2 Years Strong.

Today, November the 19th 2008 marks my two year anniversary with Stuart.
For those of you who don't know our history, Stuart and I met through a friend while I was studying my arts degree at the CCC School Of Creative Arts on Sydney's northern beaches.
Stuart was living in Melbourne at the time.
Stu and I on our 3rd date, November 23rd 2006
When we first started to feel things for each other it presented a can of worms that I didn't think was avoidable. Long distance relationships are hard at the best of times, let alone when you're both students with limited resources and finances. Yet, somehow in my heart I knew it was worth the effort.

My primary love languages are touch and quality time, so I couldn't comprehend how I would go with a long distance sort of relationship. The distance wasn't all we had to overcome either. Our lives were so different, and yet there was a tangible connection too special to ignore.

So I promised Stu that once I'd finished my degree I would move to Melbourne so we could be together.

There were so many times I felt like giving up on my studies to be with him, but I also made a promise to God - that I wouldn't leave college until I had finished what I started. It was never the love of music, the friends, the ease of my position and influence that kept me in Sydney, it was always my word. And again, my word is what caused me to pack up my life and follow my heart once my studies were completed nearly 16 months later..
Stu and I in Melbourne. 5th January 2007.

Today we are celebrating our anniversary in Canada, in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. The temperature is -14 outside, and the views (and the altitude here) take your breath away. But what truly captures me, truly renders me breathless and speechless, is this gift I have. Because I stayed true to my promise, because I put God's purpose first in my life, He has blessed me so much by giving me Stuart.

Stuart's 22nd birthday, March 14th 2007. I surprised him by flying down to Melbourne.

Stuart Walker - the special (very, very special!) man who was made in such a way to put up with, understand and love me always.

Today I am grateful for Him.

Stu and I on our 1 year anniversary in Sydney. Nov 19th 2007

I just thought I'd share this with whomever chooses to read this little note. I am blessed to be loved by Stu, and to get to share this part of my life story with him.

I never thought it would happen to me... but it has.
Cheers for that, God.
Beth. x

Today, Our 2 year anniversary. November 19th 2008.

More Snow!!!!

Yep, you guessed it, more snow.

SNOW!!!!

Hi everybody, all is well here in Jasper with Stu and I.

This Thursday just gone we had SNOW!!!!! It snows a little here in the fall, but not much, so to see the streets covered and the snow falling heavily enough to make snowballs here was quite exciting!!! Stu and I were both working at the time, but I ran outside to take some photos. These photos were taken about 15 minutes after the snow started to fall, and by the time we finished work at 11pm, the streets were blanketed in the most beautiful, soft, powdery snow I've ever seen. The roads get very icy after the snow is ground into the asphalt by cars, so walking home was an exercise in balance and sliding!

Stu and I went out with some friends after work and ended up walking home through the town at 1am, throwing snowballs and writing in the snow on a few car windows. (read: Stu wrote words like "poop" and "pee pee" on every car.)

We tested out our new snow boots, and to my pleasure they turned out to be very comfortable and warm, although it was only about -5 out at the time. The town of Jasper is so peaceful and beautiful when covered in snow, every stretch of ground was pure white. The snow here is so soft and powdery, not like the hard icy, wet stuff you get in Aus. Making a snow ball is like picking up a piece of Styrofoam! Stu and I took turns throwing them at signs, street lights, even jasper, the town mascot. Of course we didn't throw them at each other, it was too cold. That will have to wait for another day.

We were both very excited about the snow, but I am in no hurry to make it happen again. Once winter kicks in we'll have plenty and it will stay around for months. It is definitely starting to get verrrrry colllld here in Jasper.

Me and Malorie, a fellow employee out in the snow!

I am however looking forward to seeing the town lit up for Christmas with all the lights and snow. I think it'll be quite special!

In other news, Stu and I are wondering if we should leave Jasper to work in Banff or Fernie - two other ski resort towns in Canada. Banff has a little more to offer than Jasper does, and we are not too sure about our employers here in Jasper. More on that another time though. We will keep you posted.

