Welcome to 'O-North'!

Welcome to Toronto, Ontario, Canada!

Greetings from 'O-North' a.k.a. 499 Ontario Street in Toronto, ON! I arrived on Thursday (thank you mother nature for an extra day with my family) and was greeted by my roommate, Brittnei. The house is a big, beautiful, Victorian home with five bedrooms, four washrooms (bathrooms), two kitchens, and a living room. Unfortunately, Brittnei had to leave quickly for a weekend trip to Ohio, so I ventured upstairs to our room in the attic (or the 'loft' as D calls it) to start unpacking. Not too long after I start do I hear voices downstairs, "want to go meet the new roomie?" so I venture down...
"Hello?" "ROOMIE!!"... It was Hamza and Amy. I was greeted with huge hugs and quick chatter. We spoke about the house, what I did at BSU, Free The Children, FAM for Change, etc. Incredible housemates, check!

Friday we had a going away party for Amy. She will be leaving this week to continue her own journey through Kenya, India, and Israel. She is a very strong, motivated, independent woman and I am already sad to see her go... Anyways, party! Many Free the Children and Me to We staff came over, including Michel who I haven't seen since last March! I met a few folks that I'll be on the same team with, both coordinators and another Motivational Speaker, Larissa. She started last week and is in the same boat as me where she will be working the same position, on the same team, and just up and left her family, friends, and boyfriend as well. We bonded for a while and really started chatting about plans to explore the city together! Every person at the party was nothing short of warm and welcoming!

My weekend consisted of errands, unpacking, and girly time with Amy. Today we went to Kensington Market which is a few streets in Chinatown of little coffee shops, independent stores, and a really sweet Rasta store. We got coffee at Moonbean coffee and chatted for a couple hours about mentoring programs (she will be implementing a mentorship program in Kenya for street kids). She picked my brain for a while about how it felt being at the roots of FAM for Change, what works, what doesn't, etc. It was a great conversation with great company and great coffee! We visited a couple shops after, then decided our numb toes deserved the warmth of our house and hopped on the street car!

I finally finished unpacking and putting my room together, which is a huge relief! Tomorrow is my first day of work at Free the Children and I'm really excited, as well as nervous and anxious! A few people have given me tips and pointers on what to expect and it sounds like a super busy day. For now, I'm off to get my things prepared and get a good night's sleep for my first day of my new adventure! Until later...

In Peace,
Bria

"To find the balance you want, this is what you must become. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart, instead." 

-Eat Pray Love