It's Snow Time!

Ever since the temperatures began to drop I've been wishing and hoping and praying that it would snow. The gradual cool down from mid October made the prospect of the first snowfall very suspenseful. Picture the following scenario repeated week after week: On Monday, the TV weatherman says that Toronto can expect some snow on Friday. Claire goes to sleep with her fingers crossed every night and on Friday awakes to find... nothing. A tiny part of her heart breaks. Repeat.

Finally, one weekend in late November, we experienced our first flurry in Toronto. I braced the freezing cold air to dance outside on the balcony with a cheesy grin, catching snowflakes. A few weeks later, we went out for dinner and a movie. As we ate, I looked out the window enthralled as the snow gently fell and collected on the street outside. And yes, we were a little bit late for the movie due to a certain excited girl stopping and taking photos every 5 metres.

After several more uneventful flurries throughout December, we wondered if Toronto would even have a white Christmas this year. We didn't see any snow on Christmas day in New York, but there was a gentle flurry as we walked through Times Square on Boxing Day. We came home that night to a steady snowfall in Toronto, the heaviest we'd seen yet! The next morning we woke up to 15cm of pristine white loveliness! You can only imagine my child-like glee as I laced up my snowboots to walk to work. Turns out this is the biggest snowfall that Toronto has seen in two years, although people still gave me funny looks for taking pictures on the way to work and during my lunch break! I cared not. This lovely blanket of fresh snow provided the perfect opportunity for our first snowball fight and also inspired two snowmen! Alas, it has all melted away now. I hope Jack Frost visits us again soon.

Boxing Day night, Toronto

Our balcony

My walk to work


Park benches near work


Snowman #1


Snowman #2

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

A very belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! Apologies that the posts have been few and far between lately, I've been having a bit too much fun to write.

Christmas is such a lovely time in Toronto; the tree-lined streets twinkle with fairy lights, festive decorations adorn shop windows and the minus temperatures bring a gentle flurry of snowflakes over the city. We got into the spirit of the season at home by decorating a gingerbread house with friends one afternoon.

In mid-December we visited the Distillery District's Christmas Market at night. The beautiful Christmas lights and jovial atmosphere made the freezing temperatures a little more bearable. The cobblestone alleys were lined with wooden carts selling Christmas gifts, ornaments, mulled wine, apple cider, wurst and pretzels. Christmas carolers braved the minus temperatures to sing and children had fun playing in the gingerbread house and mini hedge maze.

For Christmas and Boxing Day we flew to New York. It was lovely to stroll around the city amidst cheerful crowds of people stopping to look at the pretty Christmas decorations. Ice skating at the Rockefeller Centre looked like fun, but it was incredibly busy so we decided to pass it up. In Times Square we saw the New Year's Eve ball ready to drop in a week's time. We went to the Top of the Rock to take in a spectacular view of the city and enjoyed a relaxing Christmas dinner for two.

While it wasn't exactly a white Christmas in Toronto, we arrived on Wednesday night to a steady snowfall and awoke the next morning to find 15cm of fresh white powdery loveliness! But more on that next time. New Years' Eve was celebrated with good friends, good food, good music and above average dancing. I have a feeling 2013 is going to be a wonderful year!

Cents And Sensibilty

Ok, so it's a quiet Wednesday night, there's nothing on TV and I've done the laundry. It's time to blog about Canadian currency. Here are my top 4 favourite monetary quirks:

Penny for your thoughts
Canada's coin denominations consist of $2 (toonie), $1 (loonie), 25c (quarter), 10c (dime), 5c (nickel) and 1c (penny). Fortunately, the Canadian government removed $1 and $2 notes from circulation when the loonie and toonie were introduced, but the 1c coin has only ceased production this year. Coming from Australia, where the 1c and 2c coins were abandoned 20 years ago, this seems a little backward. Allegedly, it costs 1.6 cents to make each 1c coin. Even from my vague recollections of 'Macroeconomics 200', I can tell that this is not a financially sound investment. I've even heard someone say that they just throw pennies in the garbage once they've accumulated too many. Eradicating the penny will actually save Canada $11 million dollars in production costs per year; but to complicate matters, it will cost over $38 million to remove the six billion pennies currently in circulation. This video provides a really interesting take on the equally problematic US penny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5UT04p5f7U

