Tereza and Maddy on Mt. Royal
Nicola
the ferry from Prince Edward County to the mainland
Alex Cuba in Toronto
Angela at the show
looking at a car / planter
we couldn't do much without verbs
my mannequin friend
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
my jeans are falling apart...
and each time I patch them, I become infinitely more attached. My Captain Blackbeard t-shirt is beyond faded, from salt and the sun. I often have a "wash-off tan" (also known as road dirt). So it's no wonder I had a woman give me directions to Brampton's soup kitchen.
A bit of context, too - I'd taken the bus from Guelph and was hoping to get downtown on the bus, skip the city biking and all. But, the driver refused to let me on, so I ended up stuck in Brampton without a map, and with a bunch of Toronto to bike through. So I went to town hall in the hopes of finding a map, got sent to the Economic Development Office, and got some amazing help from the secretary there. She got me a Google map to Angela's place on Springmount Ave, made sure I knew where the soup kitchen was in case I was hungry (which I thought was a very considerate thing to do), and was just generally kind. Anyway, we weren't aware that Toronto has two Springmount Avenues! So I ended up going to the wrong part of town. But I met a friendly Swede named Ulf who set me straight (total fluke).
Toronto was amazing, especially Chinatown and Kensington Market. And also especially the art galleries on Queen. Cities are really quite cool. Montreal is also really amazing, and much kinder on bikers (although I did get a bent rim from one of the city's infamous potholes). McGill is really impressive, and hopefully tomorrow's chemistry lecture will be as impressive as the Chaucer class at Laurier.
It's really nice to be back in Canada, because now I'm seeing people I know from before. The basic getting-to-know-each-other is already done, so you don't have to start from scratch every time. It's also given me the chance to spend time with people I haven't seen for a while, and haven't spent enough time with. It was so, so nice to be with Scott & Jen and Nicola & Alex and catch up on who they are and how they are and what they're up to. Thanks guys!
Something snuck up on me on the way to Kory in Brockville - Lake Ontario (with islands a ways from shore) gradually turned into the St. Lawrence River. So gradually that by the time I noticed the change, it was all over, and felt quite abrupt.
I encountered two very odd smells that day, too. A couple of times, the air smelled hugely of cheesies. I think it was from the trucks whose sides proclaimed "COSCO - Quality Corn Products". "Natural cheddar flavour"? I also smelled rårörda lingon (basically cranberry sauce, but I like it better).
As usual, Kory and I had a huge amount of discussion to do, and spent lots of time talking politics. We entertained ourselves by considering the idea, among others, that "Aulac survives mainly through vampirism". I got to meet Kory's entire Peruvian-Canadian Canada World Youth group, and am super-happy to have spent some time with them. I also tagged along and helped out at the Prescott food bank, which is actually something I could imagine doing back home.
So, that's only really the beginning of what I'd like to say, but I think it's all my fingers can manage. Moving on to some pics. Wait, Tereza needs her computer, so another time.
Love to all
/Dan
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Michigan - thank goodness for forests and cool nights
Well, it's been a while. I'm in Munising, Michigan, on a computer at the high school library. The end-of-day announcements went off a few minutes ago, and the buses rolled by outside the window. I'm not allowed on Facebook. Whatevs... That'll speed me up.
I've spent two nights on Vermillac Lake, a bit west of here. Someone recommended it to me at a little cornerstore nearby. In the morning, it was covered in a thick fog, and looked wonderful for swimming. It was, warm and shallow. While I was frying up some pancakes, Wayne came by and said to come over for some leftover ribs if I wanted. He was camped out just a little ways down the shore, for the summer. One of his friends offered me his canoe, and I took it out for a couple hours. Really peaceful on the lake, very quiet except for the water sounds and far-off noises from the shore.
Lake Superior is the bomb, too. Much colder and wilder. I met a fellow (named Dan) outside the grocery in Marquette who took me for a boat ride, and they ended up feeding me and giving me a place to camp out. Wonderful company at the cottage, even though the four other people there were a generation older than me. I also spoke some Swedish to a woman whose mother came from close to Pajala. The smell of the red pines reminds me of Sweden, and I haven't smelled them since Itasca State Park, where I camped out with a wonderful couple from Grand Rapids (I think) - Jewell and Dave. We spent an afternoon biking down there together, and shared a multi-course meal. Pretty basic courses, but courses nonetheless. It was super to have company on the bike.
There are blueberries, Saskatoons and wild apples around here - delicious, and varies my diet a bit. Last night I camped out illegally at a scenic lookout, and had a numbingly cold swim in the sunrise. Figured no one would bother me there, with the thunderstorm and driving rain. I stayed dry, though, no Wakefield this time.
I've heard a deer sneeze - that was a strange thing to experience. And I forgot to mention to Matt/Alex especially - when I was in Minot, ND, I saw a Happy Panda Chinese restaurant! It made me chuckle, and if they'd had a buffet, I would surely have eaten there. I also have these urges every so often, courtesy of Dave and Matt, to shout "biking for a reason!" or "Swedes for life!". You'd be surprised how often this feels appropriate...
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone when I get back home - I suppose you're all in school by now. Anyway, some photos:
Jewell and Dave in Itasca
State Park roads sure are nice to bike on
trees - a common sight, to say the least
I suppose you'll recognize me
Vermillac Lake
sunrise this morning, pre-swim
I've spent two nights on Vermillac Lake, a bit west of here. Someone recommended it to me at a little cornerstore nearby. In the morning, it was covered in a thick fog, and looked wonderful for swimming. It was, warm and shallow. While I was frying up some pancakes, Wayne came by and said to come over for some leftover ribs if I wanted. He was camped out just a little ways down the shore, for the summer. One of his friends offered me his canoe, and I took it out for a couple hours. Really peaceful on the lake, very quiet except for the water sounds and far-off noises from the shore.
Lake Superior is the bomb, too. Much colder and wilder. I met a fellow (named Dan) outside the grocery in Marquette who took me for a boat ride, and they ended up feeding me and giving me a place to camp out. Wonderful company at the cottage, even though the four other people there were a generation older than me. I also spoke some Swedish to a woman whose mother came from close to Pajala. The smell of the red pines reminds me of Sweden, and I haven't smelled them since Itasca State Park, where I camped out with a wonderful couple from Grand Rapids (I think) - Jewell and Dave. We spent an afternoon biking down there together, and shared a multi-course meal. Pretty basic courses, but courses nonetheless. It was super to have company on the bike.
There are blueberries, Saskatoons and wild apples around here - delicious, and varies my diet a bit. Last night I camped out illegally at a scenic lookout, and had a numbingly cold swim in the sunrise. Figured no one would bother me there, with the thunderstorm and driving rain. I stayed dry, though, no Wakefield this time.
I've heard a deer sneeze - that was a strange thing to experience. And I forgot to mention to Matt/Alex especially - when I was in Minot, ND, I saw a Happy Panda Chinese restaurant! It made me chuckle, and if they'd had a buffet, I would surely have eaten there. I also have these urges every so often, courtesy of Dave and Matt, to shout "biking for a reason!" or "Swedes for life!". You'd be surprised how often this feels appropriate...
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone when I get back home - I suppose you're all in school by now. Anyway, some photos:
Jewell and Dave in Itasca
State Park roads sure are nice to bike on
trees - a common sight, to say the least
I suppose you'll recognize me
Vermillac Lake
sunrise this morning, pre-swim
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