We will post more pics of the snow as it falls, you can be sure to see a lot of them in the coming months!!!
We miss you all,
b. x

Hey to all our Australian and American friends,
Just a quick blog to let you know that as of yesterday we are now 18 hours behind Australia as daylight savings has come to an end.
We are now on Mountain Time, which means we are plus 6 hours, minus one day. So right now it is 10am in Jasper, Canada, which means it will be 4am in Sydney and Melbourne.
So if you're looking to skype us, call or text the best times for you to do it are between 12pm - 5pm Australia time as that will be 6pm - 11pm the day before here in Canada. We get free incoming calls after 6pm in Canada, otherwise we get charged the same rate to receive a call as to make it.

We've been here in Canada for one month yesterday by the way. Do you miss us? :oP
Lots of love...
x

Jasper to Hinton.

Today we rented a car and drove to the nearby town of Hinton, Alberta to do some much needed clothes shopping. The town of Jasper does have clothing stores, however the range and style of clothing here is limited and also quite over-priced. So we organised to rent a car and travel to Hinton with a girl named Ashlee, who came over from Australia with us on the plane.

Geike St, just outside the hotel I work for. Note the snow on the parked cars.

We got up "early" (**in contrast to our 5:45am wake up for work, this was a sleep in of sorts) and walked to the rental place through the heaviest snowfall we have seen so far. This was by no means heavy by Jasper standards, but it was constant enough to be covered in snow by the time we arrived. Also, the ground was lightly covered in white powder, which we hadn't seen before! On our way down Connaught Drive we came across some geese crossing the road. They were so funny! They all waddled in unison and at the sight of an oncoming car, the "boss" goose let out a short honk to warn his friends about the traffic. It was very amusing to Stu and I, and was the first time we'd seen geese in town.

Stu, walking on the crunchy snow.

By the time we finally arrived at Avis my black jacket was covered in white flecks. It did sort of look like a bad case of dandruff, except it was all over me! We have figured out that we must be adjusting to the cold temperatures here, as this morning when we saw the current temperature was -1, Stu thought "oh, that's not cold," and decided not to take his warm jacket, instead opting for his aussie adidas jacket. A decision which he later regretted, but the mentality is definitely adjusting to the cold. Most mornings when we walk to work the puddles on the street have turned completely to ice, but we walk to work in little more than a hoodie.

Our friends, crossing the road.

When we got our rental car, we noticed it was covered in ice and snow that had frozen all over the windscreen and back window, as well as the roof. Being 25 meant I was the driver, and my immediate habit was to get into the car on the right hand side, with the keys in hand, ready to go... until I realised there was no steering wheel on that side and sheepishly got out. Stu laughed, but I think he would have done exactly the same thing! :oP

For the first part of the trip, we had to drive through Jasper to pick Ashlee up from the staff accomodation she lives in, which is just out the back of the Lobstick lodge, my hotel. It was so weird turning onto the opposite side of the road, and getting used to the turning lanes being different. Stu was fairly nervous about me driving (**as if! Whatever boy, I'm a way better driver!**) and gave me fairly continuous prompts until I promptly told him to shut up. hehe. We picked up Ash and were on our way.
The trip to Hinton is a good one, taking approximately 45 minutes in total, so it was a nice drive, even though it was fairly snowy in Jasper. The roads were clear and fairly straight so even though we were on the other side of the road to driving in Australia, it wasn't half as stressful as we thought. The overtaking lane here is on the left too, so that took some adjusting to.

And of course, in typical Canadian tradition, the views were spectacular. The drive is straight through Jasper National Park, which is the biggest National park in Canada. We followed the Athabasca River along, winding in and out with new mountain ranges every 2 minutes or so.
Some of these views just take your breath away. It feels almost like you're watching a movie, but then you remember you're looking at it in person and it just overwhelms you. I know it sounds corny but it really leaves you speechless of God's creation. I just keep thinking how amazing it is that he did this in 7 days... And it turned out so darn beautiful! I can't really get my head around it.. or Him. ha!






