Wow.

Yesterday I heard the story of a Holocaust survivor. Completely unexpectedly. And with great respect and sorrow all at once.

For the past few months, I have been volunteering alongside an older lady named Kaye. Whenever she's in the back sorting clothes, I offer to help because I get such a kick out of working with this sassy, tough, sharp-minded woman. I love hearing her stories about catching the wayward pigeon that broke into her nursing home, or her quick come-backs when staff members are less than kind ("And you're fat," she recently retorted to a condescending orderly). It's a riot to sort through clothes with her and get her take on fashion: "I wouldn't want to be caught dead in that," she told me yesterday, tossing a plaid blazer aside.

I'm not sure how we arrived at this point in the conversation, but somehow we were lightheartedly sorting and chatting yesterday, when the words came out of her mouth. I don't remember how she said it, but when the gravity of what Kaye had said reached my heart - she had survived the Ravensbruck concentration camp - I felt frozen in my place by a trash bag full of donated clothing.

There were so many questions I had, but all I could do was listen. She told me, in her wiry Eastern-European accent, that she had just gotten married and was taken on a train. Nobody had a clue they would end up in such a terrible place. She recounted how her bunk-mate, who had kept her warm at night, was randomly selected by guards one morning and never returned, and how she is still haunted by this. She told of stealing potatoes because she was so hungry and defiant, and how she was beaten senseless upon being caught. With a broken nose and cracked skull, gypsies advised her to sterilize her injuries using her own urine, which worked.

I'm not sure how long she was there - perhaps years - before being rescued. She was not re-united with her husband, who was in the army, for five years. After her rescue, the only thing she had to wear for months were oversized army uniforms or dirty donated clothes from Salvation Army, hence her passion now for volunteering at the Walk-In Closet. Fatigues became Kaye's own uniform until she managed to get a job at the shelter and buy clothes of her own. After this time, she lived in France, in London, and eventually somehow made her way to Canada, where she finally stayed. "So I don't take gunk from anybody anymore," she concluded, "and you shouldn't either." She told me life is short and you have to make the best of everything, a common phrase that took on infinitely more meaning coming from her.

All of this she told me in no more than five minutes or so. I could tell she was visibly shaken and angry, and almost trance-like going back to the memories. I wondered if she talked about her experience often, and if not, why I would be among the priveleged few to hear it. Perhaps she wanted to share the story with the younger generation to make sure it is not forgotten. Maybe it slipped out and suddenly she was thrust deep into her own memories beyond return. Regardless, I will never forget.

It occurs to me now that she must have been my age or even younger when this all began. Of course I can't begin to imagine the horrors she experienced. Upon reading more about the camp she was in, it's amazing that she made it out. Of 130,000 prisoners at this all-female camp, only 40,000 survived. Kaye was among the lucky few, a fighter and survivor. The largest group brought to this camp was Polish women, which is where I am guessing she's from, although I did not ask.

I was awake last night, feeling I had to do something with this story. Writing it in my blog is the best I have come up with so far. I feel connected to Kaye in a sense, knowing that my grandmother's family in Denmark helped Jews sneak into the safe neutrality of Sweden during the war. Knowing that my grandmother was only a bit younger than Kaye, and lived through that terrifying era that so deeply shaped the European mindframe for years to come. I feel a sense of responsibility and am honored, knowing that very few individuals are still around to tell their stories. I hope we manage to pass the information on to future generations.

Yup, it's Almost May

And this is what is looks like. Just your average spring, Sunday afternoon in Calgary!

Canada's Answer to Bowling...

Ben and I finally tried one of Canada's most emblematic pass times - curling! We went with a company outing, so were given a quickie lesson and played several rounds. We were off to a rocky start, with Ben arriving in loafers and me in two-inch boots, thinking we'd rent shoes just like in bowling. Not the case! We had to run home and get tennis shoes. Then you get a slick, plastic footie that straps onto one foot, which allows you to slide on the ice when pushing off your rock (the big round things that slide down the ice, as Ben demonstrates in this pic!).

Curling is definitely harder than it looks, and ice is not forgiving!! I took several falls, and have a bruise on my rear to show for it! Everything in Canada just seems more likely to cause injury, whether it's basic outdoor sports, hobbies or just walking down the street on a snowy day!

Though I doubt we'll be going back every weekend, curling was a fun way to while away a rainy day (yes, it finally rained here - the first I've seen in Calgary). It's a social sport complete with cheap beers and snacks, and we were all beginners so kept a leisurely pace. Here I am, very focused on not falling as I take my turn! (Wish we had some better pics of us curling, but these are the best we could do - I guess we were just moving too fast to catch us on film!)


Our friends Greg and Angie had arranged the event and hosted an awesome dinner at their place afterward, which went late into the evening. I think everybody was drowning their sorrow that the Flames lost to Chicago 5-1 last night. I hope they can come back tomorrow, or I think it's all over!

