00;00;09;28 - 00;00;32;18 Lindsay Hey, everyone. Thank you for joining me. Lindsay Rubeniuk for Life on the Prairies podcast. And today we actually have two wonderful ladies joining us. It's a mother and daughter duo. And, I'm going to let them tell their story and how they came to their community. But I am joined by Miss Frances Stewart as well as her daughter, Carol Stewart.

00;00;32;19 - 00;00;38;04 Lindsay So welcome, ladies. Welcome to my podcast, and thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it. Today.

00;00;38;11 - 00;00;39;27 Frances Thank you for asking us.

00;00;39;28 - 00;00;40;25 Carol Thanks for having us.

00;00;40;27 - 00;00;59;24 Lindsay Okay, great. So I'm really want you in our audience. basically I want them to to know more about you. Like, not only your names, but maybe just a little bit of background, and then we can get into, you know, what brought you here? And, you know, your how your life has been in the community and so on and so forth.

00;00;59;26 - 00;01;28;22 Frances I'm Frances Stewart, I'm lucky to have my mother, who is 98, still alive, and she lives in the prairies, too, right in our home town. I'm the mother of Carol, a life changing activist and also a proud grandmother. I'm, I have a life partner who I'm happily married to, and I've lived in Dauphin for almost 43 years.

00;01;28;25 - 00;01;30;23 Frances Dauphin, Manitoba. That is.

00;01;30;26 - 00;01;52;10 Lindsay Okay, excellent. So I like to ask this question. When you meet people, how do you tell people where the city of Dauphin is in terms of, you know, if it's because I have to meet people and they say, oh, I know where Toronto is, or I know where Vancouver is, and then everything in between is a mystery. So how would you describe where the city of Dauphin is?

00;01;52;10 - 00;02;01;10 Frances We are in the province of Manitoba. Winnipeg is the capital, and we are 3.5 hours drive northwest of Winnipeg.

00;02;02;06 - 00;02;04;17 Lindsay But as you said, you haven't always.

00;02;04;19 - 00;02;05;10 Frances No.

00;02;05;13 - 00;02;06;08 Lindsay Right here. No.

00;02;06;08 - 00;02;27;25 Frances I'm originally from Jamaica in the Caribbean, and I came when I was to Manitoba when I was 33. My then husband, Carol’s dad had got a job in Dauphin. And so Carol and I a month later took several flights and came direct to Dauphin.

00;02;27;27 - 00;02;32;15 Lindsay And so. So how did you guys decide that you wanted to come to Manitoba?

00;02;32;17 - 00;02;48;28 Frances my husband, actually was born in Manitoba, but then left when he was a baby and we just thought it would be a great adventure to to discover the prairies and try, try a different country.

00;02;49;01 - 00;03;02;20 Lindsay Okay, good. So when you arrived here, what's your story like? Tell us. Like, what did you think? And when you arrived to Dauphin, Manitoba? what were the first couple of years like for you? How did you adjust?

00;03;02;22 - 00;03;31;11 Frances it took quite a bit of adjusting not to not to the weather, because it's so extreme. Everybody's equally cold or equally hot, depending on what the temperature is. But I came from Kingston, Jamaica, which is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city and often seemed so much quieter. I also had to get used to the prairies, to the wide open spaces, and to be.

00;03;31;11 - 00;03;53;14 Frances It took me a little while before I could see the subtle differences and beauty of the prairies, but, it was mostly, mostly positive. I, made a point of getting to know my neighbors and trying to do roughly what the neighbors did if they cut their grass, I'd cut my grass.

00;03;53;16 - 00;03;54;26 Lindsay If they shovel snow.

00;03;54;26 - 00;04;18;28 Frances I shovel, I shovel. That's not exactly that's all. And, and because Carol was eight at the time, she was involved with a lot of with school and lots of other activities. She got to know all the kids on the street. And so through her, I got to know parents and, one of the first things I did was volunteer at the school.

00;04;19;00 - 00;04;57;00 Frances Oh, and that's a good idea. Yes. And then I, volunteered was as opportunities presented themselves, a volunteer. And Carol Jo, I signed up for skating and music and Highland dance. Every Caribbean child should be doing Highland dancing, apparently. And, and I volunteered with those groups as well, so that really increased my network. And so I had a good number of acquaintances and soon friends as well.

