Pierre's Canadian Adventure

Canada Day!

2007-07-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hello!

It's July 1st, Canada's 14oth birthday and here I sit outside in the backyard writing to you. It's overcast and a bit chilly today. It's only about 16 degrees Celcius. The weather is a bit unusual - we generally have very hot, humid weather this time of year. Nevertheless, here I am.

Early this morning I took my first bus trip in Canada since returning from Korea. It was pretty uneventful and boring really. A bus to go downtown costs $3.00 (in Korea I used to pay about $1.40). I drove my car to the terminal and left it at the "Park and Ride" lot. Then, I got on the #95 and headed downtown to watch and photograp the ceremonies for you. I saw the raising of the flag, the changing of the guard and of course, the RCMP musical ride. The RCMP is Canada's national police force. They've been around since the beginning of the country. A long time ago they only used to ride horses, but in modern times they only ride horses on special days like today.

I have a Korean friend whose wife and children live in Canada for most of the year. He told me that Koreans regard Canada as a "boring paradise". I think that is a pretty apt description of this immense, beautiful land. We've had our moments of excitment and intrigue, but for the most part I think this is a borning paradise. Most people are nice, polite and don't complain even when they probably should. As many people have pointed out, Canadians don't celebrate their heroes enough. Why? As a people we would prefer to be Clark Kent, than Superman. Some would think it sad and I suppose in a way it is, but I think Canada is well positioned to be at the forefront of a one world model. We are a country of immigrants and generally we accept everyone regardless of their creed, colour or language.

This day is about as loud and boisterous as Canadians ever get. We come together to celebrate our achievements, our past and prepare to step lightly, tentatively, almost like someone in a dark tunnel with nothing but a flashlight, into the future. And oh yes, on this day we help support our breweries by drinking mass quantitites of beer. I'm trying to do my little bit for the cause as I sip on a, wait, it's a beer from Denmark, oh well. Beer is beer, and beer, no matter what its nationality is as Canadian as poutine.

I'm still smoking, but that will soon end. Since I've returned from Korea I've struggled with it. In April I signed an agreement with my son saying that if I smoked again I would pay him $100, well, that didn't quite work. After a month I picked it up again. I paid him the $100. Obviously $100 wasn't enough to deter me. So, tomorrow I'll sign a new agreement with him in which I'll agree to pay him $500 if I ever smoke again. That should do it!

Back to my day. I got off the bus near Elgin Street and walked the couple of blocks to Parliament Hill. It was about 8:00am. I was determined to get there in time to see the festivities. Thankfully I made it and was able to secure myself a place near the barriers that were there so that I could clearly see and photograph everything. Here are some pictures. The first one I took as I walked up Elgin Street; it's a picture of the Chateau Laurier. I love this view!

Parliament Hill

The "Raising the flag" ceremony.

A proud member of the RCMP in full dress uniform

The "Changing the Guard" ceremony

A very tall member of the RCMP!

The RCMP "Musical Ride" begins!

Some of the most beautiful horses I've ever seen!

Well that's it for now. To view a couple of movies of the musical ride please go to ...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DQ_NqFzXN4

It's after 6pm and soon I'll be headed downtown again with my son, Ryan and his friends to enjoy the free concerts on Parliament Hill and to drink still more copious amounts of beer. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the tonight's fireworks.

Take Care Everyone!
김 성 훈

2007-06-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Yes, I'm sorry. It's been months since I've written anything here or posted any pictures.

A lot has happened since I last wrote. In April I moved from the house in Chelsea back to Orleans and the house that is owned by my ex-wife. It's been good being able to spend time with my son and having all of my stuff in one place again. I've gotten rid of so much stuff in the last couple of months.

One day not too long ago I took my camera with me as I left for work. Here are some pictures of my new neighbourhood and Here are some pictures of my new neighbourhood.

This is my new neighbourhood

My Car

The Gates of 24 Sussex Drive. (The Prime Minister of Canada's house)

Some Canada geese on the lawn near my office

I got my yellow belt in taekwondo at the end of April and took part in a sparring competition. I won a bronze medal. Not bad for a first effort.

This past Saturday I tested for and got my orange belt. Yeah, me!

If all goes as planned, then I'll have my black belt in June 2009. I'm planning to return to Korea in the fall of that year. By then my son will have turned 21 and graduated from Ottawa University.

July 1 is Canada Day. It will be Canada's 140th birthday. I haven't done it for many years, but on Sunday I will go downtown and take many pictures to post here or on my Picasweb site... http://picasaweb.google.com/paemond.

Till then, take care.