As I write, it's just started snowing again, and is meant to continue for the next several days. Even people who have lived here their whole lives are really getting fed up with this unusally long winter - it's almost May ... I beg you, weather Gods, give us some warmth!!

Ups and Downs

It's been a week of highs and lows across the board. From weather shifts to hockey games, it's definitely not been dull around here!

The week started off beautifully, with Tuesday warming up to 70 degrees. It was the light at the end of a long, cold tunnel! Ben and I made the 35-minute walk from our place to the cute Kensington neighborhood for some birthday drinks in honor of Almudena. We had all busted out our lightweight shirts, jackets, dresses, etc., and it was simply euphoric! Here we are celebrating Almu's b-day - Ben is such a lady's man!

Little did we know that Wednesday would bring several inches of SNOW - yikes! This could make a person schizophrenic! It's cold enough today that the snow has stuck around, but hopefully it will melt again by the end of the week, as things are expected to warm back up a bit.

Last night was also memorable, not only because of the snow, but because the Calgary Flames won game 4 of 7 in the playoffs against Chicago! We all made it out to a sports bar and the energy was so positive and intense. We are now 2 and 2 and hoping to watch the Flames go all the way!

Here's Ben enjoying the warm weather on Tuesday, and a photo of the same area less than 24 hours later!!

Go Flames!

Well, the Calgary Flames have made it to the playoffs. While I'm still trying to wrap my head around the sheer length of hockey season and hard-core dedication of its fans (I mean, how do you drag yourself out to two or three games a week, every week for months on end?!), the playoffs excitement has reinvigorated my interest in the sport. Obviously Ben didn't need much encouragement to show off his Flame jersey!

It doesn't hurt that Ben and I live one block from "The Red Mile," the infamous street where Calgarians basically lost their minds with partying and celebrating last time Calgary made it to the playoffs!

Last night was the very first playoff game (in Chicago), so I headed to a sports bar in our neighborhood about two hours before kick-off to stake out a spot for me, Ben, Alicia and her sister, who's in town visiting. While waiting on everybody, I befriended some wild and crazy Canucks who convinced me that my streetside spot was ideal. "A TV will be right in front of you, here on the street," one of them said. They were pretty far into their celebrations already, and I was skeptical about this magical TV that would appear in the street, but nonetheless they convinced me to stay. (I guess security has gotten tighter since the original Red Mile madness, as these guys were eventually kicked out!). Lo and behold, about 3o minutes later this big van pulled up, parked directly in front of me, wired up some antennas and played the game from a TV attached to the side of it. Now that's service!!

It was a blast to be able to watch the game while also taking in all the fans in the street, passing by in their Red Jerseys and cheering. Sadly, we lost in an overtime shoot-out, but it was close. Hopefully we'll bounce back in the rest of this series. How fun would it be to see the playoffs continue on for our first hockey season in Canada?

Did I mention that we were given Flames-themed cowbells (in my right hand in the pic)? Ben and I went to town with those! I guess it was fitting since Calgary is known as Cow Town :)

Buh Bye TV!

Well, not entirely, but Ben and I realized that part of the reason Mexico was so blissful was that we had a week with no technology! Yes, there was a TV in our hotel room, but we made a point of never turning it on.

With summer on the way and long days that already linger until almost 9pm, there must be more to weeknights than watching a crappy TV show I'll forget about in an hour! So today I made the call and canceled all but our most basic cable. Starting in May, we will be down to something like 20 channels. Simplification, baby! The only reason we're keeping cable at all is because otherwise we'll go back to squiggly lines and fuzziness on every channel, and we can't entirely put our nice new TV to waste. Plus we often order OnDemand movies, which I find much more productive than channel surfing!

Ben has lovingly nicknamed our TV "the devil," and I can't disagree - it saps the life out of you if you let it. It especially tempts you when you're faced with nasty and cold weather outside. But today is sunny and 40 degrees - not warm, but decent enough to get out for a walk, so on that note - Bosco and I will catch up with you guys later!

Spring Cleaning

Hi Amigos (still pretending to be in Mexico)!

After seeing how great our friend Kristin's new blog looks (you can check it out in my links section, Yancey en Panama), I decided ours needed a spring update! Hope you enjoy the new look, and thanks for reading and sticking with us for all this time. I just love being able to keep everyone abreast of our goings-on and share photos and stories, and to hear what you guys are up to as well!

Much Love to All,
Jenn & Ben

We're Baaack

First off, I hope that everybody had a FABULOUS Easter! Ben and I were definitely missing our families, friends and festivities back in Tennessee!

Our Mexico trip has finally come and gone, and it was heaven! My secret (or maybe not so secret) wish was for Calgary's snow to melt by the time we got home and - shockingly - that wish came true and the weather is up to the low 50s this week. Hardly warm compared to Mexico, but local Calgarians are walking around in tee shirts and sundresses and grilling out already!

