In Canada

As I write this, our family is in the midst of a week-long vacation, mostly in Canada.  Our youngest, N, studied Canada this last school year in first grade.  This fact had some influence in our choice of destinations this summer - when you're going to a foreign country it always helps to have an expert along.

In the days leading up to our departure, N was very excited at the prospect of visiting the country he studied.  He was also happy to share his expertise with the rest of us, such as, "We'd better pack some coats, it's cold in Canada" and "It's okay if we don't see a polar bear, they're kind of dangerous."  I should point out that our trip did not go very deep into Canada.  We entered at Fort Frances by International Falls and drove east to Thunder Bay - not exactly polar bear country.

As we entered and drove across southern Ontario, I was worried that the experience might be a bit of a let down considering the expectations.  There were a couple of observations from the back of the van about it being warmer than expected but mostly the comments were positive.  The different flag, using kilometers instead of miles, it all added to the "foreignness" of the place.  As we continued along, N. became very excited about the rock formations and terrain and related what he'd learned about them in school.  Finally, at one point he remarked, "Canada is even better than I expected!" - and this was before we'd seen Kakebekka Falls, the Amethyst Mine or Ouimet Canyon.

And so, now we've seen all those things.  And we've confirmed that Canada is a splendid place, even if you only see a little slice of it.  We'll spend another day hiking and exploring and then start our way back to Minnesota tomorrow.  B. is a little worried that he'll be all messed up when he switches back off the metric system.  We've become so very international.