So far Ottawa has been amazing! The first few days were very chill and relaxed. After settling in and getting comfortable, the fun slowly started to begin. My host moms are some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met! Their names are Desneiges and Rachel and are both lawyers. Considering that they’re both lawyers, I thought they would be more strict, but they are very humorous, understanding, and supportive. Also, they are extremely welcoming and friendly. They have 2 awesome kids as well. Iris is 16 and Xavier is 14. They also have a cat named Jack, which they adopted recently. Luckily, for me, my work placement is just a half hour walk from where I I’m staying. How amazing! I volunteer at the Wabano Centre and am beyond grateful to have the most amazing co-workers. Not to mention, I have been fortunate enough to take part in a lot of different tasks! In my first week and a half of volunteering at the Wabano centre, I have spent time with the seniors, the summer camp kids, and the diabetes team. I went raspberry picking with the kids and beaded with the diabetes team. Today, I was with the seniors again, and this morning we drummed. This afternoon, while they played bingo, I did the dishes!

Some of the stuff I find different in the south compared to living in the north are mainly the weather and the trees. Other than that, most of the stuff are somewhat similar. Just recently, I went to go see my cousins, and I met her daughter for the first time! We also went to Parliament Hill to watch the northern lights, went to the theatre, watched Incredibles 2, and watched a live Shakespeare play. We also went to Manotick to hang out with other NYA participants. I am so thankful to my host parents for taking us to all these wonderful places! Tonight, we’re going to a triple A baseball game. We’ve also been shopping which I have been dying to do!

Thank you for reading my blog!

Alikammiaraq