Three year Reunion!

Recently Kathy was able to visit England again to catch up with old friends. Of course this meant a return to the library (for the first time in 3 years) where it was fun to meet and catch up with each other. We both still agreed it was a fantastic experience and enjoy staying in touch with each other and our libraries.

Conclusions, questions and so forth...

It's 2 years since I began my exchange and I still get lots of questions from people about the whole experience. It's great because I never get tired of telling people about it. I would also still encourage others to go ahead wholeheartedly with similar opportunities.

I've been able to answer questions from many other people considering an exchange - and thought it was about time I put some of these on the blog to help others. Information is also contained in my exchange reports (see link on right).

If you have any further questions, please do contact me.

1. How did it happen? - We had both previously signed up to LIBEX http://www.cilip.org.uk/jobscareers/libex/and Kathy contacted me through the database. After this initial email contact we organised the exchange. It worked because we both were employed in similar roles in College libraries and we both wanted an exchange for 4 months.


2. Length of time - 4 months. Any shorter & I wouldn't have been able to fully contribute to the Library in Canada, any longer would have made a huge impact on my Library. Ideally I would recommend 4-6 months.


3. Accommodation - With us both having families at home we couldn't exchange housing. I was able to stay in student accommodation at the College (paying rent with my visa card since I had no Canadian bank account). I assisted Kathy in finding a room to rent in a nearby house (once again paying just one rent which included all bills - electricity, water, etc).


4. Money - myself and Kathy remained on our home payrolls and were paid as usual. This meant that our different salaries could be accounted for and there was no loss of benefits, etc. I do not think HR would've agreed to the exchange otherwise. HR treated us as though we were 'visiting lecturers,' this meant we did not need to consider/invite other applications for the 'post.' If I was ill and had a day off work I had to email my HR at home so it could be marked off on my records as usual.


5. Visas - since we were not paid in our host countries this was not a problem. For easiness, I got a young persons visa through BUNAC - although this was probably overkill.


6. Insurance - through BUNAC I had gap year insurance for the whole time I was away, covering my holiday before and after the exchange. I did have to go to see a doctor once and, on advice from my colleagues, went to a drop in medical centre. I had to pay for this, but the amount was so little it didn't go over my insurance excess.


7. Timing - couldn't have been more perfect for me! I left in June and had holidays prior to the beginning of my exchange, this enabled me to make the most of being somewhere new and get over any jetlage / culture shock. I had July and Aug to get used to the library during the quieter summer months & enjoyed working summer hours with a long weekend each fortnight. By Sept I was fully prepared to contribute to the team during the hectic enrolment & induction weeks. During Oct I got the experience of working a more 'ordinary' few weeks. I also got to experience summer, 'fall' and the snow so got to see Lethbridge in all occasions. I also had a week after the exchange for more holidays, packing up and goodbyes to everyone.


8. Recommendations to others - · Be honest – give each other a clear and accurate picture of what is expected.
   · Get the support of all relevant managers and support staff.
   · Get family and co-workers involved in welcoming exchange partner.
   · Prepare step-by-step guides of all duties.
   · Prepare weekly lists of duties that must be performed / completed.
   · Determine an action plan that may be put in place if either partner is unhappy or in case of emergency.

Back to Work

Well it was back to work and back to normal yesterday. I was welcomed back with banners, balloons and chocolates (they know me well) which was especially nice. It's strange as in many ways I feel like I've been away for ages, but in others it's as though I've never been away.
There are several new faces around and it'll take me a while to catch up on everything, but so far it has all gone smoothly. I'm happy to be back, but I'll miss Lethbridge too.
Even now I'm back I have no regrets about the whole experience whatsoever. I've seen that my work colleagues did a lot of extra work to make up for my absence and I'm truly grateful for that, but they also enjoyed sharing the experience with me and having a new person to work with and learn from.
The only question remaining is ... where next????

