Author: Daniela Ginta Page 69 of 99

If it wasn’t for my mom’s perfectly tasting braised cabbage dish that had just about the perfect amount of black peppercorn in it… Well, let’s just say that when you’re five and curious about the world outside the yard, there are few things that can pull you back to home base.

So I came back that day and planned to resume my wanderings later. And I did, but in better ways.

I still wanted to see through what was past the boundaries of my big yard, which was, in all fairness, a wonder world in itself with all its red and black currant bushes, grapevine, wild strawberries and the quince trees with perfectly climbable branches.

Exploring the places we’re in is part of our innate curiosity. We become familiar with our immediate surroundings and then extend our explorations.

Like putting together a big puzzle, we learn the place, smell it, feel it with all our senses and, most of all, we learn to intertwine it with who we are. Braids of people and places; the further we explore, the stronger the connection with the place and the better we become at learning about ourselves.

The best way to “taste” a place and know it properly is to walk it. You feel it and “see” it with the soles of your feet. You walk through sunshine, rain, wind and though you may visit the same place many time, it will speak differently to you every time. Just like it speaks differently to you than it does to other people.

As long as you get close enough to hear, that is.

Children in particular are fascinated with going places. Often times they are tempted to take off on their own, not out of unruliness but out of curiosity. So it is only logical to think that the best way to both prevent accidental wanderings and satisfy our children’s exploratory thirst is to roam together.

Ever since the boys were little going places was the norm. Close to home or far, rain or shine, we set out to see the world. Satisfying the said thirst and helping that curiosity bug grow.

We did the same after relocating to Kamloops. We go hiking on weekends, we walk through town, and we take pre-bedtime walks in the neighborhood.

Learning the place we live in, from close and far. We’ve come to have that good feeling of missing Kamloops when we’re away on a road trip, a good sign.

This past Sunday found us visiting the hoodoos at Cinnamon Ridge. We set off following the creek bed, silently watched by the stone and mud giants on both sides. There was no one else there but us. Silence allowed us to hear the sound of flapping somewhere behind some hoodoos.

It sounded big and heavy, perfectly matching the surroundings; an eagle perhaps?

We saw veins of white and pink quartz spanning the walls and wondered how far in do they go? Droplets of broken quartz peppered all over the creek bed made for a good treasure hunt. Rock hounding adds yet another pleasurable dimension to our new home.

We went as far up the dry creek bed as our youngest hiker could take it, and then scrambled up one of the hills to see the view.
The shin scrape and cactus attacks were worth it: Through the narrow space between two neighboring hoodoos we saw the gentle hills that cradle Kamloops, and in the middle, like a sleepy magic carpet, our very own town. Hello.

On our way down, we had it all: exhilaration as we slid down through the ankle-deep layer of dirt that dresses the slope, falling (the youngest of us) and scraping another shin, getting prickled by cacti yet again, and stepping into muddy puddles as we hopped through the creek bed. Humbled by the ever quiet hoodoos as we left them behind.

Now we know the place. Somewhat. We will go back to explore some more, find refuge among the hoodoos and hear the wind whisper and howl as it moves the skies above. We’ll come to know the changing of the seasons on those hills and others.

The boys are curious about places to see. Sometimes they ask to go back to places we’ve been, other times their eyes have had that adventurous glint in them and they’re eager to see new ones. Sometimes they are fearful of new places.

Their occasional reluctance provides an opportunity to talk about how not knowing what to expect in a new place can make us fearful. And how that enhances the experience because most times apprehension dissolves into joy and good memories.

Our travels, hikes or road trips, will feed their need to see the world, while helping them feel the place they are in, learning to call it home – temporary or not – but most of all, respect its richness because it helps them learn and grow.

Originally published as a column under the same name in the Kamloops Daily News on April 14, 2013

First of all, it’s kindness. If I want to go all mushy I can say right off the bat that the k in Kamloops stands for kindness.

Or I could simply say that people here are kind. Because they are. The proverbial extra mile some people walk to make it better or sunnier for those around them, I have had the opportunity to see it often enough to brag about the place I live in.

One time I was in a hurry to get home from the grocery store. It happened that I bumped into a new acquaintance who, though headed in the opposite direction, noticed my hurry and offered to drive me home, detour and all. I said multiple “thank you”s but decided the only way to say it right is to pay it forward. So I have.

