My name is Femke Woud and I moved to Victoria with my family from Toronto, 2.5 years ago. The contrast in air quality, access to nature, and natural beauty that surrounds us here, is something that I appreciate everyday, and makes me respect my friends in Toronto even more for their commitment to bike through that city everyday!I grew up in the Netherlands and remember biking to school was the most normal thing to do....I don't even remember anybody ever being brought to school by car. In a country the size of Vancouver Island with about 14 million people, bikers and bike lanes are everywhere. However, after an accident in Toronto (where I broke my wrist in two places getting stuck in tram track) I lost confidence in biking through Toronto's busy streets and only biked 'for pleasure' on the bike paths along the lake. Here in Victoria I have regained some of my confidence, and enjoy biking with my daughter, on the back of my dutch bike, through Victoria.
Still, I have to admit that I do drive my daughter to her Waldorf preschool, but carpool with another mom. My partner takes the bus to work everyday which takes him about an hour. He enjoys it.
I feel good about only using natural cleaning products for my house (water and vinegar works wonders and some essential oils for the smell), using organic fertilizer for my new hobby gardening, community composting, using plastic crates for my shopping supplies (or cotton bags, which by the way is 'normal' in Holland...you actually pay $0.25 cents for every plastic bag you purchase and has been like this since I was little in the sixties), eating locally organic foods whenever possible, wearing an extra sweater indoors in the winter, and recycling clothes and toys. My next project is to get our house assessed for energy conservation/loss. Kari, you inspired me!
My own personal passion is in studying and using the power of 'energy medicine' (acupuncture, shiatsu, homeopathy and quantum healing) as the medicine of the 21st century, and exposing the truths about pharmaceutical companies and their questionable goals in true health. I feel honored to be part of this great initiative here in Victoria.
Femke Woud (Shiatsu Therapist)
2 comments:
That's quite a story. It's tough living as a cyclist in a world of cars- I was run over by one a few years ago and still recovering, but now I am back on my bike and glad to be alive... I wonder how it would be if we switched places and made cars the minority, struggling with unsafe 'car lanes' in a sea of bicycles... indeeed it makes me think of Amsterdam!
Say are you the Femke Woud from Queen's U. days? - howdy from John G.
Hoi Femke,
Hier een berichtje uit de Zaanstreek. Wormerveer om precies te zijn. Mijn naam is Fimke(Irma) Brandjes-Kwadijk, gaat er al een belletje rinkelen? Ja...ik ben de zus van Nel Kwadijk. We zijn al eerder op zoek geweest naar jou op het internet en nu heb ik je dan toch gevonden.
Dit voorjaar waren we (mijn moeder, Nel en ik) een dagje naar Egmond/Bergen en Nel kreeg het (weer) over jullie vriendschap.
Vind je het leuk weer wat van je vroegere vriendin (en het leven in Jisp)te horen?
Groetjes Fimke (hjmbrandjes@hetnet.nl)
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