Last few days in Canada

It took a long time, 3 suitcases and backpack to pack up all my stuff in Lethbridge, but I managed and finally left on Tuesday 7th November. I was very sad to leave but have many happy memories to bring home with me.
We hired a car for our last 2 days and drove up to Banff where (thanks to a buy one night get one free offer) we stayed in style at the Fairmont Banff Springs. It was a lovely hotel and made extra special by the great staff there who didn't complain about the fact we had 4 suitcases and 2 heavy bags for only 2 people who were staying 2 nights and happily unloaded the car and took them up to the room for us.
The hotel had Christmas decorations up which were especially pretty and we enjoyed the outdoor pool which was fortunately heated as we were swimming while we it was snowing!
It was Rachel's first trip to Banff and it all seemed to different to me compared to the summer, but I think it looked prettier in the snow.
The first picture is Rachel and I at Lake Louise and the second is me at the top of Sulphur Mountain, overlooking Banff townsite.
As they say, all good things must come to end and all too soon it was Thursday and D-(departure) day. It was only a short drive to the airport and after a few delays we were on our way. Sadly we couldn't sneak past the staff with our overweight luggage; Rachel had to unpack a few things and wear them and my bags were 17lb overweight so I had to pay $70 excess baggage fees (don't worry I still love Canadians, but maybe not Air Canada).
I arrived at Heathrow on Friday 10th November and shortly after landing was sick - hopefully that isn't a sign of things to come now I'm back home!!!!!

Soggy in Seattle

I was lucky enough to be able to take almost 2 weeks holiday after finishing at LCC before I had to return to Burton. My friend Rachel was able to join me so I went to pick her up in Calgary on Nov. 1st. It was quite a shock to Rachel as it was freezing (about -10c) in Calgary that night!
Making the most of the fact it is only an hour and a half's flight from Calgary, we went to Seattle for 2 nights.
It was a bit of a culture shock there for me as it was just like home - rained all the time, more trees and no prairies! It didn't stop raining at all for the whole time we were there, but we had a great time anyway (even with reduced visibility from the Space Needle). We especially enjoyed the Pike Place market and had plenty of hot chocolates - even visiting the first ever Starbucks. The picture on the right is me and Rachel (the name of the pig - honest).
All in all a fantastic time and it had warmed up by the time we returned so no worries over starting the car up in Calgary. Sadly, we both came back without umbrellas, the weather was so bad they both broke!

Halloween in the Library

Well it's my last day here at LCC!
I just can't believe how quickly the time has gone, but that's always the way when you're having a great time.
The exchange has been everything I wanted it to be and more and it'll be interesting to go back to my own College to see what has changed and also what I want to change in light of my experiences here.
It's fun that it's Halloween on my last day here as there's a slightly different atmosphere at the College. Lots of people arrived in costume this morning (eveyone dresses up here, it's really different to England and all the kids go to school in costumes and have a fun day with different activities and movies, etc). The nursery children came round trick or treating and sang Halloween songs - they looked adorable as little ghosts, witches, fairies and even Wonderwoman!
All of the library staff are in their pyjamas, you can see me modelling mine by the book display. I have several layers of clothes on as it's freezing (literally) outside. The snow-scene picture is from the window of my office. I wanted to see Lethbridge in the snow, but it's so cold I'm bored of it now!
For my final day, the library staff treated me to pizza which we had delivered in. I also got an LCC t-shirt and have been stuffing myself with Halloween goodies. Everyone here has made this experience extra special and I'll be sorry to leave as I'll miss them all.

The Wedding

The Wedding day itself was really relaxed. It was at 2pm & we had the whole morning to get ready so even Megan didn't start until about 10am.
The weather was perfect - quite a change for me with it being about 23c that day (especially compared to the -11c and several inches of snow that greeted me in Calgary on my return home yesterday).
Megan & Tyler were married in the Las Vegas temple of our church which is a beautiful building at the foot of the mountains on the edge of the city. It's really modern looking and very different to the Cardston one. The photos are in the grounds which are lovely with the palm trees and cacti. Tyler's Grandad was able to perform the ceremony which was extra special.
Afterwards was the Hawaiian themed reception (they're heading there on their honeymoon). The food was all delicious and, unlike many wedding cakes, this one was very popular being all chocolate with raspberries and raspberry and chocolate filling on the inside. As you can see, the bride & groom really enjoyed it!

Viva Las Vegas!

