These last two weeks went by so fast. With Angelina in quarantine, we really did not want to go to the lakes, swim in the ocean or anything really fun until she got out. Like a prison sentence for the entire family. Happy news, she will be out tomorrow! So the first thing we are going to do is visit my mom in Vancouver and to take a drive to South Surrey to see our old hood.
The boys went over last weekend for a quick visit while Angelina and I hung out together. It has not been easy for her stuck inside for two weeks unable to participate in the shopping or exploration of different neighbourhoods with us. She really has only seen Nanaimo from the car ride to our cottage from the ferry terminal. She has seen the vastness of the Pacific and the beauty of the forests, but that’s it.
Her world has been what is steps from the door. Every morning there is a bunny family who lives outside in the forest, and two young deer, one male and one female who graze on the property around our cottage. I have already mentioned the owl family with their shreeks as they hunt, and the beer who has not yet visited but our eyes are open just in case. Yesterday we saw a black squirrel jumping from tree to tree while we ate dinner! That was pretty cool too. The trees are a hundred feet in the air above our little home which keeps us in shade from the hot sun although the heat broke mid first week and we have been having temperatures in the low 20’s. Something we all need to get used to again. Canadian cool temperatures.
Our days are filled with tasks. Forms to fill out at the bank to get my credit rating set-up for the purchase of a new home, forms to sign at work to be officially employed, meetings to attend to get an idea of my new role, lists to tick-off at the Save-On or Costco stores so my daughter can cook while alone.
So when we left the airport July 10th apparently border control was supposed to give us an 8-day PCV testing kit when we left but a guard made a big mistake when reading our paperwork and thought Angelina was completely vaccinated along with us. He zipped us through the line and said you are free to go.
On day eight we thought a testing kit would be sent to the address we provided at border control, however when we called LifeLabs they kept saying the same thing, ‘It’s in the mail!’ Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and even Thursday, we were on the phone calling everyone from Federal government to local pharmacies, LifeLabs local workers and 40 different help centres across Canada; totally 10 hours of call time. Finally yesterday at 4:30 two kits arrived on the same day via FedEx at our doorstep and Alfonz was able to get Angelina’s testing done. However, the labs could only send them in the next day, today (Friday) at 2:00 pm leaving us stuck in quarantine for another weekend!
Well that would simply not do!
Our girl is going a little more than a little stir crazy. So this morning we are going to pay the piper and have the $$ to have the test done at the local CVM medical Book Test Fly Centre. I hope she would be the first one in line but Canadians seem to get up pretty early in these parts and I think she is third. I can hope they rush her through and save our last weekend before the grind begins.
To me the whole circus around COVID-19, the testing, the 3-day hotel stays is not really for protecting people, because is the end a country really has to give the trust over to its people. Is it a money grab? $500-1000 for testing when a country like Hungary does it for $20, I mean come on Canada! Either way, at least we missed the whole 3-day hotel stay and having all of us in a 2-week quarantine. For this we are truly grateful.
One moment of patience can word off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole lifetime. – Chinese Proverb
Alfonz was a superstar throughout the whole process and kept saying it is the cost of moving. But no, it is the cost of moving on the tail end of a pandemic. People in Canada are only now starting to venture out of house and interact within their own family circles. Most still wear masks although they are not mandatory. You can see people are keeping the 2-metre distance between each other. Life is a little behind here and their numbers are super low. Most are only having their second shots now, which means they haven’t reached their 80% vaccination numbers quite yet. Angelina goes for her second August 23rd if all goes on schedule.
Daniel and Angelina are both doing their driver’s tests too as soon as they can. Daniel already has his licence from Hungary but the government of Canada has asked him to do it again. So he will need to rewrite and take the driving test, however there will be no hours needed to put in or ‘N’ for new driver on his car. He should be able to drive freely right after, if I can get him to study for the test and go in that is! Lazy teenagers! Angelina is far more eager, she wants to get her licence and have freedom to go where she wants. Both got their CV’s (resumes) ready and started sending them out. August should be a very busy month for all of us! ALfonz at VI Motorsports and me at the non-profit. Crossing my fingers the children meet a few people before summer ends.
We are looking for two more cars, one for Daniel and one for Alfonz. The used market is pretty dry since COVID but the real estate market has absolutely gone crazy here. It seems like the Vancouver craze has finally reached Nanaimo and house prices have reached an all time high! When we started looking in January a good house cost about $729,000. Now the same house is $829,000. We wish to buy asap to get in fast before the cost is unreachable, but fate may have other things in mind for us. We have to wait three months at our new places of work to prove our stability before the bank will lend to us. I have to believe our house will come when it is supposed to. Like all things, the universe will open up a path to the door of our house when the time is right. No sooner. We just have to be patient, something I am not very good with at all…
Here are some beautiful pictures of the Indigenous Totems in front of VIU.
Hand crafted wooden totems 
Totem pole The valley we live in, neighbour’s house 
View from VIU 
VIU Koi pond
Daniel, Alfonz and I took a moment to check-out Daniel’s new school and made our way to Vancouver Island University and walked around the large grounds. They had a tranquil Koi pond and a waterfall garden area all build on the side of a mountain. I could image students taking breaks in the sun and watching the groups of black bunnies eating on the green grass. The views of the Strait of Georgia are magnificent from this viewpoint but the photos just don’t do it justice. You can even watch the ferries dock. The ocean air up there is clean and cool.
By all means, this could be the start of something pretty amazing for the Hamori family! Don’t forget to live your best life too! Still pursuing happiness!
