A quick visit to Abel T

This past weekend we went to Abel Tasman National Park to do a short day hike. The park is a 2hr drive from here, and well-known for golden sandy bays. Even as we head into winter, there were quite a few other people on the trails. 

Day to Day

Our daily schedules have changed quite a bit this past week. I have been busy helping a refugee family from Bhutan get settled in Nelson, and almost every day there has been something to do with them. It has been so much fun to get to know them and learn more about their own culture. They were living in a refugee camp in Nepal for the past 16 years, and the three younger kids were born there. The kids learned some English in school, so they have been the main translators and organizers for family affairs. This past weekend, Juliet (one of the other volunteers), her friend Sara, and I took the family on a picnic near a river.

Krishna, Chhatra, and their second youngest daughter, Chandra.

Here is a picture of the whole family - mother, father, one son (age 14) and 4 girls (20, 17, 9, and 7 years old). Juliet (one of my fellow volunteers) and her friend Sara are on the far right.

This is the youngest girl, Lalita, with her brother Durga Lal and Sara's 13 year old Bernese Mountain Dog, Simba. Simba was a wonderfully relaxed and sweet old dog, and the kids had fun playing with her.

The other thing that has kept me busy this week was work. I finally started nursing at the Nelson Hospital, pictured above (look closely and you will see mini AK in blue scrubs). I will be a casual nurse for 4 different units (medical, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, and rehab) and tomorrow will be my last day of orientation. I have spent one orientation day on each unit, and so far, I have really enjoyed it! I am pleasantly surprised by how much I have enjoyed getting back into nursing at the hospital. The nurses I have met are very friendly and helpful, and the patients have so many wonderful stories, that as long as I have time to listen to them every now and then, I will be a happy nurse! It is really interesting to work in a different system and learn new (sometimes better, sometimes worse) ways of doing things. 

Steve continues to work from home for Ceravolo Optical Systems, based in Ottawa. As we enter the early wintery months here, we have started to need to turn on the electric oil heater. He huddles up close to it in his little work corner at the cozy cottage. It dropped to 2 Celsius last night and we woke up to one of the first frosts of the season. I have had many nurses assure me that it will get a lot colder! Thankfully, it usually gets sunny and warms up during the day.