Training Week!

Hello from Bragg Creek, Alberta!

I'm currently sitting in a real estate... store? shop? establishment? typing away while my fellow Oteshites do the same! The people here have been very hospitable - I think we've taken over the place.

So, training week is almost over! We are currently on our "day off" - 24 hours from today at noon to tomorrow at noon - so I biked out to this town, just down the road from our training camp, and I'm getting my fill here on the internet and will be picking up a few necessities, like warm socks and sunglasses!

We have spent the majority of our week out at Kamp Kiwanis, where we have been learning how to facilitate groups, how to conduct workshops, and how to work together as a team. My team, called the Kootenay Mountain Tour, or KMT for short, already feels like a family to me: we all get along really well even though we are all so different! Everyone has a lot of love to give and is really supportive, so I'm more excited than ever to spend two months with them on the road.

Since I've been out here I have taken on a completely vegan diet - it's been interesting for my digestive system (to say the least) but for the most part it hasn't been much different from what I normally eat! Just a lot more tofu, grains, lentils and beans, and whole foods. Oh, and a ton of bananas! The chef for the week went to a number of grocery stores and markets looking for food donations, and a grocery store must have donated crates and crates of slightly bruised bananas for us - it's amazing how much food you can get just by asking a store what they are planning to throw away! Seriously; if you're looking for ways to feed a large group of people cheaply, just try this tactic, it's amazing.

We have spent a few nights sleeping in cabins and a few out in our tents, to test our gear. I've discovered that my sleeping bag is wonderfully warm, but my feet still manage to get cold. I'm planning on picking up a pair of woolly socks while I'm here in Bragg Creek. My tent is great too - so easy to set up and take down, and really roomy! Two people would easily be comfortable in it. Funny anecdote: there are currently 4 Hubba Hubba tents out here at the moment: two on my tour and two on the other! Looks like MEC made a lot of money off of us!

I'm really looking forward to hitting the road on Friday, but first we have our first real performance on Thursday evening out at Kamp Kiwanis. I'm nervous about it, but it's amazing how quickly my team has learned the play and our parts! I think it's going to be really good already, and it's only the beginning.

I'm concerned about some of the bigger rides (I'm currently not anywhere close to the fastest rider on the team) but I think with the support of my teammates and if I really stick to it, I'll get my speed up! I also think I may have overestimated the number of toiletries I needed, which is just adding to the excess weight. Some people have camp soap and a toothbrush, and that's it! I gotta learn to be more of a minimalist. :)

Oh, and an interesting fact for my family: there is a Danish girl heading out on the Prairie Sky Tour! Her name is Mille, and she flew here from a town just south of Copenhagen. It's been really cool talking to her about the places I've seen and sharing some words in Danish!

Alright, that is all for now! There are other people waiting to get on the internet and I don't want to keep them waiting. I'd just like to say hello to my family, my friends (thanks again for the hilarious card - I've read it so many times!), and to my old team at YCI - if you're reading this, I hope the hunt for the new Admin Assistant was successful! Miss you all!

Much love,

Sarah

Oh, and PS - I didn't pack my camera cord, so I currently don't have a way to post the pictures that I've taken! (Mountains!!!) I'll try and figure out a way to get them uploaded as soon as possible, so you can see what I'm seeing as I hit the road on my crazy adventure. Take care!