Cam and Jen Barbour

Jennifer did!

2011-11-17T07:07:00.000-08:00

Gardener Jennifer finally wins the battle to uproot a small flowery bush on our balcony. Now it won't obstruct our view of the sea and of Puerto de la Cruz. Good job, Jennifer!

Dos Canine Companions

2011-11-17T07:02:00.000-08:00

Our two morning canine greeters:

Scotty, the valiant male border collie, and Trixy, the alarm-clock female Irish wire-haired terrier.

Pictures.

2011-10-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

A few more photos

2011-10-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

The view out our front windows.....lots of ocean and very few ships!

Part way up the 40 km. drive to the top of Mt. Teide (No....we did not go to the very top. You can take a chair lift almost to the top, or you can hike up if you get permission from the parks department) The topography, microclimate, and vegetation all change dramatically as you ascend. Above the tree line, you'd think you were on the surface of Mars....lots of red rock and sand everywhere. In fact, a few weeks ago, a team of scientists were up on Mt. Teide testing a Mars rover prototype.

What a view!

2011-10-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

Finally, a photo or two from the Barbours ! We've been on the island of Tenerife (pronounced ten-e-reef-eh?) now for about a month. We have a nice one-bedroom apartment below the garage of the main house we are looking after for the next few months. There is probably no other garage in the world with a better view each day! The photo here shows the view off our garden balcony (all of about twelve feet wide).....a great view of the city of Puerto de la Cruz with majestic and dormant (we hope!) 3700+ metre volcano Mt. Teide in the background. We are about 200 metres above the Atlantic, yet the sound of the waves crashing onto the volcanic rocks below is constant. For those who can come to visit, there is a hiking trail down to the black-sand beach....about 20 min. down and 35 min back up if you're reasonably fit. (Double those times for Cam!)

The weather has been consistently in the mid to high 20's (C) since we arrived, although we did hit 30 a couple of times. Our Spanish is improving by a word or two each day....enough that we can order tea or coffee and ask for the bill. Our local town, Santa Ursula, is a few minutes' drive from the tourist spots, so English or German is not commonly spoken. So...we'll try to learn Spanish. If you want to speak English, you can always drive to the south end of the island where there are tourist beaches and hotels everywhere.

Moved to Tenerife...... hard to believe!

2011-10-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

After a very generous summer offer from one of our former RIA families, who own a home near Santa Ursula on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands), we have run away from our home and family in Canada to make the big move here! We will be "house-sitting" for a few months while these folks are living in Switzerland. So far we have moved into a small, but wonderfully-situated one-bedroom apartment overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and learned to find the grocery store, order a coffee in Spanish, feed the family dogs, and to water the plants. So far the 20+C temperatures every day have been hard to take.

We hope to add a few photos, and to update this blogpage once in a while to let you know what we're up to.

Glassy version of Jingle Bells

2009-01-24T07:41:00.000-08:00

Mallory and Jennifer made their glass music debut at Hergiswil with a rousing rendition of Jingle Bells. CDs will be available later.

Visit to the Hergiswil Glass Factory in CH

2009-01-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, Kelly, Mallory, Jennifer and Cam travelled about an hour and a half by train to the beautifully-set village of Hergiswil. This is the home of the Hergiswil glass works, and it provides a wonderful look at the history of glass production in Switzerland, and a close-up look at modern glass production techniques. There is also a great hands-on area where visitors can produce all kinds of "glass" music and see how glass is used in science and industry.

A great place to visit. We also recommend Mr. Ooi's Chinese restaurant, just across from the Hergiswil train station!

Thankful for a Wonderful Christmas Holiday!

2009-01-05T10:09:00.000-08:00

After a great Christmas break in southern Alberta, we are back in Deutschland. We spent a cozy week in a YMCA lodge in the Cypress Hills of southern Alberta, where Winter's wrath wreaked temperatures approaching -40C (that's without the wind chill factor!). All of the Barbour young'uns and the grandson were able to make it, and of course, we had far too much food and far too little exercise. We were able to do a bit of walking in the crispy cold....something you just don't get to do here in Germany.