Pierre

Spring

2007-04-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

친애하는 친구 안녕하세요

I'm sorry I haven't written here for so long. To tell you the truth I haven't been doing very much that I would say is interesting enough to blog about. My life is still pretty simple...I go to work, I visit my mother and my son, I study Korean conversation and I practice taekwondo.

It is a lot warmer now than it was a couple of weeks ago. It is +4 today, but it is raining and I am a little sad. There is no real reason, it's just one of those days.

Yesterday, I took a little walk near where I work. It's in a beautiful area. As I walked near a little stream I focused on the earth beneath my feet and in front of me. I imagined myself walking with a dear friend on a mountain in Changwon.

Last weekend I went to a party at a horse ranch. There was a group of guys from Norway at the party and we had a great time playing games, learning about Norway and drinking a lot. In the morning our host made breakfast for everyone. Sorry, no pictures. But, I will be working at that farm on many weekends this summer, and I will take many pictures for you.

Sometime near the end of April I will be moving from where I'm now living in Chelsea, Quebec to the house that is owned by my ex-wife (전처). I will miss the beauty and peace of Chelsea, the forest, the animals and the water. But, by moving I will be able to see my son, Ryan and my mother more often.

On April 26 I will be testing for my yellow belt in Taekwondo and then on May 26 I will be competing in a tournament. I will be sure to bring my camera.

From May 4-21 Ottawa will celebrate the Tulip Festival. In the fall of 1945, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands presented Ottawa with 100,000 tulip bulbs. The gift was given in appreciation of the safe haven that members of Holland's exiled royal family received during the Second World War in Ottawa and in recognition of the role which Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands.

The tulips have become an important symbol of international friendship and the beauty of spring. They also have special meaning to people of Canada's Capital Region. During the war, the Dutch royal family was hosted at Government House in Ottawa. Princess Margriet was born at the Ottawa Civic Hospital; her hospital room declared "Dutch soil" and the flag of the Netherlands flew on Parliament's Peace Tower.

I will take many pictures of the festival.

July 1 is Canada Day and I will be among the thousands of people who gather on parliament hill to listen to music and watch the light and fireworks show.

I'm not sure how I will spend my summer holiday yet. I may visit the province of Nova Scotia on Canada's east coast for a week or two, or I may just rest at home and save my holidays for the winter.

That's it for now my friends. I promise to have some pictures next time.

Take Care
Pierre

Winterlude!

2007-02-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

안녕하세요!

I'm sorry I haven't posted any new articles in so long. I've been pretty busy with work and getting settled in. I was on a course during the week of Feb. 5-Feb. 9. I needed to take the course for work.

It's been so cold here lately. Last week it was almost -30 with the wind chill. That is pretty cold! The only good thing about the cold weather is that it was cold enough to freeze the Ottawa canal turning it into the longest skating rink in the world (7.8 Kilometers).

A lot of stuff goes on during Winterlude...concerts, ice sculpting competitions etc. A lot of people enjoy it and this year's festival was particularly successful.

While I was on course I took a walk at lunch and took some pictures of the ice sculptures. Artists come from all over the world to create these masterpieces. Enjoy!

At the entrance of the Lord Elgin Hotel in Ottawa

Sculpture in Confederation Park

A totem pole

An artist at work

And finally...Happy Valentines Day!

I met with my boss's boss last week and told him pointblank that I am planning to return to Korea to spend the rest of my life. However, my plan has changed a little...I now plan to return in 2 years, the summer or early fall of 2009. By then my son will be finished university and I'll be able to see his 21st birthday. By then I should also have my black belt in taekwondo and be able to speak Korean more or less fluently. That's the plan.

This weekend I'll go to Montreal to spend time with my mother, my brother and his wife.

Take care everyone!

다음 시간까지
김 성 훈

The Great Outdoors!

2007-01-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

안녕하세요!

It's been very cold this week...yesterday it was -20. But, today it was gorgeous....-11 and very nice and sunny. It was still cold but so beautiful that I just had to get outside and get some fresh air.

I started the day by taking my friends dog for a walk. Then, after lunch a friends came to pick me and we drove to a horse ranch in the Gatineau Hills. As you can see from the pictures it was just beautiful! Good friends, good horses.

I was a little bit nervous at first because this was the first time that I've been on a horse since I came back to Canada.

Me and Kelso

Me and Kelso

Barn cats laying in the sunshine

Friends

Riding through the woods

Jill and Ada

Horses!

Xathera

모험은... 계속한다 (The adventure continues...)

