Early wake up, probably just two hours of sleep because of my paranoid fear of mice. I blasted some music out loud and finished packing everything. Took off the bed sheet and the pillow cases, just to leave everything in order for Jim. Me and the girl agreed to watch the sunset from the beach, but I had a feeling that Laila would have not waken up in time.
As I got out from my trailer I felt a little bit disappointment. Only fog was surrounding the lake. But when I turned my look to the left I could see a really beautiful sunrise. I dashed to the activity building to leave my carry on and grab the camera. Not worried anymore about the goose poop in front of a similar view, I went in the middle of the grass to take some pictures. After a while I remembered that we were supposed to meet at the beach, so I ran to get a bike and tell the girls that the sunrise was not visible from the beach. Luckily, I met Verena and Annika as soon as I hopped on the bike and we had a short photo-shoot with the beautiful sky in the background. I will edit those pictures as soon as I get back to Milano to make them look even cooler.
Laila made it a little bit later when we were taking pictures outside of the camp in the middle of the street. She usually sleeps a lot, so we kind of expected that she would have not even woken up. But at least she joined us for a morning bath in the lake. I needed it since I would have had to travel on different bus for more than forty-eight hours with no chance to shower again. We were a little bit worried about the water and thought it would have been super cold, but it was not.
We headed back to the activity building to prepare some oatmeal for everyone, but I stayed behind to refill the wood. I mean, I was not going to slack off the last day! Strangely the Slee were not down yet, but Fran woke up to say goodbye.
When Jim, Alyssa and Asher came down from their cabin it was a little bit too late to have oatmeal, so we just rushed into the car. I hugged everyone and I was really glad that I could make these many friendships in such a short time. Laila, Verena and Annika looked like the stereotypical distant German at first, but we went along very well as we got to know each other. We promised to meet again and I dashed into the car where Jim was waiting for us.
We talked about how the time came and went so fast. It felt like I was there forever, but at the same time not enough. Jim asked me if there was any chance to convince me to stay any longer, but I said no instantly because I knew that I would have stayed for real if I had thought about it even a second more.
I had breakfast in the car, probably my last oatmeal for a long time. I will miss everything and everyone. It is true that there were some challenging situations. I would have preferred not to have mice in my trailer, not to step on goose poop that frequently, not to go without the wifi because of a storm and so on. But with all that, all the good things came too. With all that I could meet an inspiring teacher like Jim, a brave and tough mother like Alyssa, an energetic and enthusiast Fran, a German Laila to irritate, the best buddy of the world Asher, my personal Deutsch teacher Verena, the decisive and strong Annika and so many more people. Therefore, it will always be worth it.
We arrived at the bus stop ten minutes before the departure. Jim joked about sending someone who looks like a homeless person to pick up future workawayers to prank them because of the sketchy look of the bus stop.
I did a lot of horsey ride with Asher, played the monkey and just spent time with him. I was feeling so bad to leave and particularly bad for leaving my buddy Asher. I already said it many times, but kids are truly the example of how we can love fully without any restraints.
As we took out all of my stuff from the car, I remembered that I still had to pay for the hoodie. I wanted to give Jim one hundred dollars, but he refused. I actually did like my grandma used to do and so I handed the bill to Asher. He took it easily, but Jim got it from his hands and gave it back to me. He would not even accept twenty dollars. He said it was for the work I put in and then hugged me. I called him “my white brother” and he replied that we were “brothers from another mother”. It is similar at what we say in Italy, but it made me think about the respect and love we developed for each other in such a short time. As he usually does, Jim enlightened me again by stating that these things and relationships can happen if people share together the work, the meal and the time without distractions like TVs, internet etc.
When the bus finally arrived, I felt a little bit strange. I was not feeling good nor bad, it was just like time had stopped for the last two weeks and I had to jump into my crazy life again. Before I got on we hugged all together like a real family. I think I am living a little bit with a lack of love and affection, so the gesture made me really happy and made me feel loved. As I was getting on the bus I asked the driver to honk on our way out because it is a thing that we usually do at the camp when someone leaves, especially when Asher is around. The driver did really honk and I am really grateful for that. Another reminder of Canadian people’s kindness. I waved goodbye at the window for as long as I could see them. I even switched sides to wave back at them for the longest time possible. And then, in less than thirty seconds they were gone from my sight.
