Our 1st Canniversary!

Well we can't believe it, 12 months ago, as two very excitable and nervous 'Brits' we arrived at Calgary airport for the start of our great adventure!  We surprise ourselves as much as others with what we have achieved in the last year, and we can't believe how quickly it has gone.

We are still sticking to our original plan of being here for about two years before we decide on our long term plans.   The only thing that we haven't achieved is to have brought a house out here, but the longer we've been renting, the more money we have towards a deposit, so we're hoping our Permanent Residency won't be long so we don't spend much of what we have saved already.

Having just got back from almost two weeks in the UK it gave us the opportunity to reflect on our move and the quality of life we had there, compared to what we have here in Canada.  For both of us this trip had really poor timing, but due to our close friends wedding, we knew we had to make the trip.  With the PR situation being very uncertain, we left Calgary feeling very unsettled about the future.  I think that secretly Sophie was worried that she would see all our family and friends and that and the worry about not being able to work etc might have meant that she didn't want to come back.  As strange as it sounded to some though, as Domino was going to be here waiting for us when we got back, that at least meant that as well as our belongings, we still had strong family ties here in Calgary.

I must admit though that even though it made us realise just how much we had missed our family and friends, it also made us realise that we had taken a lot for granted.  When we left the UK we were, to all intents and purposes, extremely happy with the lives we had, although I had recently been made redundant, Sophie was in a job she loved, our house was exactly how we wanted it and we both had great cars.  We had an amazing group of friends and a busy social life, and loved living in the UK.  Then when we first arrived in Calgary, it was all a novelty living in another country and it took a long time before it no longer felt like a holiday.  So returning to the UK after having been here for almost a year, the things that we previously had noticed became glaringly obvious.

Things we had missed.

• Friends and family and being able to go round to the neighbours with some bottles, unplanned and have a fantastic night.
• Decent clothes shops (Sophie rather than me!)  the clothes here tend to be very expensive or rather 'dowdy' as Sophie put it.  Thus giving her the excuse to have a days shopping to buy a new small size wardrobe in Primark Liverpool, spending a small fortune.
• Chocolate, it just isn't the same here, so remember visitors, bring plenty of supplies when you come!
• Fish, chips, mushy peas, curry sauce and battered sausage............mmmmmmmmmmmm
• Proper breakfast sausages, although you can get them in Calgary, we know of only one butchers that sells them and they ain't cheap!
• Sausage rolls from the Co-op...........yum, yum, yum!
• Not having to watch TV that's interrupted every 7-10 minutes with a commercial break, here it takes 3 1/2 hours to watch a film!

Things we hadn't missed.

• Very Rude sales assistants.  Before leaving the UK, Sophie could spend around 4 hours and a small fortune in Asda, our local supermarket, and would never have a bad word said about them.  However, when we went for some essential chocolate purchasing and a spot of breakfast, we just couldn't believe how rude everyone was.  Here you always feel like they can't do enough for you (unless you get someone on a bad day which is rare!)
• Traffic jams and roadworks.....how long were we delayed with a 40mph speed limit, going through supposed roadworks, which appeared to have a lot of cones dotted about yet no one actually working?  We live in the city here and yet even when there are road works we don't really seem to notice!
• The cost of fuel.....WTF.....is over double what it is here, we were just gobsmacked.  Thank goodness we only had a hire car for a few days that's all I can say!

Things we missed while we were away.

• Tim Horton's (Obviously eh? goes without saying!)
• A dry climate, OK so we didn't need to slap on the moisturiser twice a day like you do here (unless you don't mind looking like a flaky raisin) but whats with all the rain!!
• A proper steak.  Although Sophie's mum bravely took on the task of cooking some Steaks for our first meal, and they were fantastic, it just wasn't quite the same as a 'triple A' Albertan steak from Costco.....mmmmmmmmmmm

So although, apart from family and friends, there isn't anything from the UK that we CAN'T live without (although its borderline with the Co-op sausage rolls!!)  and most of what we miss is allowed to be sent to us or brought over by family and friends.

So hopefully our next post will be our Permanent Residency medical request, Fingers crossed!  But for now we shall be hoping for sun and enjoying a nice long relax!

Goodman-Baines Back in the UK

Well the day had finally come for Nige and I to return to the UK for 12 days for our very close friends' wedding. 


