My Life In Gifs: Hello Canada

Trying To Deal With The Overly Nice Canadians 

People's Reactions When You Tell Them You Don't Celebrate Halloween

My Thoughts on Whole Foods

 

Trying to Fit in with Vancouver Culture

Trying Some More

How I Feel Every Time I Have a Pumpkin Spice Latte

Trying To Say Fall Instead of Autumn

How I'm Dealing With My Finances 

What It's Like With Canadian Boys on Tinder In The Beginning

When They Get A Little Bold

When They Just Come Out and Ask For Nudes

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

Things I have learned living abroad...

...you change as a person. This can be in a multitude of ways. For me, I have been able to say what I want and to stand up for yourself. I have been able to speak up when things are not working out or when I'm not happy. I've always been a "don't rock the boat" type of person so this is a whole 180 for me. And it feels good. Without it sounding swarmy or cheesy, you realise your worth and that when you're undervalued you need to speak up or step out or seek changes.

 

...time is very important. Never underestimate how little we all have. When you're only faced with a year you realise weeks, months, days matter in a way they never could. You can't take months to make decisions, you can't let shitty moods take over your entire week and cloud it, you can't stay or do things in the hope that stuff just needs time to get better.

...you will miss your family and friends and your whole previous life in varying ways. There are times when I have a bad day and realise I have no one here that will be there for me no matter what in the way your family is "obligated" to. There are times when I wish I could be transported back to my old flat, my old room, even my old car to just feel like things are going to be alright. There are times when all you need are the arms of a familiar friend to wrap around you, tell you you are loved and make you feel okay.

 

...you will meet some of the nicest people in the world that you instantly click with and wonder where have they been your entire life.

...you will also meet some of the not-so-nice people in the world and thank whoever in charge that you have been spared them for the majority of your life.

...you will avoid all social media because it can be a sad reminder of the life you left behind and how surprisingly the world has moved on without you. 

 

...you will also stalk all your friends online to ensure you don't miss a single moment of their lives so things never change. and you'll have friends who are still friends no matter what.

 

...you will apply hundreds of jobs and question your worth, your skills and your competence. You will get rejected by Starbucks (happened to my friend, also called Allison), you will be forced into group interviews and you will never hear back from people.

...you will do some jobs where you get unlimited praise, you will feel like you have achieved something and you'll feel great.

 

...you'll realise the same problems follow you everywhere and just shows that the world is not that different. Work will be hard or unfulfilling, boys won't call you back or be mean to you, there will be mean girls, there will money problems, there will be traffic problems, you will get caught in the rain without an umbrella and you will question why you made these life choices daily.

 

...you miss little things like getting coffee with your work besties, swapping stories the morning after with your girls and gays, your crazy family lunches, the taste of your mother's cooking, hugging your niece and nephew and your favourite bars and clubs.

 

...you realise how important it is, to have your house feel like a home. You feel like you can do anything if you start off from the right place.

...little things matter. Whether it's getting a cup of coffee every day or hanging up pictures of your friends and family, treating yourself to new clothes and nail polish, if they are your favourite things, they will make you happy. 

 

...things happen for a reason.

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

My Canadian Bucket List: The Fair at the PNE aka Game of Thrones exhibition

This entry should be about The Fair at the PNE and *also* the Game of Thrones exhibition. When I think about a fair, I think rides, candy floss, bad burgers and stalls. The fair over here is all that except for the exhibition, a market place where they sell all that shit from TV and you have to pay extra for the rides. So since my main motivation was the GoT thang, that was all I aimed for.

To begin, I started working full time when the exhibition started. In retail, that means working erratic hours and impossible to plan shit. So I had the very last two days to actually go and see the exhibition. On the second to last day, I was told it was sold out. Not that there was an additional cost but because there were time tickets and there were too many people. Which meant I had to queue up an hour before the gates actually opened on the last day of the fair which also coincided with a national holiday. It was fun.

Luckily my determination too see the exhibition and sit on the iron throne was at an all-time high so I queued with families, screaming babies and other nerds. We were let in early and because they limit the amount of people, you could enjoy the exhibition without being rushed.

Naturally I made a beeline for the iron throne. And I like to be believe I look like a boss who could control Westeros.

