Bill and Wendy's ickcillint adventures

    Well, looks like we will be delayed until October after all. See the note below from the CUSO office in Sri Lanka.   Dear Wendy, I am really sorry about this situation. XXX is continuously running to the NGO Secretariat in pushing them to get your document approve. She went this afternoon also.Still it hasn't signed. She said she is going tomorrow morning also. I a m really sorry...we donot have any control over this. XXX said, if she gets the documents approve this week, she can then send it for the visa. If you cannot come on the 7th as planned, it is okay to come at least one week later once you get the visa if you are ok with that. But one other thing is that once you are here in country,  we have to apply for the work permit for you for Jaffna. XXX said it will take at least 1-11/2 months. If you have to be back in Canada for the wedding  in September I donot think it is worth taking that risk/stress.     So what I would like to suggest is that you com...

Today, a miracle happened. I strapped on my helmut, straddled my bike, revved the engine and it happened. Everything meshed! Brakes, shifting, shoulder checking, clutching and lane positioning. I passed my motorcycle exam! I have a class 5/6 Driver's License. I'll be nobody's bitch. I also think I must be like St. Francis of Assisi or Dr. Doolittle. I attract animals in strange places. Today, as I was crossing the street on my motorbike during my traffic exam, there was, at the corner of Summit and Columbia, a huge, huge buck crossing the street, over to White Spot for some lunch. His horns were felted and he looked hungry and scared. This was the second animal I saw walking the streets of Kamloops. The first incident occurred while I was taking my motorbike training. Stopped at Seymour and 6th for a traffic light, a Canada Goose with her eight tiny goslings crossed the road, heading to Riverside Park for a swim. I hope I don't lose my hair like St. Francis, but ...

      No sooner had I posted the last blog suggesting there might be a delay, a message came through for us from the program office in Sri Lanka. Here it is, in part.   " ... the Legal Compliance and Support Officer, who is in charge of  volunteer visa at VSO Sri Lanka is trying her best to get the clearance for you.... The clearance documents are still with the Government Agent (GA) in Jaffna. (first step). .. Although it is almost one year after finishing the civil war, the rules are very strict, especially for the foreigners. .. as soon as we get the clearance, she can forward the documents to the Immigration department in Colombo. We hope we can get it soon, again we cannot  guarantee, because those things are beyond our control...We actually have three cycles Wendy. After July the next cycle is 5th October".     

Well, it appears we may be delayed... again! We received a notice from the program office in Sri Lanka that "changes in the ministerial offices" are delaying a sponsor letter needed in order to process our visas. Visa application for Sri Lanka requires us to send our passports to their Visa office, they are then approved, our passports stamped for entry and then returned to the passport holder.   Well, with only three weeks until departure, you can figure, that even with Purolator and Fed-Ex type courier services, there isn't much time to transport passports around the world and back before July 1. We have been anxious about this part for some time, but with the program office reassuring us that there was plenty of time, we still believed we'd get out this time, on time. However, they too are starting to get pretty anxious and are preparing us for another delay. How long, nobody seems to know at this point. Bill has become a compulsive email checker. I have th...

We bought a bike! 82 Honda and rides fine. Practicing an hour a day is surely a workout, mentally and physically. I come home exhausted. However, it is coming... slowly, but surely. I am less frightened for the pedestrians that happen across my path, less fearful of the amber lights and the need to speed through because I cannot stop. I am less afraid of crashing in the intersections, because I speed up where I should slow down or fearing that I will stall and be rear ended. Yes, it is coming along. We are absolutely freaked that in one month we move to Sri Lanka. Anxiety grips us both from time to time. We are taking Omega 3s by the handful. We are at times, eating poorly. Bill's blood pressure is mounting. I am gaining weight. Fortunately, we are still walking, lots. Walking is our therapy and curtails the mounting anxiety. It settles us and makes us grateful for our healthy bodies, grateful for Canada, grateful for our family and friends who support us, grateful for our educatio...