Cape Breton Island

When I landed at Sydney, everything was grey and cold and wintery.  The big snowplows were just finishing clearing the runway.  All of a sudden, I felt butterflies in my tummy.  There was not one person in Sydney that I knew ... not one.  I wanted to go right back home to Brockville and crawl into my bed.  Since I couldn't do that, I slid back into my envelope, closed the flap again, and tried to take a nap.  Would Nadine like me?  Or would she be cross with me all the time, even when I was trying to be good?  Would she be on Facebook all the time like Aunt Ashley, or would she play with me?

 

Brockville to Sydney



Sydney Airport



Nadine, Léo, and me

I didn't need to worry.  When Nadine opened my envelope, she had the biggest, warmest smile I've ever seen.  The very first thing she did was make some hot chocolate for Léo and me.  I sipped it and told her how glad I was to be out of that envelope with people to talk to again.  It had been a long lonesome week!


A long, long time ago, before Nadine became a mom, she joined a wonderful youth program called Katimavik.  The Katimavik participants lived and worked in different places in Canada, and really got to know our country close up and personal.  Nadine stayed with Ms. Wright's family for a while she was getting to know Ontario.  Now I'm staying with Nadine while I'm getting to know Nova Scotia.

Unfortunately, the Canadian government cancelled Katimavik a couple of years ago.  The participants and host communities have all sorts of great memories, though.  I guess that my trip is sort of a one-person Katimavik program, although Nadine didn't ask me to do any work.  I just got to play. She isn't like Aunt Ashley at all!

After we'd had our hot chocolate, Nadine told me to unpack quickly, because we were going to a kaylee with Memère and Pepère.  Oh, no!  I'd thought that everybody in Nova Scotia spoke English; but I'd only been here an hour and these words definitely didn't sound English.  I guess I must have looked as confused as I felt, because Nadine explained that Memère and Pepère mean "Grandma" and "Grandpa" in French.  French?  In Nova Scotia?  It turns out that there are actually all sorts of people in Nova Scotia who speak French.  They're called Acadians.  Most of them speak English too.



I found a step-dancing partner my own size!

As for a kaylee (Oops ... Nadine just came in and says that it's spelled ceilidh), it's a music party.  Everyone gets together at somebody's house and they sing together and play different instruments and sometimes dance.  Memère (she's the lady sitting on the floor beside me) showed me how to do a bit of step dancing, but really I just wanted to listen to the music and watch the musicians.  Pepère asked me to sing or tell a story for everyone.  I was so shy that I tried to hide behind Nadine and her husband, but everybody was so encouraging that finally I told them the story of Le Chat et la Lune with all the actions.

Next up:  a meeting of the Young Naturalists' Club.  Nadine says that there's going to be a scavenger hunt.  I wonder how many young naturalists you have to find?