Afterwards I went into the line for the 4D simulation thing. In this 'ride' you get locked up in a cage, get earphones and weird goggles and believe that you are really ascending the wall. There's cold weather and everything, you shiver. Then when you get to the top, you get attacked with a fire arrow and fall down. Down the wall. It scares the bejesus out of you. People shout out loud. I was strong enough to keep my screams in or rather the staff were too polite to tell me I didn't scream.

 Then I finally got a chance to see the rest of the exhibition. Even if you're not a die-hard fan, this shit is amazing. The costumes for one are next level. It will not believe the details up close. You're not allowed to touch them obviously but you don't need to appreciate the craftmanship.

The weapons and artifacts are also amaze. It's all about the little things. A lot of stuff you may miss in the series but remember from the books have been included. They're subtle little gifts to the fans and they're great.

As a book nerd, I really enjoyed seeing the sigils for all the houses. I'm House Martell till I die so happy they included some of the houses you wouldn't notice or recognise from the TV show.

The other fabulous thing was the remembrance wall. It was a vigil to all the fallen characters which included a very funny video actually.

The only bleh moment was the gift shop. As it was the last day I expected the dregs but what was left was really crappy. Not to mention ka-ching. Now all of Canada is ka-ching but these were pretty ridiculous. Not all geeks are software developers with spare money.

 This was a major item on my bucket list and I'm super happy I got to experience it.

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

My Canadian Bucket List: Pumpkin Spice Lattes

I think unless you're living under a rock where pop culture and white girl culture are non-existent, that is the only way you won't know about Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes.

They are the epitome of fall over here and in the US, they have their own Twitter account, they take over Instagram feeds and they're so popular and although seasonal, they keep coming out earlier and earlier to appease the masses.

They've always been something I wanted to try and finally I got the chance. Not gonna lie I was also apprehensive. It's pumpkin spice in a coffee. How does that work? I have recently started to add nutmeg to my pumpkin and butternet savoury dishes...this was gonna be a whole other world.

But 100 million white girls can't be wrong. So I ordered one and got super excited, took a pic, uploaded it to my social media accounts and then finally took a sip. And then I fell in love.

The first thing I loved about it? The smell, it reminds me of baked goods. The second was the cream; cream is a bad word to me. Not because I don't like it but because I love it and I'd like to add it to everything. But because I have a teeny bit of will power, I hardly ever allow myself to have it. Until now.

The latte is amazing. I don't care if that makes me mainstream. It's delicious and it gives you warm fuzzies. The only problem I had is that it's very sweet. Something I learnt can be rectified by my white girl friends. You just ask for it half sweet and voila! No diabetes!

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

Image from here.

My Canadian Bucket List: See Mounties

The Mounties or The Royal Canadian Mounted Police  if you want to get fancy are one of those things just synomous with Canada. I don't know anyone who hasn't heard of them.

They're one of those things that are also so famous or rather infamous that you or maybe it's just me kinda forget that they have a purpose. They're not just there to be a cultural thang.

They're like legit real police.

Since I don't plan on doing anything illegal or having anything bad happen there was little chance of me seeing them. Until I went to the Pride Parade.

Quick side note, Pride here is all about the companies, organisations and groups showing how they support all people regardless of their sexuality and orientation. Canadians really are that nice. So there were representatives from all the civil groups at Pride including the police, the fireman, politicians, companies, etc.

Because the Mounties are awesome, they were there too. I went a little nuts.They are just as fabulous as I imagined.

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

My Canadian Bucket List: Tim Hortons

Is there any other way for me to start a to-do list than with food? I suppose I wouldn't be myself if I didn't.

So as briefly mentioned, Tim Hortons is a chain here. They started in 1964 and I see them everywhere. I see a lot of people carrying their coffees so I assumed it would be delicious. I also know they're the main coffee brand in the rest of Canada, but here in Vancouver, most people prefer Starbucks.

So one morning after doing some room-viewing, I found myself in a Tim Hortons. Their menu is good. Their food is good; especially the breakfast stuff and the Timbits which are little bits of heaven. Their coffee? I was not in a happy place.