When we arrived in Hinton, we weren't greeted by much. The Mall Walmart was situated in wasn't much bigger than ringwood square or warriewood, although the Walmart experience was quite interesting. It's a lot like big W, but with a few very noteable differences, and wasn't as big as we were expecting it to be, although it's likely to be a small outlet, being in a small town. As mentioned in the previous blog, Halloween is next week and we are quite enjoying the new experience, even though Halloween doesn't mean anything to us. I've changed my shifts so I will be working Halloween night, as some of my co-workers really wanted to get all dressed up and go out trick or treating. Walmart had a decent range of costumes, although most of the female ones were limited to witches, ghosts or princesses. All of which are incredibly stereotypical. But Ash managed to get a very cool Cleopatra costume, which will look great on her. They must really go all out here in Canada for holidays.. Thanksgiving was a big affair and now with Halloween.. Not to mention the incredible amounts of what can only be described as "Christmas Crap" that they sell, all year round here in Jasper. Although I am most definitely looking forward to a white Christmas, and seeing the snow lined streets lit up with decorations and lights!

Jack-o-lanterns. The electrical kind. On sale. Buy now!

The biggest noticable difference between Walmart and big W? That would be the guns. Yes. I'm not kidding. They sell guns and ammunition at walmart. Granted, it's mainly hunting rifles (and paintball guns!) but never-the-less, Guns. We are definitely not in Australia anymore. It's funny, you adjust to so many cultural differences, but I don't think I'll ever stop feeling weird about the ready access to guns. I'm glad that's not something we do in Aus.

guns, anyone?

Stu, Ash and myself got some amazing bargains at Walmart, including some much needed thermals and snow boots for the coming winter. We will definitely be keen to head back there again, but it will have to wait for some other payday! We spent a lot of money, but we got 3 massive bags full of clothes and shoes in exchange, so in my opinion, it was definitely worth the trip!

McDonalds gets into the Halloween spirit.

We headed over to a familiar sight, the golden arches (**we are so world class**) for lunch, and it would probably be the nicest most un-mcdonalds-looking-McDonalds I've ever seen. Ash and I tried the baked apple pie, which is soo much nicer than the Aussie deep fried version! McDonalds is a rare treat as there is not one in Jasper. Not that there's not a steady barrage of deep fried, artery clogging options to choose from, but either way it was nice to eat something a little more familiar.

Our new friend Ashlee!

We had a quick look throughout the mall and then realised we had to make tracks back to Jasper to return the rental. So off we went. We made it back juuust in time (**ok, maybe 10 minutes late!**) and caught a cab home. SO, today, I:

1. Drove a left-side drive car on the right-hand side of the road safely.
2. Shopped at Walmart.
3. Watched an ice hockey game.
4. Spent way too much money!

And tonight, we are heading out to watch the local ice hockey team the Jasper Wolves play at the activity center. (yes, I spelt it that way deliberately because that's what it is here.) What a good day!
Also, write to us!! PO box 2253, Jasper, AB, Canada T0E-1E0.

Lv b.

P.s.... one cool thing about Walmart I forgot to mention? They sell the following:

Yep. Scrubs.

Can-eh-dian Traditions and other etc.

Today I found out that you don't need to have any money whatsoever in order to truly experience Canadian culture.

This morning Stu and I spent nearly 2 hours hollowing out the insides of 15 rather large pumpkins at work. By hand. Halloween is next Friday, and the owners/ directors of our hotel chain are in town checking in on their investment and some clever fellow decided it would "look nice" to use jack-o-lanterns as table centre-pieces for their rather exclusive dinner. We hollowed out 15 pumpkins with little more than a paring knife and two soup spoons. And no, I'm not even kidding.

It's been nearly 7 hours now and every now and then I can still smell it or I'll find a piece of pumpkin in my hair.

