Canada!

It's now been one week since I left the familiar shores of Australia for 3 months of mostly uncharted territory (for me at least). Living out of a suitcase is going to get a bit old but that minor detail aside I'm loving it so far. Before I left I had no idea what to expect from the trip - or even whether I'd love it or hate it (although I was pretty sure it would be the former). I still don't know how the rest of the trip will unfold but the first few big questions have been answered and I feel a lot more at ease now I'm away!

On the way over I was fortunate enough to have a window seat on my flight from Los Angeles to Toronto and saw some of the fantastic geography across the northern part of the USA. Sights like this definitely make you appreciate the beauty of the world!

Despite not doing much other than train, relax and prepare for the race I have really enjoyed my time in Canada. In many ways Canada is so very similar to Australia, and combined with the fantastic hospitality from my homestay family (Canadians are seriously the friendliest people I've ever met) I feel totally at home here. It's funny though how the little differences like no school uniform, the school buses, the vegetation, and of course the accent really stand out and make it interesting and exciting. My impressions of Canada (or at least Saint Albert where I'm staying) so far are: big - big cars, big houses, big skies, big hares, big mosquitoes; friendly (even the traffic despite the big cars!), green, and bad roads... very bad roads!

Tomorrow is my first ever world cup - the Edmonton world cup and I am SUPER excited. I still find it hard to believe that I am here doing what I still only dreamt of doing a year ago, and have wanted to do since I was 8 or 9 years old. Fortunately though, it doesn't have to sink in for me to enjoy it! And maybe to some degree it's better it doesn't until after the race.

The race is only a sprint distance (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run), half the usual Olympic distance. With a hilly technical bike course it will definitely be a fast and exciting race!

The swim course in Hawrelak Park

Until after the race,
Gillian