First I thought it was the type of coffee I ordered; a drip/filter one. So then I ordered a latte. I was so pleasantly surprised by the amazing price I almost ignored how bad it tasted. To me it was really bad. Not un-drinkable but definitely not my first choice.

Since then, I have had their frozen coffee which is pretty good. I'm not sure what they're doing to their other version. I've also had their frozen lemonades which are amazing. And I've pretty much worked my way through their food menu. So technically's Canada Favourite is okay.'

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

My Canadian Bucket List

So I decided to make a list of some exciting things to do, eat, drink and try while I'm here. The list is pretty small at the moment  but I'll update it as I go along. 

If you want to see my daily life in Vancouver, check my Instagram. There's a feed to the right as well. I (try to) document each of my 365 days. There are days when things are so bland I don't want to put you through that pain.

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!

One Month In!

Yay for me, I survived a month in a new city without a job and friends. Disclosure, it’s a few days short of a month but 29 Days In just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Also I make I sounds as if the city I moved to has been taken over by a zombie army hellbent on killing me with no running water and no other survivors.

I probably could not have picked a better place to try this whole year abroad thing. First of all, everyone is friendly and lovely. Secondly it’s a bonafide First World Country which means luxuries for days. Thirdly, it’s summer which just makes everything better. And finally I’ve been working my ass off so I’m kinda reaping a bit of what I sowed.

To begin…I have sent out 74 job applications in the month I have been here. I have joined five temp agencies/recruiters.  I have been on 23 interviews including three group interviews which are the worst thing ever. I’m not sure why they are a thing. I have walked from one end of the city to the other in a blazer trying to look professional but merely looking sweaty and red-faced. I have printed a gazillion copies of my resume and references and I can now school people on my cover letter skills.

So after all that, I can say that I am on my first temping assignment and it’s all going well. I am enjoying not perusing Craigslist daily for a new job (until the assignment ends and then I’ll be bookmarking that shit) and it’s great to feel productive. Before this my only achievement was not eating junk food. As is life, I've also be contacted for more interviews while on this placement. Obviously I cannot go which means the universe is just taunting me again. Like that time I thought I had lost weight but my jeans actually just stretched.

In case you didn't realise, this is the pink strip in Vancouver.

 This job couldn't have come at a better time. Vancouver is very expensive. That’s all aspects of Vancouver. If you’re willing to shop around, you can definitely be smart about saving money. But housing and transport will kill you. The transport is great here. The trains are fast and always on time. The buses are mostly always on time. And they’re a bit more confusing. But I’m making my way. I am started to worry when it gets colder or wet. I’m not so sure I’ll be lamenting the joys of the public transport then. Unless you’re really lucky, you need public transport to and from your place of work. This is where the costs creep up on you like a dodgy guy at a club. The nice thing is once you move to the right Zone, you will be saving daily. The bad news is there’s just no way around the cost though.

So apart from being a working girl, I also moved. My dream was to live Downtown. The rents crushed that dream. Unless of course I was open to sharing a room, literally living in a living room or in a closet (no joke) I was not going to be able to afford it on my savings. So I started to look around (never giving up hope on that Downtown dream though) and I found cheaper, worse, okay, better and nicer places. 

This is bike polo. Which is real. Apparently. 

Some of them had weird rules, others were a health hazard. But in the end I found a great house with other people from around the world. It’s close to the trains, the neighbourhood is pretty and the WiFi is included. I just need a moment to discuss the amount of available WiFi in this city. I love walking past all the places I've visited and have my phone instantly connect. It’s definitely one of those things I’ll miss.

My new hood. 

Other highlights in my life are:

Experiencing my first bit of rain. It was a light drizzle, it was humid and my hair didn’t go big.

Watching the fireworks at English Bay for the Celebration of Light. We went to watch France’s night and even managed to score free tickets to the observation deck.

The Pride Parade! Not just the parade but the build-up like the stadium being lit up in rainbow colours, Davie Street and getting free shit. People walk the parade and hand out stuff. It’s amazing. I walked away with two rainbow flags, beads, coffee, band-aids, seeds, sweets and condoms. Lots of condoms.

Discovering Michaels craft shop. If you know me, really me, you'll know how much this means.

I'm still enjoying all the coffee. I now just have the iced versions.

Ex-Oh! Ex-Oh!