Backtrackin'
Sweet Jesus, I haven't updated since Halifax? Boy, do I suck. Yars.
Well, Halifax is a cool city. I think a city being by an ocean always gives it extra props in my eyes. And of course it had the funky East Coast vibe going on, and the funky East Coast accents twanging away. And the conference was interesting too. Got to meet lots of neat people studying everything from the therapeutic possibilities of ritual on the Cambodian Canadian community in Toronto, almost all of whom are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of what they witnessed before immigrating to the possibility of incorporating World Religions courses into high school curricula (YAY! says I. You want to understand culture? You want to promote diversity and tolerance? You want properly educated kiddies? Teach them about the world religions!)
Of course, huge quantities of time in Halifax were taken up in computer cafes straightening out an ugly situation in my apartment to do with the people I was subletting from, but that's so far in the past now I really don't want to re-live it.
For our last night, we stayed with a friend of my pal Suzie, and she took us out to a really good Thai restaurant and a really neat little... spot.... It's very hard to describe (Suzy, if you're reading this and want to help, jump right in!) You could just describe it as "Some schmucks, some music, a converted house, and a really random drinks menu..." Basically, it was what used to be a house, with chairs and bookshelves placed around, low lighting, mellow music, someone dj'ing, and if you wanted something to drink, you walked up to this little counter and said so, and found out whether they had what you wanted (no, there was no menu.) So Suzie and I walk up and ask if they have tea. Sure, sure, here's some tea, and a little tray is plunked in front of us with various opened boxes of tea. I choose a loose chamomile blend of some kind and ask if they have any strainers. "Hm, let me see." After a couple of seconds, the guy plunks a mini coffee maker in front of me, into which we put tea and, when it boils, water. "How much?" "Hm.... I guess a loonie would be OK?" Well, that seemed ok to us. So we handed over two dollars and went off to have our tea.
About half an hour later, another of the guys approaches me with a beer. "That guy over there bought you a beer," he says. "OK," I say brightly, as if this is a regular occurence (hey. Free combustibles. Who's complaining?) "So, that'll be $3." "Oh, I have to pay... OK, then," and out comes my purse, then the guy says, "Wait, did you come with a guy." "Um, no, no guy." "Oh, sorry, I think I'm giving this to the wrong person." "Oh. Alright then!" Much laughter.
The train ride home was very pretty. Suzie and I played cards much of the way, sitting up in the dome car where we got a good view. I slept pretty well, too, considering (the ride took about a day).
Next installment: Last few weeks in Kingston.
Following: NYC!
And from then on we're back in Real Time.
Well, Halifax is a cool city. I think a city being by an ocean always gives it extra props in my eyes. And of course it had the funky East Coast vibe going on, and the funky East Coast accents twanging away. And the conference was interesting too. Got to meet lots of neat people studying everything from the therapeutic possibilities of ritual on the Cambodian Canadian community in Toronto, almost all of whom are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of what they witnessed before immigrating to the possibility of incorporating World Religions courses into high school curricula (YAY! says I. You want to understand culture? You want to promote diversity and tolerance? You want properly educated kiddies? Teach them about the world religions!)
Of course, huge quantities of time in Halifax were taken up in computer cafes straightening out an ugly situation in my apartment to do with the people I was subletting from, but that's so far in the past now I really don't want to re-live it.
For our last night, we stayed with a friend of my pal Suzie, and she took us out to a really good Thai restaurant and a really neat little... spot.... It's very hard to describe (Suzy, if you're reading this and want to help, jump right in!) You could just describe it as "Some schmucks, some music, a converted house, and a really random drinks menu..." Basically, it was what used to be a house, with chairs and bookshelves placed around, low lighting, mellow music, someone dj'ing, and if you wanted something to drink, you walked up to this little counter and said so, and found out whether they had what you wanted (no, there was no menu.) So Suzie and I walk up and ask if they have tea. Sure, sure, here's some tea, and a little tray is plunked in front of us with various opened boxes of tea. I choose a loose chamomile blend of some kind and ask if they have any strainers. "Hm, let me see." After a couple of seconds, the guy plunks a mini coffee maker in front of me, into which we put tea and, when it boils, water. "How much?" "Hm.... I guess a loonie would be OK?" Well, that seemed ok to us. So we handed over two dollars and went off to have our tea.
About half an hour later, another of the guys approaches me with a beer. "That guy over there bought you a beer," he says. "OK," I say brightly, as if this is a regular occurence (hey. Free combustibles. Who's complaining?) "So, that'll be $3." "Oh, I have to pay... OK, then," and out comes my purse, then the guy says, "Wait, did you come with a guy." "Um, no, no guy." "Oh, sorry, I think I'm giving this to the wrong person." "Oh. Alright then!" Much laughter.
The train ride home was very pretty. Suzie and I played cards much of the way, sitting up in the dome car where we got a good view. I slept pretty well, too, considering (the ride took about a day).
Next installment: Last few weeks in Kingston.
Following: NYC!
And from then on we're back in Real Time.