Now I left the safe zone of being with a family. My next halt was at
Fredericton. My contact here was the Dean of women's residences. I met her in her house, she took me to the campus, the mathematics dept. etc.
In the Math dept. I met three young men and a woman, students from Southern part of India, where I came from. They were very excited to meet and talk with me. I still remember their comment - "your visit is like a breeze of fresh air for us". Any time I feel low or down, I should remember the 'glory' of my past!!!!
I have seen mostly, Churches, Art galleries, Campuses in all the places on this trip.
In
Halifax, I stayed at the local YMCA. It was $7.00 per night, shared with another woman. When I checked in, I was the only one in the room. After I returned from the day tour, visiting the Campus, the light houses, Peggy's cove, the paper and pulp factory etc., I entered the room and saw another woman on the next bed. She was wearing a white night gown, an Asian (Chinese?) and I thought she was not real. The most beautiful person I have ever seen and I told her that. Her husband was a medical doctor doing his residency. He had night duty and she saw mice in her apartment, got scared and checked into the YMCA!!! We became instant friends, I visited her place the next morning, met her husband. She said they will eventually be moving to New York. I was in touch with her for an year or too after that and then, like many other friends, lost track of her. I don't know whether they were able to move to the USA or not.
Another person I met, whose name I forgot - her son from Toronto arranged the meeting. He worked for Ontario Hydro and had two daughters and a lovely wife. He met me at his mother's place to spend Mother's day two days prior to the actual day May 10, 1968, so that he could spend May 10th with his wife. He pulled out a photo of a very beautiful teen age girl and showed it to me. I asked him whether it was his daughter's. No - it was the photo of his wife given to him on their first date. He said he never removed it from his wallet. Even though I forgot his name etc., this sentiment made a lasting impression on me.
I think I stayed at his mother's place. I remember that she took me to a restaurant to eat. It was on the banks of small river. I could see the waters through a window. Again, sea food was the speciality. I did not get much vegetarian food to eat. We saw logs floating in the river. She told me that they were all marked and the owners transported them like that to a different location. That was interesting, I thought.
I admired the trust and honesty in that arrangement.
It was really sad when my trip was over. I met wonderful people, strangers who became friends, even though now I forgot some names and some details.