DAY 1 
We left Domino, to be looked after a friend from work, and we headed to Calgary Airport on the wednesday evening, the 28th and arrived at London Heathrow the following afternoon.  We had only brought hand luggage as I wanted to buy clothes here, so we made it quickly through to our waiting family.  Mum, Nigels mum and I had all been plotting secretly,\ and unbeknown to Nige. his mum and Step-dad had travelled down to be with my parents at the airport to meet us.  The first things we noticed was how nice it was to hear some british accents!  Then we saw some signs being waved by our parents.  It was so wonderful to see them and a great suprise to them to see my over 3 1/2 stone lighter than I was when we left for Canada!  They also had with them (as had been requested on facebook earlier on in the week) some UK chocolate in the form of a kingsize twix and kingsize snickers!  So Nige and I said goodbye to each other as we headed into our respective mothers cars and headed up to Somerset to my parents house in a two car convoy!


After the 2 hour drive (with a phone call en-route to my sister in London), we arrived at my parents house.  We both agreed later that evening that it was strange coming back there as that had been the last place we'd stayed before we left for Canada and although we had done so much since then, it felt like we'd just nipped out to the shops!  We had known all along that the whole of this trip would be spent rushing around, trying to meet up with all our friends and family, so it was so wonderful getting to spend the night, just the six of us, catching up on all goings-on.  We hadn't seen my parents since October and hadn't seen Nigels mum or step dad since we left North Wales for Somerset almost 12 months ago.  After a wonderful meal, a few bottles of wine (and an emergency girly trip to Asda and Next to get some pajamas and a shirt and tie for Nige for the wedding) we headed up for our first night back on British soil in almost a year.  

DAY 2 FRIDAY
After a good old 'Back' bacon butty, Nige and his mum and step-dad headed up to North Wales in their car, with us about 30 minutes behind.  As we started to approach familiar countryside, it was really mixed feelings to coming back.  We both agreed later in the trip that it felt like we didn't quite belong here or in the UK!  


Both our parents had been invited to our close friends Emma and James' wedding the following day, but we'd arranged to stay with our other close friends Steve and Tracey for the time we were in North Wales.  So after catching up with Nigels Grandad (who had come to Nigels mums to meet us), a quick cuppa and a bite to eat we headed up the road to our friends house, (which is actually just across the road from our house, which is currently being rented, very weird!). 


It was so wonderful seeing them, and it wasn't long before Steve and Nige headed out to have a few drinks with the Groom to be James, whilst Emma and her bridesmaids came round with a few bottles and a takeaway menu.  It was great sharing a bottle of wine with Emma and Trcaey, but it was very strange, one minute it felt like hadn't been away, then the next I felt almost out of place.  With the wedding party having to get up early, we all decided to head up for an early night.


DAY 3 SATURDAY

Tracey and Steve had booked us a room at the hotel along with themselves so we headed off to the very posh wedding venue ready for the brides arrival.

The whole day was just beautiful and we were so glad that we had made the trip over so that we could be with them.   

We had such a wonderful day and were touched that Nige and I had a mention in the speaches, and a song played for us at the evening party.  

The wedding was also a great opportunity for us to catch up with all our friends from street, and also see our parents again at the evening party.  

Partying went on into the night and after many a drink to toast the bride and groom, we all headed up to bed! 




DAY 4 SUNDAY


After a big breakfast, we waved the bride and groom off on their honeymoon from the hotel and Nige and I headed back with Tracey and Steve for some well earned rest!  That evening our other friends from the street decided to organize an impromptu 'welcome back Nige and Sophie' gathering, so after a well enjoyed indian takeaway (the ones here, just aren't the same), it was back to base for some energetic Wii Games.


DAY 5 MONDAY


After very little drinking by either of us over the last 12 months, 4 nights in a row of alcohol consumption was beginning to take it toll!  I had arrange to meet up with a friend early in the morning and then three hours later she was dropping me off at Nigels mums so the we could meet Nigels extended family for lunch.  Due to finances we had been unable to travel back for Nigels cousins wedding late last year, and his other cousin and her husband had had a little girl, Orla, not long after we'd left so it was great to be able to catch up with everyone over lunch.  We got home with time for a shower and change before we headed to some other friends for dinner.  As we were not due to pick up our hire car until the the Tuesday we had been relying on other people for lifts, which had made us feel teenagers again!  That evening we had another indian takeaway (and we can now conclude that they taste far better in the UK!) and a great catch up with our friends, that have been more involved that most with our initial move to Canada, as they are very good friends with the family, that first stayed with here in Calgary, whom have now become friends of ours.   So a few bottles of wine later and it was another enjoyable, yet late night!


