Picnics and big open spaces

Here I am! Winnipeg, Manitoba. My last stop on my journey. I'm here for two weeks instead of one. One week to do what I've been doing and one week to write up my final report. Whatever that's supposed to be.

When I arrived on Saturday, I stayed with Jon and Mary Anne Isaak for two nights. On Sunday, we went to a picnic after church to send a couple off for MCC service in Lebanon and Syria. Then, they took me to the Manitoba Museum. Unfortunately, my camera decided to run out of battery before we got there. So I don't have any pictures. There was a whole ship in there. They recreated the Nonsuch, which, to my American understanding, was one of the first ships to explore Canada. They recreated the whole ship and now there's a model that you can walk around in. It's a lot taller than I thought it would be, but I think that's because the mast was very tall.

You can take a look at the museum's website here. There are descriptions of the different exhibits so you can get a feel of what you're missing by not going to this museum.

I would just like to take a little bit to appreciate a bit of culture shock. I'm not totally sure if that's the right term, but one thing I've noticed that is different marketing campaigns. I know that there are different companies, but it hadn't occurred to me that the commercials would be different.

Here's Morty:

Morty the Buffalo

Manitoba is the northern part of the Great Plains, so they have lots of buffalo in their history. Morty is part of an advertising campaign for MTS (Manitoba Telecom Service). He has friends, too. So basically, their commercials are little CG animals doing funny things. I'm amused by them. But then again, I'm pretty easily amused.

Speaking of easily amused, check this 15 second commercial out:

There are other ones, such as "Fresh" and "Cheese." I find them quite funny. Stubborn, stubborn dutchman.

So today I started my work at the archives. Two words: Archives. Envy.

See, the building was built in 2005, and they had in mind that part of it was going to be archives (the upstairs and part of the first floor are offices for other parts of the MB church). Let's just take a little walk around, shall we?

Many archives are tucked away in a dark back room. This is not the case here. The largest portion of the first floor is dedicated to the archives, which allows them to have a lot of open space, which is the opposite of many archives you will run into.

They have a nice little display cabinet first thing when you walk in. Dedicated display space that has another use as a desk lets them show parts of their collection without taking up any extra space.

There's a modern feel to this archives (as I said, it was built in 2005). So, there are lots of fun touches, such as this bookcase that doubles as extra display space for less fragile objects and books for sale. 

Oh, I get my own desk this time, too. In it's own alcove.

A computer, too! I'm a professional now. 

And now for the major envy: The vault.

There's so much storage space. 

Big, lovely rolling storage.

One thing I noticed was the fact that the tracks for the shelves are level with the ground. With other places I've been, the tracks, which were most likely not a part of the original design of the building, have to have a little ramp up and down to allow for the space. For someone who trips over air like me, that can be dangerous. Here, I'm relatively safe.

Also, there's these amusing little notes:

I'm guessing they're to encourage people to encourage each other. I might send one or two to my coworker, Kate. She's really fun.

So now I've made it to the place I'm staying for the next two weeks.

I get a desk again! I love desks. Well, I love desks that are bigger than my desk at Bluffton.

There's also this picture in my room. I noticed it right away. From what I can figure out from the label on the side, it's a soldier jumping a checkpoint in Berlin. I'm going to have to ask one of my hosts for more information.

Of course, what kind of archives blogger would I be if I didn't include what I found today? I used my individual research time to read up on Helen Warkentin, a missionary in India. In her box, I found these things:

A  Christmas handkerchief from the S.S. Weihnachsfetes (I'm not sure about the spelling. I'm bad at reading that gothic German script). It has the verse Luke 2:14 on it "Glory to God in the highest and to mankind, peace on earth."

A small bracelet with bells on it.

Kate was also sure to show me her favorite item in the archives:

A tiny little prayer book.

Tomorrow, I'm going to a barbecue. Yes. A vegetarian at a barbecue. But I'll find something, I'm sure. I'm pretty flexible. They're also having a "getting to know Amanda" coffee in the morning and then a lunch for the archives department. 

I'm meeting a lot of new people, but I'll be here for longer than I was in the other places, so I'll hopefully get to know them pretty well.

Also, PLEASE feel free to comment and interact with me! I know where you're from (welcome to the game, Russia and Canada). I feel like I'm talking to a wall. I want to hear from you all. What are you up to this summer?