I wanted to sleep on my way to Toronto, but I could not. So many things flashed in my mind and I was so close to cry a little bit. I am a really intense and emotional person, so it would not had been strange.
The bus arrived late to Yorkdale in Toronto. Honestly, I took my time to go to the washroom and recharge my presto card. I knew I was already late and Sabrina was waiting for me, but I was in no-rush mode. The only thing that bothered me is that my cellphone does not pick up free wifi connections, so I could not tell Sabrina I was a little bit late.
I met her in front of the mall and it did not feel awkward at all. Just to remind you, we did not really know each other that much. We ate together and talked about lots of stuff which helped us to become closer and learn things about each other. For example, as we are both teachers we get two months of summer vacation which is a really cool advantage. Then she told me about her friends’ wedding where everyone of her friends got a special treatment for their wedding. For example, Sabrina got the roasting, one of her friends had her life summarized as the Harry Potter series, for another one they sang the song from “Willy, fresh prince of Belair” with some lyrics-changing. They were all funny ideas that I would like to steal and apply to my and my friends’ wedding. By the way, my interest in keep being vegan fell short the same day I left the camp. Shame on me, lot of laugh.
We parted our ways lunch and I headed to Bloor street west to give back my guitar rental. I was lucky that the subway was basically empty, differently from my first time in downtown Toronto. I got to Long & McQuade pretty fast and lots of people helped me with the doors since I always had both my hands busy with the luggage and the guitar. Once in the shop, I gave back the guitar and received a refund because I had rented it for a month but I used it for less. I was not expecting that but I knew the procedure, I had just completely forgot about it.
It was around 4pm and I had to kill eight hours before my bus to New York. So I went to a cafè I knew because I was sure that my cellphone would connect to their wifi. In there I was supposed to write down my journal, but I ended up texting with a friend until closing time at 6pm. At least I charged my phone and laptop, though I made a really big mistake while ordering. I got a strawberry passion iced latte, thinking that it was a strawberry milkshake. However, it was what we call “Latte macchiato” in Italy, with some cream and little strawberries on top of that. I am always very kind with the tips, so I ended up paying a lot for something I did not want. The positive thing is that I could rest a little bit without the need of strolling my luggage around town.
When “The Good Neighbour” closed, I headed to a Korean hair salon that I had seen on the way to the cafe. I got in and there was Dean playing in their TV. It was so cool because everyone was speaking Korean, so I felt like I was sent back to Busan for a little bit. After a short time, a guy took care of my hair. It was not a planned thing since I am trying to save as much as I can, but it was still much needed to look cool in the pictures I would have taken with my family on our US tour.
The guy asked me how to cut my hair and I just showed him a Jungkook’s picture. He cut it in a very detailed way, washed it and styled it. I was looking really cool as I had just done a Korean perm when he only used a straightener to make my hair a little bit more curvy. I felt so awesome and cool. Once again I left a big tip to the guy, who did not understand my intention at first.
Out from the hair salon, I decided to go to a 24/7 restaurant in downtown Toronto, but I found a board games cafe on the way and decided to just stay there. First, I had a little detour at an Asian souvenir shop. I befriended the guy at the desk who was so kind to open the door for me when I could not manage to do it alone with my luggage in the way. I wanted to buy lots of stuff but eventually I just bought two “Little Prince” postcards and some Bulbasaur merchandise. I wanted to buy the Bts album “Young forever” because it is my favorite one, but they did not have it. They had “Map of the soul: Persona” but in the end I thought that I could always buy these kind of things online when I am not on a budget.
As I said earlier, I stopped at Snakes and Latte in Bloor street since I ended up seeing it on the way to my planned destination. I stayed there until 10.30pm, writing down my journal and catching up until today. I do not know why but I ended up ordering a sandwich and a milkshake. Even here I made a mistake in ordering and so I got a sundae thinking that I had ordered a milkshake. Maybe some mental fatigue was getting at my head because when I left I stopped by a shop to buy a bottle of water and bought a sparkling water without noticing it. I mean, the bottle itself was cool so maybe I just bought it for that reason.
After an hour long walk down Bloor street and Bay street I found the bus station. I waited a little bit in the line but at the end I could hop on the bus. Luckily no one sat next to me, so I could stretch out a little bit and find my way to sleepy-land faster. Long day, long trip ahead. Uncomfortable, but at least no mice to bother me.
Godyl Go! 