Wal-Mart

most of you that know me well know that i hate wal-mart and refuse to shop there unless i absolutely have to, like there's honestly no other place to get something I'd rather pay double than go to wal-mart. unfortunately here in Canada they don't have Meijer or Kmart or even target so wal-mart is all I've got. after getting my bank account today [I'll get to that later] i went to return light bulbs to wal-mart because i had gotten the wrong size. while i was there i picked up a few other things. as i walked through the store i realized something. wal-marts here are not a dirty, unorganized and full of freakish people [for examples of that last one go to peopleofwalmart.com like they are in the states. here they are respectable and clean and nice like Meijer or target are int eh states. i still don't like their business practices but hopefully knowing that my choices are limited to wal-mart will limit the money i spend while I'm here.

one thing I've noticed about the great white north here is the roads. they get more snow here that we do even at school but their roads are sooo much nicer! i was talking with some of the girls about it here because i noticed that around camp there seemed to be sand on top of all the snow. they explained to me that here in Canada they don't use salt anymore. they use a salt spray but not salt in rock form like we do. it's the rock form of the salt that tears up our roads. they will also put sand down on top of the snow for traction and it works quite well around camp. i can walk on a patch of straight ice but if there's sand on top of it i don't slip. and we all know that i would be the one who is talented enough to break a bone so badly i need surgery in a foreign country.

today was relatively warm, a lot of the ice that's around camp melted today. it was actually in the positive numbers temperature-wise. Cathy [the full-time housekeeping staff] and i were going around camp today in just fleeces and we were fine. [aside from all the cleaning they threw at us last minute.] the outdoor rec staff wasn't happy about this because they have to lead activities like tubing, snowshoeing and other things that require decent amounts of snow but i was glad to get the 3 inches of ice off the steps to my cabin since i nearly wiped out this morning because of the melting making it slippery. o and just a tip to everyone after a day off it's not only important to remember to reset your alarm but to also turn it on, i may have forgotten the second part of that and was a little late to work this morning, but Cathy was still in ferndale [the staff dining hall] when i got here so i wasn't too late, even tho i woke up when i was supposed to be getting here.

there's this tiny town i go through on my way into bracebridge. it seems like it's only about 4 houses on each side of highway 141. the town is called Raymond. when I'm driving back from bracebridge the sign for Raymond has in small letters above Raymond the words 'everybody loves'. so the sign for Raymond on the way back from bracebridge reads 'everybody loves Raymond' and i get a kick out of it every time i see it.

today i had my appointment to set up my bank account and I'm proud to say that I've opened my very first bank account with no one as a co signer. this is scary but it's a good step. as much as i hate to admit it i think that when i get back to the states [assuming i stay there for awhile] I'm gonna have to get a credit card. I'm gonna start small, prolly with just a 500 dollar limit or something but i figure I'm gonna need to start building up credit. so as long as i have a job i think it may be time for me to start doing that. i wanted to wait til i had my 'career' job but i don't know when that will happen so it's something to think about.

I'm still excited to see what God has in store for me here and in my life. i know there's a reason he has brought me here. I've already learned a lot about being the new kid and being the only one living on property that works a specific job but i don't think that's the reason he brought me here. depending on what happens and how the rest of the months go and what happens with Michigan i can see myself working summers and falls or springs in Michigan and winters here. it's not necessarily an ideal life but the jobs are what i feel called to do and after all as much as money would be nice I'd rather reap the benefits of working at places like these. i don't know many other people who feel such a family like connection with the people they work with. i don't have that here yet but it's getting there. Cathy was telling me today about when her husband had a brain hemorrhage. she found out at work and most of the people at camp were at the hospital that day sitting with her making sure she was ok and taking meals to the family members that had come in. i don't know many people who work in offices that have that kind of family commitment to each other if something like that happens. i don't know if it's the christian base or if it's the seclusion of living on camp property either way it's definitely different and in an AWESOME way.

I'm starting to settle in and feel more at home here. I'm joking around with people more and i feel like the Christie you all know is coming out, I've been pretty shy lately [i know most of you didn't know it was possible].

i still miss everyone but i think I'm finding my niche here little by little.