Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

今年も恒例の家族みんなでの七面鳥でクリスマスを迎えました(^.^)
Again this year, as is customary, we enjoyed celebrating Christmas by enjoying a turkey dinner together with family!

and Happy New Year!!
来年もよろしくお願いいたしますm(__)m☆

Banff 1

明日はクリスマスで、年末真っ最中ですが、私の止まっていたブログも2011年に起ったことは、2011年中に書きたいということで、出来る限り書いて行こうと思います！！！
Tomorrow is Christmas, so although this year is about to wrap-up I want to try to finish writing about some of the stories from earlier in the year.

お久しぶりのWalk for Japanのレポートです。
This is a post about the Walk for Japan that I never got around to completing earlier in the year.
前回までのところではカナダデーで終わっていましたが、その後の続きです・・・。間が空いてしまって申し訳なく思います。。でも、Steveが日本のために頑張ってしたイベントですので、時間が空いてもちゃんとレポートしたいと思います！！
I blogged about Canada Day in my previous post about the Walk, so I will pick it up from there.  Of course there is a big gap in time since this took place, but Steve really tried to help Japan, so even if some time has gone by, I want to follow through on telling these stories.

カナダデーの次の日、バンフに移動しました。
SteveがCanmoreから歩いている間、私が車で先周りして、Banff市街の手前にあるLake　Minnewankaの近くの湖で昼食休憩をとりました。（名前が今思い出せません）でも、きれいなところでした・・・！
The day after Canada Day, we moved-on to Banff.  While Steve was walking from Canmore to Banff, I drove ahead.  We met for a picnic lunch and a short rest near the Lake Minnewanka area, which is right by the Banff town-site.

その後、マイル稼ぎにそのエリアをSteveは歩きました。私も駐車場に車をとめてちょっとだけ同行しました。
After that, to top off his mileage for the day Steve continued to hike around that area.  I was able to park the car in a parking lot and walk with him for a bit as well!


この日は、カナダデーの次の日ということもあって、キャンプ場もいっぱい、泊まるところがない・・・と私たちは困っていました。
が、Steveがバンフまで歩いている途中のところで、出会ったJohnさん家族にその日は救われました。
This was the day following Canada Day, so the camp grounds were full and it looked like it was going to be difficult to find a place to stay... Then, as Steve completed walking for the day, we were saved by a phone call from John - whom Steve had met earlier that day.
  
Johnさんは、日本語学校の友人を通じてWalk for Japanのイベントを知っておられ、SteveがAirdrieを歩いている時もたまたまSteveを車から見かけていたそうです。ご家族でバンフに行く途中で、Steveをまた見つけて、この時は車を止めてSteveに声をかけてくださいました。
そんなJohnさんは、自分の宿泊先にWalk for Japanのことを伝えてくださり、それがきっかけで、宿泊先のオーナーであるローラさんが私たちを無料で泊めてくださるという特別な配慮をしていただきました。
John had heard about the Walk for Japan from a friend at their children's Japanese Language school.  He had also by chance seen Steve walking back in Airdrie as he drove by on business.  After seeing Steve again as they made their way to Banff on a family holiday, he was kind enough to stop off along the side of the road to say hi and show their support.
It turned out that John had relayed the story of the Walk for Japan to the owner of the place where he and his family were staying in Banff.  The owner, Laura, wanted to help out and made the incredibly generous offer to provide us with a place to stay.  She insisted that we stay at her accommodation free of charge!

このイベントを通して、本当にいろいろな方々からの支えていただき、本当に頭があがりません。
Johnさん、Kazukoさん、（Kenshoくん、Hanaちゃん）、ローラさん、本当にありがとうございました。
Throughout this event, we received such unbelievable support from so many wonderful people.  We really can't say thank you enough!  John, Kazuko (as well as their children Kensho & Hana), Laura, thank you all so very much!!!  

ローラさんの経営するキャビンは：Banff Beaver Cabinsという名前で、夏のシーズンは日ごとの宿泊を受け入れておられて、冬には長期滞在の宿泊を受け入れておられます。

ローラさんの温かい歓迎に加えて、手作りの焼きたてのパンに、かわいらしい部屋、いつかBanffに来られる時は宿泊してみてください(^_-)立地もとってもいいです☆

Banff Beaver Cabinsホームページ：http://banffbandbcabins.com/index.htm

Laura is the owner and manager of Banff Beaver Cabins.  It is available for regular accommodation during the summer season, and for long-term stays during the winter season.  

With it cute and comfy cabins, fresh baked bread in the morning, and Laura's warm hospitality, it is a great place to stay when visiting Banff!  What's more, location can't be beat!