We trust that all of you enjoyed a great holiday break with your families and friends!

School starts on Wednesday, January 7th, so we begin the second half of our final year here at Rhein International Academy. We look forward to seeing the staff and students again!

Back from Sweden!

2008-10-10T11:05:00.001-07:00

Jennifer and Cam are just back from a wonderful week-long trip to visit the land of Jennifer's forefathers...Sweden. There is probably no country on earth more gloriously displaying Nature's Fall colours than Sweden. Everywhere we went, people were friendly and the scenery was spectacular. We enjoyed staying with one of Cam's Kodaikanal India Class of '68 classmates, Kristina Ajaxon, her son Nils, and her husband Ragnar. Thanks to all of you for being such great hosts! The conversations were always lively! Thanks too, Kristina, for letting us try all kind of Swedish delicacies, including caviar and reindeer.

Our quick tour took us by Ryanair (Latin for "no legroom sucker") to Nykoping, just south of Stockholm for a day or two of visiting with the Ajaxons. Then...on to Stockholm for a visit to the harbour and a day of walking down the Strand and through the Vasa warship museum....fantastic! The last few days, we spent driving north to Varmland, the area of Sweden where Axel Nathanael Bergstrom (and 139,999 other Varmlanders) emmigrated to North America from many years ago. In Dalarna we also visited the home of the great Swedish artists, Carl and Karin Larsson. Both of us have a much greater appreciation for all of Carl's beautiful paintings now.

Let the photos do the talking!

Way to go, Jennifer!

2008-08-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jennifer on completing the full Swiss Walking Event marathon (yes all 26 miles 285 yards, or 42+ kilometres) in Solothurn, Switzerland this Sunday, August 31st. The first words out of her mouth as she crossed the finish line were "Remind me to never do this again"....or something to that effect. We'll give it a while.....she'll be ready to try it again in a few months or so.

First Theme Day of the Year at RIA

2008-08-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 29 was our first theme day of the year. Each of us in the fifth and sixth grade class dressed in our national colors. We had colors from the USA, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland and Canada. Other classes themes included a safari theme and a princess theme (how did you guess that the 1st-2nd grade class is all girls!)

Rhein International is back in Session!

2008-08-27T04:19:00.001-07:00

The Fifth and Sixth Grade classroom is off to a great start this year at Rhein International Academy. We started classes on August 18th, so things are well under way. I have included some photos of our most recent Science experiment, based on our study of mass, volume, and density. We each built a small boat out of a 12 cm by 12 cm piece of tin foil, then floated our boats and added weights until our boats sunk. It's amazing how much cargo you can carry in such a small boat if the design is right. Jakob was our class winner with a mass of 76 grams in his boat. Fantastich!

Happy 60th, Henri!

2008-08-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had the pleasure of attending Henri Braun's 60th birthday party in Dielsdorf, just north of Zurich. You may remember Henri as the father of our Swiss exchange student, Joel Braun, who lived with the Barbours in 1999-2000, and attended Eagle Butte High School.

Henri and his family hosted an absolutely splendid party on Saturday, followed by a leisurely breakfast and a walk to Regensburg (a medieval fortified village) not far away.

It was so great to see all of the Braun family again, and to meet some new members of the family. Our linguistic skills were indeed tested, as the celebration was a combination of Luxembourgish, French, German, Swiss German, and English. I think we all got along well, though, and Henri seemed to enjoy his party.

A Short Summer Back in Canada

2008-07-22T19:17:00.001-07:00

After a productive two-week stay at the NICS Pre-Field Orientation in Southaven, Mississippi, we returned to Alberta on July 4. It has been sooooooo good to see friends and acquaintances again, although it seems a little strange to be back in an English-speaking environment again. You know you've been in Germany for a while when you accidentally bump into someone in a department store here in Canada, and the first thing that comes out of your mouth is...."Entschuldigung"....instead of "Excuse Me". Hopefully that's a precursor to more successful communication in German next year.

So, for the time being, we are enjoying finishing up all of our errands, and visiting with our family and friends.....not the least of whom is our delightful grandson Finn(eas).....he's just so much fun! August 6th will see us take the big silver bird back to Deutschland, in preparation for a new year of school which starts on August 18th.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers, everyone!

