Another hike and another dinner... it's what I do!

Apparently I have two interests: hiking and food. At least they balance each other out!

On Saturday I went hiking with a girl from the branch named Melodie, who likes a lot of outdoor things like I do. We drove up to Squamish, about 1.5 hours away from Vancouver and hiked the Chief. It was a bit intense, with many parts requiring some rock "scrambling", ladders, and chains. The hike was much more fun than the Grind though and one part was literally like something straight out of a fairytale; we called it the rock "chiasm" and the trail wandered through two steep rock cliffs. We went to two different peaks and it took us about 5 hours. The view at the top was amazing though! Best view so far and of course, totally worth the tough hike.

This is the warning at the trailhead: "this trail is NOT a walk in the park... this trail is extremely demanding". We didn't notice the sign until we finished; why does it always happen that way?

Almost there!

This is the view of the first peak from the second peak

On Sunday night, I made dinner for the missionaries, two investigators, a new Mexican girl in the branch named Emna, and Ben. I love cooking food for people! Even more, I've loved talking with people interested in the Church and sharing with them my beliefs and how my life has changed for the better.

You can't read it, but in this picture I am wearing a sticker that says "grown in the USA"; Ben's idea of funny.

Life without the Mexicans

I suppose life goes on! Actually, it has been pretty exciting here. On Saturday, I went to a branch BBQ on the beach, and it was an absolutely perfect day. I played Rugby for the first time (although it was only touch Rugby) and loved it! It may even replace my love for Ultimate frisbee, although I don't exactly understand the rules which makes it a little harder to play... also the fact that the weather was gorgeous and we were playing on the beach with an amazing view of the mountains and city might have made it more enjoyable. Nonetheless, it was great fun! I actually really like contact sports, haha. I don't know why, but my aggressive side comes out and surprises people who see me as normally passive and mild. As the Mexicans would say, I am a little fiesty!

I met some guys there who invited me on a hike to Lynn Peak. It was actually almost as grueling as Grouse and I felt pretty okay about myself because I kept a pace behind one guy but ahead of the other. I discovered another one of my loves in life... eating a packed lunch on top of a peak after a long hike. So peaceful!

On Tuesday night, one of the guys from the hike named Ben (the one on the left) took me out to the fanciest restaurant I have ever been to! It's called the Sandbar and it's a restaurant on Granville Island that overlooks the water. Ask me if you want to hear a good story about the evening ;)

hehehe.

My roommate, the famous rockstar!

So now that Ivonne has gone home, we remaining roommates are discovering her secret life. Apparently she hid the fact that she is a Mexican rockstar! Check out her website...
http://www.siismusic.com/
Even though I have been calling her Ivonne, her real name is Sheccid and I usually use that name. Ivonne is her middle name and she goes by it in English speaking countries.
We knew that she sang really well because she would often sing around the house. And then at our Friday night farewell, she sang us a song she wrote and it was amazing!
Only after she left did we discover her band's website. We spent all last night gathered around the computer watching her videos. WOW!

This video is just the one from Friday night. However if you want to see some serious performing, check out her website!

Even more, she is actually the daughter of a very famous writer in Mexico named Carlos Cuauhtemoc Sanchez. He is the author of over 22 best selling books!

The Wall Street Journal on March 17 2000 says: "CCS has sold nearly as many books as literature latinoamaericana the superstars, the Colombian Nobel laureate, Gabriel García Márquez and others. The Mexican author of bestsellers, gives a message of moral values seasoned. "

And our little Ivonne never said a word about all this!

My Mexicans go home

The time finally came for my Mexican friends to go home, que triste! On Friday night, Ivonne and I hosted a farewell party at our apartment and it turned out great! It was like a marathon party, and we did the most random things until early the next morning. Our party started off as a potluck dinner and it quickly evolved into a balloon fight, talent show, dance party, ghost story telling, and finally saying goodbye. Now they are all back in different parts of Mexico and I miss them dearly; it may have been one of the best months of my life and I am so lucky to have met such wonderful people. What made these people and this time so great?

For one, these Mexicans I became friends with were so accepting! I've wondered why it was so easy and comfortable to be with them and realized that a big part of it was because I felt accepted and loved. They liked me for who I was and it was easy to relax and just have fun. They were this way not only to me, but to everyone they met. Also, they seemed to have unfailing optimism and good spirits. Even when we got up so early to go to Whistler and they had only slept for 3 hours the night before and we spent all day being active and busy, they were still happy and fun! What a great example to learn from; to choose to be our best selves even when we physically don't feel up to it. That's tough but it made a huge difference in our trip.

