Thank you stomach for giving me such a large capacity

I like turkey, do you?

Last night was thanks giving dinner. And oh boy, I am thankful that my stomach did not explode with the amount of food I inserted into it. I then gave my stomach a belly rub in the spirit of thanks and then giving. We went to my host mothers brothers house. He is a very skilled cabinet maker and artist. His cabinets were definitely captivating. There were also three little girls who insisted on chasing me and pinning me to the floor. I learnt the meaning yesterday of “power in numbers.” Unfortunately for me, the numbers were not on my side.

Thank the heavens, our educational activity day (ead) is done! After two weeks of planning and many phone calls we have finished. 3 other Canada World Youthers and myself assembled an entire day of learning about youth and media. We started off with a woman from the library talking about youth and their involvement with the library and their ability to influence media… We then bussed to Owen Sound where we were given a tour of the radio station. Complete with a jingle recording session for the “MIX 106!”, and an observation session of how Home Depot radio commercials are recorded. They were also kind enough to show us how the news wire service works. Everything is accomplished on a computer. They have almost no need for a paper trail. Excellent. Ross (our tour guide) told us that there is one company in Canada that owns about 83 radio stations. And that there are a few other companies which own a similar number of stations. It seems insane that a medium that could be so powerful in collaborating and organizing perople with a wide range of views and interests is now controlled so tightly but only a few controlling interests. There are also entire teams which work at stations solely on marketing and advertising. The money for radio needs to come from somewhere, but it is to bad that it entirely comes from corporate America. Favors are always owed to those who pay for your meals. I can say this from experience, in return for dinner here I clean kitchen… The positive news is that we have the CBC, and now…internet radio!!! Hurray! After the radio tour we returned back to library where my group and I forced some educational thinkering activities upon the other participants. My favorite activity was the one which required them to create an advertisement. The task of group one was to sell Pepsi, the task of group two was to make an anti-smoking campaign. They performed, and then we debriefed as a group. We then asked a series of thought provoking questions. All in all I think our ead went very well. Especially considering I had to translate…

Other than the ead, this past week has been fairly easy going. We finished our mural at the library, and we ate elk burgers for lunch on Saturday. We also volunteered in the set-up of a silent auction.

Here is to more rivetting weeks of fun and learning.

Until next week,
your host,
Zacilly (According to one of the Cubans, this is my name)

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Times, they are a changing.

Hello yall’ss.

There have been a few major changes for me in the program since my last post. First and foremost, my counter-part and I have been posted to work in the the Meaford Public Library. It was definitely not my first choice to spend eight hours in a Library. However, I know that I will learn alot and I will definitely do my utmost to make the best of the situation. We work 9-5 on lunes, miercoles y viernes (Spanish practice anyone???) We were supposed to start today, but were unable to because…it was closed?… It is nice to have the day off to relax!

The next piece of big news is (drum roll please) that we have changed host-families. We knew from the start that our placement with Brain and Sandra was temporary because there is another counter-part pair staying at their house. It was sad to leave because we have become accustomed to the ebb and flow in their house, and because they are such kind people. Examples of their kindness are as follows: Most nights our host father gives us English and Spanish lessons; I bought elk at the farmers market and my host mother was kind enough to make delicious hamburgers out of it; they allowed us to spontaneously have half the group over at their house one-afternoon. Our experience with them has been truly excellent!

Anyways, Jorge and I are at our new-host family. I think that it will work out very nicely here! They have one adopted daughter who is in grade 9, and a son who is going to College in pursuit of a career as a policeman. He does not live at home, but might come home on weekends from time to time. When that happens we can go to our old host family for a sleep-over! Yeah! I look forward to getting to know them better.

Up to now our time has been consumed by educational activity days, group get togethers and some volunteering. Last week, we had to do a scavenger hunt throughout Meaford. A few of our tasks were as follows: ask someone on the street about an issue that they are concerned about in Meaford (I asked a cashier in the local liquor store, he thought that Tim Hortons should have a “Timmy’s debit card” that you could load up with money. This would cut down on the time used with credit card transactions…), find out how many churches are in Meaford, buy something made in Meaford (mmm, pecan pie), find out when the next local election is… and on and on and on. It took almost two hours of adventure, espionage and speed walking to complete! As for volunteering, we have been down to the Beautiful Joe park on a few occasions to help out. On Saturday, we volunteered for the SUPER DOGS extravaganza at the park. The super dogs are a group of canines who can run moderately fast to very fast, have no hair to long hair, and can jump through steel bars to well over top many steel bars! Amazing! My job was to be tough and tell people that they were not allowed to park in the park… I also did many other misc tasks that day which would be considered volunteering… I must also tell something that I discovered on Saturday. Apparently I am charismatic! I told one of my fellow participants that I enjoy making fun of him, and he told me that I am charismatic. I really like these people. Yesterday, we had a welcoming celebration for all of the participants and the host families. It was a beautiful day, and there were really great snacks and really great people in attendance. I passed the time by playing touch football (apparently I am as good a player as the best 10 year old footballer who was there!), and making kids laugh by jumping out of trees. All in all, it was an excellent day.

Lastly, I would like to say thank you for all the support that I have received! It means so much to me.

Until Later,
Love Zach

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Week 1 in Thornbury

Como estan?

I am doing very well here in little Thornbury. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we had seminars in an old church. We were so fortunate to spend 2 days learning about Sexual Harassment! I am now afraid that If I hug someone, I will be labeled as a sexual harasser. Wish me luck in my quest to NOT be a sexual harasser! The third day was then spent on participant responsibilities. Apparently, there are many. On Thursday, I spent the day on the beach (Byron Bay) with my fellow Canada World Youthers. It was a blast. I then went to the port and jumped in the water, pretending to be a seal. Apparently, I am a bad seal. Today, we cleaned up Beautifull Joe Park. We had a riot! Know I must go, or my counterpart will call me mean names in Spanish… I do not want to die emotionally. For real though, he is a nice guy!!!

Hasta Luego!

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First Impresions

Hello everyone!

I am now in Thornbury, Ontario with my temporary host family. Within the next few weeks my counterpart and I will be sent to another Host family. Here are the details of my adventure so far… I flew from Vancouver to Toronto, and then to Ottawa. When I arrived in Ottawa I was greeted by many other Canada World Youthers. We then took a bus from Ottawa to an orientation camp, about a 3 hours drive away. The camp lasted three days, however it felt like a solid 2 weeks. We played many scenario type games, and we had lots of time to get to know each other. Yesterday I met my Cuban counter-part. His name is Jorge. He is way more funny and energetic than I imagined any person could be! I am having an excellent time. I will write more once I find a computer that works…

My love to all,
Zachary

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I’m off!

Tomorrow I will embark on an adventure. I will be going to Thornbury, Ontario and Villa Clara, Cuba with the organization Canada World Youth. I hope to learn how to share, cook, speak Spanish and eat beans every day. I look forward to keeping you updated on my many sub-adventures.

Salud!

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