Storms of Opportunity

Salutations,

School was cancelled on Tuesday.  The island of Newfoundland couldn't stop thinking about the Hurricane that was about to make landfall.  As I lye in bed on Monday night, the gusts of wind beating up against the window and house kept me up.  I kept thinking that a tree was going to fall on the room that I am staying in, or that some kind of flying object was going to fly through the window.

As I woke on Tuesday morning, the then tropical storm Michael was in full force.  There was no rain, and the sun was even out during a lot of the storm, but the winds were out as well.  Every time a big gust would come, I felt the house shake and felt as though that gust would be the one to knock some trees down.  While we all paced around in the house looking out various windows, a large tree fell onto the deck of the house and the branches smashed up against the windows; nothing was broken, thankfully.

They say the winds were traveling at up to 140 km/hour.  I can sense how close the people on the island of Newfoundland really are when something like this happens.  Weather is something that is talked about a lot here, so when storm comes off of the coast like that, everyone is thinking that same thing and willing to do whatever is necessary for each other.

Tomorrow morning I am headed out to Ottawa for an orientation that is put together by Fulbright Canada, which is the name of the foundation that administers the Killam Fellowship Program--the reason I am up in Canada.  This event will take place from Thursday to Sunday, and is pretty well jam-packed full of events.  I am really excited, despite a little exhaustion, to attend this orientation and meet some very accomplished people.

We will be doing things such as attending the 10th Annual Elizabeth Killam Rodgers and Constance Killam Distinguished Public Lecture, wearing suits (and looking formal!), eating fancy dinners such as the 10th Anniversary Gala Dinner, attending administrative meetings (whatever that might be...), doing service projects around Ottawa, going to a reception hosted by the United States Emabassy at the home of the U.S. Ambassador to Canada (!), taking part in discussions regarding important policy questions relating to Canada and the United States today, and playing Hockey!

That is just some of the important things that we will be doing.  We are also going to individually be getting interviewed, which I am looking forward to.  With all of that said, it will be a very busy weekend, and also a weekend of great connections and networking.  Hopefully the ambassador and all of these government officials like the long-hair and beard look that I've got going on!

Representing America well,

Benjamin