Canada – Keep Exploring

What a weekend. It was nothing like I expected and everything I needed.

14 hours on a train is a little long. Woke up by about 4:45AM in Brooklyn, NY to catch the subway to catch my train. I obviously slept a lot on the train. The parts I did get to see were beautiful though – as the whole trip has been. Spent a whopping $3 on a Cup of Noodle for lunch and plugged away on some work I needed to get done. Felt like a productive train ride at least. I didn’t have anyone sitting next to me so I had the chance to sprawl out and really take full advantage during my naps. Crossing the border into Canada was a wee bit scary. (The Warriors had JUST won Game 1 though so I was pretty stoked!!). To get across the border we took a super cool bridge that went over rapids from Niagara Falls – even though we didn’t get to see the falls, it was amazing to see the rapids. RIGHT on the other side of the bridge, they brought the train to a stop and border patrol quickly boarded the train and did their first sweep of it. Then we were off into the little customs room where I was asked 10,000 questions about all the who, what, when, where, and whys of my trip to Canada. Also, why I was entering from New York City and then heading to Detroit, but from California, but not going home for a while, and having been gone for a while. You can imagine how confused the customs agent was. BUT I made it through no problem (of course after throwing out my mace because that’s illegal in Canada and I decided my $10 mace wasn’t worth going to jail for). It was another few hours to Oakville where I took a nap and listened to some podcasts.

Arrived at the train station and it’s amazing how nerve-wracking it is to not have a way to contact your ride in a foreign country. Welp, spent about 10 minutes of us both looking for each other in nearly the same place before Emily and I were reunited and then we were off for the hourish drive back to her parents house! Stopped in the town of Waterloo for a quick beverage and catch up before heading back for the night. Had a heck of an adventure trying to find parking and driving around town because so much of it is under construction, but it definitely helped break the ice and brought some much needed laughter. Called it an early night after getting a tour of the house and looking at some baby pictures.

Woke up and did some much needed rehumaning (I now refer to it as that). Realized I hadn’t showered in like three states (total TMI) so took a wonderfully relaxing and cleansing shower then ate a very hearty breakfast. We then were off for the “surprise” I mentioned about last post. The surprise was actually hilarious and SO unexpected. It was her Mom’s idea and Emily kept it a surprise all the way up until it happened. We got in the car and she goes “Okay, so it’s a little later than I expected, but I think we should still be able to find them.” I had absolutely NO clue what on earth she was talking about. Continued driving for about 10 minutes and next thing you know we come across, none other than, a BUGGY SIGN. Mind you, buggies are exactly what you think they are. Little carriages drawn by a pony or horse. Emily’s surprise was literally to drive around and find buggies. What even. There is no way I could have guessed that that was the surprise. We seriously drove around for two hours exploring the back roads and searching for buggies. Came across a few and got to see some children playing in the yard which was so cool. Emily happens to live pretty much in a Mennonite community – she and her family are not, but their house is located in the area. We talked a lot about what living in a Mennonite community means, what the different types are, and how wild it is to think of our lives compared. It was SO fascinating.

After our surprise adventure, we headed back to her house for some lunch that her mom so kindly cooked for us, headed to the store to pick up some beverages, and spent the rest of the day sitting out by the pool. Emily’s parents house is spectacular. They pretty much live on a farm with tons of land in all directions, a beautiful barn, and a house that was built two hundred years ago from the pioneers. Just absolutely breath-taking for lack of a better word. Enjoyed the sunshine (don’t worry I had sunscreen on this time), and just hung out and caught up about the past 8 months and where we are at and where we want to go from here. Her parents joined us once they were done with their chores and we joked about American politics and how into them Canadians are, as well as about my job and how important the work I do at Camp is – side note: her dad went to a very similar camp but it mainly focused on eradicating racism when he was 11 and he still remembers it very clearly. I passed the “interview” and it was great to get to know them and find out the roles and influences they have had in Emily’s story. Em and I hung out by the pool a bit longer while her parents went in to cook dinner, and we all sat down and enjoyed dinner together. Talking about storms and if earthquakes are actually a thing, my trip, medical things, and how TWLOHA has impacted us and brought us together. Very cool. Very grateful.

Emily and I stayed up a while longer catching up and just being. Being present in the moment and enjoying each others company. We also did laundry because I needed clothing… And headed to bed because we had a long travel day ahead of us.

Finished packing in the morning and ate some breakfast plus made a little lunch for my bus ride and were off to the bus station! Emily stayed all the way until my bus pulled out of the station which was so sweet and it was bittersweet to say goodbye. It was interesting though because as I’m continuing on my trip I’m realizing how none of these are actually goodbyes, but every time I’ve left someone it’s been an “I’ll see ya out in California soon!”. No byes need to be said when you have friends like this. So rad.

Michigan shenanigans:

• Nate!
• Meeting his parents
• Photos
• Class

With Hope,

Monica

Emily and I with a Buggy sign!