Posted the blog then grabbed my stuff from upstairs and threw it in the luggage storage room. The 1st 2 hrs were free so spent some time walking around Santa Monica doing a bit of shopping - more shorts and another tshirt. Had seen the weather forecast for Toronto and it was actually looking pretty warm. Not Thailand or Fiji warm, but still good.

2 hrs went very quick, and before long i was on the bus to LAX again, which by the way, is a very odd airport - everything is really spaced out. Anyway, checked in and dumped my bag over. Pleased to see it came in at just 11kg, which is great considering ive got half a kilo of washing powder and a litre bottle too - which accounts for 1.5 kg. I pack pretty light.

Got through security and then had 8 hrs to kill in the duty free. Grabbed a burger king, wasnt keen on throwing up on the plane so had a medium, which still came in at 1,350 calories! Then walked around the shops, was a bit screwed on what time zone or even day it was, so crashed on a chair and slept for 3 hrs. Then before long got on the plane to Toronto, a fairly short flight of 4.5 hrs.

Wicked touch screen entertainment on the wat there, and it had some really great films on it too. Actually way better than the emirates flights, although did have to pay for food. Landed and got through immigration, then went through a separate door to everyone and sat in a booth with a Canadian immigration officer who asked me a few questions before giving me a working visa. So before long i was picking up my bag at the luggage belt.

Got out and got some stuff from the Information desk, like a subway map and the names and adresses of 2 hostels, expecting to turn up and get a room (where have you heard this before!)As i was walking out i had a random thought about my iphone charger cable, so sat and checked, and sure enough i had left it on the plane. Back to the info desk where i was directed to Air canada lost and found. The grumpy french canadian told me he would give them a ring in 15 mins when they would be free.

The cleaner said she was too busy, so to call back in 15 mins again, thought this was a bit weird. Anyway, the grumpy frenchman was actually on the `priority luggage queue` and was just covering til his collegue got in (its still very early) So eventually got handed over to a Canadian guy who was much more helpful.

Basically he explained that the cleaners prioritise cleaning the plane over finding lost property, which was fair enough - they have to work in a certain time frame so as not to cause flight delays. He rang the head cleaner who turns out to be really unhelpful and doesnt like being told what to do. After he put the phone down him and the french guy had a good b****ing session to me about how useless she is, which i thought was funny. They apologised hugely and said that they would file a missing report, but i offered to wait for an hour or so for the plane to be finished.

Went and got breakfast and ate very slowly until 9am, came back and he rang his manager, who then rang the cleaning lady - who wasnt so grumpy now as she was talking to the manager!
The manager then apologied hugely to me and asked me to wait another 30 mins before she would personally try again. Came back and she said that they had found a cable, and that it would be 20 mins or so for it to clear customs. So waited another 20 mins and then walked back over. The Candian guy was really happy that he had finally got it, and picked up the envelope that had been handed to him, opened it up.. and then his face dropped, he pulled out a completely random black laptop cable. Great.

He asked me to wait another 20 mins just to make sure that it was that cable that was coming though customs, and that there wasnt another one following. He then double checked with the now extremely irritated cleaners that there wasnt anything else, the plane i had been on was now in Calgary, and they were about 2 planes ahead, so they barely remembered.

Lots of apologies, sat down and filled out a missing item report, which would be logged onto the system and i would be informed if it turned up, the canadian guy even offered to drop it in the post himself.

Went out and found the Travellers aid - which was open by now, and tried to book a hostel. Turns out for some crazy reason theres no rooms anywhere in Toronto - the lady rang at least 5 hostels for me and all she could find was a private single room. Massively expensive compared to my usual dorm rooms (ok still hugely cheaper than a hotel room)

Got the bus and then the subway to the center of Toronto, and then walked around and eventually found the hostel. Couldnt check in til 4pm so dumped my bag and walked around for a bit. Grabbed some food and checked out some shops. Wandered back to the hostel which i discovered had free wifi! So abused that for a while before checking in.

Then dumped everything in my room (i didnt want to leave anything valuable in the luggage room) and went for a big adventure. All the banks and city buildings closed at 4:30 but i orientated myself and got ready for the next day. Grabbed a Mcrib burger (scarily yummy - what do they put in it!) Walked back to the hostel and collapsed into bed. I still dont know how i was awake at this point - i hadnt slept at all on the plane (as usual) so was awake for around 30 something hours. Slept for pretty much 12 hrs straight, then went down for my free breakfast. Extended my stay, they still had no dorm rooms so had to go for another luxurious single room.

I say luxurious - its about 3 by 2 meters, and has a single bed, a desk and a chair. However it was just me sleeping in there and i only had to share the toilet and kitchen with 5 other people, not 20.

