Joanna's Update

Hi all!

Sorry I haven't wrote in a little bit. I am very excited for those I've heard about, Emily I am jealous you are going to Montreal! Kristina, that is so neat it seems almost everyone will be in St. Andrews, that group should put their contact info on here, Micah and I are going to come for the day some Sunday so it'd be nice to get together! As for my job at Family and Community Services it is going really well! This is my second week there and I am feeling really integrated, and Wednesday and today there are provincial meetings taking place at my office, and I did a presentation yesterday and got my nerve up to do my own translating too! I really like my job, and there is a lot I'm learning about inside government things...much of what is disturbing and good rant material for Jonathan to read in my journal haha. The run down of what I've been and will be doing: admisitrative starting work forms, journalling obviously, research for my first paper (yuck), working on Transition House files, visit to Moncton to Maison Nazareth (a homeless shelter) to consider providing more funding and preparing for the Home Orientation Management guide and presenting on it in that meeting as HOM is basically why I was hired. What I will be doing for the guide is compiling all of the seminars such as ones on budgeting and nutrition which have been offered to residents of subidized housing in one manual with "how much it costs", "who to contact", "what materials needed", so that CIC (community involvement coordinators) around the province have a (hopefully) usefull tool for info sharing of what's working for other regions so they can offer it easily in theirs. This will be in hard copy and also a Y drive, which everyon ean access province wide. The next two weeks I am going to two conferences, one in Miramichi and one in Bathurst. Well, I suppose that is enough rambling now, just wanted to chat with you all:)