RamblingRat bridges the gap between the UK and Canadian StreetKids
My time in the city of Toronto
It’s been a long time since I have written a blog, in fact my plan has been to create video blogs and I think this will be a better medium in the future, I am on a huge learning curve to do with media and given time I will have this sorted, the truth is I keep having problems using my laptop and travelling meeting so many interesting people I have to do a juggling act with the information I collect, and Toronto has given me many new ideas for the website.
So I have bridged the gap between the United Kingdom StreetKids offices and the Canadian offices this has been a milestone achievement from me way back from when I was in the middle of Russia, it has lived up to every expectation StreetKids International is a fantastic organisation with a great staff well run and innovative, I am very proud to be working with them, Kristy Vanderplas has been coordinating me to speak in schools and this has been to great success I have really enjoyed talking to school kids and this has shown its worth in Toronto, I’m hoping this will be expanded in the future as I travel through America later in the year to Mexico, I can now see the benefits of talking to kids in mainstream education, about the importance of food, shelter and water especially when using the interactive campsite and showing them pictures of my expedition in the classroom which gives them a great idea of cultural diversity and the world as a whole.
I have made really good connections whilst being in Toronto, first off I have been using the website www.coachsurfing.com it has been an essential tool for finding accommodation in Toronto also you meet up with the right kind of people, like John Board who used to be an assistant film director for many Hollywood feature films just Google his name and many Cronenberg films will come up under his name, but it is his passion for homoeopathic medicine that I admire the most for the last 10 years he has been making homoeopathic medicine more accessible for people, he has a really funny video on his website that you should watch where he is rapping like a teenager, and given the fact he is in his 70s is great, please check out his website www.hollywoodsurvivalkit.com I have to thank John for letting me stay for a whole month in his home.
Toronto is where I met Gregory Green, he is a documentary maker and environmentalist and has become a friend, these documentaries which focus on the depletion of oil and the end of suburbia.
He is really interesting and I would also encourage you to look at his website he has an up-and-coming documentary next year where he interviews thin new environmental Minister to the American government.
Toronto is an incredibly diverse city, this is evident when driving into Toronto I felt comforted by seeing Portuguese communities and the whole city is intertwined with different cultural areas it’s just wonderful, cities are not my favorite places and I think this comes from a fear I think, they are usually places which are more risky to take the vehicle into and the other reason is I am more at one with the countryside, but once I’m in the city’s and I need to be there to hook up with the people that can help me to promote my cause.
Meeting Jay Mandarino from the CJ skate park in school has also been a highlight, you can read more about this skateboarding project on the blog below this, I am very impressed and happy of his support for the idea on setting up more skateboarding projects in Third World countries and we will have to see how this develops in South America. Jay Mandarino also suffered with dyslexia and now From this is just a gift, I think this has been a common bond between us and I really hope we can continue to work with each other.
Hey, Man! Good to hear from you.