00;04;57;02 - 00;05;22;12 Lindsay Yeah, I and that's I'm really glad you're speaking to that because when people often arrive in Canada, sometimes there's not an expectation or not an opportunity in their, in their own country to volunteer. And, right. So I try to encourage my clients to come out and volunteer. And I think that by you volunteering and doing what you did, you said exactly that it strengthens your network.

00;05;22;14 - 00;05;29;29 Lindsay So did you feel, more settled in the community, would you say, like from volunteering, like, how did that help you?

00;05;30;06 - 00;05;46;02 Frances Absolutely. And in several of my job interviews that I went to, I, people who were interviewing me, I had already met through some community activity or involvement, and that was, I think, a big help.

00;05;46;04 - 00;06;01;03 Lindsay And that's a really good advantage of living in a small town. Right. Because who you're sitting beside as you're watching your daughter do some Highland dancing, could be the person that's going to interview you, and you have that ability to make that connection with that person.

00;06;01;06 - 00;06;02;16 Frances Exactly.

00;06;02;19 - 00;06;20;06 Lindsay Well that's okay. Okay. We continue on with you, Francis. So you got here and, so your husband's working for him. Husband's working. And so you were doing lots of volunteering. And when did you decide that you would want to be, like, employed or get a job like the.

00;06;20;06 - 00;06;53;12 Frances First job that I had was copy typing with the local newspaper. But it was a friend who was also a music teacher who said they're looking for to put typists at the Dauphin Herald. Why don't you apply? So I did that two days a week. So I got my foot, foot to the door and they were going to pay me minimum wage, and I was just so surprised because I wasn't didn't realize that that's very much a part of being a newcomer is that very often you start right back at the bottom.

00;06;53;15 - 00;07;00;07 Frances And so I, I, I, I was surprised. So they added $0.25 an hour.

00;07;00;09 - 00;07;02;15 Lindsay Did you ask them or did you just know?

00;07;02;15 - 00;07;10;19 Frances I think I was so aghast that the person that was interviewing me, you know, decided to make a great concession.

00;07;10;22 - 00;07;30;14 Lindsay Well, unfortunately, I don't think that's changed very much. No, in the in the Canadian immigration system is that we have brilliant people with a high skill set to come to our country. And unfortunately, you know, they, have to they don't have the opportunity to practice what they did in their home country. Because what did you do? back in to make you.

00;07;30;16 - 00;08;04;15 Frances I was a secretary, and I also did community development work, and, I didn't, you know, have immediate opportunities to to do that. But from the Dauphin held, I did a short stint as a chambermaid in a with one of the local hotels, and I did a short, a term, a short term position, gathering information for a local development economic development office.

00;08;04;18 - 00;08;29;10 Frances And then from there I was a secretary at the co-op. So at that point I was back doing what I had done, but at a much lower salary. but it was such a learning experience. I really got to know my community through all the jobs that I did. So although it was hard to be lower down the scale, it was a real advantage.

00;08;29;12 - 00;08;40;17 Lindsay So, were you able to ever, you know, like overcome that? Were you able to, you know, access better employment after that? Even though I know you enjoyed your jobs, it's just.

00;08;40;21 - 00;09;09;15 Frances Yeah, yes I did. I worked my way, you know, into it, into working in the municipal office. And then I worked with Community Health Services, and then I was on par with what I had been doing before. Before in, in Jamaica. And it was it gave me job security and opportunity to supervise some other staff and to really make a contribution in the community.

00;09;09;17 - 00;09;21;11 Lindsay Okay. So you have, lots of volunteers and experience. You have lots of employment experience. And then so you you did that. Well raising Carol.

00;09;21;13 - 00;09;31;03 Frances Yeah. She, she was very she was wonderful. She, she kept saying to me, oh, mom, you don't know how lucky you are to have me.

00;09;31;05 - 00;09;32;25 Lindsay She was to me now.

00;09;32;26 - 00;09;44;00 Frances Yes, yes, exactly. But. And looking back, I agree with her. But, Yes, I worked for community health services for 20 years, and then I retired.

