I've now spent a
little over a week in the second largest country on planet earth, so here's
what I think so far..
1) Canada is BIG. This
particular fact hit home while I was still dozing in the somewhat cramped WestJet Boeing
737 that helped me begin my adventures. With a stop off in St. John's, Newfoundland,
we were soon bundled onto the plane again for the final hop over to Toronto.
After what seemed like hours, I looked down through the cloudless ether,
assuming that the seemingly sparse landscape I was looking at was part of
Québec perhaps, or an area much closer to my destination. But no, having
glanced at my little aeroplane tracker on the screen in front of me, we had
barely moved, still hovering over the Eastern-most point of the country, the
land that had been newly found.
Upon arrival, I
was brought to my next destination, the wonderful city of Cambridge, Ontario,
where I learned a bit more about the size of this place. Originally thinking I
would be staying in the outskirts of Toronto, I soon realised that I had
grossly underestimated the size of the city and province that I was visiting.
The cities surrounding Toronto were far from the satellite/commuter towns I
have been used to back home and in Europe in general, with distances of minimum
an hour drive between each place.
 |
| This puts a bit of perspective on my trip. The area actually covered, after hours and hours of travel, is marked quite humbly in red. |
2) Another shock
to the system was the abundance of highways. It's not merely their existence,
but the nature of these monstrous roads that I find fascinating. They are as
straight as arrows for kilometres on end, and with their enormous width and
seemingly never-ending length, it's a wonder that North American drivers don't
forget how the steering wheel works, as they simply don't need to use it very
much. The variety of highway numbers, which can be a lot to take in at first
are often only distinguished by a single letter, depending on the direction you
are travelling. We suffered an extreme mishap in this regard, mistaking the
403W (West) with the 403E (East), which took us in a completely different
direction for an hour or two. The system does make sense after a while, but
until it clicks, don't be surprised if you end up taking the odd detour around
Ontario.
I couldn't help
contrasting these efficient, purpose-built highways with those I have
experienced in Europe. While on a much smaller scale, European transport
networks in many countries were evidently built as a response to population
growth and expansion of previously existing urban centres, and as such, had to
take into account the positioning of residential, historical and natural
spaces. This might explain why they tend not to be as unashamedly direct and
straight when linking A to B. The cities in the Greater Toronto Area that I
visited also fitted nicely into this purpose-built image of life over here, as
every amenity and service is provided for in an impeccably planned-out structure,
clearly built in the last half century as part of a well-designed idea of
quintessential urban life. This contrasts hugely with my previous idea of
cities in Europe, which for the most part arose from either historical or
geographical importance, evolving drastically over the centuries as their
citizens adjusted to different ways of life.
3) Canadians
themselves without doubt deserve an entire paragraph. Stereotypes aside, they
are all so NICE! So much so, that as a cynical Irish person, I couldn't help
feeling slightly suspicious. I have never experienced better customer service
in shops, restaurants and even in subway stations, and that's not to mention
the average Canadian on the street, who has no qualms about striking up a
conversation and offering help to confused tourists like myself. From friendly
banter in restaurants and sincere welcomes, to looking out for tourists on the
street, Canadians are a breath of fresh air. I also met a nice bouncer for the
first time in my entire life. The words "nice" and
"bouncer" are generally an oxymoron and look very bizarre in the same
sentence, but this individual was incredibly accommodating to the young
Irishman without his ID, for no apparent reason other than to be a nice
person. My most recent point of reference being France, it wasn't too
difficult for Canada to score highly in my "customer service and nice
people" index, but I'm delighted to say that the people I've met so far
have truly surpassed any expectations I had of stereotypical nice and polite
Canadians.
4) Canada is not
cheap, by any stretch of the imagination. Considering the exchange rate between
the Canadian Dollar and the Euro, life isn't too much more expensive than
Dublin, or other higher-cost European cities, however as I watched my entire
Canadian budget turning into my Toronto budget, I realised that everything adds
up, quite dramatically. This brings me quite aptly to my next point, or rant,
if you will, about my number one pet peeve about this part of the world - TAX.
There are few feelings worse than knowing you have been deceived or betrayed,
and in my first week in Canada, I have felt this pain on several occasions.
What I'm alluding to, of course, is the 13% HST rate that is annoyingly added
to every meal, ticket, or tube of toothpaste you purchase, thus rendering proper
financial planning next to impossible. While the price does appear cheaper at
first glance, this lower cost image is shattered as soon as you reach the
check-out. Cashiers will look with pity upon your five dollar bill when paying for
an item marked at 4.95, as a simple press of a button brings that to 5.60,
thank you very much. Canada, please sort this out.
In keeping with
the money theme - plastic money!! It's quite strange at first but I've grown to
like it, and it does make sense, as I discovered recently after a very heavy
downpour that would have rendered my Euro notes completely redundant. There are
several practical disadvantages, including the fact that it is impossible to
un-fold after its original shape has been compromised, but as a tourist with
little need to consider such practicalities, it gets a thumbs-up from me.
5) Among the many
things I noticed about Canada, the level of patriotism definitely deserves a
mention. A large number of houses in standard residential areas have a Canadian
flag flying proudly from the roof, while in the cities themselves, the abundance
of flags on everything is quite remarkable. While Canada Day was approaching
when I arrived, I was told that such signs of patriotism were commonplace
throughout the year, as everyone is intensely proud of being Canadian.
Attending the Canada Day festivities in the capital, Ottawa, majorly reinforced
this observation, as I was treated to the best of the best of everything
Canadian, including a spontaneous and rousing rendition of “Oh Canada!” during a
very impressive fireworks display. I haven't noticed the same level of
patriotism anywhere in Europe, possibly due to the fine line between patriotism
and nationalism, the latter invoking a less desirable image in the history of
many European countries.
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| The level of patriotism in one particular neighbourhood. I think we can all agree, no matter how great Canada is, this is a bit ridiculous. |
It has been an
action packed week, and all the wonderful places I've been lucky enough to see
will be documented in the next entry! To conclude, my first impressions of
Canada have been overwhelmingly positive and it's unsurprising already why so
many people from all over the world are proud to call it home.
à bientôt !
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