There are so many memories I hope to never forget. The dinners we made in Fairview, licking things off the floor (Doooo it!), sliding down the snowy hill, singing together Don't Worry and Te Voy a Besar, playing Ultimate frisbee with four people, walking through the forest late at night to the beach, rollerblading to Gage, playing cards, the Whistler trip, hot tubbing, birthday cakes, and so much more. Really, it didn't matter what we did because anytime we got together, we would make it an adventure. And that is the way to live life!

Yet even though I had such a great time and I may never see these people again, I don't feel too sad. I know that our existence here on earth goes through phases, and there are times where we feel loved and accepted and other times where we may feel lonely or discouraged; there is a time for crazy adventures with friends and there is a time to settle down and raise a family. I echo the advice of Elder Worthlin to "come what may, and love it" because each stage will bring a different kind of happiness. But heck, we know that sometimes it's difficult to appreciate what we have and not compare it to others! Still, I am learning that when we have high moments, we can enjoy them for what they are and not feel too much nostalgia when they pass. God will always provide us with another way to His joy and peace; a way that is best suited for our needs.

These are some pictures that show some of my favorite times with them...

We spent many hours in the kitchen: cooking and then cleaning afterwards!

This was a very common scene at Fairview: Christian and I in the kitchen washing dishes!

This was the ice cream sundae that I made him... it looked really good!

Whistler village, so quaint!

This exemplifies our Whistler trip. I didn't need to look at a map; all I need is the north star. Even in broad daylight

Hot chocolate on top of the Peak to Peak at Whistler

My map of the hotel room. It was so fancy, look at all those rooms!

The rollerblades were stuck! That's because they were my rollerblades and they didn't belong on his feet...

Salsa dancing in the living room

Classic Cait and Christian

Classic Christian and Cesar

Massive balloon fight!

"See-food"! I am so immature...

A true Mexican serenade

Last Thursday night I experienced firsthand a real serenading. The serenader was Cesar, and the serenadee was none other but my roommate Ivonne. At 3:00 in the morning, I woke up to the sounds of singing and a guitar outside my door. It was Cesar, standing at the top of the stairs and singing to Ivonne a song he wrote for her. In his words, "it is tradition for a Mexican to sing to the girl he loves," and truly I was a witness to the sweet way in which he fell in love and tried to win her over. It's refreshing to see a little old fashioned romance!

A few more thoughts about work

I am officially attending the World Congress on Huntington's Disease in September. Its a big scientific conference on HD and this year Dr. Hayden is hosting it in Vancouver! Thus, I am attending as a student volunteer (to waive the registration fees) and I bought my plane ticket for Saturday, September 12 to Wednesday, September 16 into Seattle, from where I will take a shuttle to Vancouver. It will be an amazing way to meet more HD researchers and start forming connections!
Work isn't always perfect, however. I definitely have a raw spot on my hand from opening epindorf tubes; I keep waiting for the callous to form but it still hurts! Also, there is a Chinese woman named Lu who works next to me and I think I drive her crazy by not wearing a labcoat. About half the people in the lab wear labcoats and I usually don't (although I should). I guess that because I am the summer student, Lu feels like she should teach me correctly. Every few days or so I get a lecture from her about being safe, wearing a labcoat, not putting my backpack on the dirty floor, ect. About a week ago, I accidently almost ran into her turning a corner and she hissed at me! Haha, I didn't know people could hiss, but I got hissed at! Other than that, things are pretty great.

Work is so exciting, woot woot!

(^this is the bench space I share with Kun! Many mice have sacrificed their lives on this bench in the name of science)

I am realizing how lucky I am to be here. Kun told me recently that Dr. Hayden gets hundreds of people asking about summer internships but he chose me because he was so impressed by my personal statement. I almost didn't even send that to him! I was debating on whether to just send him my resume, but apparently it was the personal statement that really made the difference.

Last week I was volunteering at a "single ion channel" conference in downtown Vancouver and people would ask me who I was working for. When I told them Dr. Hayden, they would always respond with comments like, "Whoa, how did you work that out?" or "Wow, that's a big name". This guy has a lot of power!

