Dear Mother and Father,

I have finally arrived safe and sound and I have so much to tell you about this new country! The ship took many weeks to cross the great ocean and the voyage was very hard. There were more people aboard the ship than in our entire village and they all came from many different countries to start a new life on the other side of the ocean. Sadly, many of them did not survive the smallpox epidemic that forced us to spend most of the voyage in quarantine.

When I stepped off the boat and saw this new country for the first time, I notice snow falling. Cousin Ali says the snow can stay on the ground for six months in this country. The snow is beautiful, but much it is much colder than the weather we're used to in Lebanon, so Cousin Ali gave me many new, warm clothes.

Cousin Ali is also teaching me how to peddle goods and speak the language of this country. It is very hard work, especially in such cold weather, but I am learning quickly. There are many other Lebanese in Nova Scotia, which makes it hard for Cousin Ali to find a place of my own to peddle goods. More Lebanese have settle in an even larger Canadian city called Montreal, where the people speak French, but ships cannot sail there until after the winter.

Both of us felt very discouraged, until one day, I saw a ship sailing across the water to another piece of land on the other side. Cousin Ali said the land belonged to another Canadian province called Prince Edward Island. He said he knew a few other Lebanese peddlers selling goods on that island and thought it was the best place for me to succeed on my own.

I do not want to sail on another ship so soon after arriving in this new country, but at least this voyage will only last a few hours. Hopefully this will finally be the place where I can settle down....

Your loving son,

Omar

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