A word on the Winnipeg travel folk.

Whilst staying at an undisclosed location in The Peg (as I have come to think of it), I must send out a thankyou to "the boys" who have generously let me into their room late in the afternoons and evenings so I could keep you all updated for free on the internet this week. My current abode is populated by a mishmash of folk from European girl backpackers, to job seekers like myself, to an assortment of other folk.

Marcel from Quebec is here for a few weeks with the Red Cross and I admire his work tremendously and like his gentle character. Silas is the fastest-talking bloke from Buckinghamshire I have ever met- he can cover politics-to-immigration-to-drinking-to-girls all without drawing breath, in a lightening fast labourer's accent. I'm not sure if the North Americans can follow him because I only can with some effort and my ear is tuned to the Brits. Daryl the Canadian achieved 98% on his first test as a boilermaker's apprentice and has been unfailingly good mannered. Matthew (also Canadian) is a gently-spoken intellectual who came to Winnipeg to research the Hudson Bay company (the oldest company in the world) archives and loves to watch Irish comedians on his laptop.

Th Scientologists have moved in recently too and I find I don't have much in common with them- they keep to themselves and seem to be perpetually ironing plain cotton shirts. I own an iron in Australia but buy clothes that don't require me to use it, I believe in Christ and I like talking to other people. But they seem nice enough and I feel sorry for them about the whole Tom Cruise thing.

My favourite is Vanessa, director of Pegasus Recruiting. http://www.pegasusrecruits.com/ She is a Canadian who has lived in South Korea for many years and has set up an agency in Canada travelling from end to end of the country recruiting Westerners with Bachelor Degrees to go live and teach in South Korea for one year at a time. South Korea is now what Japan was 10 years ago and there are hundreds of schools needing English language teachers who will pay the dollars, provide accommodation and return flights to your home country. Given that I am visiting Steph and Tauri in Soeul on my way home I am tempted to consider going back there if I like it for 2008 and come away if I save properly with more than "rainy day" savings. Just an idea but I am happy to hear your opinions.