The Emerald Isle

I am trying to catch up on my posts before the end of the year and decade.
In October I had the good fortune to travel to Ireland for work and squeeze in some sightseeing.
It was an amazing 10 days!
No kidding, I saw the most brilliant rainbow I'd ever seen in my life and although I found no Leprechaun or Pot of Gold I felt like I hit the jackpot.
Here are some of the places I enjoyed.

Larger than life Oscar Wilde in Merrion Square, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin

The Book of Kells, Trinity College

The immense and majestic Library, Trinity College

The Palace Bar, Dublin where famous writers gathered

Rolling hills and sheep everywhere

Bective Abbey, one of the many Abbeys, Monasteries and Castles I saw

Newgrange, a passage tomb, older than the Pyramids and Stonehenge

Charles Fort, Kinsale protected Ireland from invaders from the south

Cunard Steamship Line, Cobv, last stop of the Titanic and thousands of Irish Emigrants

One of the many stories of the Blarney Stone - all Blarney! 

The mirror like Lee River, Cork

Guinness - a meal in a glass. The cider was pretty good too! 

I'm not a Whiskey drinker so enjoyed a wide choice of gins

Never forget

Thirty years ago today, on Dec. 6, 1989, a gunman walked into École Polytechnique de Montréal and killed 14 women. During the rampage, the man, who had failed to gain admission to the university, shouted, "You're all a bunch of feminists and I hate feminists!"

I was sitting in the basement of my home with my two young daughters who were 1 and 3 years old, when the news came over the television. This was a brutal, targeted mass shooting. In Edmonton, where we Iived, it was a cold, dark wintry night which became even colder and darker as I sat terrified and shocked.


This was the first school shooting (so many more have followed in the US) and I was horrified that a safe, educational environment filled with young, vibrant students was turned into a killing place. 


All but two of those women were studying to be engineers. I had a Master’s Degree and considered myself a feminist. I wanted even more opportunities than I had for my daughters.


Today my daughters are well educated and successful women in careers they chose.  They are married to supportive, educated and enlightened men.  


Yes, there is still pay inequity, women (and men) who feel marginalized in the workforce, domestic violence, women being murdered. I pray we are on a positive track forward and hope with all my hope this horror never happens again in Canada or anywhere in the world.  


I always mark this day with remembrance which today took the form of asking the people at the start of a meeting to share their memories.  Everyone in the room had a story.  

I shall never forget the 14 women who died and by doing so I will do what I can to not let it happen again.

My Swan Song?

I moved to Victoria 6 years ago for three reasons. One to take the job of Dean, Health and Human Services, Camosun College. Two, since I had lived in Australia I couldn't bear the thought of living the rest of my life in 6 months of a bitter cold, icy and snowy winter and three, and the most important, my Mother lived here and I knew she would need support as she aged, as all parents eventually do.

A large part of the interview process for the role was to assess my vision and capability to move forward a project that had been on the books for 25 years - a new health building for the health and human services programs. I guess I did okay because I got the job!

In 2015, I was a key part of a consultation to ask both students and people working at the College but also the south island community what they envisioned for a new health building.  The result was a clear direction for the college.  People wanted a place where: community felt invited in to participate: and students were nurtured to practice in an inter-professional manner across all health disciplines; and educated in real world settings for practice.

In January, 2017 the project was launched with the announcement of funding from both the provincial and federal governments - Camosun would get almost $50 Million for a 9000 sq. metre building for the majority of health and human service programs.  The local indigenous people blessed the land, architects were hired, the sod was turned and the project officially began. At Camosun we believe in listening, learning and engagement so students, staff and faculty and partners were consulted on everything from location to equipment to furniture to landscaping. The building was truly co-created! It was decided to move the programs from one campus to the other, 10 kms away. I led the change management process and I can tell you that not everyone was happy!  I had an enlightening 3 and a half years!