Stu is only too happy to never see another pumpkin again. I on the other hand, am now craving pumpkin soup, promptly followed by a big warm slice of pumpkin pie. :oP We had pou-getti for dinner though. It's a variation of a Canadian dish called Poutine. Poutine is french fries covered in gravy and cheese curds. Don't knock it till you try it. Pou-getti is fries covered in meat sauce and cheese. A single serving of Poutine at KFC here is 970 calories. Yep.

Tomorrow we will engage in another cultural activity... driving on the right hand side of the road. We will be driving to a nearby small town named Hinton, where we will witness and indulge in the great North American tradition of shopping at Walmart. (**I will try to act like I'm not excited because that would make me such a tourist, but secretly I'm stoked and can't wait**) We are hoping to see some bears on the drive... hopefully not ON the road and definitely not ON our car.

We are definitely feeling more comfortable in the culture here now, unfortunately it's becoming an inevitable fact that our accents are going to change eventually, even if only slightly, but to be understood by a lot of Canadians here you really have to emphasize your R's... which obviously goes against all Australian accent-isms. C'est la Vie....
Anyway, This was only meant to be a short blog.... so I'll go now.
So in the words of our friendly Can-eh-dians, See ya later eh?

Hockey and the Rockies

Since it’s been a while since my last post, I have lots to tell you guys! Before last weekend I had only had two days off since being here, so I’ve been pretty busy!

The other week the Edmonton Oilers hockey team came to town to finalise their pre-season preparation. I went along to one of their practices and it was pretty awesome. I’ve never been to a hockey game before and even though they were just training, it was pretty intense. I didn’t recognize any of the players names from plying NHL on PS2 so I wasn’t sure if they had a good team or not… however because there is hockey on TV pretty much every night I was able to watch their first few games including a couple against Calgary and I saw that their team is very young, speedy and skilled. I wasn’t sure which team to go for… for a while I was thinking Calgary because they have Jerome Iginla (I recognized him from video games) but their team doesn’t seem to be very deep. Edmonton was able to beat them in both games with their depth and speed. Also because they have a line that is full of guys my age or younger, I’ll be rooting for the Oilers.

Over the weekend Beth and I went for a hike up to a place called Old Fort Point. We ended up going the long way around but in the end it was worth it. The views were amazing. I’ll let the pictures do the talking… (You will be able to spot Mountain Sheep, and a rock feature called Old Man's Chin - which looks like a face of someone lying on their back.. and lots of shots of Pyramid Mountain cos it's just so good looking)

S.

Elk and Moose and Bears, Oh My!

So this is funny for us because our hotel restaurants are chronically understaffed and as a result, the service can be few and far between on days.
Thought I'd share it with you!
b. x

A blog without pictures.

Hey everyone, it's beth here. Technically it's Stuart's turn to blog now but since we haven't done anything terrible newsworthy since the last blog I figured it wouldn't matter too much if I took the liberty. Stu and I are settling in fairly well here in the little town of Jasper. Today we had orientation for work and we learned some interesting things about the place.
Jasper National Park is the biggest National Park in the Canadian Rockies. To keep the small town feel here they've set building restrictions, so the town doesn't ever grow. It just stays that way; approximately 5000 people, which increases to 20,000 in the summer, which is peak season.

Unfortunately, we're also learning pretty fast about some of Jasper's not so nice traits. Because there isn't very much to do here in the winter except for ski and drink, and the ski passes are over $900 each, most people who come here to work choose the latter. Apparently Jasper also has the highest rate of STI's in all of North America, which is quite an accomplishment considering the town is barely 5000 people in size. The one thing that I'm finding the hardest to deal with is the pressure to "come to the Atha B after work!". It's not that the people we came over with aren't decent people, it's just that a lot of them are still set to stupid-teenage-binge-drinking-let's-hook-up-with-every-random-we-meet-sleep-around-get-so-drunk-you-don't-remember mode. Which is fine, if you're into that sort of thing. However Stu and I are not.

