What I did this summer: The cruise ship experience, New York, Montreal, and Vipassana

[soundofwater]

The cruise to St John and Halifax was the first time I've been east of Quebec City, but because I took the seafaring route from New York, I was totally dissociated from any feeling of being east of Quebec. It was like I was a space alien and my interstellar travel pod had crash landed in Sleepytown, Canada. Twice.

In St John, I went to a place

Comments

[okoshun]

I ate the "Poutine T-Rex," which was a monstrous dish topped with bacon, sausage and ground beef as well as the customary gravy and cheese curds.

I can hear your arteries clogging from here.

[kadenza]

Ha ha, reversing falls. It's probably for the best that you left. Not as big a dissappointment as Moncton's (aptly named) tidal bore, though. There are bleachers set up and absolutely nothing happens.

My great great grandfather had a store in the St. John market, and it's still there, though it's now a coffee shop instead of a grocery store.

[hysteriachan]

It has cannons pointing into Halifax Harbour-for the defence of Canada!

Oh, yes indeed. And we fire one once a day, to show we mean business to announce that it's noon.

[epi_lj]

I wonder if, "won't be able to continue facing the naked revelation of their own innermost thoughts," is what they file it under when people just can't stand the boredom any longer.

[soundofwater]

I usually get bored when I try to meditate, but a couple of past attendees I know say that Vipassana meditation has a similar effect to psychedelic drugs. If that's the case, I see it as something like a sensory deprivation tank, where your brain starts making stuff up to compensate for the lack of intellectual or social stimulation.