DAY 6 TUESDAY
We had arranged to pick the hire car up and then Tracey and I were heading to Liverpool on the train to Primark in order for me to replenish my depleted wardrobe after my weight loss.  So later that afternoon we arrived back with a large number of bags and a light purse!  Then we headed to some more friends of ours 2 minutes down the road for a cuppa, then I headed down the road for a quick hello to another friend, before we went back to the house for food.  After food we headed out to meet up with a couple who we met last year, that are making the move to Canada later this year.  It was so nice being able to share our own experiences, the way that others had done with us before we moved.  Thankfully as I was driving my liver got a rest that evening, then it was off to bed, after another busy but fulfilling day.


DAY 7 WEDNESDAY
This was our last full day in North Wales before heading down south and early in the morning we headed out to purchase our UK chocolate supplies and a new camera (ours had stopped working at the wedding).  I had also got a check up appointment at the dentist.  I had recently gone to the dentist here for a filling that had come lose, and ended up using almost all my insurance allowence having root canal, only for them to leave me with just a temparary filling and the instructions to make another appointment for anothe root cannel on another tooth.  I was keen to get a non-bias veiw, from someone that doesn't see me as a way of making money, so was pleased that my UK dentist could squeeze me in.  I was able to get a cancellation about 2 hours later and returned so that my fantastic dentist could put in a prermanent filling in my previously treated tooth and then just put a filling in the other tooth, informing me that that tooth didn't need root canal treatment! (and we used to moan about the NHS, I've just saved myself $2500 thanks to my dentist)  In the afternoon both Nige and I headed to our previous places of work.  We both had a great time catching up with our former collegues, but with time ticking away before we left North Wales, we had to head back to say good bye to our friends before we left.  We had been so well looked after, with fantastic cooked breakfasts, teas and coffee, a chance to catch up on all the gossip.  After we had been made to feel so welcome, we knew it would be hard leaving in the morning .

DAY 8 THURSDAY
After an early and very tearful goodbye we left our old street and headed down the motorway to visit our very close friends and their son, our Godson, in their new home in Dorset.  We stopped via my parents for a 5 minute cuppa to break up the journey and arrived in Poole later that afternoon.  One of the highlights of our trip was seeing our three year old Godson jumping up and down on the front step with excitment when he saw us pull up!


We hadn't seen them since they visited us here back in November, plus they only moved into their new house just before christmas, so our Godson gave us a very indepth tour of the house, whilst we sipped a very welcome cuppa!  The evening was spent playing games, eating, drinking and catching up on all the gossip, before another late night.  


DAY 9 FRIDAY
The following day, after a hearty breakfast sandwich, we headed to the coast for lots of posing for pictures and a cream tea!  Then it was sad bye bye as we headed to Englands Capital to drop off the hire car and to meet up with my sister Tiffany and Best friend Katie.  My parents were going away for work the following day, which was my sisters 25th birthday, so we all met at hers to say goodbye to them before they left.  That evening we had aranged to meet my best friend and her husband for a meal and a few drinks.  I hadn't seen my best friend in almost 2 yearss as her and her husband had gone away for his work, and not moved back until after we'd left so it was amazing to see her.  It was like we'd never been apart and the five of us had a great night, eating, drinking and chatting!  Another late night!!

DAY 10 SATURDAY


Today was my sisters birthday and I had an idea to take her to a cafe I'd seen on TV here in Canada 'The Cake Boy', that was situated in south London.  Well so as not to dwell on the situation too much, it was typical British weather, cold and wet, and we had all failed to make sure we knew exactly where we were going and how to get there, so after about 2 1/2 hours travelling  and walking around getting nowhere we found a pub, ordered a large birthday drink for Tiffany and called a cab, to take us there.  

As it had been my idea to find this cafe, so to say I got some stick throughout the day would be an understatement (especially as my sister is vegan so can't eat much of what they serve, and it was her birthday)  But all that was forgotten about when we arrived, ordered a bottle of champagne and noticed that the guy behind the counter, was in fact the Chef himeself, Eric, Lanlard.  After much girly giggling (From Tiffany and myself, not Nige)  we were able to get our picture taken with him!