Like I said, I have nothing against people who choose to live that way, although in my opinion it's a silly way to experience a new culture, especially considering you don't often remember the people you meet the next day. But it is so frustrating to be surrounded by people who don't understand why you're continually saying "no", even when you explain it to them. Telling someone you don't really get into the party scene is like telling someone you collect asian popstar music. It's just not normal. And I'm so over it.

Stu and I are going to try go to the local Baptist church, because we have no idea where the pentecostal one is in town and the Baptist church is 4 minutes down the road from where we live and work. Trouble is, we're not too sure about telling people we're Christians because from where I'm standing it would seem there is more judgment from NON-christians for being a believer than there is from Christians for NOT being one. I'm finding it hard.

I always protest about Christians living in bubbles. Too often we get into "church bubble" mode where we're surrounded 24/7 by people with the same beliefs as us, who go to the same church, who watch the same tv programs, and do the same kinds of things on weekends. I hear people talk all the time of "the mission field", and most of the time they're talking about the 2 or 3 non-Christians they work with a few days a week. It's no secret that I'm not a huge fan of the out and out evagelistic approach of helping people find Jesus, but I guess I'd always felt proud of my faith, and the fact that I never had a problem sharing it with people. That is, until you're 2 against 4,500. Then the stakes are entirely different.

While I struggle with these people, their behaviour, lifestyle choice and general attitude towards work and life, I feel like it's important to be around them. And yet, at the exact same time, I flatly refuse to participate in their world. I feel I've done my dash in the pub/club scene through my music and to be honest I'd rather "be boring" and stay in and watch a movie with Stu.

So if you're praying for us, pray for strength and PATIENCE because it's only been 2 weeks and I'm already tired of the pressure. Also, if you could send up a prayer for financial blessing, we'd much appreciate it. Life here is so much more expensive than you could imagine.

Thanks...
b. x

10 Days later.

So yesterday was officially one week since we arrived in Jasper, and 10 days since we got to Canada. After having a bit of time to soak in the culture and get used to the lingo, I'm still pretty darn happy to be here. The obvious shine has worn off certain things, for example we definitely weren't expecting things to be as expensive as they are here. Stu and I have made some friends through work and we're quickly getting the hang of things here.

I am on my first day off today, I have been working every day since Tuesday. It's nice to have the day off, especially since the weather is sunny. Unfortunately they are still working out the kinks in the work schedules, so Stu and I only have Tuesday off together. Our hours are still a bit sporadic and irregular while we train, so until we're competent and past training stages we can't be guaranteed the time off together.

The work itself is reasonably enjoyable although I must confess it is definitely not what we expected it to be in many areas. We've decided to advise any friends or acquaintances to avoid going through the agency we were recruited through. Reason being we, along with most employees we've spoken to, feel the agency was quite misleading in their information. There are so many opportunities to find work in Canada, do not get sucked into paying an agency to place you. You will be able to find work without their help.

Ok. So. Pros and Cons thus far:

Pros:

• Jasper is beautiful. The locals really are so friendly, happy and helpful. I've yet to come across one who hasn't been keen to chat and help.
• It snows. I'm yet to get sick of that yet.
• The job is reasonably enjoyable, and we are picking it up fast.
• The Philadelphia cream cheese here is the BOMB.
• Bagels are a staple food and accessible.
• The Canadian food is awesome.
• Our accommodations are much better than we were expecting. We know we are lucky to not live in the other staff accommodations.
  
• There are so many amazing places so close by. You can visit some of the most amazing places on earth and they are right in your backyard.
• We are both enjoying the different culture
• They love Aussies here.
• Everything in town is within walking distance so there's no need for a car or the horrible price of fuel.
• Once you get chatting with a local, they tend to remember you and do right by you the next time they see you.
  