Here is the  Banff Beaver Cabins website:  http://banffbandbcabins.com/index.htm

Special visitors! (1)

クリスマスを目の前に、こちらには早めのクリスマスと言えるでしょうか・・・。私の両親がカナダに会いに来てくれました！！
人生で初めて飛行機に乗る母をなんとかサポートする父も海外旅行は初めて。海外旅行については全てが初めてだった2人が頑張って、カナダまで来てくれました(*^^*)
エドモントン空港到着の様子・・・↓↓↓
With Christmas just around the corner, we had here what you might call "an early Christmas"!  My parents came to visit us in Canada!!
It was the first time for both my parents to ever travel outside of Japan, and the very first time for my mother to ever be on an airplane!  It was a trip filled with many "firsts" for both of them, so we really appreciated them taking on the challenges involved with coming to visit us (*^^*)
Here is a picture of their arrival at the airport in Edmonton!↓↓↓

飛行機での乗り換え等、何か困った事があったかという質問をすると、「入国審査はばっちりだったけど、その後の税関の場所が分らなくて、警察官に聞いても英語が通じず、通りがけの日本語が少し話せる人に助けてもらった。」とのこと。その他にも、搭乗口が直前になって変わるなど、無事に来れたものの、少しハラハラする事があったようです(*^^*)

When I asked them how their trip went and if they had any trouble, the only story that came up was how although passing through Immigration was no problem at all, they ran into a little bit of confusion afterwards about Customs.  Luckily, a person close by was able to speak some Japanese and offered to help.  Other than a last minute change in the boarding gate number for some added excitement, they arrived with little trouble.   

こちらの空港ではSteveのご両親も出迎えに一緒に来てくださって、私の両親をにぎやかに迎えることができました。遠い中、ありがとうございました(*^_^*)

Steve's parents also made the trip out to the airport to help provide a warm and cheerful welcome for my parents.  Thank you so, so much!! (*^_^*)

Steveと私が借りている家に、2人は滞在したので、前日に、SteveとHowardさんがクリスマスライトをつけてくれました。

Steve and I had my parents stay with us at the house we are temporarily renting.  So Steve and his dad had decorated the house in Christmas lights the day before!

無事に到着して、その日はゆっくり夕食を食べて終えました。時差は、その時はまだ感じていなかったようです・・・(^.^)

We arrived home safely and enjoyed a calm and relaxing evening together.  My parents seemed to be dealing well with the time difference・・・(^.^)

次の日は、私が働いているEnjoy Centreに行きました。

普段は一般に公開されていない、グリーンハウスに行ける許可をいただいて、今が旬のpoinsettia（ポインセチア）がいっぱいのグリーンハウスを見学しました！

The next day we went to visit my place of work: The Enjoy Center.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to have a look around one of the green houses that aren't usually open to the public.  The green house was full of Poinsettias, which are very popular around Christmas time.

ここで働くAKEMIさんにも会い、親に紹介できました。Akemiさんはここでは写真家かつ、ここで扱う植物の管理もされておられます。また、日系4世でもあるAkemiさんにお会いできて、カナダの醍醐味を観光初日から感じられたことだと思います！

We met Akemi who works there and I was able to introduce my parents.  Akemi is in charge of care for these plants, and she is also a photographer.  Meeting Akemi, a 4th generation Japanese Canadian, was a great way for my parents to kick-off their first full day in Canada! 

このpoinsettiaは、何百も種類があります。このEnjoy Centreでも、何種類かあり、色も赤だけではなく、クリーム色のような白や赤と白が混ざったもの、ピンクやいろいろな種類のpoinsettiaを販売しています。中でも、何株も大きな鉢に植えてあるpoinsettiaは大きく、ボリュームもあるので、見ごたえがあります！

There are hundreds of varieties of poinsettias.  As well as the traditional red, the Enjoy Center carries numerous other colours including pink, a cream-like variety, and another that is an interesting mix of red and white. There was also a giant variety that is so big, it is quite spectacular!   

ランチは、Steveの実家に行きました～(*^^*)

We were invited for lunch to Steve's family's home～(*^^*)

As a light hearted welcome to winter in Canada, Steve's dad had my dad try-on his favourite fluorescent parka and matching hat.  "Now you're ready for the Canadian winter!"(click the above image for a slideshow of lunch!)

ランチの後は、近くにあるアリーナに行きました☆
目的は１つのアリーナに3つのアイスホッケーリンクがあるので、それを見に行くというものでしたが、当日はちょうど練習の合間でアイスホッケーは見れませんでしたが、フィギュアスケートの練習は見れました。
After lunch, we showed my parents around a local sports complex. ☆
Since this center has 3 arenas, we thought we'd have a chance to see some Canadian sports.  The hockey happened to be in between time-slots, but we were able to see some figure skaters practicing.

まだまだ1日は終わりません。今夜の夕食の買い出しに、中華スーパーマーケットに行きました。中華といえど、日本の食品もたくさんあるからです。値段は高いですが、ほとんどの物は手に入ります。例えば、日本のマヨネーズは700円くらい出せば買えます。

And this is all still on the first day!  That night, we went grocery shopping at a special Asian grocery store.  There are lots of Japanese products and ingredients there.  The prices are of course a lot higher than in Japan, but we always seem to find what we're looking for.  For example, they have Japanese mayonnaise for about 700 yen.

その帰りに、ライトアップで有名な家に行きました。去年、私とSteveとKarinaで行ったので、見覚えがある方がおられるかもしれません。

On the way home, we stopped off at a spot that is famous for it's Christmas lights.  We had gone to see it last year with Karina - maybe some of you remember seeing it in the blog back then.

で、気になる夕食ですが、私が無性に食べたいと思って、母にリクエストしていた、高野豆腐とヒジキの煮物、そして、やっぱり手巻きずしをしました。

It was a particularly special meal.  As a special request, my mom made us a special tofu dish as well as boiled hijiki.  Of course, we also had delicious sushi!

おいしかったです～(*^_^*)

It was deeeeeelicious!～(*^_^*)

次の日もいろいろしました！また続きをお伝えします。

We also did many things the next day, too!  To be continued!