Whilst we were in London they had the 'Elephant Parade' which is a conservation campaign that aims to shine a spotlight on the urgent crisis faced by the endangered Asian elephant. The event had over 250 brightly painted life-size elephants located over central London, so we felt it rude not to have our picture taken with a few.

After the elephant hunting (for photo shooting only I may add), we headed into Covent Garden for some food before meeting up with Katie and her husband again.  My sister had booked for us to see a show at the Comedy Club later that evening, so we left Katie to see that (very funny indeed), then hooked up with them afterwards for some more dancing!  Unfortunately later on that evening, I happened to notice that my memory card was no longer in the camera, only to find the following morning that the camera was no-where to be seen.  We were lucky that our time spent with our Godson had been snapped by our friends, and that my sister had taken almost exactly the same pictures as us, but to have only just replaced the one that broke the weekend before, we were glad we had only brought a fairly cheap one!

Well the following morning, there were many a sore heads, yet after some breakfast and a cuppa we packed up ready to get the taxi to Katies' house.  We arrived later that afternoon for our last night in the UK before heading back home and we treated to a fantastic Sunday Roast.

DAY 11 MONDAY

We had been lucky enough to be granted an early night the night before and after 5 minutes in an extremely powerful shower, and another amazing cooked breakfast we were ready to try and squeeze in all our UK goodies ready for the trip home.  After we'd eventually packed all our cases and bags we headed up to Katies local chippy for, fish, chips, mushy peas, curry sauce and battered sausage.........mmmmmmmmmmm.  After our last UK meal for this trip, Katie's took us to the airport to catch our flight back home.   What with the Icelandic volcano still giving out smoke we had to make a detour so our flight ended up being 11 hours so when we walked through the front door, we were so pleased to be home.

Apart from spending more than we had anticipated, us still having lots of people we didn't get to meet up with and giving our livers a bit of a shock! (oh and me gaining 10lbs) it was an amazing trip.  At least we can have a good rest now before we have to think about going back to work!  

More Visa Updates

With our work permit expiry date looming, I have been trying to contact the immigration office to try and get an update on our application, and also see if we have any options.  Now to contact the immigration office you can either call them (in which case they are not allowed to talk about any specific applications and can only give you general, non case specific advice, not much good to us!) write to them (the endeavor to respond within 28days) or e-mail them, when they aim to get back to you within 24hours. 

I obviously decided to e-mail them and explain our situation and see if we had any other options in order for us to continue to work whilst we awaited our PR.  Their generic reply was to just a link to the work permit application forms.  Now if they had taken the time to read my e-mail they would have known that in our current situation, neither of us are eligible to apply for a work permit.  So i sent them another e-mail explaining this and asking if there was anything else we could do and to also ask if they could give us a rough idea about how long we might be waiting for our PR, this is the reply they sent back in its entirety....

Your file is in a queue awaiting initial assessment. This could take up to 64 weeks from the date we received the application.



Canadian Consulate General Buffalo

Not really very helpful as I'm sure you'll agree, but at least they replied!  So we are not better off knowing how long our PR is going to be, but speaking to someone about 2 months ahead of us (in the same Skilled Worker PR application process as us), they have just received their medical requests, so we're still feeling positive that they'll be sorted by the end of June. 
 
We'll keep you posted.

Our 10 year Celebrations

As most of you know, this year marks the 10 year anniversary of when Sophie and I first got together. Now you will also know that Sophie never forgets when I promise her something (especially if its going to cost me money!) So, when on our first trip to Lake Louise since we'd moved, she mentioned how wonderful it would be to wake up to the amazing view of the glacier, I told her that we could come for our 10 year Anniversary (should have known she'd remind me!).

Now with us needing to save as much as we can, in case we aren't able to work for a couple of months, we agreed that just to have a night away anywhere would be a real treat.  What Sophie didn't know was that I had done a few extra hours overtime to ensure that I could still treat us to a night at the Chateau Lake Louise.

Now when you visit the Lake, you are able to walk all through the hotel, but for those guests that have upgraded to 'Fairmont Gold' it had the top few floors only accessible to 'Gold' guests.  So not only was it extremely 'posh' it also didn't have groups of tourists wondering round the corridors in shorts and sandals photographing everything.  Now don't get me wrong, we had been those people many times, but when we wanted a bit of luxury and a chance to celebrate our Anniversary in peace, the Gold upgrade was worth every cent!