00;09;44;02 - 00;09;53;05 Lindsay Yeah. You retire, you came. Yeah. You've done. You've done a lot. And I before retire retired because do we ever retire? So what are you doing now?

00;09;53;10 - 00;10;21;05 Frances Right. And, I've always been in, involved with the church that I attend, both locally and regionally and even nationally. And, sometime ago, I decided that I should answer a nudge that I had been having to become an ordained minister. And so I pursued that. And now I'm an ordained deacon in the Anglican Church.

00;10;21;08 - 00;10;22;26 Lindsay Wow. Congratulations.

00;10;23;03 - 00;10;23;19 Frances Thank you.

00;10;23;19 - 00;10;24;26 Lindsay It's great accomplishment.

00;10;24;27 - 00;10;42;13 Frances It's a real privilege. And, being a deacon is all about servant ministry. And I think that when we are in a community, whether we've been there just recently or for a long time, that service to others is really important.

00;10;42;15 - 00;11;04;21 Lindsay Yeah. And I could tell that throughout here you ever since you they got to doffing you. You've been very service oriented right through volunteerism. Yes. And and the jobs you've held at community development. So that's what S3 definitely have in common because I'm a huge fan of community economic development and I practice that as well. So, it's just it's just so much fun to do development, I think.

00;11;04;24 - 00;11;38;02 Lindsay so I guess, Francis, what I'd really like to know, too, is seeing that you've been through all phases from, you know, immigration to like, you know, raising a daughter, here and now you're retired and you've achieved so many things. Do you have some advice that you'd want to give? maybe newcomers, to the, to Canada and, and even those who are hesitant about moving out to the prairies and just kind of way, you know, some advice and, anything that you want to say to them.

00;11;38;05 - 00;12;09;22 Frances I know that we all have to make well-thought-out, rational decisions, but I think if along with that, you take along a sense of adventure when you're stepping into new into new areas, that is really good. I can't stress volunteering and service enough. And I think just being, kind and true to yourself, and a good friend to those people around you whenever possible.

00;12;09;24 - 00;12;30;07 Lindsay Wow. You're just a really great person. I'm so happy that you're all right. You know, you well, you just like you exemplify everything, right? You know? And that's what I really, I'm trying to get across in, in my series is that you can have a great life in a rural community out on the prairies, and, you know, it is what you make it.

00;12;30;09 - 00;12;50;02 Lindsay And I think you've done everything like, pretty much like, really well. Right. Because I think you've you've hit it on the head where, you know, again, you've, you, volunteered. So you create that network and then, you know, even though you had much higher skills, you, you still took that job and you built yourself up and, you know, and then you became a supervisor.

00;12;50;10 - 00;13;01;21 Lindsay And even after your retirement, you became an ordained deacon. Right? So that's really that's, that's great. I slot I don't know, okay. So if there's anything else you want to add, feel free.

00;13;01;23 - 00;13;25;02 Frances I think the other thing that is really important is to have a good resumé, an effective, untruthful resumé, you know, is just is just a wonderful thing to have. And it doesn't hurt to get advice from other people, you know, to read to to research and read up on, an employment skills.

00;13;25;04 - 00;13;26;23 Lindsay Yeah. And where the jobs are.

00;13;26;26 - 00;13;30;26 Frances Yes. Yes that's Carlos, that's really Carlos. Yeah.

00;13;30;29 - 00;13;49;08 Lindsay Exactly. And that's right. Okay. So that's a good segue into Carol. But you know what. Before we start I know it wasn't really something asked. I want to ask you though I didn't really think about it until your mom was talking and she had said that, you know, when you guys came over here, it was like, you know, it was either like, it could be really cold or really, really hot.

00;13;49;08 - 00;13;53;04 Lindsay What did you think of your first winter? Do you remember your first winter?

00;13;53;06 - 00;13;56;25 Carol I do, we arrived in August and.

00;13;56;26 - 00;13;57;28 Lindsay Oh, so we tricked you.

00;13;57;29 - 00;13;58;09 Carol Yeah.