Making the most of it being only a 3 hour flight from Calgary to Vegas, I was able to attend the wedding of Megan & Tyler (Megan & I went to University together when she was an exchange student for a year and have been close friends ever since).
Having worked extra hours for all the evening events at the Library, I was able to go out there Friday morning and go to the bachelorette party (or hen night as us English folks say) which Megan had delayed so we could all go.
However, to start the day off well, Megan picked me up at the airport and we went straight to the Ethel M factory for a chocolate fix - these are great, my second favourite American chocolates after Ghirardelli. We're demonstrating their new line in the top picture!
For the evening we went to the Rio which is just off the Strip (middle picture). It's a really fun hotel with a carnival atmosphere. The last part of the night was spent at the Voodoo lounge right at the top of the Rio (very high) which gives amazing views across the whole of the Strip. The dancefloor is on a series of outside patios on different levels from the very top and down the side of the Rio so it's quite an experience!
If you think my jewellery looks interesting in the 3rd picture, it's because I got it from the people in the carnival who throw down dice beads! You can just about make them out in the middle picture on the steamboat, flying horse and balloon that are dangling from the ceiling.
Megan is wearing a veil (of course) and a t-shirt with sweets pinned to it that could be exchanged for dollar bills to wish her well on her wedding - she made $17 and probably caused at least one divorce as all the guys were telling her not to go through with it ... in front of their wives!!!!

Golf in the Library

Based on the library Murder Mysteries that we did at the beginning of term, the latest orientation we tried was for the Professional Golf Management students - so of course we adapted it to a golf tournament!
Students proceeded through 9 holes:
4 library-related questions,
4 putting holes (see pictures) and
a refreshment hole (pizza & bottled water).
In order to protect the library from damage, the students were 'handicapped' by having to use foam balls and a variety of 'golf clubs' that included a hockey stick, yardstick and wooden spoons.

It made a nice change from the regular tours and we all had fun constructing the course from old library books, various folders, bins and crowd-control poles.
The students all appeared to have a great time and were forced into learning some library skills - as well as hopefully gaining a more positive view of the library!

Streatside

Two nights, two meals out - I was doing very well last Thursday & Friday!
Thursday was the long-service awards at the College. I think it's a really nice idea to celebrate in this way. It was held in the College's restaurant and consisted of a presentation of the awards followed by a buffet prepared by the catering students. About 300 people attended and awards were presented for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and even 35 years of service!
The second was on Friday night when the library staff treated me to supper at the Streatside Eatery in downtown Lethbridge. It was fun as most of the library staff + significant others were able to come - apparently I should list that as one of my achievements while I've been here.
The food there was really good (I really have to go on a diet when I come home) and the dessert was especially good. In the picture you can see me witha huge slab of Turtles cheesecake, something that definitely needs exporting to England! I couldn't finish it all so had it boxed and enjoyed it for breakfast on Saturday (as I said, I really need to diet when I come home)!

Two Weeks Left :-(

How has the time gone by so quickly? I can't believe I've only got two more weeks left at LCC!What do I think I have gained from my time here in Lethbridge? (Some thoughts so far):

• New colleagues – I’ve enjoyed being part of the team here at the Buchanan Library. My colleagues at Burton are fantastic & I don’t want our team there to change, but it has been great for me to work with a new set of people with different ideas & experiences to learn from and with. Hopefully we'll remain in contact on my return home.
• New friends – who wouldn’t want more friends? I've met lots of new people & had lots of fun, it'll just be a challenge to stay in touch with everyone.
• New skills – working in a new library gave me new responsibilities from those at home and I’ll be able to apply the things that I’ve learnt & achieved there to my ‘old’ job.
• Confidence building - both personally & professionally this has been a great experience. Discovering that I do have the ability to bring my skills to a new job in a new country and enjoying living in a completely new place is certainly an achievement. I even count figuring out how to use the laundry with top-loading washing machines as a new skill these days!
• Cross-cultural growth – people from Canada aren’t all that different, but there are cultural differences to those at home and overcoming these has better equipped me to work with a wide variety of people at home. [Sorry to the girls who research I possibly spoiled with my lack of views on Japanese immigrants – “What Japanese immigrants?” - The Nikka Yuko Gardens here should’ve given me a clue].
• Networking & publicity – this has provided many opportunities for myself professionally as well as for the College to use as publicity.
• Assessment of “my” library – it’ll be very interesting to see changes Kathy has made and the suggestions she has for improvement.
• Travel opportunities – what more can I say!!! [See further into the blog if you really need more details].