Cam and Jennifer

Congratulations, Robyn!

2008-05-30T07:05:00.000-07:00

Although we weren't able to attend her convocation from the University of Lethbridge, we did huddle around our laptop at nearly midnight German time waiting to see Robyn walk across the stage and receive her B. Sc. It was well worth it!

The photos from Jeff and Ann-Marie Scott were fantastic. It's nice to know that we had surrogate parents attending on our behalf. Thanks guys!

See you all back in Canada in early July!

How Can We Help Myanmar and China?

2008-05-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, the students and staff of Rhein International Academy held a bake sale to help in some small way with the dire needs of people in Myanmar and China. While the Middle School students organized the selling and advertising, the school cooking club baked some delicious chocolate banana loaves, and the First Grade class created some wonderful chocolate chip cookies (including one giant one that was raffled off). In addition, every family at RIA generously donated something to sell.

Thanks to everyone's hard work, we raised about 230 Euros, all of which will be sent to World Vision Deutschland to use as they see fit in the relief efforts.

Mr. Barbour's Middle School Class Goes Formal!

2008-05-09T01:39:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, May 7, 2008 our school welcomed visitors from the community on Open House Day. In honor of this special occasion, and in special honor of the visit of our Oberburgermeister Herr Wolfgang Dietz, the middle school class decided to go all out and dress up for the day......by adding ties to their outfits. What a great looking group!

Quick visit to Valencia, Spain

2008-02-20T05:30:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, during our school's Fasnacht break, Jennifer and Cam took a cheap Ryanair flight from Basel to Valencia. Our bed and breakfast was on the eighth floor of apartment building right across the street from the new performing arts and science centres. We took in two great Imax shows, Mysteries of the Nile, and the Alps. The centre of Valencia is great too....the Sorrenos Gate, started in 1492, and completed in six years, was part of the old Valencia fortifications. There really are oranges on the trees in the middle of February in Valencia. Fantastic!

Christmas Photos

2008-01-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

The 2007 Christmas season has all but wrapped up, and most of the Barbour family has returned to Canada. We had a great time in Weil am Rhein, just visiting, playing games, and eating far too much. We were glad to have visits over the break from Nigel and Beatta Beaumont from Bielefeld, Joel Braun from Zurich, Vijay and Tobias from Lucerne, as well as school staff members and friends. It made the whole holiday time very special, having lots of people in the apartment.
It has also been great to have Carolyn stay a few extra days, but alas, she is heading back tomorrow, Jan. 10th.

The B family drove up to Rotenburg aub der Tauber for a day or so, then stopped in Berg to visit the Rheinhardt family for a day as well.

Cam and Jen's photos are not nearly as good as Dan and Renae's, so please enjoy the slideshow to get a sense of what we were all up to:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Renae.Barbour/ChristmasInGermanyDec15Dec28/photo#s5151849778914873650

Happy New Year everyone!

Rhein International School Wishes you a Merry Christmas!

2007-12-10T12:08:00.000-08:00

After a little jostling and struggling on a slippery hillside, all of the students and (most of the) staff of Rhein International Academy managed to pose for our Christmas photo. Wherever you are, all of us at RIA wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Leina and Joe's Wedding Reception

2007-12-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

It was a pleasure to be able to attend Leina (Kowalsky) and Joe Reinhardt's wedding reception here in Germany, since we weren't able to attend the wedding in Canada. Joe's family and friends treated us royally, and Leina and Joe looked wonderful as the community celebrated their new "Canadian" family member. We look forward to meeting some of the Reinhardt family again soon. Thanks again for the hospitality!

Middle School Tour of the Salt Works

2007-12-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

Earlier this Fall, the Gr. 4-8 classes visited the Rheinsalinen (Salt Works) in Ribourg, just outside of Basel, Switzerland. Here, salt has been extracted from underground deposits since the mid 1800's by pumping water below ground, and then retrieving and processing the salt water which is extracted. Table salt, pharmaceutical salt, and road salt are all produced here. When we visited, the road salt storage dome was packed full, awaiting a snowy winter, when salt will be applied to roads all over this part of Europe.

