Day two with the L'Arche Community

Greetings from Canada!

Our second day in Canada took us to Toronto! Today we ventured to Toronto for the Sol Express program, where they focus on auditory integration.
We got to know each other through name games, dance breaks, and theatre exercises. At the end of the afternoon, we did tableaus, which are still picture scenes of actions and stories. My personal favorite was the bad breakup tableau. One of the members acted as the cellphone that was thrown onto the floor after being dumped. The mini skits we did have a chance to be performed at Fringe Fest this summer! Naomi's favorite Disney princess just so happened to be Ariel. During one of our games she had me act as a mermaid to get to another chair. I committed to the act for her and gave my best mermaid impression.

After Sol Express, we traveled to Greektown and explored during our free time. Being the Americans that we are, we ended up at a Starbucks. It had this cute little sticky-note drawing display and I couldn't leave without leaving a piece of Gannon behind! Megan also found her ketchup chips that she has been raving about and bought them in bulk. We shared some during our reflection later in the day. It sounds gross, and as someone who does not prefer ketchup, I have to say they were pretty delicious.

We then headed back to L'Arche Toronto for Taize Worship. During worship they had a segment where we had a communal prayer and shared with everyone who to keep in our thoughts and prayers during this week. We then lit candles to represent these prayers. Some of the songs we sang were in Latin! It was the most beautiful thing to be able to witness and hear.

Once worship was over, we headed to our assigned L'Arche homes for dinner. Megan and I headed to the Gamble House where we were welcomed with a handmade card made by the members! They immediately made us feel comfortable in their beautiful home. We discussed the differences between the U.S. and Canada and our 12 passenger van, which Stephen was very intrigued about. It's also safe to say that the members would rather go to Florida than Erie. Before we left, Janet gave us a house tour! In the house, there was a picture frame that had the quote "enjoy the little things." I feel as we often forget this and in the L'Arche community they live this daily. It was a nice reminder and way to end our day.

Until tomorrow,
Ariel & the L'Arche Ontario ABST