Cardston

Cardston is a small town located south of Lethbridge, it takes just less than an hour to drive there. It's very small (as in really small - there doesn't seem to be a Tim Hortons if that's an indication for you) but interesting because of the temple there.
Cardston was founded by Mormon pioneers and one of the first things they did was build the temple (building began in 1913). The temple is right in the centre of the town and the rest of the town was built around it. It's impressive simply because it's just impossible to miss it - it's really big and up on a hill so when approaching Cardston from the highway it looks very picturesque with the Rockies in the background.
Being a church member, it's interesting for me to be close to somewhere with so much history and I also enjoy the fact that there are lots of members here in Lethbridge which made it easier for me to meet lots of new people.
The pictures show the temple during the day and how it's lit up at night (left) as well as the main entrance (right).

"Fall"

Just thought I'd post some pictures so everyone at home can see how pretty the campus is looking now it's Autumn - or Fall as they insist on calling it here. This week has seen a change in the weather from quite gloomy to sunshine just in time for the holiday weekend [another month = another public holiday, this time it's Thanksgiving].
The top picture is the view I have of the College from my front door (going back to commuting to work is going to be a killer for me).
The bottom picture is the back of the residences and beginning of the coulees - these haven't changed at all over the seasons, the yellow grass was the same throughout the summer as well!

Dinosaur Provincial Park

On the way back from Drumheller we stopped off at Dinosaur Provinicial Park near Brooks. Although it's name makes it sound like some kind of theme park, it's actually a really nice area which has been well looked after and left to be as natural as possible. Although it's huge, there is only one public loop road you can drive around & clearly marked trails - no exploring on your own!
Many dinosaur bones and fossils have been found here - especially the 'Albertosaurus' (it's real I haven't made it up) which is very much in evidence in this part of Alberta. Most of the exhibits in Drumheller originated here. Once again it was a lovely sunny day so we could enjoy the trails and the unique landscape (left). A lot of the ground is clay so it would be pretty horrible on rainy day!

Old Bones & Fossils...

... no I'm not referring to my parents visiting! In actual fact we went on a trip to Drumheller - dinosaur capital of Canada. Drumheller is the site of the Royal Tyrrell Museum (right) where you can learn all the things you ever wanted to know about dinosaurs, paleontology [all I could think of was Ross from 'Friends'] and the formation of the earth, glaciers, various ages and so forth. In fact the museum was so huge it took us 3-4 hours to get round it.
Drumheller itself is basically full of hotels where people stay when coming to the museum. The tourist centre also boasts the 'World's Largest Dinosaur' (left) which we climbed up and into its jaws.
The surrounding area is known as the 'Badlands', so named because they were bad or difficult lands for explorers to cross. They were like nothing I've ever seen before. The different rock formations are why the bones and fossils are preserved well in the area. We drove along the dinosaur trail to Little Church - seating 6 at a time - and then past Horsethief Canyon (me & Dad are stood in front of it on the right).
We were really lucky as the weather changed for the better and it was hot and sunny!

Driving in Lethbridge

I've found driving over here not bad at all. Kathy & Don have allowed me the use of their Jeep (pictured right) to get around in. It's a bit different to my Rover 25! I already knew how to drive an automatic & survived last summer driving on the right-hand side in the south of France, but was still a bit nervous driving in a new country.
However, over here the roads are really wide and there's plenty of big parking spaces (I had been concerned about learning to park a huge car) so I'm enjoying getting out & about. Lethbridge is mostly mapped out on a grid system so the roads are also very straight and handily labelled 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc starting in the centre of town. North, south and west Lethbridge are labelled as such and all avenues go horizontally and streets go vertically. Therefore I know that 10th Ave S. is the 10th road running west-east from the centre of town.
The only things I still find tricky are the lack of road markings for stop signs and school & playground zones. I don't think they're as obvious as they should be. What I do like is the cute school buses (pictured right at an event at the College) - just like in the movies!

Hostile Makeover

Last night we had the first "Murder Mystery" for this term in the Library. This one was for the Fashion Design Students and was given the title "Hostile Makeover." The idea behind the evening is to introduce the students to various concepts of the library while they search for clues as to whodunnit. It was very successful in providing students with both library & information as well as teamworking skills.
The evening began with the class registering and being divided into teams. In the picture on the left you can see myself & Fiona with the students. We entered all of their names into a draw barrel for prizes at the end of the evening (the winning team also all got HMV gift vouchers). The students then went to the refreshment table where they mingled until they heard the scream - an up until now hidden talent of one of the instructors!
Following the scream they moved towards the silent area where they found a body (top right) and a number of suspicious looking characters. If you think Fiona looks a bit flamboyantly dressed for the library it's in actual fact her alter-ego "Babs Bling," accessories instructor. In the 2nd picture on the left you can see Wendy, Fiona & myself rehearsing lines - well they are, I appear to be doing my hair!
After the scene was set the students set off and followed clues through a darkened book collection (flashlights were provided) until they finally discovered it was Babs Bling, in the library, with a poison dart!!!

