Weddings, Reunions, & Birthdays!

Arriving in North America marked the end of summer and the beginning of a hectic travel schedule that lasts until the holidays.  The first stop was home, but only for 2 days to quickly get my stuff together and drive to Maine with my parents.  Next stop Canada!  I decided that a change of scenery in North America wouldn't be too bad and will be living in Summerside, Prince Edward Island until May. (See my last post if this is news.) I had about two weeks to find an apartment and get things set up in PEI and then I was off to Kathryn's wedding in Atlanta for a mini Italia reunion!  The wedding was beautiful, it was at Serenbe, an intentional, sustainable, community outside the city.  All of the weekend events took place within Serenbe, and I can't think of a single thing that could have been improved.  The food was local, organic, and delicious!  Kathryn's ceremony was outside in a small clearing among tall trees and the reception close by under a huge tent.  Luckily, most of the girls were able to make it to the rehearsal dinner too and we even had a day in downtown Atlanta to explore. While in the city we ate at The Terrace, also a farm to table establishment in the Ellis hotel.  The food there was fantastic as well, not to mention the breezy view of the neighborhood.  It's located not far from the Centennial Olympic Park.

The weekend in Atlanta ended quickly.  I'm looking forward to seeing the girls again in February, this time in Boston for Meg's wedding!  I'll be celebrating my birthday that weekend as well so it's likely to be just as hectic.  My Dad's 75th birthday is coming up soon, and I'll have a few weeks at home for the festivities.  Then I'm back in Canada for two weeks, followed by a visit to Kaohsiung for three weeks and then back to Lexington again for Thanksgiving!

Canada, eh?

After spending almost three years in Asia teaching English and traveling it was time to move on to the next adventure, which happens to be Canada.  My experiences of this country before embarking on my asian journeys were few.  There was that New Year's Eve we were able to get a car from rent-a-wreck the morning of and drove to Montreal. Actually only one of us could drive as the rest were under 21 at the time, thanks Melanie!  What I remember about Canada from this trip was there was a lot more snow, and to be careful whose driveway you pulled into in the middle of the night (in the middle of nowhere).  We had a small mishap on an icy sloped driveway that resulted in the driving through the owner's farmland to reach the road again.

Later, I found myself in Taiwan among many Canadians including my roommate, Adriana. She quickly realized the myth that Americans know nothing of their northern neighbor was true and took it upon herself to educate me as quickly as possible about the basic geography and politics of her country. Now I know where Toronto is! My future home in Canada is not quite so populated.  I'll be living on Prince Edward Island until late May, and not in the capital city Charlottetown, (population 64,000 - approximately half of the island) but in Summerside which is considered the second largest "city" on the island (population 14,000). It's hard not to laugh when people talk about urban vs. rural living here, because to a Bostonian everything on PEI is more rural than western mass. Even so, I am looking forward to having a few months of adjusting to life back in North America before returning to Boston.  It will also give me the much needed time to apply for a job!