Another year another delegation! This year the delegation from Kariya had a short visit, so with just five days together, we packed a lot of activities into our busy schedule. For the welcoming on Saturday, everyone gathered at City Hall prior to their arrival. We were so excited to meet our guests for the first time! For my guest Yurie, it was her first visit to Mississauga. I was surprised she spoke English so fluently!

After introducing all the guests to their host families, we had a bit of free time to chat with everyone. All the delegates seemed to be in good spirits despite the long flight from Japan. My parents had prepared a big feast for us at home, so we headed straight back once the welcome reception was over. Yurie had a bit of time to get settled in before we sat down for dinner. We had a really nice meal and got to know more of each other.

For the next day, we had a relaxing morning sleeping in, then we went out for dimsum. Yurie wanted to get some shopping done, so we took her to the mall for the afternoon. We had the official welcome dinner in the evening. Dinner at the Glen Erin Inn was really lovely and we were pleasantly surprised that the mayor had joined us for the meal. Afterwards we had our official gift exchange. The mayor of Kariya sent Hazel a ‘magic box’ from Hakone. It took them 10 minutes to figure out how to open the box! However, the bigger problem was getting it to close again!

After the formal night, the next day was really relaxing as we celebrated Canada Day at Celebration Square. We had a nice lunch at Trio Restaurant, then headed over to Kariya Park to tour the area. Later in the afternoon, all the delegates joined the mayor and councilors on stage to kick start the Canada Day celebration. Yurie, my sister and I got invited to Dan’s house for a BBQ later that evening. It was really nice of them to invite us over and we had a great time at their place. We trekked back to City Hall that evening to watch the fireworks display. Even though it was a long night by the time we got home, it was great having a very Canadian celebration.

After Canada Day, we had another long day ahead, since it was our day trip to Niagara Falls. Luckily this year was a lot cooler than the previous year, so it was much more comfortable walking around Niagara. We went on the Maid of the Mist, then had a picnic by Niagara-on-the-Lake. Later in the afternoon we had free time to go shopping in town. For dinner that evening we once again headed to The Lakehouse and it was absolutely delicious.

The day after was their last full day in the city. I was unfortunately working, so I missed out on the cultural activities they had planned for the day camps, but I heard it was a lot of fun. That evening I joined everyone at the farewell BBQ at Ron’s house. Again it was a perfect venue for a relaxing farewell event. Great food, great weather, great friends. Overall it was a wonderful party and I’m sure all the delegates left with fond memories of their time in Mississauga.

While the delegation was short this year, it was nevertheless a lot of fun spending time with new friends. I’m glad the weather cooperated with us this year (seeing as Toronto flooded a week after!). It’s great that everyone had a good time and I can’t wait till we get to see each other again. =)