Even more, I am so lucky to be working with Kun. My first week in the lab, it was up to me to decide who I would work with and what I would be doing for the rest of the summer. I prayed about it because I knew that my decision would completely dictate my entire summer and I felt like I should work with Kun, even though initially she was someone I feared would teach too quickly and wouldn't have the patience for me. That decision to work with Kun has been the best choice I've made in Vancouver. She is brilliant and dedicated, she has a perfect niche for me to help her finish a project, and we get along great. She told me last week that Dr. Hayden was asking her about how I was doing. She told him lots of good stuff about me and said that Dr. Hayden believed her because she doesnt often praise students. He told her that that meant that they needed to find a way to keep me around and to do my graduate work in his lab. (!!)

A few days later, I got this email from him:

Dear Caitlin,

Wanted you to know I and others have so enjoyed you being here.

You are doing very well and your attitude and maturity is so evident and appreciated.

Thank you,

Michael

Today I ran into him and he said, "I've been hearing good things about you. We need to talk sometime. I think we need to start taking you a little more seriously. It sounds like you have some real potential and I think so too, I can see it in your eyes."

(Yes, he really did say that about my eyes)

It's difficult for me to express how exciting this is! I often doubt my potential as a scientist; whether I am qualified and whether it is the right course for me. To have a scientist as accomplished and influencial as Dr. Hayden think highly of me is a huge advantage in my science career, particularly because he is so well-known in the HD world and this is the world of research I want to stick around in. Although I probably don't want to do my graduate work in his lab, having him on my side will open doors and increases the likelihood of me working in a lab that I want to work in.

I am not sure yet what I want to do when I graduate, but I am blessed with the ability to choose. If research is the course for me, then God's hand is working in my life to make it possible.

Full House

We are now officially a full house! Starting last week, we fill all four bedrooms and have an additional couch dweller (she sleeps on the couch and her room is the living room). They are all awesome, and the two new girls like to play cards which I completely endorse. I am still the only white girl, which is a nice change from BYU. Actually, in thinking about it I realize that we have had a lot of roommate's friends at our apartment, but not one of them has been white like me. They are all Asian or Mexican, haha. Yay for diversity! How did I luck out with such good roommates? Somebody must be watching over me.

Grouse Mountain

So once you complete the Grouse Grind, what is at the top waiting? Oh, the surprises of Grouse Mountain! An amazing view of all of Vancouver, a bird show, a lumberjack show, a free chairlift ride, and Grizzly bears! It makes the Grind all worth it in the end :) If only the gondola ride to the top didn't cost so much...

Ah, bears!













Phew, they are behind a fence.

Grouse Grind

2800 feet up over a distance of 2 miles.

If that means anything to you, maybe you will understand why I feel so much pride at completing the Grouse Grind. Known as "Mother Nature's Stairmaster", the Grind is a local tradition; a rite-of-passage for true hardcore Vancouverites. It's a hiking trail that climbs straight up the side of Grouse Mountain. There are no real switchbacks, only vertical steps to the top. I was so proud of myself for making it, I even bought a t-shirt, and that's rare!

My time: 1 hr 10 minutes.

Could I do it again? I'm not sure.

Am I going to try to beat my time? Heck yes.

Canada Day... don't eat the cookies!

July 1st is Canada Day! It's Canadian Independence Day, my replacement for the American July 4th, however no one I talked to here knows what actually happened on July 1st. Who cares anyways; it's a break from work! Before I realized that it was a holiday (I am still learning how to be a true Canadian), I volunteered at a science conference in downtown Vancouver. It turned out to be great though! It was my third day of volunteering and all I did on July 1st was show up and sit through two hours of speakers. The best part was that they fed us all Canadian flag cake. Sweet!

Afterwards, I met up with the Mexicans and we walked around downtown where there were a lot of people celebrating. We stumbled across something that was a little different than the Provo I am used to. Yup, it was a protest against drug prohibition. I suppose that the way you protest is by selling and consuming as much marijuana as possible in big groups outside the art museum, because that is what this was. I wonder if it works... Either way, it looked just like the pictures I've seen of Woodstock. It was marijuana being sold in all of its forms, from seed to hash to brownies. As exciting as this was, I didn't stay for long enough to get really good pictures.



(don't eat these cookies... bad!)

That night we watched the fireworks over the bay from Jericho beach. They weren't terribly close, but the overall view of the city, mountains, and water was better than any firework show I have seen in the states (excluding D.C. from the Capitol terrace).