Thunder Bay

This post is followed by another one about Spring Music Night. Please check them both out. 

'Allo meine Damen und Herren! How is it going? To me everything is so busy, but that''s okay, i enjoy it. I was originally going on a Canadian scout camp this weekend, but I decided to take the weekend off to do whatever, so that I would be less stressed out. Turned out that that was a wonderful idea! I now have time to write a blog entry!

So, last Thursday I went to Thunder Bay, ON, all by myself. I started out in Sarnia with the train, drove for 4 hours to Toronto, where I later took the shuttle bus to Toronto Pearson Airport and flew to Thunder Bay which was a trip of about one and a half hour. The whole point of this trip was to meet my Canadian family who immigrated to Canada generations ago following the foot steps of my great aunt Idun Engberg (who wrote a book about the Danish settlements in Canada) and celebrate easter with them. And so when I arrived in Thunder Bay Airport, Lindsay, Lexy, and their father David was waiting for me. They brought me to their home in Pass Lake, which once was a small Danish settlement in Canada. It got very clear to me when I saw road names like: “Copenhagen Road” and “Jacobsen Road.”

Anyway, I had a really good time there and I saw sooo many things while going hiking, visiting the whole family, hunting for easter eggs, going to the (frozen) beach, etc. The pictures will tell you everything! When I was going back, I had around 5 hours to spend in Toronto after I took the plane to Toronto and till I had to go back with the train to Sarnia. So I decided to spend the hours in CN-Tower which I had not seen before. What a strange experience!

First picture taken from Pass Lake, Thunder Bay, ON

Lindsay, Lexy, and me who are all Engberg's

"The Sea Lion"- saw it on out on hike

Inukshuk... it's a Canadian thing...

Pretty, isn't it? 

We woke up to snow the 24th of April. Ptsch.. CANADA! 

Pass Lake Church Easter Day

Lindsay with mysterious can of pop

The Canadian Engberg's today

Denmark - Canada?

View from CN-Tower, Toronto

CN-Tower from the Ground

Spring Music Night

This Thursday was the day of Spring Music Night the Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia. It was an absolutely amazing experience, and it was to celebrate the wonderful music department at our school. I played percussion in the Senior Concert Band (you wont be able to see me in the video) and in JazzAttack I sang Alto (low woman voice, and if you are looking for me I'm on the far right while singing 'Can you feel the love tonight.') Here's a video of some of the songs played. I'm sorry it's not that wonderful quality, bit it is that or nothing :) If you were wondering who the guy who sings solo in it is, it's my friend Stephen.

I give up

Yes, I give up trying to understand this Canadian weather. It is so unpredictable, and so, so strange. It completely amazes me, and in the same time so annoying! Remember I told you around one week ago how 'summer had finally come to Canada' and how it was 23 degrees celsius? Well, that rapidly changed today. When I went out for lunch buddies today I was amazed; 3 centimetres of snow was lying on the ground that I had not seen just 2 hours earlier. THIS is called quick change in weather! And it was freezing! So I could say that I, Bella, have experienced snow the 18th of April. Dirt sauce!

Another student took this. But that's how it looked like!

Other than that I've finally got hold of some pictures from my Badminton tournament at another school (North Lambton Collegiate Vocational Institute) last wednesday, which went all right. It was a tournament for fun, to meet the other teams and such. We won 3 out of 5 games, hopefully we can do it better next time. I think we can! Either way, it was fun, and our team - the Lancers - are all so funny, so it was a good day.

My partner (his name is Lukas by the way) in action

Me in action. Yes, we wear protection glasses. 

Ever heard of Dill/Vinegar Popcorn? It's strange, but good

Let us hope for some better weather soon. In three days I will be heading to Thunder Bay to my family who immigrated to Canada generations ago. It's so exciting! Tomorrow is Arts Apprecation Night, next Tuesday a badminton tournament, next Thursday is the day of Spring Music Night, and in two weeks Unison!, and festival for JazzAttack. And then eventually a trip to New York will be in between.  So yeah, I've got a very busy schedule :-)

