The Rock

Wednesday, October 1st
The first day of October and Otesha is in Sydney, Nova Scotia. At the break of dawn Lori and Jess make a mad rush to meet Lori's bus, destined for Kingston, they make it just in the nick of time. Meanwhile back at Chris and Julie's house the Oteshaites sleep soundly sprawled all over the living room floor, all except me. As the Australian Oteshaite I feel somewhat homesick as Sydney brings back many Australian memories of eucalypt forest, fresh pacific sea breezes and the sight of the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. These feelings of homesickness are soon overcome, however, with the smell of Chris's pancakes for breakfast and Huddy's (the border collie) overwhelming affection and tail wagging.

Bellies full of pancakes, the Oteshaites leave their bikes to rest in the basement choosing to travel by foot to the Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP) Centre for some meeting and greeting. Participating in various projects concerning environmental clean-ups, waste management, sustainable transportation and bog restoration, ACAP offer the perfect environment for informal, stimulating discussions concerning sustainability. Interacting with ACAP staff and interested community members Otesha learns about the Sydney Tar Ponds and the intricate trail network developed in a nearby park. To further enhance the Sydney experience some of the Oteshaites take the opportunity to check out the Tar Ponds and Trail network, others remain at the Centre sharing inspirational stories with ACAP staff and other exceptional members of the Sydney community including Jacques Cote and Micheline. The team would like to thank Judy, the ACAP Project Coordinator and all the ACAP staff for their hospitality, and for the amazing welcoming sign posted at the building entrance.

The day continues with a major bike session back at Chris¿s as he patiently assists us to repair our trusty steeds for the final leg of the tour. Saying our good byes the team confidently remounted for a 30 km ride to North Sydney. We were soon ready to board the ferry for an overseas adventure to Newfoundland!! Waiting for the 11:00 pm boarding call, and making use of every precious minute in the last ten days of the tour, we plan our first Newfoundland presentation and rotate the wheel of responsibility for the new "fneed" (our new substitute word for an Otesha week). Andrea hands over the facilitator role to Kristin and Simon gratefully hands over his route planning responsibilities to the Newfoundland route planner, Mel. The evening is topped off with an affirmation circle for Kristin. Beaming with happiness, she is smothered in hugs and affection as the team gathers for an enormous group hug, entertaining all passers by.

Finally the call comes over the loud speaker to return to our vehicles. Waiting until the last minute as always we rush to Zinga and our bikes, energy and excitement oozing from the team. Picture this scene:

...the night is dark, we hear the noise of walky-talkies, the ferry personnel direct us up the ramp of the ferry with fluorescent rods (Rea has flashbacks of Top Gun). Biking up the ramp the wind blows in our hair and the crisp cool air re-awakens our weary bodies. The car passes blaring music and singing at the top of their lungs out their open windows cheering to the cyclists. The lights shine brightly above us and we revel in the attention received by other passengers as we ring our bells and peddle our way ahead of the line-up of vehicles towards the vessel that will bring us to our final province the last leg of our journey! J.

Thursday, October 2nd
six in the morning and we are on the island of Newfoundland, biking in the dark. We are all feeling rather sleepy after a restless night on the ferry, except for those few who sneakily found bunks to rest in for the night. Breakfast is served in its usual form consisting of cereal only this time our picnic location is in the warm confines of a Tim Hortons! As we watched the sun rise over province number 10 we couldn't help but feel in awe, of all that had conspired to bring us there, the thousands of individuals who had helped us, inspired us, and made such a moment, and such a journey possible.

Our destination for the day was St. James Regional High, only a few kilometres up the road. We arrive for an 8:30 am presentation planned for 200 grade 9 to 12 students. Our audience is certainly interested and entertained, but we are doubtful as to the appropriateness of our message. Long chats with the students who stick around through their recess show us the different issues faced by these youth. As we debrief the presentation we discuss the content of our skit and how it relates to the local issues faced by Newfoundlanders. What is important to these kids? Are environmental issues a concern for youth in a province where employment is difficult to obtain, where the major source of income for many families comes from resource extraction? In Newfoundland the fishing industry has crashed due to overexploitation and government intervention and wastewater is discharged into the ocean. Our awareness of issues important to Newfoundland youth is further enhanced after the action plan workshop as the students share some of their views on waste disposal and breakfast programs at their school. The lessons learnt at St James Regional High carry through to further discussions on Friday, as we struggle to clarify and find Otesha¿s place in a new area and culture.

After the debrief, most of the Oteshaites gather in a school classroom for an afternoon nap before meeting for my affirmation circle. As the journal reporter for this week I'd like to take the opportunity to comment on the affirmation experience. It involves each member of the team taking a few minutes (or sometimes longer) to describe why they love a certain individual, and share memories of special times they have shared. It is wonderful and uncomfortable at the same time. It is flattering, fun and generally a great confidence booster. It brings laughs, tears, appreciation, and love to the forefront. I highly recommend it for any work, family or group environment. Thank you for loving me Otesha.

