You Can’t See Yourself

Ah yes… my fave… a FOOD PIC. This a photo of a Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict from “Ohh Chocolate in downtown Prince George. It was sooooooo delicious and sooooooo unexpected. First of all, there was something yummy in the hollandaise sauce that was tangy and somewhat addictive. So, goodbye potatoes dipped in hollandaise sauce. It was the first thing to go off my plate followed up by the strawberry garnish as a palate cleanser. Then I moved onto the piece of maple bacon COVERED IN CINNAMON. What the? So delicious!!! This does not speak to the main course of the meal… the Eggs Benedict. At first glance, you’d think that the HUGE piece of salmon is lying on a piece of toast, but no. With closer inspection, it was a piece of toasted croissant. Moist and tender to the knife and fork. The egg, sauce, salmon, and croissant was a winning combination and this was a LOCAL chocolate coffee house. YUMMY. Best of all… Breakfast special for the month of September… TWO breakfasts for the price of ONE. Winning!!!

This blog entry is not a food review… but really, today’s brunch AND COFFEE at Ohhh Chocolate were outstanding. It’s not even a commentary of the awesome local venues that are up and coming in Prince George, but I hope to go to more. I’m really enjoying myself. Furthermore, it’s not one of my DAILY BLOG ENTRIES to reflect on each day of learning; a challenge I have personally taken on from Ian Landy @technolandy because I think it’s absolutely crazy to blog everyday. So, I might post this blog entry onto my personal Facebook Page. Day’s like this is an opportunity for me to get out of my apartment (or university campus office) to connect with those I know who live in or near Prince George. Today, I made plans with one of my former Math 12 students from Chatelech Secondary… Deb Petula… now Deb Young… to have brunch. Ohhh Chocolate is like a modern, locally owned business with lots of yummy things to eat and drink.

Meeting up with folks like Deb (and Nicole Doran from a few weeks ago) is an opportunity for me to explore the City of Prince George through the lens of my former students but also current residents of Prince George. I am slowly but surely getting my bearings but I think this will take some time. To get anywhere that’s not College Heights, UNBC, or Winners, I have to turn on my MAPS APP on my iPhone and trust that I am going to end up where I want to be. Thank goodness for technology. Without it, I would definitely still be in my apartment wondering if I knew anyone in Prince George. That would be a sad state of affairs. Here I go… up and over the hill via the university to get to the other side of Prince George to head to an area called “The Bowl” to pick up Deb from her home. I met her husband Jack and waved hello to her two little ones who were in the house. They were super cute and still in their jammies. You knew it was Saturday morning.

It was clear to Deb that I had no idea where I was going. She had to be my human MAPS APP to get to our destination. On the way there, we chatted about how she landed in Prince George. I did not realize that she schooled at UNBC, met her husband at UNBC, and started work in Prince George soon after university graduation. She’s been in Prince George for 17 years… which means I taught Deb at least 18 years ago… now that BLOWS MY BRAIN. Has it really been that long? Must be true though… I just can’t believe time flies. We chatted all morning as if no time had few by. I liked that Deb had to tell her friend this morning that she couldn’t do coffee with her because she was going out with her MATH TEACHER. Oh ya… feels good!!! I had no idea that I was Deb’s favourite teacher and favourite math teacher. I enjoyed having her in my math class but I did not know I was a favourite. Huh. YOU CAN’T SEE YOURSELF… the title of this blog entry.

This cognitive awakening got me thinking about my research and self-assessment. How do we know what we know if we can’t see ourselves? This is metacognition at it’s finest. I’ve always believed that we all need “a mirror” to see ourselves. I don’t think SELFIES are going to cut it. That’s all orchestrated and designed for social media, but how do we really see ourselves? How do we measure ourselves? I wonder about this. I do recall not being other people’s favourite teacher, but is that really true. I loved how Deb said during brunch today… that I made math easy to understand and FUN to learn. She said that I made math too seemingly too doable that she wanted to go to university to study math and become a teacher. That was my biggest compliment I took from today. I had no idea I was achieving this with my high school math students even though it was my intent.

We had an amazing brunch… as mentioned earlier… and seen in my favourite to do FOOD PIC. We headed out to check out another area that many locals had mentioned. We went to “The Hart.” I was surprised how many people I’ve met and chatted with mentioned that they live IN THE HART where it apparently SNOWS MORE due to higher elevations. Not going to lie… I’m glad I’m not living there. I’m not handling the snow already and it’s a beautiful summer day heading into fall. Let’s not talk about this. So, we drove out to THE HART and I managed to make my way around a ROUNDABOUT. Yup. it’s the small wins that matter most. Wow. I was so glad to drive out that way. I had never been here before and can see why people live out in The Hart. It’s a bit of a distance and well… I like the convenience of where I live (for me) at College Heights. Now, I know.

En route, Deb mentioned the Northern Lights Winery. I wanted to go back there because my other friend, Kat, who taught up in Prince George with a French Cohort with SFU said it was a place to go. So let’s… It was AMAZING. A beautiful location along the Nechako River… an establishment built only 3-years ago that makes FRUIT WINES. Of course we engaged in a wine tasting and both Deb and I walked away with two bottles of wine each. From apple to huckleberries… the wine was unusual and delicious. What an awesome find in Prince George. There was a tour from France visiting the winery and it’s great to know that they too serve brunch, lunch, and dinner. I’m coming back to get two more bottles of fruit wine… but possibly closer to October when the cherry wine comes in.

Thank you Deb Young for taking me around Prince George. My mantra: One venue at a time. I loved how Nicole Doran (former Chatelech Secondary student) took me around to different places in Prince George as well as brunch at Nancy O’s. That was amazing. Next time, it will be Chicken and Waffles brunch (with a side of bacon). I will be meeting up with Melissa Darney (another former Chatelech Secondary student) on Monday morning and I met up with school trustee colleagues Trish and Tim from the SD57 Board of Education. I have also met folks from my Twitter PLN… Glen Thielmann who now teaches at UNBC and Shannon Schinkel who will be guest modding #bcedchat later this month. I was reunited with Deneen Sawchuk who teaches in SD57, but did teach in SD46 with me years ago. We went to Zoe’s Java House. YUM. My colleague Deb Koehn has been great introducing me to Prince George and UNBC. We went to Sushi 97 last week for lunch. That was good. My kid would have loved it. Now, I’m in the midst of making plans folks from Quesnel… Dot who used to curl with me in Gibsons and Gloria who served with me on the BCSTA Board of Directors and current chair of the SD28 Board of Education.

Thank goodness for people. Without them, I would be hibernating in my apartment in College Heights… blogging about what could have been. Instead, I’m blogging about what is… with gratitude, great experiences, and good conversation. I am so pleased to know so many people in the Prince George area. There are more and I will meet more. FUN!!!