I got busy

I know I'm overdue for another post, but goodness me life has got busy. I'll keep this brief, otherwise it'll be another late night, and I really think that would be a bad idea right now.

I made it to Canada, safe and sound and had a lovely couple of days with my friend Nic and her husband Andy. They picked me up from the airport in a lovely crisp Canada evening. They showed me a couple of very nice eating establishments, Sunday morning brunch involved queuing from 8:25am for a 9 o'clock opening. We were the second party in the queue (or line if you're Canadian) and by 8:55 there were probably 60 people waiting. The waffles were pretty impressive, especially the salted caramel topping. Nic and I went for a nice long bike ride, about 4.5 hours, though that included about an hour stop on Granville Island. We checked after, we did approx 24 kms around the seawall and over a bridge. There were some cool totem poles, and a place called 'Hallelujah Point'. Unfortunately something is going on with my phone and I can't email pics to my tablet, so you'll just have to imagine the pictures. I managed to kick my bike tyre and do a bit of damage to my big toe, so that's injury number three. I'm keeping a tally!

Monday was a practical day, sim card, public transit card, shopping and wandering around the CBD. I did have a coffee with a colleague of Nic's who does similar work to what I do in NZ, so it was interesting to find out some about how they operate in that area.

Tuesday I travelled on the train and bus to South Surrey. A Rocha is only a few minutes from the US boarder, and about 45 minutes in no traffic from Vancouver by car. The train and bus worked well for me, this place is easy for foreigners to navigate as the streets and avenues are numbered. No trouble to work out when my stop was near!

The site here is really lovely, the operation is on a total of forty acres, and there are a number of old buildings. This was first a holiday home for a wealthy Vancouver wife, (her husband had his own separate holiday home, apparently they didn't really get on) and more recently has been a care home in a couple of different capacities.  There are hens, sheep, a few cows and two dogs. No cats though :-( There are five couples on site, three who have 11 children between them, so there's lots of activity, all the time. There are a few quiet spots, and as the weather is warming up there are plenty of outdoor options.

Speaking of the weatber, you'll be surprised to hear it's not as hot as Thailand! In fact the first night I woke up slightly chilly. I know! Trust me, the weather comments are just comments, not complaints. Last night I went the other way and was a bit hot, so hopefully tonight I'll hit the sweet spot.

There are nine interns this season at A Rocha, and all girls. There are four from Canada (the closest only 15 mins away) and one each from America, Germany, England and Scotland. And me. I'm the oldest by over ten years, so that's an interesting dynamic. Mostly ok, but occasionally I do feel my age. I'm in a room with two others, and the other room in our house has four in it. There is a main house and the last two are sharing a room there. We have got to know each other a bit in the last two days, but I'm sure there's more to come. We have the beginnings of a plan for some weekend trips, so that's good.

The last two days have been very full on. Lots of people and names to learn and 'how things work around here' type information. There are daily tasks for each of us, and weekly as well. We are on a cooking roster, and could easily be cooking for 30, especially for lunch. Lunch and dinner is communal, and we have Sundays and Mondays off. There are three public holidays during our time here, and I actually have a long weekend this weekend, as we have Tuesday off. There's heaps I want to do around here, there is a bike I can use, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. Just too busy, and wanting to take my opportunities to get to know people.

I'll write more next time about the actual content of what we're all doing, we still have more orientation yet, so no point in jumping the gun.

I am really happy to be here. There are lots of interesting people and information to get my head around. They have communal prayer time most days, and worship time weekly, these are not compulsory, but are encouraged, and I expect to be involved. I think it will be good to find some time this weekend a bit on my own to keep processing. I will try out a couple of different church options on the next Sunday or two, and hopefully find one that suits me. And I've already had some good piano time, there's a grand in the main house which is often available, so that's great.  There is a retreat here with a full house this weekend though, so it'll be out of bounds.

I might be a bit slow at answering individual emails for a day or two, please bear with me.

I think that's enough, I'll write again soon
Love
Sarah