Now you might think that after a 6:00 am wake-up we would be ready for an early night not Otesha! Instead Jess organized round two of the "Talent Show" for the night. Andrea and Ely (the talking eel) host the show and Jess and Joss kick the night off with a musical performance of one of the top ten wake-up songs, this one from a morning in Moose-Jaw Sask. Elly follows with her amazing snake charming act, costume and all. Inspired by Moulin Rouge, Rea and I stimulate some laughter with a duo act to the Elephant Love Song. Jocelyn does a beautiful and honest reading of a few of her journal entries from Uganda, the courageous Anita shares her singing talent with the group and Sho takes us on the most amazing sensual nature walk through the moss-covered hills of Newfoundland, with props and all. Sho also joins Anita for another act of song, this time the whole team joins in joyously. Lauren and Andrea surprise the group with an excellent imitation of the cross dressing conservationists (a part in the skit played by Simon and Steve), while Jess does a little tap-dancing action, and Mel shares some of her amazing poetry. Jess and Joss then share another wake-up song and Joss offers her skirt for some amazing creative expression. Each and every Oteshaite puts chalk to work creating a design on her black skirt, which Joss commits to brightening up with her embroidery skills. A hilarious act follows the interlude with Steve, Logan, Elly, Kristen and Sho putting on a show of shadows and adventure. The night ends with a ghost story by Kathleen and an intentionally long-winded story by Simon. Finally our heads hit the pillows for the night and we dream of the hills and adventures to come.

Friday, October 3rd
greets us with some typical Newfoundland weather, rain, mist and wind. An exciting day for many reasons including Rea's 23rd birthday, our first ride in Newfoundland and a day observing the scenic mountains and hills characteristic of The Rock. It is cool outside and we are happy that we finally get to make use of the warm clothes we have been carrying around on our bikes for the last four months. This happiness is even maintained after a rather wet, cool ride 38 kilometres up the road to Grand Codroy, Doyles. We arrive for lunch that leaves us plenty of time for meetings and discussion. Our sleeping quarters for the night encourage cuddling as the breeze travels up through the floor panels of the wooden hut/stable. Our meeting begins with a discussion about the skit and how we can incorporate more relevant messages for Newfoundland youth. Elly, Andrea and I also work on preparing some more thank you cards 300 cards used since the beginning of the tour!! Kristen hosts a session to improve the cohesiveness of the skit props and Jess facilitates an action plan brainstorming session, aiming to improve the action plan process for future presentations.

Kathleen shares her energy with a game of Ricky Ticky, Logan and Sho proving to be the most coordinated team combination. Of course we all work as an amazing team and we try not to promote competitiveness, the true competitive streak in each Oteshaite, however, shines through in a game like Ricky Ticky - just ask Andrea!!! Warmed up and creative juices flowing this activity is followed with some free time for walking and preparation for random acts of kindness (an idea proposed by Jess and Rea for each and every Oteshaite). Kathleen takes herself on a walk through the forest and comes back so inspired after following a trail of positive messages - "guys you have to check this out, I love it". Drawn back from the woods to our hut by the smell of frying tofu we celebrate Rea¿s birthday with her favourite meal of veggie subs. During dinner Jess and Joss facilitate the wackiest, wildest brainstorming session ever. The topic the future of Otesha!!! Many ideas circulate including a sustainable resource centre, world tour and camp tour so many great ideas, some of which we will build on in more detail next week. There are no limits and we are dreaming big!!!

Feeling somewhat chilly Kathleen and I take the team outside for an aerobics session beside Zinga (our Honda hybrid). This soon turns into a huge dance party that lasts for a good forty minutes. We are slightly distracted by Rea's birthday cake, but only for a short time before we are back dancing wildly in the dark. We reconvene for Rea's affirmation, which is full of many fun memories and laughs. The sleeping situation for the night is unlike any other Otesha has experienced as the world's largest sleeping bag is created with Sho, Elly, Joss, Steve and Kristen zipping their sleeping bags together in the hope of producing more warmth. Chattering teeth and a lack of sleep is evidence that the "giant sleeping bag" approach failed, the participants have suggested a vertical stack for cold nights in the future.

Saturday, October 4th
presents us with clear blue skies, a comforting warm sun and views abound. With a feeling of freedom, freshness and solidarity we travel along one of the quietest highways Otesha has experienced. There are rolling hills to our right and occasionally the ocean shows itself to our left. We cross the cool running waters of crystal clear brooks, we feel the cold air travelling across our bodies from icy cold Labrador, some of us see moose crossing the road. Steve and Logan immerse themselves in this experience of Newfoundland and begin to behave like cave men!!! I see RVs passing us with carcasses of moose and caribou - an indication that we are in the midst of hunting season. Hunting wild moose, bear and caribou for meat, for recreation, for pleasure... a culture? a way of life? or just another form of human-kind "conquering" nature? In my head I argue that this is wrong, this is unsustainable but is it? The First Nations hunted and continue to hunt wildlife for their subsistence humans have hunted wildlife for thousands of years. I believe the motivations behind hunting in today's society are different. Nature and culture are separated, land management and conservation is no longer connected to the spiritual, the cultural we take from the earth, yet we fail to give. These thoughts flow through my head. Later the team discuss the surplus of moose carcasses and RVs somewhat light heartedly as we all join together at Appalachia High School in the town of St Georges, and decide that regardless of the motivations, hunted moose meat may in fact be more sustainable then factory farmed, antibiotic laden, highly packaged and shipped beef from a large grocery store chain. The school is our home for the next three days. It is warm, welcoming and relaxing. We finish the night with an affirmation circle for Logan... he's a super hero, he's a gentle giant, he's a saint.. We love him : )

Sunday, October 5th a day off and the Oteshaites sleep in, run, hike, read and plan for adventures after Otesha. Travel, school, friends, work, volunteering, so many exciting options for all of us. But yet many of us have adopted a rather different way to plan, different goals, and different motivations for we plan and we will live our dreams, wherever those may lead. : )

Sending inspiration and love from The Rock, Jazz.