Survived the 1st week of term!

All the students arrived on Tuesday... and the pace of the library changed from what I'd been used to over the summer!!!!
It's actually not much different from Burton College and I enjoy it. It's exciting when all these people are starting new chapters in their lives.
Kathy will recognise the widescreen tv in the picture. It finally got mounted on the wall (where the cabinet used to be) at the entrance to the library and we all think it looks great. The cabinet below is the book return.
A powerpoint presentation plays continually, advertising different aspects of the library to students: opening hours, ID cards, Murder Mystery Evenings, Term Paper Clinics, Computers and so on. I think one would also look good in the library at Burton, I could just picture it on the wall behind the library staff...

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

This weekend we went to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump which is just less than an hour from Lethbridge. This was the site of one of many 'Buffalo Jumps' which were the main way to hunt bison - or buffalo - for many of the native tribes as far back as 5000 years ago and lasting until the 19th century.
This particular buffalo jump gets its name from the story that a young man wanted to watch the hunt from the unique viewpoint of under the cliff itself. As he stood underneath he saw the buffalo cascading past him like a waterfall. Unfortunately, it was an especially successful hunt that time and the carcasses mounted up towards him until eventually he was trapped. As the hunters made their way through the many buffalo later, the young man was discovered with his head smashed in under the weight!
I was able to view for myself the famous cliff from where the buffalo were driven to their deaths (see picture on right) but was a little disappointed that it seemed so small. However, I found out that it was only that small because years of buffalo bones, etc had become part of the earth over the centuries.
The interpretive centre attached to the site was really interesting as it told all the stories connected to the hunt and the rituals and symbolism involved. I also ate Buffalo Burger at the cafe!!!
The centre is also unique in that it is built into the side of the cliff so you can't see it from the road, or even the car park. It is in the picture behind me, if you look really carefully you can just make out parts of the building that stick out.

New Stuff

To get the new academic year off to a good start, we've got some new stuff in the Library. I'm sure Kathy will be pleased that the new security gate has now been installed and the chairs that she ordered have been delivered. [Non-library types might not be so interested, but take it from me: it's reasonably exciting for us].
We all agree that the entrance looks much better now - much more welcoming to the students.
Some people like the chairs better than others, we've decided that size of person is a definite comfort factor!

New Staff Orientation

Yesterday I took part in the new staff orientation here at the College. It was interesting as I got to meet staff from a variety of departments here (some I had already met, some were new to me) and get even more of a feel for the organisation of the College.
In the picture on the left, the new staff are in the boardroom being introduced to the Presidents and Deans and on the right is a picture of me on the tour of all the departments here. If you look carefully you can see that we are all carrying the same bag - one of the "presents" that we received on the tour (I also got some pens, a notepad and a LCC pin).

Icefields

After stopping off at the Lake Louise gondola, we went along the Icefields Parkway to the Columbia Icefields. The parkway itself was interesting as you could spot glaciers on top of the mountains. At the Coumbia Icefields there is a visitor centre and there you can buy tickets to go out onto the Athabasca Glacier (that the big one you can see in the picture on the left). It used to reach along to the road, but global warming means it shrinks a bit each year.
It's not safe to just wander out there so you go out in the special buses with the big huge wheels. You can see Laura & me standing next to our bus in the picture - I'm 5"8 so you can get an idea of the size. It meant that we felt perfectly safe and hardly felt any bumps as we travelled along the glacier.
Once you get right out onto the glacier there is a safe place where you can get out and walk around. That's fun as you get to see more clearly some of the smaller glaciers like the one behind Sarah & me in the picture.
It's just like walking on compacted icy snow, but is strange when you've also been informed that the ice you're standing on is a deep as the height of the Empire State Building! There are also lots of little streams running along so we all got to taste glacial water (I didn't think it was good). You can spot a stream just behind me & Laura in the last picture. We were lucky as it was very cold out there, but the sun came out which made it less chilly and the pictures look great!