From Manila to PEI
One of the precious gifts of summer in the Maritimes is to reconnect with friends and family. And to have the gift from my parents, of a cottage on PEI offers the opportunity to do just that. Some of you will know that 28 years ago, in 1995-96, I lived in The Philippines to serve as an intern with the Metro Manila Health Program of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines, partners of the United Church of Canada. There I met and became dear friends with another Canadian, also from the United Church of Canada, Marcia Keeler from Manitoba. A twenty plus year age difference, Marcia in her early twenties and I in mid forties, did not keep us from becoming friends. There is something about living in a foreign land that draws people together as we seek something familiar, someone who understands home. Someone who gets the joke. For living overseas, I quickly came to understand that ‘to get’ humour is a challenge across cultures. Marcia got the joke. Marcia and I shared a common