I had gone all out and ordered champagne and chocolates for the room and had obviously made sure we had a lake view room.

 

We were so lucky with our room, cause as it was a corner room it was duel aspect, 

so we also had a mountain view.

The view from one of our windows, which looks like a poster on the wall!

Our very posh bathroom!

Whilst we were there, they were hosting an Ice skating and performance show called Elemental. The frozen Lake had an large area that had been cleared of snow where the show would take place. 

The ice rink.

There was also a full sized hockey rink cleared out on the lake!

(this was the view from our other window)

The performances were by a cast of International and Canadian Figure Skating stars, where they would tell a story with skating routines and tricks. We were so lucky, that as it was a little chilly outside, we had a perfect view from our room and just had to open our window to hear the music.

Sunrise from our bedroom window!

Knowing that the a skating rink is cleared on the lake, I had sneaked both our ice skates

 in the car so that the following day, we could make the most of the breathtaking scenery.

"I've got my ice cube, now wheres' that bar for my malibu and diet coke!"

Although there were some rather disappointed family and friends, as i didn't 'pop' any questions, Sophie and I had an amazing time.  We got to spend the night in a magnificent room, with a view that just blows you away, and we got to spend two days surrounded by some of the best bits of scenery that mother nature has to offer!

Exam Results!

I PASSED!!

At last I am now a Canadian Registered Nurse.  I received my results in the mail today.  I was extremely nervous, especially when it appeared to be the same sized envelope as my 'failed' letter!

This now not only means that I no longer have any restrictions with my practice (not that there were that many, but having been an RN in the UK for 5 years, it's been hard to suddenly find that you have some practice limitations, but I also get a nice pay rise, Yay!!!

Although it will take about a week for my cheque to clear with CARNA before they send me my RN permit, as soon as I can go back to writing Registered Nurse by my name.  Although very stressful. well worth all the hassle in the end!

Goodman-Baines Valentine Celebrations!

Both of us have always disagreed with the inflated prices of restaurants on Valentine day.  So our usual treat would be to head to Marks and Spencers and buy a luxurious three course meal and have a cosy candlelit dinner at home!  So as we were lacking a very vital ingredient this year (M&S is no longer in Canada!) we decided to pick something that we hadn't had since we'd arrived, but had really missed since coming to the UK.  A FULL ENGLISH BREAKFAST!

So we headed off to the Scottish butchers for our British back bacon, British breakfast sausages, British Heinz baked beans and some black pudding, and a couple of bottles of dandelion and burdock!  then we went to the supermarket for the rest of our goodies and after 40 minutes in the kitchen, we both sat down to one of the best Valentines meals we'd had in a long time!!!!!!  

Please note that Domino was not left out and the bowl 

pictured by the two plates was her little full english breakfast treat!

All Work and No Play

As we still haven't heard anything from the Canadian Immigration regarding our Permanent Residency, so we are going to do the sensible thing and start preparing for a 'Plan B'.

Our current work visas are due to expire in the middle of May and with the current economy as it is, there has been an increase in unemployment over the last 3 years, so there is little chance of us being granted a work permit.  In order to get a work permit now, it would need to be for a skilled job, so even though Nigel's employer would be happy to do it, it would be difficult to prove that he has any specific skills that a Canadian wouldn't, for his current role.  I on the other hand would have had a problem, the Alberta Health Region (whom I am currently working for) are no longer issuing work permits due to the number of newly qualified Canadian nurses (Graduate Nurses).  Even though I am now a qualified Registered Nurse, working in a very specialised area, I am only working on a casual basis so would not be eligible!

Basically we are going to anticipate a bit of a gap (possibly a few months) between when our current visa runs out, and when we are granted our PR.  So we have been, and will continue to work as many hours as we can, so that we can save some money and not have to worry about paying the bills when we have to stop working. 

We are due to go to the UK for about 10 days for a close friends wedding at the beginning of May so when we arrive back into Canada we will do so as visitors and then stop working.  Last week Nigel worked about 68 hours and I am currently in the middle of an 11 day stretch.  Apart from spending very little time together, it hasn't been too bad and the knowledge that we'll have a couple of month's vacation when we get back from the UK is getting us through!