Hidden HST = Heavy Handbag

Unlike Australia's Goods and Services Tax (GST), the 13% Harmonised Sales Tax (HST) in Ontario is not included in the advertised cost of a good or service. Unless you're purchasing a single item with a round number or you're particularly gifted at mental maths, it's impractical to pay for something using correct change. Inevitably you walk away from most cash transactions with a handful of coins. I estimate that this annoying shrapnel accounts for at least 50% of the weight of my purse at any given time. Coming from a country where the tax is included, this seems like such an unnecessary complexity. A commonly held belief is that consumer spending would decrease if the tax were included in the sale price, but I think this undermines consumer intelligence. Currently there's a Tim Horton's ad on TV promoting $1 coffee, where a series of glum pedestrians reach into their pockets where they unexpectedly discover a single loonie. They immediately stop and raise the shiny coin aloft as their faces light up with the possibility of obtaining a Tim Horton's coffee. Personally, I think the loonie itself is more appetising than a coffee from Tim's, but that's another matter altogether. The reality is, these individuals aren't going to get a drop of the dirty dishwater percolated coffee that they covet, unless they can hand over $1.13.

Just some of the small change we have collected over the past 6 months in Canada.

Void Cheques

Prior to moving to Canada, I could count the number cheques that I have written in my entire life on one hand. So it seems antiquated to me that they are so prevalent in Canada. For example, to pay the rent for our condo we had to hand our landlords a series of post-dated cheques for the year ahead. It seems so impractical compared to an electronic transfer - what if they lost the paper cheques? or we wanted to close that particular bank account? what if we had to terminate the lease? The other request that comes up quite often is for a void cheque (literally a paper cheque that you have cancelled by writing 'void' across it). For example, an employer will usually ask you for a void cheque when you start work with them, so that they can verify they have your correct bank details.

Revolutionary Polymer Notes
Canada has only very recently adopted polymer bank notes. Prior to this, they were paper based like the US. I've read some interesting news articles online that criticize the new notes - largely the concerns are based on whether the material will be able to survive a cycle through the washing machine, being left in the car on a hot day, or if they will be accepted by vending machines.While there may have been a couple of minor teething problems in the initial transition, the change to polymer is certainly worthwhile in terms of increased security and durability of the notes. Here is a somewhat condescending video that describes how to handle the new bank notes: http://www.youtube.com/v/ilmyky7x9XQ?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0 Perhaps it only comes across as condescending to Australians who developed the polymer note and have been using it since 1988.

Ice Capades

As the temperatures continue to drop below zero, more and more ice rinks have been opening up around the city. The time has come to face my fears and learn how to skate!

I've made three forays into the world of recreational ice skating over the past few weeks and have even purchased my very own pair of pristine white figure skates from Canadian Tire. I feel that I'm starting to look slightly less like a newborn baby giraffe, but there's definitely room for improvement. With a little more practice I'm confident that come February, I'll be effortlessly skating along the Rideau canal at the Winterlude festival in Ottawa. Maybe I'll even throw in some triple axel jumps for fun!

Fa La La La Latte...

Christmas-themed coffee is everywhere! So, like the selfless person I am, I took it upon myself to sample some of these beverages over the past few weeks and share my thoughts with you. I know what you're thinking, how can I be so giving? Well, 'tis the season, that's all I can say.

P.S. It's ok Mum, I'm eating my vegetables too!

Caramel brûlée latte (Starbucks)

While I love the idea of my favourite dessert in a beverage format, this latte had an intensely sugary caramel flavour which was a bit too much for me.

Gingerbread latte (Starbucks)
By far my favourite. A satisfying coffee hit with a delicious cinnamon and nutmeg finish. Very festive, I think I'll require a few more of these throughout December.

Peppermint mocha (Starbucks)

This was definitely the prettiest drink, but I found the taste incredibly chocolately and sickly sweet. I don't think I could do this again.

Eggnog latte (Timothy's World Coffee)

This latte had a smooth slightly custardy flavour which was quite nice, but the incongruousness of drinking eggnog at 10am on a weekday does play on your mind a bit.

Red Velvet latte (Timothy's World Coffee)

A Red Velvet cake is essentially a rich chocolate cake with lots of red food colouring, so I was curious as to how this would translate to a latte flavour. It was pink and sweet, but that was about the extent of the novelty. A colourblind person would think it was a regular latte.

Toasted Marshmallow latte (Second Cup)

This was a creatively titled vanilla latte. It did not evoke images of campfire sing-a-longs as I was hoping.

