also have to make sure your treasure is of equal or greater value then the treasure you are receiving.

Now that you have found the cache you are expected to write about your find in the cache logbook,

then log your experience on www.geocaching.com.

Caches can be hidden both above and below ground. Different caches have different levels of intensities and you should be aware of the difficulty before you set out on your adventure!

The Katimavik group geared up Sunday morning and found four out of the four geocaches we were searching for. The amount of snow on the ground made it more difficult to locate each cache but the entire group of 12 had an amazing time during the hunt. I was the successful geocacher of the first location.

Upon discovering the tool box which housed the geocache or group waited as I slowly opened the box in

anticipation of our first ever find! We uncovered a set of playing cards (which were frozen into the box) a logbook

and a small kinder-egg surprise toy.

Our group decided the only cache we could take without ruining the cards was the kinder-surprise. We then left a special surprise in its place. Our group went on to find three more caches and had an exhausting but adventurous day! If you would like to track the Katimavik geocaches you can find them using "A walk in the Park," coordinates located in Toronto Ontario. Coordinates for this geocache and others in your area will be online at http://www.geocaching.com! 

Photo by

400 Bad request