00;13;58;16 - 00;13;59;07 Lindsay Okay.

00;13;59;09 - 00;14;23;07 Carol And I remember, like, dying to see snow because I'd never seen snow before. And we heard. And it maybe it was in October that there was snow up and riding Mountain. Just, south of Dauphine here. And so we drove up into the park to go and find snow. And it was like this little scattering of snow. And it was I remember it, you know, like it was yesterday.

00;14;23;10 - 00;14;29;22 Carol and then when the real snow came, it was amazing. Like it was so much snow all the time. We had a blast.

00;14;29;24 - 00;14;46;24 Lindsay Oh. That's good. There you go. But you find if you dress properly for snow. Right. And you had said it because everybody's going to be cold together. Everybody's going to be warm together. But you can really prepare for our winters. And as long as you know what we call it. Took me two minutes.

00;14;46;27 - 00;14;47;26 Frances warm underwear.

00;14;48;01 - 00;15;01;07 Lindsay Yeah. Warm underwear. And, you know, and then summertime, we get up to like, plus 35 here as well. Right. So we have such a diverse climate in the city of often. And I think the city as often are we not the.

00;15;01;07 - 00;15;02;07 Frances City of sunshine.

00;15;02;07 - 00;15;12;16 Lindsay Yeah. The city of sunshine. But vermilion growers also relocate or located themselves here. And it's because of how many days we have a sunshine. Right. So excellent.

00;15;12;22 - 00;15;26;11 Carol Yeah. It takes a bit of time to figure out what to wear when. but in our first winter here, my dad built an igloo on the front lawn, and all the neighbors thought that was pretty cool. I think we were the first igloo in and off.

00;15;26;11 - 00;15;28;10 Lindsay And so there you go. Yeah, I think.

00;15;28;11 - 00;15;29;13 Carol I've broken spring skills.

00;15;29;13 - 00;15;44;17 Lindsay Yeah, right. And I think my sister and I, we built an igloo maybe once or twice growing up, and that was it. So. And I don't think you might I think you might have a hard time finding people on the prairie saying they built a though. Yeah. So that's interesting. All right. Carol, so you are with us today too.

00;15;44;17 - 00;16;08;21 Lindsay And I want to know your Canadian story in terms of. So if you want to take us back to when you first arrived or, you know, kind of like just tell us whatever you feel that I think some newcomers would want to hear and even people would want to learn like just somebody who's been here forever, right? I've grown up in Canada, and I'm always really excited to hear people's stories and what they learn, because I know that I learn from them.

00;16;08;21 - 00;16;09;28 Lindsay Right. So.

00;16;10;00 - 00;16;28;19 Carol Yeah. well, happy to happy to share. I, emigrated with my parents from Jamaica to Dauphin, Manitoba when I was eight, and, probably being eight years old helped because kids tend to live more in the present and perhaps even the future than they sort of dwell in the past. so it was a big change for me.

00;16;28;19 - 00;16;46;01 Carol It was a big city, you know, moved to a small town from, as you mentioned, the climate and so forth. I had an accent when I came here, Jamaican accent. And so it felt like I stood out, a bit. But I have to admit, I worked pretty hard to lose that accent. I regret that a bit now.

00;16;46;04 - 00;17;05;08 Carol but it was, it was good. I love sports, and there was lots of kids in my neighborhood, so we played outside. We did a lot of that. We played road hockey. we went down to the Vermilion River, you know, to look at crayfish and get into trouble. so that my youth part, I think was, pretty decent.

00;17;05;10 - 00;17;23;05 Carol my parents encouraged me to play music, so I played the violin here, did lots of recitals in the local festivals, and we started a string quartet. Then we play all the local events, and I played a lot of tennis, so I lived at the tennis courts. academics were very important to my parents and to myself as well.

00;17;23;08 - 00;17;41;03 Carol So there were lots of school clubs like debating and, some people might remember reach for the top. It was a game show for students, for high school students. So I joined that. so those sorts of things really helped, to help, you know, to make friends, but also to be connected, you know, to various community groups as well.