....til the cows come home!

2007-11-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

Last Sept 22, a few staff members drove to the beautiful Swiss village of Alpazug to ....yes....watch the cows come home! This is a traditional celebration as each of the families parades its prize cows down from the hills through the main street of the town, just as generations have done at the end of the summer grazing season for hundreds of years. Cows are adorned with greenery on their heads, and massive, loud (but moosical) cow bells. To complete the ambience, there are lots of other forms of music, including a traditional alpine horn trio, and an "oldtimers" trio. Then there's the food for sale everywhere.....the best of the wurst, if you know what I mean!

My favourite image though had to be the little girl, no more than three, carrying the biggest stick she could....and boy, could she whack those cows!

Visit to Robyn

2007-11-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

In early October, Jennifer and Cam had a short break from school, and took advantage of the inexpensive Easy Jet flights from Basel to London, and then on to Belfast to see Robyn. She has been working in an Addictions Counselling program at the Harmony Hills Presbyterian Church youth drop-in centre, just south of Belfast, since early September. Robyn took a few days off, and we rented a car (Yes...the right-hand drive type!), and drove around Northern Ireland for three days. After the first few days of Cam's driving on the "wrong" side of the road, and of Jennifer's white-knuckle warnings about being too close to the curb, things settled down for a comfortable tour. This included a look at the Giant's Causeway (which legend says was built by non other than the legendary Irish giant, Finn MacCool....love that name!!), the Kerrick rope bridge, Bushmills distillery, Dunluce Castle, and the Barbour family home town, Ballymena. The travel brochures are absolutely right....Ireland truly does have 40 shades of green!

Country Hoe Down Oct 13

2007-11-26T05:27:00.000-08:00

Instead of a Halloween celebration this year, RIA hosted a Country Hoe Down behind the school building. We had all kinds of activities, including a petting zoo, pony rides, square dancing (taught by the local German square dancing club), cow milking, face painting, plus lots of pumpkin soup and barbecued food.

October Grape Harvest

2007-11-26T00:47:00.000-08:00

Last October, our entire school had the chance to help harvest the grapes in the small vineyard right beside the school. The students and staff were paired up to snip off the ripe grape clusters, put them into buckets, and carry them to the waiting trailer. Mattias, our German vintner friend, then squeezed some fresh juice for everyone to try. What a great experience for everyone!

Let's go back a few months...

2007-11-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened since the 10th of August. The last part of July and the first part of August are just a blur in our rear-view mirrors as Jen and I think back to all the things that had to be done at home before we left. Jen did a superb job of basically packing up our household, and stashing it in the 29-foot trailer we have parked in our back yard. Cam finished putting a new metal roof on the "shop" just days before we left. Well, all of that's a story we don't really want to recall right now.

We arrived in Weil am Rhein to a joyous welcome from the staff at Rhein International Academy. We spent the first few days settling into our two-bedroom apartment, and then in helping to get the school cleaned up and organized in time for the students to arrive on August 20th. We walked to and from school for those first few weeks (before we latched onto some bicycles), and enjoyed the beautiful stroll through part of Weil, then the walk up (or down) the spiral staircase that leads over the railway tracks, and on to RIA.

Rhein International Academy is a small English-speaking school which is open to students of all faiths and nationalities. We presently have students from the U.S.A., England, India, China, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Switzerland to name a few. Our web address is www.riaweb.net (Check out the smilin' Scot on the home page!)

It's About Time That We Heard from Them!

2007-11-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

Cam and Jen have finally entered a new era, as we establish a web log of our own! What a novel thought! After moving to Germany on August 10th, we think it's time to let folks know what we've been up to. This won't be a comprehensive day-by-day diary, so don't expect a lot. We hope to post a few pictures, and to keep you up to date on our latest bits of news. Enjoy!

Here's a snapshot of the Middle School class at Rhein International Academy...an inspired group of hard workers who also enjoy their breaks and free time to the limit! This year we have three students from the U.S., one from Switzerland, and two from France. Among us, we speak English, German, Polish, and French. What a dynamite class!