Candy Cane Latte (Second Cup)

A pleasantly subtle peppermint-flavoured latte. Very drinkable. Could be improved with the addition of an actual candy cane for stirring. I will lodge this suggestion with Second Cup management immediately.

Merry (Almost) Christmas

Christmas definitely starts earlier in Canada! As soon as Halloween was over, Christmas decorations appeared overnight in office buildings and shops, Christmas carols starting filling the airwaves and gingerbread lattes were suddenly available everywhere.

A couple of weeks ago we went to the winter agricultural fair. It was a nice day out with lots of farm animals, local produce, horses, giant pumpkins and some amazing butter sculptures. We felt the need to sample a 'pulled pork parfait' made with mashed potato - it tasted much better than it looks, I promise!

On Saturday night we watched the Cavalcade of Lights, a Christmas concert and fireworks display at City Hall. The bands played carols which was nice, if a little premature. One singer put it best when she wished the crowd a "Merry almost Christmas!" The Santa Claus parade on Sunday was good fun and drew a massive crowd eager to see Jolly old St Nick himself.

It's starting to get colder now, but there hasn't been any snow in Downtown Toronto yet. I'm really looking forward to the first flurry but I have to be careful when I say this, as the locals tend to groans and roll their eyes at me. The novelty has definitely worn off for some!

 Christmas display in a department store window

Halloween

Over the past week we've been getting into the Halloween spirit with our three Aussie visitors Jess, Andreas and Logan. Australia doesn't celebrate Halloween, so I was very excited to experience it for the first time here in Canada.

Shane and I went to a Halloween party where we dressed as silent film actors - I'm so proud of my grey-scale make-up skills, it was a very eerie and effective look. I think we out-costumed a lot of the Canadians at the party, but as I explained to them, we only get two shots at this holiday while we're here, so we need to make the most of it!

Our condo held a pumpkin carving competition which provided the perfect opportunity to create jack-o-lanterns for the first time. Jess and I had a lot of fun with this as you can see below. I think they make a very cute pair.

On Halloween night we all went trick-or-treating with a lovely Canadian family. Their three kids kindly showed us the ropes and in no time Jess and Andreas (dressed as bananas) and their little monkey Logan had collected a decent bag of loot. Some of the house decorations were incredible, people really go to town on them! It was great to get the authentic trick-or-treating experience (which included spreading out all the candy on the kitchen table afterwards). I loved seeing the kids' excitment and their costumes were adorable!

I really enjoyed Halloween. There's an abundance of chocolate around like Easter, with the creativity of a dress-up party, minus the stress of Christmas gift-giving and entertaining. I think I've found my new favourite holiday!

Hockey

Last weekend we went to our first hockey* game and saw the Toronto Marlies lose to the Grand Rapids Griffins in an overtime sudden-death shoot out.

While it was a bit disappointing to see another Toronto team lose, I enjoyed the game much more than I expected, it was very fast-paced and exciting. It was fun to watch the players all sprint towards the puck and then crash into the perspex barrier to stop and change direction – just as well they have all of that padding! They make it look so easy, but it must be exhausting. I guess that’s why the players change over so often.

We saw a couple of good fights too, which I suspect is the real reason for the sport’s popularity. While the stereotypical Canadian is very polite and friendly, you’d better watch out when the gloves and helmets come off! I even saw two 5 year old twin girls with blond plaits dressed in pink hockey jerseys standing right up against the barrier shouting “fight! fight! fight!”.

It was also entertaining to watch the Marlies’ mascot 'Duke' the dog, the ice-resurfacing truck that smooths out the arena between periods, and the girls that skate around the outside of the rink with shovels to collect the build-up of ice.

*you should only refer to the sport as ‘ice hockey’ if you want to stand out as a foreigner. 

 

Canadian Vocab Lesson - Part 1

Over the past four months, I've discovered a number of interesting linguistic differences between Australia and Canada. These differences can often result in funny lost-in-translation moments, but they also provide great opportunities to learn more about the country. Here are a few of my favourite examples:

