From old Scotland to New Scotland (Nova Scotia), this is a tale of our adventures, discoveries, thoughts and feelings.
Update…
5:30 pm | 2 Comments » |
It’s now April (the Easter bunny comes next weekend) and we’ve now been in Canada for 6 whole months! Scary how the time passes.
I’m still waiting on my visa, not working, staying home reading endless nursing material and making cakes. Oh and now I’ve got a new hobby..
xbox 360
Although the picture says it all… I hardly ever get to play and when I do I’m only told I’m doing it wrong (‘cos you’re a girl’) huh!
We’ve also made a few news friends – our own age – which is nice and in turn they are introducing us to other people. Read the rest of this entry »
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April 2, 2009
A cure for the common cold
10:29 am | No Comments » |Well it’s that time of year again when the nights stay brighter for longer and we start to see a little more of the sun. But as per usual, along with the change in weather comes a different type of ‘cold’.
JOKE: A CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD
Miss Bee was in her 80s, and much admired for her sweetness and kindness to all. The pastor came to call on her one afternoon early in spring, and she welcomed him into her Victorian parlor.
She invited him to have a seat while she prepared a little tea. As he sat facing her old pump organ, the young priest noticed a cut glass bowl sitting on top of the organ, filled with water. In the water floated, of all things, a condom. Imagine his shock and surprise. Imagine his curiosity!
Surely Miss Bee had flipped . . . or something! But he certainly couldn’t mention the strange sight in her parlor.
When she returned with tea and cookies, they began to chat. The pastor tried to stifle his curiosity about the bowl of water and its strange floater, but soon it got the better of him, and he could resist no longer.
“Miss Bee,” he said, pointing to the bowl, “I wonder if you would tell me about this?”
“Oh yes,” she replied. “Isn’t that wonderful? I was walking downtown last fall, and I found this little package. It said to put it on your organ and keep it wet, and it would prevent disease. And you know, I think it’s working! I haven’t had a cold all winter.”
Traditional Cold Remedies
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March 21, 2009
Just another teuchter in Scotland – Part 2
7:31 am | No Comments » |Friday = a trip to Dunkeld for Stovies (a traditional Scottish dish usually consisting of potatoes, gravy and onions and some form of meat – especially sausages or leftover roast. Serve with beetroot and oatcakes – yum!) and a walk at the Hermitage – a National Trust for Scotland property on land which stretches up the River Braan from just off the A9.
Taybank
falls at river braan
The evening was spent at Perth Concert Hall listening to the Peatbog Faeries, ‘a celtic fusion band’. Probably wouldn’t have been my choice for an evening of music but the atmosphere was fantastic and it’s good to try something different once in a while. Peatbog Faeries – listen here Read the rest of this entry »
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March 20, 2009
Just another Teuchter in Scotland – Part 1
7:28 am | No Comments » |Sorry about the lapse in my rantings but as many of you will know I have spent the last couple of weeks back in my homeland.
I must say it was good to go back but it’s definitely been nice to return to the much more relaxed Canadian lifestyle.
Anyway, it was a pretty jam packed couple of weeks. I arrived late afternoon on the 25th Feb and wasn’t much good for anything other than a full 12 hours of sleep. The following day I headed Elgin/Inverness way to catch up with a uni friend.
Back home on the 28th to celebrate my little sisters 21st. We were taken by limo (free champagne) to a restaurant where we had a lovely meal and birthday cake.
Kim
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January 12, 2009
Burns Supper
3:23 pm | 11 Comments » |A new Canadian friend recently asked me if I had ever been to a Burns Supper and with the 25th of January approaching I thought I would take the opportunity to tell you a little bit about a Scottish Celebration – the birthday of poet Robert [Rabbie] Burns.
Robbie Burns
Robbie Burns was born on the 25th January 1759 just south of Ayr (on the Scottish west coast) and is widely regarded as Scotland’s national poet. He was born into poverty and hardship, a farmers son. He had no formal education and what he learnt came mainly from his father, who did his best to teach his children reading, writing, arithmetic, geography and history.
Read the rest of this entry »
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January 6, 2009
A Few Simple Questions?
9:12 am | No Comments » |I was recently skimming the internet when I came across an article regarding living and working in Nova Scotia. In particular it discussed working as a nurse in this Province.
The article struck a chord, as I am a 22 years old, fully trained nurse! I graduated from a well known (and well respected) University in Scotland last March. The qualification I received was a Bachelor of Nursing, no less.
Now as I have said previously we always knew we wanted to move to Canada and after my graduation I believed I held in my hand my ‘ticket’, my guarantee of a healthy and happy life. Let me quote from the aforementioned article: “Nova Scotia is a wonderful place for nurses to live and work. In a national survey by the Canadian government, Nova Scotian nurses self-reported they are among the healthiest and happiest of Canadian nurses.”
However, I am not yet Canadian (first problem) and I am defiantly not happy (about the nursing situation – don’t get me wrong I love living in Nova Scotia)!
Before we decided to move here, I got down to some good old fashioned research and was told there was a desperate need for nurses. On making contact with various potential employers in the Province I was even offered a job – SEVERAL JOBS!
Read the rest of this entry »
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January 1, 2009
Beaver Buzz!
8:30 am | 1 Comment » |On a regular basis, perhaps once a week, Cameron and I rent a movie from the local store or gas station. This is a result of several factors. 1) My incompetence with the channel changer [remote control], why do you need 3 remotes for one television? 2) My impatience! I simply cannot be bothered to search through all 1 million channels to finally find something I want to watch, only to be informed that it’s a ‘pay by view’ channel (all channels seem to be ‘pay by view’ here. In Scotland I grew up with only 4 basic TV channels) 3) My absolute refusal to watch more than one episode of Monster Trucks per week – it seems to be the only thing you can watch around the clock for free!
Read the rest of this entry »
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December 18, 2008
11:26 am | 3 Comments » |
Canada had always been our dream. After getting engaged not only did we start planning our BIG day but we started planning for the BIG move!
After getting hitched in September and a short but romantic honeymoon in Barcelona, my new husband and I returned briefly to our old lives.
7 weeks later and after a whole lot of stress, tears and hard work, we were many thousand feet above the Atlantic Ocean on our way to our new lives in Nova Scotia.
Before leaving Scotland my youngest sister presented me with a notebook, a funky little number with a red stiletto on the front, and made me promise to write a diary so that one day she could read it and see what we’d really got up to.
This blog is an extension of that funky little notebook and it aims to tell our story so far. It will hopefully be a nothing held back account of life as a new arrival in Canada. I also wish to use this opportunity to draw comparisons between the two countries and to give you an insight into life in Scotland. I’ll even try to throw in the odd Scottish phrase now and again [watch out, they'll be in square brackets]! All comments appreciated.
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