My thoughts about Canada thus far...

I'd call myself fairly well travelled. I've visited a few countries to this point and feel I have a good understanding of how others in our world live. The reason I wanted to do this working holiday is because I had a lot of questions rolling around in my head and in my heart that would have remained unanswered had I not done it. I left not knowing whether I would return to Australia because of all the things I was feeling at the time. I was discontent, feeling the pressure of my age/position in life & responsibilities that come with it - mortgage, kids, career etc. As discussed in previous posts i'm a small town girl, but i'd hate to think that I was small or narrow minded. I wasn't ready for any of those things at that point and I wanted to see what was out there in the world that I could be missing out on..

As it turns out, you can take the girl out of Australia but you can't take Australia out of the girl. Since living abroad I have been filled with an amazing sense of Aussie pride that didn't exist before. Anytime I see or hear something Australian I get chills and smile. I get so excited about it. I know it's dumb but I can't help it!

I've now been in Canada for 3 months - not long at all, and although that definitely does NOT make me an expert by any means on the inner workings of this country I have come up with a list of VERY SUPERFICIAL loves and loathes as compared to my Australian experience thus far.... i'm sure there will be many items to add to this list further down the track.



LOVES

• The people - sure there are dropkicks wherever you go but this is one stereotype that rings true, Canadians are extremely polite, friendly and helpful people
• The snow - ok so i'm getting over this one as the long winter (that started in OCTOBER) drags on but there is no denying there is something very romantic about the snow and cool air filling your lungs
• The adventure - I LOVE seeing new places and meeting new people but I am a bit of a loner and homebody. I'm hoping this experience broadens my horizon
• The scenery - it's a gorgeous country that I can't wait to see more of. Being 1 1/2 hours from Banff is a dream and I still can't believe we are here
• The low low prices - EVERYTHING is cheaper than Australia!

LOATHES

• The lack of savoury pies - seriously people how hard is it to replace that apple or cherry filling with some chicken, chilli and mango-oh-go i've done it, i'm literally salivating. God I miss the good old Aussie pie!
• Idiot drivers - yeah I know, we get these in Australia too but they're usually Japanese tourists... Sorry i'm being a bit racist there... I meant Asians hehe. The drivers here can't park to save their lives and think it's appropriate to do 150km/h in icy conditions and poor visibility in their mega lifted pick up trucks. Slow down dickheads!
• The cold - minus 30? Seriously!
• Missing my friends and family - this is a no brainer but it's the biggn'. I miss my dog, I miss my mum, dad, sister, brother and all my friends. Wish I could have packed them all in my suitcase and brought them with me, it would make this amazing experience so much better than it already is!

O Canada... our home and something land...