00;17;41;05 - 00;18;00;06 Carol my mom mentioned the Highland dancing. I wasn't very good, but I it also meant that we were connected to, you know, to the local Legion. And I ended up playing in the pipe band and being in the parades and things. So it's, you know, it's baby steps. But then it's remarkable how full your life becomes if you try a little bit of everything.

00;18;00;08 - 00;18;16;20 Carol and so I think that was, that was really important to my success as a, as a teenager. And then, in high school and so forth. So I, you know, left, high school here and often when I was finished and went to Brandon University, which is about, two hours south, so not too far from home.

00;18;16;23 - 00;18;35;11 Carol But my father went there and my grandfather was a professor there. So it made sense, that I was in Brandon and that, again, was moving to a slightly larger city, but still pretty small in the big scheme of things. And after that I went to London, Ontario to go to Western University for graduate school.

00;18;35;13 - 00;18;58;22 Lindsay Okay. Okay. So then you so you decided, well, you and lots of us do leave for, you know, to pursue university. But we do have a local college right in the city as often that Carol is actually our executive director for. So and I'm a huge proponent of community colleges. so but I do understand that, you know, people do leave and they, they go away, go away for education.

00;18;58;22 - 00;19;08;18 Lindsay And so tell us about like, so you, when you went, you got your, graduate designation at the you stayed did you stay there in the London area?

00;19;08;19 - 00;19;09;11 Frances London, Ontario?

00;19;09;11 - 00;19;38;03 Carol I did, yes, I did my master's and then I did some, PhD studies as well. And I ended up working. Actually, I was a faculty member at, Western University for perhaps 10 to 12 years. and then I moved into community development because that's where my research and my academics sort of took me was exploring how to, to grow communities, how to, you know, be a participatory, and a collaborative, you sort of instigator and innovator.

00;19;38;06 - 00;20;11;28 Carol And I ended up working in, in employment and training and education and for 15 years. And I can't say enough about how important it is to have access to post-secondary education and institutions. And in Dauphin, Manitoba, we're lucky to have a Senior Point Community College, which is the area's only post-secondary institution. And it means that people can stay and get degrees and get diplomas and learn skills and be connected, to an academic network as well.

00;20;12;03 - 00;20;19;14 Carol Without having to go away. And if you do go away, which, as you mentioned, many of us do, it's always a great place to come back to.

00;20;19;15 - 00;20;39;24 Lindsay Yes. And that's I want to and then for some reason, I think it's because we just realize how great it is here. We return. but I do want to say hello to us and Wayne Community College. Is that the one thing I love about the, the college is they design their programs to meet the needs of the local area.

00;20;39;24 - 00;20;51;03 Lindsay So if you do end up taking, you know, a diploma or a certificate, from, HCC, you're bound to end up with a job and a, you know, a pretty good paying job, too, I must say.

00;20;51;03 - 00;21;16;02 Carol So our graduates do really well. And in part it's because at Assiniboine, it's about learning as well as doing or doing, I suppose, as well as learning. So it means that even as people are going through their programs, they're getting connected to local employers. They're meeting, you know, sort of influencers in their sector or their industry. And yes, it's a very responsive, institution.

00;21;16;02 - 00;21;23;29 Carol And so it means that we're offering programs, for people to graduate, and find jobs that are in demand.

00;21;24;02 - 00;21;42;28 Lindsay Okay. So then, before you so let's talk about you moving back here. Right. So you you're probably pretty set in London, Ontario. And actually, my mum, was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, so I know that area pretty well. And then, so, yeah, my dad and I came out here, so that's how I end up.

00;21;43;00 - 00;21;53;27 Lindsay But anyways, and so, so let's talk about when you're, you're kind of like, were you considering, moving back here or what was kind of, how you land.

00;21;53;27 - 00;22;18;25 Carol Back up here. Well, I was, I yes, I was very settled in London. Okay. And I worked with a lot of immigrant and settlement organizations in London and that region in southwestern Ontario, particularly to help people find work, and I didn't I never really thought about myself as much as an immigrant there. Perhaps it was because we were all sort of new.

00;22;18;27 - 00;22;38;29 Carol but it was and I, you know, I, I have a spouse and I had a child in London, and so they are also very settled there as well. But you know what it was, it was I think it was sort of the onset of the pandemic and not being able to come back to Manitoba as frequently to see my parents and my family and my friends here.

