On the weekend we hired a car and traveled to the cottage of the family I'm staying with. It is on a gravel road in bear country, out on one of a network of lakes. Amidst the waterways are areas of beautiful native forest, which emit the rich smell of pine. We went out on the boat, played badminton, went for long walks and sat around the campfire. I even chose to sleep out on the boat dock with the water lapping at the dock, and the stars above. Life really can't get much better than this (though it would be nice to share the experience with my friends and family from home). Canadian summer is beautiful.

Well it seems that the storm blew over (or didn't blow over us). No dramatic tornado after all. "According to Environment Canada, there were 1,000 lightning strikes every two minutes along the long line of storms from Windsor to areas east of Toronto, at the peak storm time between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m." That looked pretty spectacular, even if there wasn't a funnel. Everyone survived, which is always nice.

So, I'm sitting in my room listening to the crashing thunder and pouring rain and waiting to hear whether a tornado is heading our way tonight. I'm pretty sure the same clap of thunder has continued for the past 20 minutes, and the strobe lights outside suggest heaven's having a disco. Toronto is an exciting place! I'll keep you updated. I suspect all this excitement will turn into nothing. No one here seems too bothered by the idea of a tornado.

I joined a young adult's church camp on the weekend, and got drenched. Summer rains and thunderstorms are fun! When the weather wasn't out to knock our tents down and wash them away, I enjoyed playing frisbee in the water at the beach, going on beautiful walks, and getting to know some wonderful people. We had an amazing time.

Today was also exciting. It started off early with my first sight of a ride-on vacuum cleaner. This excitement was then outdone by the excitement of being in an earthquake! Not a big one, but certainly noticeable. Apparently they had one at a similar time last year.

Once that excitement was over, I borrowed a bike and rode around the beach and the city for the last few hours as the sun set, taking photos of Toronto. If I don't watch out I might get fit!

- Saw my first squirrel
- Bought strawberries on special - $1 for a double punnet
- Saw a disabled dog being taken for a walk in a dog wheelchair
- A work mate lent me a pen that electrocutes the user
- The fridge is full of bags of milk (Toronto milk comes in plastic bags)

Apparently I brought the rain with me so now  the weather has cooled down. No snow yet! Some of the girls in my office are keen to take me cross-country skiing once the snow arrives though. I have a new friend who has lent me a guitar and is giving me guitar lessons! He also heard I was interested in photography so took me for a walk around the local area to see the view of the city at night. It's a pretty great view (see my photos). Today I got the first stage of the TB test. So far there is no sign of a reaction.

I’m safely in Toronto, with a work permit! I applied when I reached Vancouver. It took hours for them to sort out the mess but they gave me one in the end. Apparently I'm lucky to get one at all, applying at Port of Entry. Unfortunately the application process was too slow for my Toronto flight, so I missed it. Luckily the lady at the baggage check-in was able to fit me on the next Air Canada fight to Toronto, which landed only an hour and a half later than the original one, so no dramas.

The view flying out of Vancouver was spectacular - snow capped mountains, emerging from a sea of cloud. I also enjoyed passing other planes that looked to be swimming in the clouds.

I made it to my new house via public transport, with a lot of help from locals, and found myself in the middle of a big festival. An interesting time to arrive. The temperature is apparently regularly reaching 40 degrees Celsius in this current heat wave, and the rain is pretty constant. Who would have thought I'd go to Canada for warmth?

Well, the Canadian adventures have not yet started but my Work Permit adventures are fun! I'm not able to get a work permit because The Kids Rehabilitation Hospital I will be working for is unable to prove that I'm not taking a Canadian's job. Instead, I am applying for a working holiday program permit but that is expected to take weeks to come through. Looks like I will be working unpaid until I can get a work permit, then will have to leave and re-enter Canada to validate it.