Day #28

There are layers to any experience. Each one reveals something new about who we are and how we function in certain situations. For me, my experience so far in Fort Hope has been all about the layers. If you’ve been keeping up to date with my daily writing, you will know that I have experienced everything from elation, to frustration, to homesickness. I hate to use the onion metaphor, but in this case I feel that it is an important one to consider. An onion has layers, yes it does, but an onion is also bound together into a definite shape by its similar characteristics. I know I’m reaching a bit for this comparison, but stay with me…

My life in Fort Hope has thus far been comprised of many extremely positive experiences. The majority of my time is spent loving my summer home and the people that I live alongside. A small minority of my time is spent dealing with frustration, sadness, confusion and disarray. The contextually important thing to remember is that this split is no different than when I’m living at home. From day to day, all of our lives have layers, they have surface reactions, they have deep emotions and they have indifference. What I want to make abundantly clear is that the experiences I am having this summer, while completely different in location and cultural context, are still layered in similar ways to those that I have experienced and will continue to experience in my life.

What binds together my onion of experience is ‘me’. It’s the fact that regardless of what happens over the course of this summer, I will deal with it in the way that Adam Fearnall deals with things. What that ‘way’ is, is undefinable and may change as I learn things about myself and the ways that I react to things.

As of today, I have had an extremely positive introduction to Fort Hope. The scenery is beautiful, the people are great, the kids are (for the most part) excited by the opportunity to learn and the relative peace of the ‘day-to-day’ has helped me to rediscover my love of reading and writing.

Whatever frustration that I have relayed to this point should be taken with a healthy dose of salt. I am almost too relaxed and too at peace with my ability to make a contribution for anything to truly bother me. When I rant about something, please know that the only reason I am ranting is because the situation is in the past. It is because I have already dealt with it, moved on, and now bring it to you with a wry smile and a chuckle.

If this whole explanation seems strange or unnecessary I apologize, I just want to make clear that my time here has been a fantastic experience so far. ‘I don’t want the beauty of what I am writing about and experiencing to get lost in my personal struggles’.

With that being said, I would like to mention a few things about today…

1/ Today I had a long conversation with my dad…

2/ A couple of the wheels fell off of our walking school bus before it got going (we’ll try again tomorrow, it’s all good)

3/ The blackflies ate me alive

4/ It was sunny (we’ll kind of…for half the day at least)

5/ I talked to Timothy Foster Hewitt Grainger/Cofield practiced today (in London)

6/ I listened to ‘Q’ podcasts

Aside from that, they day was pretty normal and well, pretty good…

Oh yeah…one more thing…I watched an episode of Gilmore Girls today (episode 1, season 1)…It was well worth the embarrassment…;)

the beauty of what I am writing about and experiencing to get lost in my personal struggles’.

With that being said, I would like to mention a few things about today…

1/ Today I had a long conversation with my dad…

2/ A couple of the wheels fell off of our walking school bus before it got going (we’ll try again tomorrow, it’s all good)

3/ The blackflies ate me alive

4/ It was sunny (well kind of…for half the day)!

5/ I talked to Timothy Foster Hewitt Grainger/Cofield practiced (in London)

6/ I listened to two ‘Q’ podcasts

Aside from that the day was pretty normal, and pretty good all around…

Oh yeah, and I watched an episode of Gilmore Girls (Episode 1, Season 1)…It was definitely worth the embarrassment…;)