James and I touched down in Calgary on Wednesday night to be welcomed by some of the friendliest people on Earth. (Over the past few days James and I have found that Calgarians are wonderfully helpful, always smiling and willing to take time out of their day to help two very jet-lagged foreigners).
When we arrived the temperature was 22 degrees and skies, clear with the last of the sun disappearing as we arrived at out accommodation at the University of Calgary (henceforth known as U of C). We awoke on Thursday morning to one of the best sights ever as I pulled back the curtains.............a winter wonderland of snow covered fields and icicles dangling precariously from the edges of the pine trees (or possibly fir trees...I'm not entirely sure)!. It was AWESOME!!! And cold!!!
The campus here is beautiful and expansive. Whilst James is situated on the main campus I am off site at the hospital which would be bad except for the fact that its located directly across the road from the largest Tim Horton's I have seen!! (For non-Canadians - Tim Horton's is like Gloria Jeans, Donut King and Michel's Patisserie combined....on speed!! OMG!!).
Now, I was advised to try out some of the local North American cuisine and thought that the
best place to start would be with a slice of pepperoni pizza. Hmmmmmm, what to say, the slices are HUGE (see my gorgeous glasses case for comparison) and it was yummy, a lot thinner and crunchier than the Aussie varieties that I am used to, but yummy non the less! I have also tried a DairyQueen dessert which was entirely delicious!!Anyhows as I sign off for the evening I am going to leave you with a few observations from our first few days in Canada:
- 1. It always pays to check both ways (twice!) before trying to cross the road in a country that drives on the wrong side of the road!
- Canada has the most archaic cell phone set up in existence (its rated the worst in the developed world), not only do you get charged for outgoing calls and texts....you get charged for the incoming ones too!! WTF???
- Apparently Kiwis, Aussie and the British all sound the same to the rest of the world, not that I can comment, so far I can't tell the Canadian accent from the American!
- They eat some weird stuff here.....poutine (chips smothered in melted cheese and gravy) hmmm
- There is little you can't buy here that isn't pre-prepared including boiled peeled eggs you gotta love it!
Love Chantelle
3 comments:
OMG I'm moving there just for the pizza. 0_0
It looks beautiful so far!!
Dear Chantelle and James,
Oops, I've forgotten to warn you about the 'cell phones' in Canada. Yes, we've got it good here DownUnder. The other thing that I truly forgot to remind you guys in when crossing the streets, the directions will confused you for a while. I was still nearly hit by cars 6 months into my stay in Canada. The good thing for both of you is that the english speakers drive a lot more patiently than the french speakers so you will have time to complete your crossings and not be treated as a bowling pin. re:fast food in Canada, stay away from them (somehow) and the cookie jars if you value your glucose and cholesterol levels. Also, you will love their Dollar shops and be very familiar with Loonie and Toonies! Have fun in your new journey. Take care, nana
Delighted to hear that you have arrived safely and are loving Calgary. The pictures and notes are gorgeous and please keep them coming. Of course the real cold hasn't arrived yet, but I am sure the locals wil tell you how to outfit for that.
I hope James isn't anticipating anything arriving on his birthday.
Take care and all the best,
Piers
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