goodbye chris.

yesterday afternoon after getting home from work, i was informed that instead of going to work the next morning, we were expected to be at a meeting with the supervisors.
after much speculation and general consensus that it would be about the fact that some of the group had failed to fulfill their responsibility as participants when they missed out on a park clean-up that had been scheduled with the community, it came up that some people were disgruntled by the fact that a couple days before the park clean-up, i, along with lorna and ayman, had ditched a planned obligatory group activity that involved a bike ride along the bike path that runs through the city. apparently people thought that it was a lack of respect for the group.

this morning when we arrived, it was announced to us that Chris would be leaving the program.
He had acquired 3 warnings throughout the course of the program, and the final one was because of the fact that he was sick and he didn't go to the park clean-up without first calling the supervisors who didn't know.
5 months in the program. there is one month left.
after three warnings, you get sent home.
after this was announced, fingers were pointed, immaturity reigned, and the fact that the three of us had ditched a group activity was raised.
yes, thank you. an eye for an eye. your brazilian friends got a warning for not coming to help us clean up the park, and so you must rat us out.
so after a little bit of a group circle jerk, and putting on a good face for Chris' sake, it dissolved into a coldwar of sorts. more fingers were pointed, EVERYONE'S opinion needed to be shared. and although i thought it would be needed to get everything out on the table and air some shit out, it did not help.
i'm ready for a fight. when it comes down to it, i don't mince my words. and although everything has been plastered over for now, i still have a lot to say. 5 weeks is still a lot of time.

the rest of the day, i spent with chris... i bought him his first and last poutine here in valleyfield. we went to a secondhand store... and me, ayman, elliot and lorna chilled with him for a little bit in tim hortons. after, some of us gathered at chris' house to see him off. his bus leaves tonight at 10pm for Quispamsis, New Brunswick.
It's so incredibly sad to see him go, especially for such a slight infraction. 5 months together, and he's not just one of the participants, but he's also become a good friend, and like a little brother.
We looked out for each other, and I remember always asking how he was and how he was feeling in Brazil, when I knew he was feeling very homesick. We've done some incredibly random shit together, and I have some really stupid videos of him doing stupid shit.
Outside of the program I don't think I would have met anyone like him, or if I had, I probably wouldn't have gotten to know them as well as I got to know him.
This does nothing to help the group's motivation or energy...
We're one Canadian down. And although it still hasn't hit me yet, I'm sure it will once we get into a group again.
Bye Chris! Good luck! New Brunswick isn't that far away, come visit us in Central Canada sometime! We'll go to the CTG in Toronto.
I now have a reason to go to Quispamsis, NB.
We'll miss you!