The four vignettes found found in this opening segment of the travels of the microcarving Hildegard von Marlin with JMc document a trip to Germany in 2015. JMc is a judicious student of History and was well-positioned to make the most out of this trip, one which also included visiting a treasured sibling. While the adventures in Germany were characterized by leisurely journeys to older, palatial outdoor spaces and the empire of architectural splendour, these experiences can be juxtaposed against the tragic public memories of the fairly recent past revisited in the first vignette.

Sanssouci Palace, Potsdam
14:49hrs May 15, 2015 24°C

Hildegard von Marlin is resting on the gates of the Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany. In the background you can see one of the many fountains that litter the gardens, and you also have a taste of the gold accents that covers the palace. Sanssouci, meaning “without worries” in French, was built by Frederich the Great between 1745 and 1747. Now, it is a popular tourist destination because of the one hundred and fifty buildings that can be seen throughout the five hundred hectares of grounds. One can spend an entire day wandering through the grounds and getting lost in the numerous paths in the trees. The palace of Sanssouci, as the name suggests, was built as a summer vacation palace for Frederich II, and one can tell that it would be a beautiful and relaxing destination for the summer. My sister and I spent the day wandering the grounds. My sister and I are partially Dutch, and the town of Potsdam is home to a large number of Dutch residents. As we walked we enjoyed some Puffertjes, our favourite Dutch breakfast food and dessert.

While at the University of Alberta, JMc also worked for the City of Edmonton within many of the programs designed to support communities and youth. In the two vignettes found in this section, Hildegard von Marlen helps mark memories and keen insights into the importance of these programs for immigrant families in particular. The ability to play sports and to participate in outdoor activities many Albertans take for granted are central to the success of these programs directed towards at-risk youth in the metropolitan area and its immediate surroundings.

Community Program, Edmonton
4:50PM August 18, 2015 18°C

I work for the City of Edmonton with a program directed towards neighbourhoods that have ‘problems’ with their youth, ages 12 to 19. This photograph was taken in the north side of city at an event that we held for our youth participants. The neighbourhoods are almost always in the north side of city with a few notable ones still on the south side. The vast majority of youth who participate in our program are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Our program is designed to give youth something to do with the help of positive role models, so they are less likely to get involved in any ‘troublemaking’ activity, which ranges from hanging around in groups on the street to organized crime. One of these communities on the north side is comprised of a large number of youth of Somalian descent. Somalians immigrated to Canada in large numbers during the 1990s because of civil war, and were placed in accomodations located on the north side of Edmonton where rent was cheaper. I mention the Somalian community because there are a large number of Somalians in Edmonton, and specifically the north side, but many other immigrant communities share the same experience as well.

These neighbourhoods are ‘rough’ around the edges and in their core, hence explaing why were sent to the communities. Some of my youth are, to varying degrees, involved in organized crime. When things like organized crime become a part of a community, which happens for many reasons, it is difficult to actually implement the progams we offer, largely because there are so many other underlying issues that need to be addressed first. In addition, when your brothers or cousins or friends are involved in bad activities, it can sometimes be difficult to escape. Either way, I have learned so much from the participants. So many are wise beyond their years, compassionate, intelligent, and they certainly have a strong sense of community. They surprise me every day, especially because they persevere beyond the confines of the labels that others have placed on them which include combinations or solitary designations like ‘problem’, ‘rough’, and ‘bad’.

Documenting these programs and the experiences within the communities is crucial today, especially since we are faced with the same issues irrespective of the influx of Syrian refugees who will undoubtedly face similar challenges. Less-than-genuine people are beginning to talk to the government about investing more in their resettlement, when, in reality, their real agenda is not to allocate funds for programs like ours further down the line. Meanwhile, the refugees themselves are really not adequately prepared to confront poverty in the foreseeable future despite the claims to the contrary. Poverty, instead of being ‘character building’ as some people would have us believe, often creates the circumstances which actually tends to encourage and perpetuate crime.

Snow Valley Alpine Adventure
16:52hrs January 30, 2016 -9°C

In the middle of winter, we decided to take the youth in our program skiing at Snow Valley, a small ski facility found in the middle of Edmonton. It is a little hill, taking between four and ten seconds to get to the bottom, depending, of course, on how well you can ski. Many of the youth in my program had never been skiing before since many of them are immigrants from places with no snow. It was a popular field trip, with about thirty-five youth in attendance. Although our program provided a group snowboarding lesson and two group skiing lessons for those that wanted them very few of the youth initially wanted to take us up on the offer, even though I encouraged each participant to take the lessons and “interrogated” them on whether or not they had skied before. Instead, they had me help them put on their boots and bindings, and went straight for the chair lift.

My co-workers and I stood at the bottom, not convinced that the novices would be able to make it down the hill. Sure enough, only a few minutes after they had all left us, the chaos began. One of our youth fell trying to get on the chair lift, causing it to stop for about a minute and backing up the line on the busy Saturday. Two more youth that had made it to the top of the hill did not know how to get off the chairlift, subsequently fell, and slid down part of the hill. Another youth who had decided to snowboard did not know how to do up the second binding once he got to the top of the hill. Thankfully, a kind stranger tried to teach him how to do it up and how to get down the hill safely. One other youth cut off another skier who crashed and fell, and he came down the hill pretty angry. My co-workers and I had to go up the hill quickly without any ski equipment, and bring down the kids who were struggling and we convinced many of them to join the lessons. After several additional trials, not surprisingly, the lessons became extremely popular and were full soon thereafter. And after taking a half hour to gather up the new alpine aficionados at the end of the day, everyone made it home safely in one piece.

This memorable chapter in the travels of JMc and Hildegard von Marlin recalls journeys through the "valley parkland" found throughout the City of Edmonton. As JMc observes, the various trails winding through the "urban wilderness" are a defining feature of Edmonton, one which tends to draw the entire city together as a community through the geography of shared recollections of outdoor experience. The pathways, as JMc asserts, not only prove useful for recreation and reflection, but also are a convenient cyclical route of travel for many destinations, including the universities in the city.

MacKinnon Ravine Park, Edmonton
12:45hrs April 27, 2016 16°C

I have always been a sucker for skies. When I lived in Halifax and briefly in Switzerland, in the winters I felt smothered because the skies were low and often overcast. Even though our winters are very cold and the days are very short, they are bearable because the sun is often out and the sky is often clear. The skies also seem to stretch on forever. I think we forget how lucky we are for that. Now it is spring, and I can finally go outside after studying inside for university final exams the past two weeks. This picture was taken close to my house in the Edmonton river valley. It is my favourite spot to look at the changing weather.