Dad's Reply
Dear Dave,
Thanks for your email. It will be hard the first couple of weeks, but
you'll soon become accustomed to the huge monster city that is
Toronto. You'll easily find a better place, but at least you have a
landing pad.
I saw the surgeon yesterday, and the hernia operation has gone very
well. So that is now behind me. Thanks again for all your help-- I
owe you one! My problem now is that my jets are going full blast, and
I can shut them off!... I have so much energy as a result of your
visit.
Mum loved the changes!
I'll catch up on your other points below--
>Hey Dad!
>
>Sorry long time no email - I won't have a phone in my place until
>Monday at the earliest, such is life in the center of the universe.
>Toronto is kind of odd, I was looking around downtown earlier today
>and it hit me that what I was seeing was what I guess my mental
>picture of New York City had been. And that's just the urban
>jungleness of it all, nevermind the multicultural aspects. I live a
>little ways south of the Danforth area, in an area I think is called
>Leslieville, it's actually a little bit noticeably poor. Not in a
>threatening way, but in the old Victorian houses that are split down
>the middle, and in the fact that now I'm a visible minority, along
>with everybody else. There's no dominate ethnicity in the
>community, which honestly feels different upon first awareness of it.
Once, again Dave you are one helluva good writer! I love the above
paragraph. Please, please keep a journal, and put this above
observation in it. Did you know that your
great-great-great-grandfather Boyd (Bitty's great-grandfather)
established our family in Toronto, 170 years ago. Although you didn't
know it you have deep Toronto roots.
Re: your district--This is a wonderful introduction to Canada of the
mid-21st century, in a generation I predict the whole country will be
like this.
> I should be having dinner with Barb and Eric on Sunday, I need to
>email them to confirm that. My place is truthfully a
>dissapointment, smaller and older than I had expected.
Hope the $1000 reaches you. I mailed you a cheque priority post
yesterday, mum mentioned that it would help. Do you remember you
helped me with my "Professional Allowance" at the university sending
it in by email (I didn't know how to send in my expenses!)....
Already they have reimboursed me, $1200-- $1000 I gladly give to you
for your accommodation/ food/entertainment expenses, whatever you
want to spend it on, a supplementary $250 a month, with another
$1000 for you in January.
Just take your time, and find a good place, it is so important. At
this stage it really isn't, as school is just starting, but it will
be in late fall, when things start to build up.
> Though don't
>tell Mom that, she'll be offering to put me in a hotel from
>September to April. It's nothing serious, just as expected this
>will be a transitional place as I get a toehold in Toronto to scout
>out a more permanent place to live. The subway system is quite
>efficent and I could live farther away from downtown then I'd
>expected. The move won't come until the end of November or December
>though.
Sounds good.
>
>Ryerson is different as well, I will miss UVic and Victoria in some
>ways. My program is very small, I estimated about 100 new first
>years in my orientation group. At UVic our 1st Year Psych classes
>had a total of say 300 students, so that's my basing point that it's
>smaller. My classes start Tuesday, it'll be interesting to see how
>many sections there are and therefore what the class sizes come out
>to be.
If you are in small classes boy you are lucky. Don't hesitate to talk
to your professors, hardly any students do, but it really helps both
sides.... Did you know I have a high school friend who teaches at
Ryerson, Marta Braun, haven't seen her for years. She is in
Photography, or Fine Arts, something like that. Who knows you might
cross paths one day. When I am down in Toronto I can introduce you if
you like.
>
>Mom and I had a fantastic dinner with Jane Maxwell, she's a very
>nice, interesting, and engaging person. We talked about many things
>including Naomi Klein and No Logo, that book I left for Peter -
>Jane's work with OxFam gives her a lot of knowledge and
>understanding about these globalization issues which concern me.
>She suggested I come by her office to see if any volunteer positions
>were open, which I will do once I get settled, probably early next
>week.
OXFAM That might be fun Dave, and you'll meet interesting people. Dadu
>
>Let me know how Mom liked the organizational changes at home, and
>please remember to get garbage cans with lids in all rooms so Maxy
>can't eat anymore used kleenexes.
>
>Take care, Dave