00;22;39;01 - 00;23;02;08 Carol And I really felt that pull. And then there was also a part of me that wanted my daughter, who's ten, to get to know her grandparents here in Manitoba better and to see where I grew up and where I came from. I mean, because really, you know, ultimately, now I am from Dauphin. so that was important to me to, to, you know, have them be closer and to get to know each other better.

00;23;02;10 - 00;23;22;22 Carol And my husband is retired and he was up for a, you know, an adventure. So we started to look at what sort of skills I had that I could transfer to a new role here in Manitoba. And he started looking for houses to buy. And slowly but surely the plan sort of came together and I started saying, you know, sort of my goodbyes.

00;23;22;22 - 00;23;39;24 Carol And this opportunity came up in Dauphin and I, you know, I'm a huge advocate for post-secondary education. And so being the director of a campus of a community college, seemed like a really great fit. And plus it meant I got to come home and, you know, live near my mom.

00;23;39;27 - 00;23;50;29 Lindsay All right. Yeah. And that's that's everything. So how hard was it? Was it hard or like, to find housing in the city of Dauphin or what did you think, like? Well, we're still looking.

00;23;51;00 - 00;23;54;09 Carol Okay. So it's been, we've been here 8 or 9 months.

00;23;54;09 - 00;23;55;10 Lindsay Okay.

00;23;55;13 - 00;24;14;13 Carol there are options. We do have, some privilege in being able to wait for, you know, the house that we're looking for, that we're going to buy because it's a big decision. however, we've certainly kept our eyes on, you know, the rental market and so forth, and we're currently renting right now, and it's a lovely, lovely spot.

00;24;14;13 - 00;24;43;17 Carol It's on Dauphin Lake, which means that it's like a bit like live in it while we live at the lake. It's like having a cottage at the lake and eating all the time. Yeah, it's absolutely gorgeous. So, that's certainly, I would say, you know, to be completely transparent, that is a challenge. but we, you know, we I have students that come to the college, you know, and they are coming from outside of town and they're able to find places to settle while they do their studies here.

00;24;43;19 - 00;24;52;08 Carol Yeah. And I know that there is a lot of interest and commitment, by people in Dauphin in the parkland area to helping newcomers and immigrants. Oh, yeah. find.

00;24;52;08 - 00;25;18;04 Lindsay Appropriate housing, the parkland, Ukraine family Fund, we, they volunteer for, and actually the, gentleman who produces my podcast, his mom knows a lot about it. so anyways, we were able to, but not me personally, but there was an individual on our committee that has found, 65 homes for 65 families in the city of Dauphin within the last two years.

00;25;18;06 - 00;25;24;26 Lindsay So. So there is there there's a number of opportunities and potentials, but it's there's a difference between renting and buying.

00;25;24;26 - 00;25;48;16 Carol Yes. And I won't say that there is a it's a pretty significant inventory of small homes for sale. And many of them are very lovely. Many have just been recently renovated and, you know, they are. Yeah, they're perfectly, you know, perfectly nice homes. And they're affordable in London, Ontario. I you know, the average house price is probably more than half.

00;25;48;19 - 00;25;52;01 Carol sorry, sorry, more than twice as much in London to buy a house. And it is here.

00;25;52;07 - 00;25;56;22 Lindsay And so do you know, like, what would be the average, like 500,000 or 6?

00;25;56;24 - 00;26;10;22 Carol over 600,000. Probably closer to 700,000 to buy a house in London, Ontario. Whereas here in Dauphin, I regularly am checking the real estate listings, and there are dozens of houses for under 200,000 here.

00;26;10;24 - 00;26;15;29 Lindsay Wow. So that's like a $500,000 savings, right? Yeah.

00;26;16;01 - 00;26;17;07 Carol Considerable.

00;26;17;10 - 00;26;31;11 Lindsay It really is. You know, and I think we when you talk, we we talk about your life or you turn around at the end of the day and you look back on your life and you think about it and it's like, you know, you always want to have a beautiful house. You want to be happy in that house.

