Near Eden

One might think that driving 3.5 hours in the pouring rain would be a less than pleasant experience. Most times, they'd be right. Yesterday however, despite the buckets of rain splashing accross my windshield, I was still able to be absolutely enthralled with the landscape as I drove from Pickering to my new destination: Port Burwell.

As I drove along, past streets with rows of tall shrubs that made me feel like I was in the Queen's maze from Alice in Wonderland, I noticed certain town names that made me smile. I passed through a small town named Eden; a town so small you can blink and it's gone. I felt it was poetic. I am also situated near a town called Vienna (although at this point, I may have confused myself on the name of that). Naming small rural townships after far-away, exotic, idylic places made me think of a book I read, or a movie I saw, in which a run-down town that was nearly deserted had named all of its streets after famous places, and one got a sense of tragic irony that no one from that town would ever really travel to them. I remembered at once how much I liked that concept, and the sad cleverness of it came back to me as I drove through the rain, singing along with Dashboard and Death Cab, thinking how wonderful it was to be able to say I was situated somewhere near Eden...

I am happy to say that I will have constant internet access while I'm hear at "The Ark" (which is the name for the huge renovated church I am living in with my 11 other new compadres). Yesterday I recieved my first ESL lesson, and as I sit here on one of the AMAZING, huge, plush couches, the ESL teacher sits in front of me, getting our lessons ready for today, while our live-in cook seems to be making toast and tea for us....ooo, also she made waffles for us yesterday.... Everything we consume will be home made. The menonites are going to treat me right.

I will be taking some pictures hopefully today of my new surroundings. Yesterday, the 6 of us who are here already went down to the "beach", which is not accessable directly from where we are, but there is a huge sandy cliff which is absolutely goregous which I can't wait to show all of you!

It looks like everyone is up now, ready to eat, so I shall stop being antisocial and join them.

Miss you all!!

--Natalie