Mthatha, Ahoy!: Orientation in Toronto

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Orientation in Toronto

Hello, downtown Toronto!

[View from my room]

We had our orientation in Toronto for the last two weeks and it was an incredible experience, two fold. First, the group of people I was with were absolutely wonderful. There were 5 other YASCers there that I met at the discernment weekend in February, another young adult that is going to El Salvador, two Episcopal priests going to Congo and Honduras, a woman going to India, a man that has just spent a year in Sudan and is returning for another year, and two people that are from the United Church of Canada that are going to Palestine with the Ecumenical Accompaniment program. The different perspectives that were brought by all parties were enriching and enlightening and I can't imagine a better group to go through this training process with. The other part of the 14 days that made it that much better was the city - Toronto had so much going on and had things that satisfied all different types of interests. Because of the rich culture in the city, we spent our evenings together, building community by going to concerts, riding bikes, seeing street performers, checking out local pubs, watching movies, visiting art installments/galleries, or just walking around and getting some fresh air and good conversation in. It was also the first time I ever got to ride on a subway or a street car! Here are just a few pictures for you all.