I am pleased to report that the Alex & Jo Campbell Centre for Health and Wellness opened on time, we moved in August 19, and two weeks later the students started classes.  Everyone is thrilled!

A happy me at the government opening this week! 

Belated Father’s Day

Today I interred the remainder of my father’s ashes that I’ve been safekeeping since May 2017 when we gathered to scatter his ashes at his cottage in Ponemah Manitoba. 

I guess I was finally ready to say a final goodbye.  It’s not that I haven’t felt the loss of my Dad since he passed suddenly on February 26, 2017.   I’ve missed him. I 've missed our weekly phone calls where we mostly spoke about the weather, politics, my job, current workplace issues, and his grandchildren.  I’ve missed telling him about my life and my travels, my garden and about life in general. He learned to garden from his parents, especially his father, my Grampy, who I remember well.  My father grew and dried sage and regularly gave me some.  Everyone loves my turkey dressing because of the sage. 

I now have a flowering sage plant in my herb garden. So today I sat on my garden bench in the sunshine and the breeze and had a conversation with my Dad. I told him that my life was good. I told him he can rest in peace which I hope he has been doing!  Then I sprinkled his remaining ashes over the sage plant.

Rest in peace Good Ol’ Dad.   

I felt the rains down in Africa!

Students at the college singing and dancing to welcome us to Tanzania

Women of the Maru tribe making banana leaf flower pots. 

Happy Primary School Children in Njiro

Masai men walking near the Serengeti 

I had a "once in a lifetime" journey through parts of Tanzania including Kilimanjaro, Arusha, the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater, and the island of Zanzibar in May.

I was there during the long rains and when it rained it poured!

Literally thousands of migrating Yellow Billed Storks

A Baboon Family at the gates to the Ngorongoro Crater looking innocent but ready to jump in our jeep and steal our food! 

Ngorongoro Crater

Mother and baby Zebra

White Female Rhinoceros and her son a Black Male Rhinoceros

Stork and Zebras

The African Elephant, largest land mammal in the world

Lioness resting after a meal and kill. The females (as is the case with the humans) take care of dinner. 

I was doing some work at two colleges as well as being a tourist.

I have so many stories but the highlights are summarized here - the people, the animals and the land and sea in that order.

Thompson Gazelles learning to fight

A Dhow or traditional boat in the Indian Ocean off Zanzibar

One of the many beautifully carved doors in Zanzibar

I hope to return to Africa one day and see and learn more. 

Return to the Philippines

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I just returned from a business trip to the Philippines to develop partnerships with some colleges and Universities. I was looking into health and early childhood education programs.  All the colleges and universities were Christian founded. 

Early Childhood Education Graduates

Chapel with the Pope!  :)

I'd been to Manila for Christmas break with my daughters 15 years ago when my sister lived there while her husband worked for the Asian Development Bank.  Much was the same:  the friendly, family oriented people; the heat and humidity; the delicious fresh fruits. 

A local delicacy - "Flying Tilapia"

It was Mango season! 

I witnessed a lot of development in Manila and Makati  - the business district where we stayed. On arrival it was apparent that the airport was modernized and expanded. Sadly though, shanty towns of people living in extreme poverty were evident everywhere we traveled.

Makati Business District

Greenhills Shopping Centre - miles of knockoffs

Halo Halo - ice cream, coconut and jelly dessert

 In addition to staying in Manila for a few days I visited other islands and the municipalities of IloIlo, Guimaras Island and Bacolod City in Nigros Occidental Province.  My colleague was looking at hospitality programs so we visited several resorts. The white sand and clear, cool ocean was spectacular!

Island hopping and lunch at a resort on Guimaras Island

Unripe dates

Slums in front of new buildings near IloIlo

Pinoy Boys having fun in the water off IloIlo 

I learned a great deal from the kind, smart and generous people we met. The government is doing some progressive things, for example, colleges and universities are free for students.  The road to economic development is slow but is happening in this beautiful country.