It's hard to believe that all the time Ben spent in Mississippi last summer actually paid off in the form of the mother load of all Hilton points, allowing us to stay at a luxurious resort in Los Cabos for the week. I'll do my best to give a trip report, though it's tough to describe in words just how blissed out we were!

When we pulled up to the Hilton, we were immediately checked in and handed margaritas - my kind of place! Our room had a king-sized bed, ocean-view balcony and huge shower and bath-tub with shutters that could open up to view the beach. I certainly didn't expect to stay somewhere like this until a major anniversary or some other special occasion! But I suppose surviving a seven-month Canadian winter is just cause for celebration. These first two pics are of our balcony view and the Hilton's infinity pool.


We had talked a lot about doing activities like kayaking, hiking, etc., but we pretty much immediately turned to jello in the hands of the Mexico sun and beach and poolside waiters. By the end of day two we made the executive decision that we get enough exercise and adventure in the Canadian Rockies and would use this trip to lay around and take in the ocean, while also filling up on all the good Mexican food we'd been missing in CA! Here we are, hard at work at the task at hand!


The Hilton is in the Corridor section of Los Cabos, which is a quiet and expansive section of beaches in the middle of the cities of Cabo San Lucas (the party town) and San Jose del Cabo (the historic Spanish-mission town), so on our first day we went to a popular beach strip in Cabo San Lucas and spent the better part of the afternoon drinking margaritas, eating ceviche (from a huge sea bass that was caught that same morning), wiggling our toes in the sand and watching the waves crash onto the beach. Our table was quickly surrounded by a mariachi band, who convinced me to get up and play the drums with them, so that was how we kicked off the Mexico experience. Ben cozies up with a local, while I jam at The Office, a fab beach-front restaurant...

Also in Cabo San Lucas is the famous Cabo Wabo, Sammy Hagar's bar, so after tracking down an authentic, hole-in-the-wall taco stand I'd read about for dinner one night (Gordo Lele's, where Gordo, the owner gave us our own personal romantic serenade!!), we headed there for some local tequila and a bit of dancing. We had a blast, but Cabo San Lucas' party scene wasn't really what we were after, so we spent the rest of our evenings exploring San Jose del Cabo, one of the most charming towns I have ever seen.
It comes complete with a town square that filled with local families in the evenings, tons of art galleries and some great little restaurants. On our third day we also discovered a little beachfront bar and grille that was filled with locals and surfers, and finally felt we were getting a more authentic slice of Mexico. These photos show a slice of life in the San Jose area, including contemplating hitch-hiking when the bus was taking forever!

Ben noticed that on Thursday nights, San Jose del Cabo hosts an Art Walk, where the galleries all serve a bit of wine or snacks, and you can chat with the owners and artists, so we beelined for that after a satisfying Thursday at the beach and poolside! We met some really friendly locals and fell in love with a few different paintings - I LOVED the Mexican style of art - so bold and colorful and full of emotion! Ben and I like to randomly look at art, and we always talk about how one day we'll be able to invest in that $2,000 painting that we fall in love with, or how we'll start collecting one fabulous piece from each trip we take. We'll see how that goes! Here's San Jose's square by night, and check out Ben enjoying a Cubano, a habit he picked up from my dad!

For our last night, we took a taxi to a beach-front restaurant that's part of an adorable boutique hotel called Cabo Surf. We were in time to watch the sun go down, and then we saw the spectacular sight of the full moon rising over the horizon of the ocean. It glowed orange, a sight I've never seen before. We enjoyed a great dinner and a bottle of wine as the moon climbed higher into the sky, until it left a silver ripple of light down the middle of the ocean. We ordered desserts and coffees and drank them very slowly, just for an excuse to linger at this fabulous little secluded restaurant. Ben managed to snap this awesome shot of the full moon over the ocean:

For our last day, we woke up at 6:15 and went for a walk on the beach to watch the sunrise - something I always used to do on beach trips as a kid, but had not done for years! It was gorgeous, of course, and so peaceful. The previous day, we had picked out our favorite lounging spot by the pool, a big canopy bed overlooking the ocean, and decided that try to claim it since we'd be up so early! We succeeded and spent our last few ours laying there taking in the view and drinking one final cocktail (our theme drink of the trip was the Hilton bar's "Dirty Monkey," a scrumptious blend of Kahlua, vodka, bananas and coconut milk, or something along those lines). Here are some parting photos from the day!

It was definitely hard to leave, but I have a fresh resolve to learn how to make good Mexican food of my own (the most important dishes to replicate being: 1) Tortilla Soup, 2) Fish Tacos, 3) Veggie Enchiladas, and 4) Fresh Guacamole). I found Ben last night looking up information about Spanish classes - we were both still saying "Gracias" as we arrived back in the Canada airport, sad to abandon our very small grasp of the Spanish language!