The value of family...

Its been a month since I last blogged. I've been busy :) Life has a way of bringing things to the table I never expected, and some of it is wonderful, and some of it is... well, not so wonderful. All of it is necessary.

A little piece of South America has touched my life. My new dear friend Marina Salazar from Bolivia has spent the last month educating me on her country and the way they live, their customs, and their economy; and in exchange I have shared my home, my chaotic life and a little bit of who I am.  The truth is, I invited her into the midst of change, and in return she gave me a totally new perspective. During her visit we spent a lot of time working out, and a lot of time at the beach :) It was serenity, and has completely restored my faith in my ability to make new friends.

We began her adventure at Valentino :) What a fun evening that was!  Rodney was a hit with the newly wed game, and  fun was had by all... with the exception of the terrible final act :P Who let them in the building? Then we watched every movie in my library at least two times :) She loves chick flicks, and I must admit, it did not hurt one bit to have to watch them all again! OOOOooo which reminds me! Julia Roberts is the lead in Eat, Pray, Love! Whoot Whoot! And, most importantly I introduced her to Michael Buble, whom she LOVES :)

Bolivia is land locked and that facinates me! I could not imagine not seeing the ocean every day. She does not have the luxury of the ocean, the waves, the smell.  I personally think by the time she left here she can't imagine not being able to see the ocean everyday either! :)  I took her to the local fish plant to take pictures of the boys and the start of their clam digging season :) After this visit she wanted to know where the clams came from... it would be weeks until I could finally get motivated to hang out on the beach during a digging tide.

I have a totally new respect for diggers and somewhat feel they are completely underrated in their efforts! Its a lot of hard work in a simply cold environment. I do not blame them for not wanting to dig for less than a dollar a pound!

We found a digger that was willing to teach and willing to share the secret. Marina wanted to know how they knew where the clams were, and of course I told her that the Haida are connected to the razor clams as our ancestors were. That they spoke to us and offered themselves as a sacrificial nourishment for our children. Well.... it sounded good, however she never believed me. So we began stomping the beach in search of a fine feast :) Little did she know, digging was the easy part, and once we were done cleaning asked "why is it that men always have the easy job?" haha...  Dinner was AWESOME that night!

While she was here I had thought I would learn a ton of Spanish.... it didn't happen. I learnt two words. 'Skeena'  which means the corner of an object, and 'tesoro', which means something you treasure.

Her "tesoro" was a speech by Lewis Collinson:

People are like trees, and groups of people are like the forests. 

While the forests are composed of many different kinds of trees, 

these trees intertwine their roots so strongly that it is impossible for 

the strongest winds which blow on our islands to uproot the forest, 

for each tree strengthens its neighbour, and their roots are inextricably intertwined.

In the same way the people of our Islands, composed of members of nations and races from all over the world, are beginning to intertwine their roots so strongly that no troubles will affect them.

Just as one tree standing alone would soon be destroyed by the first strong wind which came along, so it is impossible for any person, any family, or any community to stand alone against the troubles of this world.

Chief Skidegate - Lewis CollinsonMarch 1966

 The past three weeks have really been exactly what I needed. I needed a good friend, laughs, family, my land, and most of all the wonderful gift of sharing. I do not know if "God" put her in my life or if I was put in hers, but for whatever the reason, I am grateful and happy that I had the opportunity to meet Marina Salazar.  She was truly a 'tesoro'. xoxo Until we meet again :)