• The weather is pretty cool - you get the sun but also the snow.
• We are allowed access to all Mountain Park Lodges facilities on our off days. In my hotel alone we have 3 outdoor hot tubs, one indoor, a sauna and a pool.
• We get 50% off meals while working. The quality of the food is outstanding, so you can get a gourmet meal with shrimp or steak or salmon etc for about $9. Plus we get 25% off when not working within the moutain park lodges restaurant chains.
• We have cable in our accoms. This makes Stu particularly happy as the hockey season has just begun here. There is pretty much sport on 24/7 on some stations.
  
• The air is incredibly clear here, and the water comes direct from glacier sources.
  
• We love the D'ed Dog restaurant's Sunday night $8 steak, fries and salad deal.
• We get to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving and Halloween for the real experience.
  

Cons:

• We really are in the middle of nowhere.
• Grocery shopping is incredibly expensive. It is cheaper to buy in bulk, which is somewhat irritating, and there are really only 2 or 3 grocery stores here.
• Our employer is a bit retarded in some ways... quite unfair treatment. We don't get breaks unless it's quiet and they are very strict on stupid things like wearing my glasses on my head while I'm reading.
  
• Our first pay check will be minimal as they are docking all security deposits, uniform fees, rent, etc..
• It gets into the minus freezing temps pretty much everyday so working to and from work is an exercise in survival.
• The elk are mating so if they're somewhere you need to go, you can't go there without getting chased.
• The sun doesn't come up til about 8:30am so it makes getting up early feel terrible.
• The milk and bread here have a sort of acidic after-taste to them and I think the milk is upsetting my tummy. The bread also feels very stale even though it isn't.
  
• If you need basic home essentials you pretty much have to order it through the sear's catalogue at home hardware. This town is missing a lot of basic things.
• I miss my pillow.
• The constant cold air and altitude can make you very sick and my skin is constantly itchy, dry and flakey which means moisturizing a million times a day, even at work.
• Some lazy co-workers = beth being frustrated.
  
• Stu and I don't get to spend as much time together as we would like to.
• Most of the attractions are closing / have closed for the winter, including several stores and restaurants in town!
• It's not Australia.
• None of you are here to share it with us.

We miss you all. We miss Whitehorse. We miss our family.
We look forward to the beginning of the snow season, and to earning some money once we are all clear of the immediate debt, but we are definitely enjoying it here. Some days more than others. :o)

Me and Jasper, the town Mascot.

The snow is just beginning to fall now..

Video Adventures.

Jasper Tramway

Jasper, taken from Whistlers Mountain

So today was the coldest day so far. I think it’s 4 degrees outside right now, but it was colder at 10am when we walked down to the bus station. We wanted to go on the Tramway before it closes next week. It is just a short ride to the base of the tramway, and we got on straight away. It was pretty cloudy but it did clear up a little bit once we reached the summit of Whistlers Mountain (not Whistler which is in BC). The guide sounded like a character out of Napoleon Dynamite so I don’t remember much of what she said. At the top there is a restaurant and you can walk all the way around and even go along a trial that would take you right to the summit. We just walked around and took some photos. There was plenty of snow up there too, and I couldn’t believe how light and soft it was… it was lighter than flour. I think they call that kind of snow ‘powder’ up here. And even little chunks of it felt like Styrofoam. I had lots of fun sliding around in it cos it was so soft. It started to snow up there too, which was exciting except before too long we got snowed in, and we had to wait around half an hour before we could go back down.


When we did finally start our descent, the tram suddenly stopped about a quarter of the way down and bounced for a bit. It’s scary as it is normally, then to have the thing stop abruptly on you… the guide didn’t help things either by saying “That’s no supposed to happen”. The other people were making jokes about it saying “You’ve gotta go somehow” and “Do we get a discount? Maybe it’s more expensive for this one, it’s the special adventure fare” and “We’ll have to offload someone.” Meanwhile, Beth and I were huddled in the corner, crapping our pants… It started back up again, and then… It happened again! Only with even more bounce and more abruptly! We finally made it to the bottom and found out that it does sometimes stop when it’s snowing or raining heavily. But that doesn’t change how we feel about the Jasper Tramway… We will never go on it again.