Last week I offered to go dye Easter eggs at school with my little guy’s class. I also said I will do it the way people used to do it in the old days; with onion peels that is.

Come Wednesday night and after a busy few days, I remembered about the peels. The next thought was “Oh, no!” because where would I find enough onion peels late at night, I thought.

Ten minutes later I was at Cooper’s and being told “Oh no, we just threw them out,” followed by “But don’t worry, I’ll peel some for you.”

Another ten minutes later, I was leaving the store with a bag of onion peels. At that point it is but logical to assume that I live in a good place. It’s called community.

Second on the list of good things here is the world that opens up all around Kamloops. A world that rolls out from my front door. There is a short dirt road a few minutes away from where I live and it’s arched in a way that allows me to have a 360° panorama. No photos or videos would do it justice.

I now have a few good cycling routes around Kamloops, and a couple of friends who are kind enough to share their secret beautiful Kamloops one-of-a-kind spots with me. When you’re new in town, it’s a gift, more so when all I have to offer in return is gratitude and the promise that I might one day find a gem that I will share too…

The boys and I have discovered endless sandbanks that may be yesterday’s news to people who have lived here all their lives, or for many years, but the golden carpets of sparkling sand charm us every time we visit.

The barren dusty hills that once scared me with their scarcity have won my heart countless times since. Some I see in the morning from my kitchen window and I have yet to be bored with a sunrise.

In winter the hills all wore white powder caps and wigs of blue sky; majestic is the right word, but not the glacier majestic that I am used to from the Coast Mountains. These ones bump towards the sky ever so gently.

Come spring, they are glazed in fresh pink glow in the morning, and then draped in lazy sunset light as I round the boys up for another good night’s sleep. Sunsets in Kamloops are simply beautiful.

I have come to know that wondering through the grasslands can get my legs prickled by cacti and it hurts unexpectedly much. Somehow I’m fine with that. Now I know what it’s like to live in a desert.

Third on my list: the friends I’ve made since I moved here. I am by my own admission a relationship minimalist. I only pursue a relationship if it’s real and has depth.

Though a child at heart according to many who know me, I know depth and real when I see it. And I have. Kamloops has gifted me with a few friends I can easily add to my list of blessings.

I’ll end my list with the coffee shops I have found here. I am a coffee snob, I admit it and happily blame it on my parents who always had cowboy coffee, the only way I make it now too. I make my own freshly roasted fairly-traded guilt-free on most days, but when I hit my favorite coffee shops I am never disappointed.

Whether I chat with friends over a cup of steaming coffee or sit by myself, writing, I have found a few places that offer that kind refuge a writer needs on any given day.

All in all, a good seven months. Here’s to many more and all things Kamloops left to discover.

(Originally published as a column under the same name in the Kamloops Daily News on Saturday April 6, 2013)

There’s something terribly wrong with this “greet the panda” picture, isn’t it? I mean, they are cute and cuddly, but to welcome them like royalty, that’s a whole different matter.

You are most likely aware that today our Prime Minister and his wife welcomed a pair of panda bears at Pearson Airport in Toronto. That’s right. Aside from the fact that having animals on display in a zoo is a horrifying idea, the fact that a pair of pandas were greeted by the Prime Minister and got extensive coverage in the news is a tad much, no?

As for the zoos and conservation work, I do not care for reasons such as “to educate and instill respect for disappearing species, blah, blah, blah…” There are books, there are documentaries like Planet Earth where dedicated people spent many hours getting amazing footage.

Children and adults alike can learn from that, no need for animals on display. That’s my next blog post topic perhaps.

But back to the pandas for now. The sell-out. It is, and if you think otherwise, please share your thoughts and I’d be happy to oblige by sharing mine.
A while ago Canada signed a dreadful treaty with China that will last for 31 years. Now the Chinese government is “lending” us the pandas. All stand and applaud: Canadian natural resources versus two pandas. Are we selling ourselves cheap?

There’s something awfully wrong with many aspects of this picture. First of all, there is massive elephant genocide in Africa. We’re talking grenades thrown in the middle of an elephant herd in order to kill as many as possible for their precious ivory tusks (National Geographic covered the topic not long ago.) The increased demand for ivory in China is behind it, and “it” has been named the scariest decimation of African elephants yet. Ivory, like shark fin soup, is a social status indicator in China. Go figure.

