Tales of travel disasters, life’s little ups and downs, and things that generally piss me off about living abroad.
For the second time in the space of four days I am sat in candle-lit darkness. It is not uncommon for rural areas in Canada to experience frequent power cuts, especially if power lines are surrounded by trees like we are here. Last year, several times, my residential area was affected by trees pulling down power cables and blocking the route into town. Once in a while the power outages go beyond my residential area, affecting the entire region; today…
I really do not understand why so many people this summer have assumed I am Australian. It’s one thing to be unsure and ask, it’s even ok to guess and get it wrong but why do people insist on making casual references to Australia in conversation, leaving me utterly confused and feeling as though I have to almost apologise to them for the fact that they have jumped to the wrong conclusion? One such offender decided to strike up conversation with me…
Shortly after arriving in my new home on Vancouver Island, I was fortunate enough to fall into a job at the local animal shelter, replacing my sister who has returned to university to study veterinary medicine. She has a natural gift for dealing with animals so was in her element. It’s safe to say that I am not quite as comfortable in my new position. It’s not that I don’t like animals. I do. We have quite a menagerie at…
On the subject of typical Canadian pastimes, I thought I’d talk about our last few weekends in Winnipeg. Over the past few weeks we have been actively searching for a base, a new (or new to us) house in Manitoba’s capital, the city of Winnipeg. In Canada, one of the major techniques for selling houses is to hold an Open House. This means potential buyers just show up at the advertised time, without having to call ahead to arrange viewings…
Although the snow has melted and as the clocks have ‘sprung ahead’ it feels as though Spring has finally arrived, I couldn’t help sharing some advice in case there’s a freak snow storm to send us back into those Winter boots. In order to avoid a wheel-spinning, snow-spraying situation that might require the neighbours coming over with a tractor to tow one’s car out; it is always best not to neglect the snow clearing duties! I’m just saying…
Windswept and interesting or rather dragged through a hedge backwards! Visiting Point Pelee just after your hair’s been styled, even on a summer’s day, is probably not the best of ideas with the strong winds that come in across Lake Erie. Going on a November afternoon straight from the salon when it’s pouring down with rain would be a totally stupid one! A trip to Windsor however would not be complete without setting foot on the southern tip of Canada….
No singing though! Nevertheless Friday evening was a pretty memorable and exhilarating experience of dancing in the rain. Last Friday, after work, I rushed off to join a good friend of mine for an outdoor Zumba class on Paris Plage. It had been a fairly typical summers day – neither too hot nor cold, certainly not humid and heavy. As I entered the metro the sky was bright; not an ominous cloud in sight. Less than 10 minutes later, upon…
I read a book last year called Last Light by Alex Scarrow. It’s set in the UK and depicts a scarily possible scene of fast-paced rioting across London and other city centres, although in this case due to a lack of oil and thus all power that is derived from our dependance upon this natural resource. Despite the fact that I found the events in the novel to have been presented as a credible series of possiblities that we could…
After a grey two weeks the weather has finally broken into a rather satisfying storm. The heavens have opened with a crash above Paris, washing away the dust from a three month heat-wave. Given the intensity of the rain this seems like the perfect opportunity to do some studying. I naturally go through the motions of loading up the various relevant articles and wikipedia searches, while taking regular breaks to fuel my brain with chocolatey-snacks and Diet Coke but as…
I usually try and put a positive spin on things but after spending 7 months in the capital there are inevitably a few things which grate on the nerves. In any case I am living in Paris so it should be my perogative to complain about absolutely anything and everything. I ♥ Rien – Je suis Parisienne! I hate the way that supermarkets are closed on Sundays and the way that a coke costs more than the beer, I hate…