Settling down in BC

Wednesday
We live a block from Chinatown, very close to the gorgeous legislature building, the inner harbor where the whale watching boats and hydroplanes dock, and near the Empress hotel (residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales when they're in town). There are plenty of quirky shops and interesting architecture, old churches, pigeon droppings and seagull cries, panhandlers and tourists, the local atmosphere is a mix of yoga and all-organic mixed with edgy haircuts and dark business suits.

Our apartment is a one room studio with a loft bed. Shannon sleeps behind a folding screen in the far corner. We have to be quiet for about ten minutes when we put her down and after that can make moderate levels of noise. It isn't bad. We're still settling in. We are in need of curtains and a bookshelf and a few small things like q-tips that always get forgotten during a move.

Pictures later.

Monday
Anthony's dad is here for a day and a half. We went out to local restaurants and the Royal BC Museum where we saw stuffed displays of local wildlife, plenty of first nation art like totem poles and welcoming figures, and other carvings--all on display with permission from the tribal governments, thank goodness, and many displays of local history. Shannon loved the mammoth replica (even though the guards thought it was too scary for little ones). We ate some dim sum in Chinatown and later ate at a place called Earl's that was far too trendy for me. (Excellent curry! Very good for a sore throat.)

Sunday
It's 22 degrees outside and seasonably warm. I rode the bus 25 minutes to stake conference this morning where we watched a broadcast from Toronto presided over by President Thomas S. Monson. His visit was mentioned in the local paper: http://www.northpeel.com/news/article/49548
Some other speakers were Elder Ballard, Sister Dibb of the YW General Presidency, and President Snow of the 70. They all mentioned their personal ties and affection for Canada and talked a little bit about early church history. One of my favorite stories was about a time Pres. Snow took his small children fishing and they didn't catch anything all morning. Around 10:30 am he noticed his 5-year old was missing and found him in the woods on his knees with his hands clasped saying a prayer. When the boy returned to the bank, his father inquired what he'd been doing. He told his Dad that he'd promised Heavenly Father that if he caught a fish that day, he'd never do drugs. It goes without saying that the only fish they caught belonged to a 5-year old who'd learned about exercising his faith. On the bus I rode with 6 or 7 other Latter-day Saints who were going to the church, including a girl I'd known back in 2004 in the Normal, Illinois branch. She was in Victoria for the weekend celebrating her 2 year anniversary. It was amazing to run into someone I knew on my second Sunday here.