Hiking, Marathon and Chinese food

Today we went hiking in Neys National Park. It wasn't too long of a hike, but it was all up hill and cold so everyone was tired. But we were hiking with the Marathon crew and it was nice to see everyone after two weeks of being apart. Even though we had only hung out with the people from orientation for three days, you still feel this bond of being away from home for a long time and doing something completely different. And it's also nice to see other people that you don't see everyday.

The hike up might have been long and tiring, but the view was incredible. There was a little pavillion near the edge of the mountain that looked out on Lake Superior. It's an amazing view and the pictures I have do not do it justice at all. It was also very cold and windy up there though so it was hard to stay out and look at the view as well as stay warm. We ended up sitting in a big pile in the pavillion to try to stay warm which worked for the most part.

After we walked down the mountain we went to the Marathon house and ate lunch. Oh my lord their house is small. They have the same amount of people living in their house as we have in ours but it is so much smaller. You basically walk into the side door and there is a little mud and coat room, then you turn to your left and you are in the kitchen. Their PL, Niall, has a bedroom right off of the kitchen and then there are the three bedrooms upstairs, two of which are being used and the third is going to become an office I heard. The poor girls though, they have the same amount of bunk beds as we do and less than half the space that we have. My bedroom at home is larger than the one they have to sleep in and I'm one person. And they are getting two more people on November 10th. There are going to be 11 people in that house and I don't know how they are going to survive. At least they have a couch in the basement. We don't have one of those. Only a strange assortment of mismatched recliners and kitchen chairs. And apparently the Manitouwadge house is even smaller. Actually, the Manitouwadge group is having some trouble and just can't catch a break. Apparently Manitouwadge is one of the quieter towns. There isn't very many youth there and not much to do after work. Also, their house is leaking and they had a power outage for a full 24 hours. No phones, heat...911. Seriously, there was no 911. There were reports on the radio saying that if you needed emergency services you had to go to the police or firehall and that there would be police patrolling regularily to help. Wow. Actually, I think our group really lucked out. Compared to Marathon, Terrace Bay and Schreiber are both really warm and friendly communities and it seems that Marathon doesn't get the same warmth from their community that we do. Marathon is also slightly larger (they have a shopping centre and we have to wait to buy any clothes until we go to Thunder Bay) and doesn't really have the same small town feel. And our house is huge. I'm really really happy with my placement and my group. Can you tell?

While in Marathon we all agreed that we would go out for dinner to Wah's, the Chinese and Canadian restaurant in town. It was nice to choose what we were going to eat for a change instead of leaving it up to whomever is cooking for the week. And we were sitting next to Lake Superior surfer dudes and chicks! It was cool, we were walking up to Wah's and we saw these two cars with a multitude of surf boards strapped to the top. I can't believe that people actually surf in this water and weather. It's so frigid. AND YOU DIE IN 8 MINUTES IN THE WATER. I'm going to say that they used those winter weather wet suits, but still! The water is cold!

And that is my update for today!

Sara