다음 시간까지

김 성 훈

Ottawa

2007-01-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

Today I took my son, Ryan and his friend, Kitiya to a Korean restaurant for lunch. It was very good, but not as good as the food I ate in Korea. Here I am in front of the restaurant.

It was a beautiful, but very cold day in Ottawa. The temperature (including the wind) was about -20 Celcius.

This is Canada's House of Parliament where the prime minister and his government run the country. This building looks much like the parliament in Britain because like Australia, Canada was once a British colony. Just like the British house of parliament there are bells in the tower that ring on certain occasions. In fact, I found out today that there are 53 bells in that tower. The biggest of them weighing 11 tons.

There are some very interesting and beautiful sculptures throughout the buildings on parliament hill.

My son, Ryan.

We went to the top of the tower....
Across the river to Quebec

Downtown Ottawa

Beautiful stained glass window!

Another week begins tomorrow. I hope you all have a good one.

Take Care
Your Friend
김 성 훈

The End of Week 1

2007-01-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

Hello again!

10:00에 금요일 밤 이다. Tomorrow I'm going to join a gym, so that I can get stronger, lose more weight and just get in shape.

This was my first week back to work in Canada. I've changed departments and this was a good decision on my part. I like this new place.

Here's a picture of my car in the drive way as I was getting ready to leave for work this morning...

Brrrrrrr!!!!!!!

It's hard to see, but this is the building where I work. As you can see, we got more snow, but it's not as bad as it may look.

My first week at work was good. The people are nice and I like the work so far. Here's my office...

My desk (나의 책상)

<--- Anyone recognize this picture?
누군가는 이 사진을 인정하는가?

It's been a long week. I will write and post more photos on Sunday.

Goodnight Korea!
Pierre

Chelsea, Quebec

2007-01-11T12:27:00.000-08:00

안녕하세요?

Hello again. I'm getting settled into the house in Chelsea, Quebec. If things work out properly I'll be staying here for the next few months and perhaps longer.

Here's a picture of the house where I'm living. As you can see, we got a little bit of snow yesterday, but tomorrow it's supposed to get warmer and it'll probably all melt. I'm sure we'll get lots more in the next couple of weeks! The car in front of the house is my little Toyota Echo.

Here's a side view of the car...

I still miss Korea and my Korean friends. I feel a little bit like a ghost. I'm here, but I don't feel like I'm back. I feel outside of everything. I came back to Canada to see my mother, my son and to compare life back here to my life in Korea. If I feel the same way I do now in 6 months, I will be back in Korea by November or December of 2007. However, if I do go back to Korea it will be for the rest of my life. I'll quit my job here, and Korea will become my new home.

We'll see what happens. Until then I will take lots of pictures and put them here for you.

Take Care my friends
Pierre

The Canadian Adventure Begins

2006-12-28T05:46:00.000-08:00

안녕하세요?

Well, here I am back in Canada.

Unfortunately I can't use my old blog anymore. That blog was for my "Korean Adventure" and was mostly for my Canadian friends and family to view so they would have some idea of what my life in Korea was like. But, this new blog is dedicated to and mainly for the use of my Korean friends so they can have some idea of what my life in Canada is like.

I'll write to it regularly to let you know what's is happening with me and of course there will be lots of pictures. So, here we go....

It was almost midnight when I landed in Montreal on December 17. Air Canada lost my luggage, so I had to deal with that. Fortunately my brother and sister-in-law came and picked me up at the airport and took me to their house. I spent my first 3 weeks in Canada staying with my brother and my birth mother in Montreal. It was wonderful to see them again.

I was very surprised that it wasn't very cold in Montreal and there wasn't any snow on the ground. That is very unusual for Canada and especially for Montreal. It didn't snow at all until the day after Christmas. That is the first time in my life that I've seen a green Christmas here. I didn't mind though...the older I get, the less I like snow.

One day I rented a car and drove to Ottawa to see my adoptive mother and my son. It was very difficult for me because my mother is suffering from alzheimer's disease and she didn't know me.

On Christmas Eve I bought myself a car. It's just a little 2002 Toyota "Echo" . I love it! Then, a couple of days after Christmas I bought this Dell notebook computer. It's great!

I spent Christmas with my birth mother and my brother.

We had a wonderful time together celebrating a traditional French Canadian Christmas. We ate a large supper at 10pm and then opened our presents at midnight.

My birth mother, Lisette Giguere

New Year's was very quiet. I stayed with my birth mother and we brought the new year in with a glass of wine. It was very nice.

On January 3rd I picked up my car and on the 8th I drove to my new home in Chelsea, Quebec.

The adventure continues....