The soft beating,

The sound of movement

For the better 

Will make us walk

Stop load tweaking

The sound will pour 

And I will let it go

From the house in the woods

We can keep it, or watch it change

We might sleep, sleep comes the most

W can keep it, or watch it fall

Over the top till it all comes down

-- Efterklang - The Soft Beating ---

It's summer, it's sun, and it's sunday

Det er sommer, det er sol, og det er søndag! Yes, summer (or what is close to it) has finally come to Canada. It's hard to imagine that two weeks ago, snow was lying around on the ground, and now it is 23 degrees celsius! Talking about quick change in the weather...
So what is on everybody's lips is of course the talk about prom. Honestly, I haven't made many thoughts to it. The only thing I know is what group I am going with, and that is probably it. I haven't got a date or a dress yet, lol... We'll see how everything turns out. I'm just kinda excited for the 'after-party.'

Friday was the day of Spring Fling, it was yet another dance at the school. It was quite funny, not as funny as the other two dances, but decent :) Everyone were wearing very coloured clothes, I'll see if I can upload a picture to this blog post later perhaps. None were wearing formal clothes, it was actually very strange clothes... I saw one guy who I thought was going to yodel because of his very Bavarian outfit...

Yesterday went with more badminton practice and going to the cinema with my buddies Lindsay and Andrés, and today I went skating (one of the last times) and played soccer with the people from Oil Springs. Just felt like telling how awesome it is to sit on grass again, being out not wearing a sweater, it just felt sooo much like summer, it was great!

Maddie, Lindsay and me

King/Queen for a day

Today was a not-ordinary school day. The day started out with a usual Senior Band practise and  then afterwards I had music. Of course on the announcements they started out playing 'O Canada' and then afterwards they said something like this: "Bella Engberg has won the chair-for-charity contest and we hereby declare her Queen for a Day." (The competition was kinda a lottery I bought tickets for, where a club called Beyond Ourselves raised money for Japan.) It was absolutely hilarious and I turned completely red in my face... haha but everyone clapped in my class. After the announcements my two music teachers made me come down to sit in the middle of the class (the music room is set as a amphitheatre to help the placings of the instruments in the Orchestra.) I got smarties and root beer and a little crown (which I soon took of, haha.) So for the rest of the class, even when I played clarinet, I had to sit there in a comfortable chair. The whole school day people walked around and carried the chair to my classes. It was very funny! I got a refreshment in English class with yet another Root Beer and a bag of chips. 

Unfortunately I do not have any photos from today, but my teachers took some, so I'm sure I'll get a copy somehow or it will be in the yearbook. Instead of a picture I present to you the one and only video of me and my buddy Rachel singing at my Final Performance in Vocal Music back in January. As I like to mess up movies and make them more funny, I tried some things on this movie... but then afterwards I couldn't figure out how to turn it back! So now you'll have to see it in black/white. Another thing is that I feel that I've got a lot better at singing, so do not judge me! I put this up because of some requests and it is only an extract of the whole song because otherwise it'll take years to upload... Due to privacy and such I'm deleting the video in two months ... I think

Just keep your arms open wide

Don’t say no to anyone

But keep your heart safe inside

Don’t let go to anyone

And keep your heart safe from harm

Safe and warm in your hand

And raise above the trials of love

- Tina Dickow - 

Coming home

The 28th of March I came home from my vacation in Tobago. I stepped out after the immigration and realized that I ended at the same spot in Toronto Airport as I did when I came over for the first time. Except this time, a YFU representative wasn't there to help me, and this time I did not have the not-knowing-what-is-coming feeling, this time I knew what was coming when I got back to Oil Springs. It was a strange thing. But it felt good, it made med feel like I was home. Because Canada feels so much like home. I realized when I was on vacation that I missed my Canadian friends, and that when I will leave in July it will be absolutely horrible.


At school I've had a lot of things to catch up on. Because I've been sick almost the whole week, I haven't felt very good and because of the tons of homework I haven't had time to sleep really. So today I slept in till  about one o'clock in the afternoon. It was very appreciated.


Today I went swimming and playing badminton at the community centre, and after that I went to see my friend Rachel (who wanted to get mentioned in this blog, lol) play at Coffeelodge in Petrolia. She is a good singer, and she also sang with me for my final perfomance in Vocal Music. It is nice to sit there and listen to good music while chatting and just having a good time :-)


Allright I think that was all for now, maybe you did not understand the first thing I said in the blog. I just had to come out with it, you know? Cheers