00;26;31;11 - 00;26;50;05 Lindsay But I think, you know, you do want to take solace in the fact that you didn't overpay and that you didn't work just to have a house, right? You you worked to have a good life. And so, you know, having to pay an exorbitant amount for a place to live is something that I, I've never had to face.

00;26;50;05 - 00;27;09;24 Lindsay Right? Because I've always lived on the prairies and we've always had affordable, affordable housing, high paying jobs. Right. So I remember but you are right. You do have the time to look and see what's best for you. Okay. So anyways, okay, so you convinced your husband and daughter to move back to Dauphin. And they had been here a couple times before though, right?

00;27;09;27 - 00;27;11;29 Carol Yes. And family visits. Yeah.

00;27;12;01 - 00;27;14;29 Lindsay And so they were more than willing to come back with you.

00;27;15;01 - 00;27;36;08 Carol I wouldn't say more than willing. I would I would say they were willing to say we're willing. We're willing to take the leap of faith, for sure. So that is, really that's all you can ask sometimes. And, you know, as a result, my husband, he loves to fish. And this is the perfect place. You know, the prairies are covered.

00;27;36;14 - 00;28;02;07 Carol Covered in water. and so he, you know, lots of fishing. He loves to, you know, watch the skies. And so he sets up his, telescope, and, you know, there's it's you can see as many sky, sorry stars here as anywhere else in the world. my daughter, she's in gymnastics and sports and crafts and things. So she's getting settled in, in her school.

00;28;02;09 - 00;28;07;21 Carol so, yeah, it's it takes it takes some time and some patience, you know? But we're getting there.

00;28;07;23 - 00;28;14;25 Lindsay Oh, good. And, yeah, she made, I've heard she's made a good friends with, one of the Ukrainian newcomers family.

00;28;14;25 - 00;28;15;10 Carol That's right.

00;28;15;10 - 00;28;16;00 Lindsay Yeah, yeah. So.

00;28;16;00 - 00;28;17;15 Carol That's right. Yeah. Oh.

00;28;17;16 - 00;28;34;01 Lindsay That's awesome. Excellent. So is there anything else you guys want to share? But I love how you brought up, though. I totally forgot to bring up the fact of all the extra curricular things you can do in the city as often, right? Like, you know, fishing, you know, snowmobiling, whatever it is. Because we are a very outdoor community.

00;28;34;01 - 00;28;54;23 Lindsay Yes. Right. Like it? It fits -30 or if it's plus 30, a lot of our activities. Yeah. If not, like practically all seem to revolve around being outside. Right. And we have the national park, as I always say. our backyard to play in Raleigh Mountain National Park. So so thanks for bringing that up because I was slipped my mind.

00;28;54;23 - 00;29;03;02 Carol And there's lots of music, lots of cultural stuff and lots of food. A lot of things revolve around food and music and.

00;29;03;05 - 00;29;31;27 Lindsay And that's a good point to bring up is that we have, you know, we have theater group and there's yeah, there's lots of music available here. And yeah, there's just lots to do right there. Really. Yes. So I'm going to ask each of you if somebody you were to come to the city as often for a day and you each can have your, your answer for this, but if they were to come to the city, adopt them for one day, what would you tell them to do?

00;29;31;28 - 00;29;37;18 Lindsay Where would you tell them to go eat? Just what? If you could plan the day for them, what would you do?

00;29;37;21 - 00;30;03;20 Frances I think I'd take them on a short drive around the, you know, around the town and show them places like the museum and and downtown, which isn't big, but it is our, you know, Metropolitan Center and show them the recreation, you know, grounds and all the facilities that we have there. And, then I think I would say go to lunch at Karina's.

00;30;03;22 - 00;30;43;05 Frances It's, Good, good, good. reasonable prices and a wide variety of people go there. And, and I think in the afternoon I would see go over to the Art center, the Watson Art center, and look and look and look around. It was the former town, city, city off city office. And, but they have, you know, they usually they have, you know, a small gallery and they have craft items and, it gives you a sense of some of the cultural things that are going on.

00;30;43;07 - 00;30;49;20 Lindsay Wow. Okay. Awesome. That sounds like a fun day. And you, miss Carol, who would you tell her friends to do?

