I moved to Canada in 2006. In the first 18 months or so I played host to several of my friends from back home. When Simon came to visit in 2007 I wanted to show him the great outdoors, so we looked to rent a holiday home on the lake. We invited a couple of friends from Toronto to join us, and this snowballed into 14 people, all of whom I had met, but not all very well. We booked a place over labour day weekend, and this last month we had our 7th annual labour day cottage weekend.
A VFR trip inspired a tradition, something I don't have many of in Canada. It has allowed me to visit a different area of Ontario each year, and has strengthened my relationships with several people who attend. Others have invited their visiting friends and family from overseas to attend during that same week in different years, and we always seem to have some 'new people' each year. Although this year we didn't have any visiting friends or relatives it is because of my friend's visit in 2007 that this tradition has been established, my network widened and strengthened, and my knowledge of Canadian geography and culture enhanced.
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