Words

Canadian	Australian translation
Appetiser	Entrée
Entrée	Main meal
Timmy's	Tim Horton’s (Canadian coffee chain)
Double double	Percolated drip coffee with two milks and two sugars (typically from Tim Horton’s)
Homo Milk	Full cream (homogenised) milk
Timbits	Donut balls sold at Tim Horton’s
To go	Take away
Washroom	Bathroom
Loonie	$1 coin (the coin features a loon, which is a common bird in Canada).
Toonie	$2 coin (worth two loonies)
Kraft dinner	Macaroni & Cheese
Cookie	Biscuit
Rice Krispies	Rice bubbles
Arugula	Rocket (lettuce leaf)
Cilantro	Corriander
Pop	Soft drink
Canuk	Canadian
Newfie	Someone from Newfoundland
T dot	Slang for Toronto (T.O. shortened to just T.)
Snowbird	Someone who relocates to a warmer place each winter (e.g. Florida)
Hoser	Bogan / Redneck
Basement Apartment	A self-contained basement of a property that is rented out to tenants separately.
Hydro	Electricity
Void cheque	A blank cheque marked as void, which you use to give your bank details to a person or company.
Pencil crayon	Coloured pencil
Vacation	Holiday
Fall	Autumn
Toque (to rhyme with luke)	Beanie (winter hat)
Flip flops	Thongs
Burlap	Hessian

Expressions

I've also noticed a few sayings that are quite common here:

Super - everything can be described as super - it seems to take the place of 'very' or 'really' (e.g. super friendly", "super embarrassing", "super cold").

Right? - used at the end of a sentence to gain agreement/acceptance (e.g. "Monday mornings are the worst though, right?").

Anyways - tends to be used when changing topics or wrapping up conversation (e.g. "The subway was so busy this morning, I could hardly move! Anyways...").

'Feels like' - this is Canadian weather terminology that refers to the combination of the actual temperature plus humidity (in summer) or windchill (in winter). (e.g. tomorrow morning the weather in Toronto is expected to be 11 degrees Celsius, with a 'feels like' temperature of 9 degrees).

Let's practise!

Scene: Purchasing a coffee at Tim Horton's (Timmy's)

Customer: Can I get a double double with homo milk and a six timbits?

Server: Oh sure, is that for here or to go?

Customer: To go please! I’m super busy this morning, I have to pay my hydro, put an offer in on a basement apartment and buy a new toque – it’s getting cold eh?

Server: Yeah, this week has been pretty cold, right? This morning it's 7 degrees, feels like 1! Anyways, here's your double double and timbits. That'll be $4.00.

Customer: *rummages through bag* I know I had another twoonie in here somewhere! Ah, there we go. One other thing - could you tell me where the washroom is please?

Pronunciation

I highly recommend watching this funny clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0EsYiNA76Q

Cottage Country

The past two weekends have been very Canadian indeed for us! We packed up our warmest clothes, left the condo and headed out to 'cottage country' in Muskoka, which is where Torontonians go to get away from the big city.

On the first weekend, we were lucky enough to stay at a friend's cottage in Parry Sound, which is a beautiful area about 2.5 hours north-west of Toronto. It was a bit rainy the first day, so we lazed about indoors eating, reading and keeping warm by the log fire. In the afternoon it cleared up and we went for a walk in Killbear Provincial Park (sounds much scarier than it is). No bears were sighted, but we did see many beautiful fall colours, and a woodpecker! Back at the cottage, we enjoyed a sunset canoe paddle around the lake - it was incredibly still and peaceful, I can understand now why cottage life is so popular. The next day was sunny, so we did some more eating and relaxing outside on the deck and managed to make friends with a couple of cute chipmunks with a penchant for grapes. We had such a great time, I hope we can make it back again in winter.

Last Monday was Thanksgiving Day in Canada and we were very thankful for the long weekend that provided us with an opportunity to do some more exploring! We stayed in Hunstville with two Aussie friends, about 2.5 hours north-east of the city. On Saturday we browsed through the quaint shops in the main street and walked along a short trail in the woods to a lookout with a stunning view. The fall colours were so spectacular, it was difficult not to take a good photo! We built some mini Inukshuks (stone statues resembling humans which were traditionally used as landmarks by the Inuit people) and saw some Loons (a bird featured on the Canadian $1 coin, or 'loonie'). That night we had pumpkin pie for dessert, which was much better than I was expecting - slightly sweet with a hint of cinnamon. We took advantage of the sunny weather on Sunday to drive to Algonquin Provincial Park. The fall colours were incredibly stunning, I'm so glad we managed to get there at just the right time. We did a few trail walks and took lots of photos of the scenery. I felt so outdoorsy and Canadian - to top it off I even bought a toque (knitted beanie with ear flaps) at the visitor's centre!

It was wonderful to get out of the city grid, to look out across the colourful horizon and to see the stars at night. I have a new appreciation for 'fall' now, I think I finally understand why everyone makes such a big deal about it.