Heyho there chums.

I have been relaxing far too much here at the cottage on the rideau river its just really good. The days kind of blend together like a nice hummus. that made no sense but you know what i mean, i hope. There is a simplicity going on everywhere that I really like being around; we sleep in, we drink tea, we swim in the river, we cook, we read, we eat, we go out on bruce's boat and drink champagne with strawberries in them, we go tubing on the back of the little boat and scream like little children, we get dvds from the local library, we like it. In the first few days here we helped mark put together the new dock, which was a job and a half. It was actually a lot of fun, and we all got nice and dirty painting the wooden frames and carrying them around the yard and wearing old pyjamas. The dock is now well and truely finito, complete with a ladder and everything. it is so long and wide and really very beautiful. i go out there every day to read and sunbake and swim. I have read 4 books in 10 days, i keep telling people how revolutionary this is, i cant quite seem to believe it.

Although this relaxing, indulging time is wonderful , I think I will have just about had my fare dose of it by the time my stay here is up. I think I am getting the best of both worlds through this trip; the loveliness of the quiet life here and (hopefully) the fastness of what is to come. I will be able to enjoy the possible difficulties of future travelling as I can look back at this canadian bliss and think of how lucky I am to be a part of it.

Nina and I just booked a room in a hostel in Montreal for next weekend. True to my word, I will be returning to this so beloved city. The best part is, the room is cheap and there is free internet and free breakfast and FREE BIKES at this place! so it is all very exciting to say the least. and i think the two of us travelling together for 2 nights will be good introduction for our week long stay in new york together, which is swiftly coming closer and closer, only about 3 weeks away now, or less. weeee!

Saw Bruno yesterday, it was raining so we thought we would take the opportunity to check this infamous character out in all his, um, glory? confronting stuff indeed. very disturbing yet also very funny in parts, some sequences i thought could have been left out, but ultimately you have to admire sacha baren cohen for his sheer bravery. while we were at the movies we also took the liberty of buying our tickets for harry potter next wednesday, which got us pretty damn excited. Then we went back to the land of the cottage and I finished "Dress Your Family in Cordaroy and Denim", my most favourite of authors David Sedaris. I also really liked "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion, which I read last week, and I just started Ian McKewan's "On Chesil Beach". I likee so far.

A few days ago was my interview for Servas, the non-profit worldwide cooperative cultural exchange network bringing people together to build understanding, tolerance, mutual-respect, and world peace. It operates through a network of Servas hosts around the world who are interested in opening their doors to travelers, and, 'on the other side of the coin', many open-minded travelers who want to get to know the heart of the countries they visit. Ok, I totally just stole that from Wikipedia, but its hard to explain and Im tired from nina and I staying up late watching SNL till 1am. Yes we are very classy. So anyway the interview went really well, with a guy called Gary who was heaps nice and very interesting, it was more like a conversation than anything else. He was very interested to hear about my journalism prospects and what i had to say in general, i was tentative at first in my answers but after a while I surprised myself a little in what i was saying, I didnt really know I was in the least articulate about peace, but according to Gazza I am, which was a nice thing to say I think. He also said that I was a "very special person", which I didnt quite know how to respond to, so I just smiled widely, shook his hand said thankyou and goodbye. So I will be recieving my host list in the nest 10 days, afterwhich I am free to contact hosts around the world and organise stays, which i will do with Liv and then with Ariane. I think its such a great way to travel, and I am so glad I am able to be a part of it. As i said to Gary (i think/hope), its such an amazing opportunity.

So at this point I shall leave you, whoever is reading this, and will resume my place in the sun out on the dock and relish in the silence of the water, and the simpson's clouds that are dotted along (through? in?) the fading blue sky.

x Sofa.