00;30;49;22 - 00;31;12;25 Carol Dolphin. Absolutely. Say stop in, to City Hall, which is right downtown. And, introduce yourself and say hello to the mayor, David Bozak. You can tell him that I sent you and lots of friendly people. at City Hall, you could pick up a visitor's guide to parkland region or the, to activities guide for dolphin.

00;31;12;27 - 00;31;21;25 Carol And then you can essentially just, you know, put your finger on any page and they'll be something, something fun going on or something interesting to do and see.

00;31;21;27 - 00;31;32;19 Lindsay Yes, yes, you're right, because we also have, what's it called, the directors. Is that or the. Yeah, we have that. Right. So we have bike paths, we have hiking paths. We have oh my goodness. Yes.

00;31;32;24 - 00;31;34;27 Carol Regardless of the season, there's going to be something fun. Yeah.

00;31;34;27 - 00;31;42;28 Lindsay I think you need more than a day. Right. So they might as well just as I said before just bring their suitcase and maybe a couple more and they might just stay. Right.

00;31;42;28 - 00;31;44;06 Frances So yesterday.

00;31;44;09 - 00;31;44;17 Carol Yep.

00;31;44;22 - 00;32;05;18 Lindsay Okay. Well is there anything else you want to add about, you know, your your immigration journey or, you know, living and working in the city, adopting and ultimately returning any advice you want to give to our listeners. And they'll be people that are wanting to relocate to the prairies or considering it or immigrating. So we have a kind of a diverse audience.

00;32;05;21 - 00;32;35;28 Carol Well, one of the things that's intriguing about Manitoba and that people from across Canada kind of joke about is that on our license plates here on vehicles, it says Friendly Manitoba and it I can I'm legitimately here to say that that is not just a cliche, that when I have traveled across Canada and particularly when I lived in Ontario, people used to comment on how often I would try to look people in the eyes or make eye contact and smile at strangers.

00;32;36;01 - 00;33;05;10 Carol And I realize now that that was me always looking for a familiar face. and when I came back, too often, suddenly familiar faces are everywhere. So even as an immigrant, you'd be surprised how quickly, you can fit into your community here. And even when you if and when you leave and return. so many of those, those folks are still here and still, it's still wonderful to run into people that I may have not seen for, you know, for 30 years.

00;33;05;12 - 00;33;08;13 Carol but they're just as friendly and lovely as when I met.

00;33;08;16 - 00;33;11;12 Lindsay Excellent. Any advice?

00;33;11;15 - 00;33;15;06 Frances And I think Carl said that beautifully.

00;33;15;09 - 00;33;39;01 Lindsay Okay. Well that's awesome. So. Yeah. So, it was great to hear your stories today. And, you know, you really reminded me of all the resources that we have. And, and often in terms of, like, activities but also resources, we should mention that we do have a settlement office in the city, and we have, you know, the Parkland Job Opportunities Center.

00;33;39;04 - 00;33;58;20 Lindsay So we have lots of resources in terms of if somebody wants to move to our community as well, that we just have a lot of, you know, complimentary, services that you don't have to pay for. We have beautiful arts, you know, and arts and entertainment, that people can do. So yeah. You ladies have really reminded me of all the fun things that we have around here.

00;33;58;20 - 00;34;02;06 Lindsay Because sometimes when you live here for a long time, you just forget, right?

00;34;02;09 - 00;34;03;09 Frances Yes. You do.

00;34;03;11 - 00;34;10;23 Lindsay Okay. Well, thank you so much for taking the time. And, Yeah, I look forward to chatting with you guys some more in the future, hopefully.

00;34;10;25 - 00;34;11;17 Carol Thank you so much.

00;34;11;17 - 00;34;12;29 Frances Thank you so much, Lindsay.

00;34;13;01 - 00;34;30;12 Lindsay You're welcome. Thanks, everybody, for joining me for life on the Prairie podcast and on our YouTube channel. And if you want to head over to 100 Meridian Dot, CAA, feel free. That's where you'll get to know me better. And thank you. And we're looking forward to seeing you next time.

00;34;30;14 - 00;34;40;17 Frances