Anyway, stupidly got told i had to check out, and then check back in again at 4. No idea why. Very funny repacking my bag - it gets harder and harder each time as i pick up more stuff, but occasionally i find a new pocket, or a new way of packing something that saves room. Today was a very good day - found 2 new pockets that i had previously thought were tiny. Bit hard to explain but turns out the inside of the pocket had folded in on itself and was actually quite big. Despite having the bag for nearly 4 months its funny to still find pockets.

Considering i started the trip with 4 tshirts (i was wearing one) a pair of trousers, a pair of swimming trunks and a pair of shorts. On top of this i now have a massive pair of jogging pants, a huge fleecy jumper, another 3 tshirts, another pair of shorts, my harem pants, a bottle of vodka, half a kilo of washing powder and a fijian doormat, amongst other things - its amazing it all fits in!

Planned my route to the bus pick up point for camp and then spent the day in the city hall and the bank sorting out my social security number and bank account.

In the city hall i grabbed a ticket and got told it was about 45 mins to wait. I was number 71, and it was on 66. So grabbed some chips for lunch and came back, it was now on 68, so went to the loo and filled up my water bottle, came back to find it was now on 73 and id missed my spot. Explained this to the lady at reception, who just handed me number 78 and told me to wait.

After about 5 mins she walked off and the other receptionist called me up and shooed me into the queue, explaining she was a miserable cow. Very straightforward meeting with the city officer - few signatures, couple of bits of paper and i was done. Gave him the camp adress and he said the card would follow in a few weeks.

Walked to the bank and asked to open an account, the Japanese lady at reception got very excited and ran off. Turns out shes in training, and has been dying to start opening accounts, so presumably ran off to ask her manager if she could. 5 mins later shes back with her manager who sits in while she opens the account.

Very funny - shes obviously memorised the whole script of what to say to customers and starts talking like a robot as she reels it off. Then she starts opening the account, with the manager stepping in every so often to correct. The manager then has to walk off and do something else, so she continues solo. Signed various things and checked forms. The manager comes back in and checks everything and then starts laughing her head off - turns out shes opened me a `young leo saver` account, so i have a max of 3 atm withdrawals a month, at less than $50, oh and the bank card has little cartoon lions on it.

After laughing hysterically at the poor Japanese lady who was mortified, the manager then went through and manually changed everything. Because of what i told her - im only using the bank to get paid in, then ill probably close it and withdraw it all in one go, it had recommended the kids account as it had the least ATM withdrawals.

Went back to the hostel, cooked (canadian sweet and sour is weird - tastes like ketchup) downloaded a few songs from koh Phangan that had been annoying me and slept.

Woke up, grabbed some last min stuff from the shops and then got the subway to the north end of town. About a 30 min walk to the bus pick up point, where i got checked in and hopped on. Chatted to all the staff on the bus (we start on the 25th of June, the campers dont arrive til the 30th). Everyone is super nice and friendly, so made lots of new friends!

Got to camp and got shown around by my new boss - and then had the rest of the day in meetings. Most of the days here at pre-camp are quite similar, so il summarise:

Get up at around 6:30am on a normal day, shower and dress, and then set up the dining room. I usually put all the cups out, then help make juice, put plate and bowls out or any number of different random jobs. Have breakfast with the other 3 dining room staff and the kitchen staff (all of whom are french - Canadian, the dining room staff consists of myself, an american, a canadian and a south african) Then the rest of the camp comes in, and eats, we maintain any salad bar or hand out little bits and bobs we forgot. Then sweep up at the end and set up for lunch, go back and have free time, come back and finish lunch set up, wait while everyones eating etc... then sweep again and set up for dinner, lots more free time, then come back and set up for dinner, wait again, sweep up, then we`re finished for the day. The chefs organise a snack at around 10 for all the staff, but were free to do as we choose.

So really the only distinction between days is what we do in our free time, most of the mornings i sleep, and then do something in the afternoon and evening. Activities ive done include - playing tennis, playing shuffleboard, playing golf, practising guitar, sleeping, watching movies, generally socialising, washing my clothes, walking, and have also had some great runs in and around the Ontarian pine forests.

New this year there are 3 computers for staff use, but its shared between about 170 of us, so mostly we have 30 min slots. So will try and update every week or so, but may be tricky. Safe to say im having a great time, and especially enjoyed our 1st staff night out last night to the local golf club, who put a special night on for us.

For now,

Josh xx

Photo is of the Toronto skyline, most of which i could see from my hostel window (i was on the 20th floor) With the CN tower in the middle.

Steph - sorry! Did write you a post card back in Thailand but never got round to sending it. Theyre big on sending letters in camp, so it may find its way to france, if not then i will personally deliver it in August!