One cannot help but ask: How come pandas are so revered and have it so good then? If a country or its government do not care about animals in general, but plainly condones the near wipe-out of many other species, what gives? Well, pandas are China’s national symbol. In our case, housing them for a decade is but a “loan” to prove we can take care of their national animal as we are of the treaty signed not long ago, a treaty that bears a sinister echo for the next 31 years.

As for the black and white fluffy bamboo-eating fellows, they are, sadly, pushed into extinction by citizens of the country they are representing. According to the WWF, they can go extinct in two or three generations from now because their habitat is shrinking. The cause? You guessed it: the booming economic development, which comes at a high price for pandas and humans alike. For pandas it really does not look good if nothing changes. Save for the ones surviving in zoos, pandas will be all but gone… As for us humans, booming economies can lead to some or all of the following: increased pollution, dwindling natural resources and, to spice it up, some inhumane conditions for many of the workers that create the “Made in China” goods that might or might not be on sale this coming Easter…

So you see, things truly are upside down: we greet the pandas with much fanfare, spend some good honest Canadian dollars to do so, we will keep them in a zoo on public display because we need to be kept giddy that way, and, being so nice and polite, we do not ask for anything at all in return (say, some environmental promises that might leave our country intact…)

I love animals, I believe we have to respect them and love them, and yes, many species are nowadays threatened with extinction, but let’s not forget that we are after all the main perpetrators of the actions that contribute to their demise. So we should start by observing and changing our life habits perhaps.

What I also know is that our Prime Minister’s “to do” list (for example attending to pressing matters like the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline which raises serious environmental concerns) should have the well-being of every citizen in this country, and the wise use of our national resources as a primary concern.

No cuddly animal will ever make up for betraying our interests. Having a good set of principles that ensures that citizens are respected, and our children’s interests too are being respected, that ensures that no resource will be taken from any of our provinces unless we all agree to do so; now that would be, in my opinion, a decent place to start fair negotiations (is that an oxymoron? It should not be) with any bulging economic powers that stop at nothing to increase that bulge.

What’s next? If we stop applauding the arrival of pandas or other critters, we might be able to hear that inner voice that somehow has it right. The (national) gut instinct they call it…Because deep down we know to put things in perspective. We know that we have the freedom to do so and should exercise it.

OK. I stocked up on gluten-free foods, made a pact to not buy milk no matter how clean and local and organic it is – kind of ironic since Sasha just started liking milk not long ago, and all of this because I am running out of options in helping Sasha deal with his skin itchiness, nose stuffiness, possible asthma lurking somewhere close, and the general irk caused by something we’re not sure what’s caused by to begin with.

How is that for a conundrum?

My supposition is that the many chemicals we added and keep adding to the environment are messing our children’s health in ways that are getting out of hand. The numbers of children with immune system problems like allergies and asthma (respiratory and immune functions are growing and we are clueless when it comes to solutions. How do we upset their bodies in such a way that makes their otherwise perfectly working systems rebel and go berserk?

To say that on my little turf everything is clean and environmentally sound is sheer craziness. I breathe the same air you do, and we share the water. The produce that’s grown conventionally adds chemicals to our common soil, water and air.

The mainstream cleaning products and household stuff that we need to make our homes look pretty but reek of chemicals (paints, treated wood, carpets, for example) they are all affecting our common air, water and soil.

I feel helpless in helping my son overcome environmental allergies and occasional asthma attacks. I am willing to go as many extra miles as needed but something tells me that’s not where the answer is.

Chemicals will still be dumped around us; politely we will call them the new spring/summer/fall/winter stock that’s on sale for a short while, blah, blah, blah. Realistically I will call it “the end of health as we know it.” If you stop and ponder you’ll most likely agree.

On the other hand, humans and living creatures altogether are adapting to new life conditions as they go. Is this something our bodies will grow accustomed to? The chemicals, I mean, the fake (processed) food, the objects that we surround ourselves with in an effort to make life pleasant, or easier, the ever-growing mountains of discarded stuff and all that I cannot mention in a blog post but I keep discovering as I go.

For now I will take out as much as I can from his diet, I will switch mattresses and sterilize his bedding. Wake up at night when he’s once again so frustrated with not being able to sleep because his body is itchy and his nose is running without warning and continuously. While itching that is.

I don’t have a clear answer for now. Just questions.

The biggest question is: Are we going the right way with how we live our lives?

One thing I was told when I was little was that there is always room to do and act better. Right?