Had to be in work mode this afternoon when I paid a visit to the President's Office at the University of British Columbia.

Bur first a bit of culture . I have chosen a significant day to visit the University because in the morning, they held a dedication ceremony of a House Post of the Musqueam people, whose land (unceded) the University is built on. This was not the raising of a totem pole, but a dedication of a House Post. They were most insistent that this was what it was. The post was carved by a student of the Musqueam heritage and comes from a long line of talented artists. The actual dedication act was very low key and personal. Of course, there were speeches, from representatives of the University as well as from elders and council members of the Musqueam people. One very nice tradition is that the person does not talk about his/her own work when the work is being appreciated. So the carver, Brendan, stood beside his cousin while the cousin spoke about the story which inspired the carving, interjected with lots of jokes. It was fascinating.

Then I met up with my friend who works in the Uni and she gave me a tour of some parts of the enormous campus. Honestly, it was enormous! More like a small town than a campus. Oh, almost forgot, I was at the western-most point of mainland Canada. So that was special, too. We ate lunch on campus. Not in the student refectory, but in a rather smart restaurant. The food was delicious and the vegetables came from the farm on campus! Can't help having a bit of campus envy...