We've had some time to explore and learn about our new city. Saturday I took Sarah into town to see the Science World museum. We spent three and a half hours there. Many science museums seem to rely on interactive displays that are just multiple choice quizzes, and kids come in, press the buttons, get bored quickly, and move on. This was different, engaging for adults as well as kids. I enjoyed it a lot, and it's one place I know I can take Sarah and not worry about her getting bored.
In the afternoon, we went biking to nearby Burnaby Mountain. We didn't make it to the top, but did get about 1/3 of the way there. I have pictures I can share later.
We're getting much more comfortable and familiar. Days ago we were frightened, jet-lagged zombies. Now we are rested and again enjoying professionally home-cooked meals, with local BC wines, and enjoying local weekend papers. (With comics again!)
Today, after getting papers, Margo cooked us a Sunday morning breakfast of eggs, sausages (yay! We can get links again!) and pancakes. Then we did our Sunday morning cleaning for the first time in our new home, me figuring out the vacuum and establishing patterns for cleaning the floors, plus doing laundry, and Margo cleaning the bathroom.
Margo later left for a lunchtime meeting with some classmates. Sarah and I went for an afternoon bike ride to the shop on Commercial Drive where I got my bike, as a destination, and also to get a lock for her bike. But we had an accident on the way. I stopped halfway across Boundary Road when the light changed, and Sarah slammed into me and fell. She was uninjured, but her rear axle was bumped out of alignment, and so her rear wheel was locked. We were about halfway to Commercial, with maybe a mile to go, so we started walking, with me carrying her bike. I figured it would be best to fix her bike and ride it home, instead of taking the bus home and having a non-working bike to fix later. We did ask some passing cyclists if they had tools, but nobody seemed to have a 15mm wrench on them.
We made it later. Commercial was my destination as it's a vibrant street of funky shops, similar to Portland streets like Hawthorne, Belmont, and Clinton. But this is a hilly place, and the five or more substantial hills between us and our destination were tiring for Sarah. We got her axle realigned and her wheel trued (it got slightly bent), then made our way back, which was still quite slow. I don't think Sarah's ready for long rides yet - we'll have to stick to very close destinations, and try for flatter rides in the future.
I'm looking forward to learning more. There are lots of other neighbourhoods to explore. We get to familiarise ourselves with the local newspapers, TV and radio stations. Galleries and museums. Parks and libraries. I suspect I may be getting a job offer soon and I'll have to ensure I get some time to keep exploring before starting work.
Sunday 31 August 2008
Our Apartment
Here's a description of the apartment which will be our home for the next few months.
It's furnished. We have couches, chairs, a dinner table, dishes, towels, and sheets. It's great.
We're on Hastings, a busy street that goes from downtown Vancouver out to Simon Fraser University in Burnaby. We're closer to the SFU end.
We are in what's probably called an apartment complex, though it's mixed - at least some of the units, including ours, are owned instead of rented. There are about half a dozen buildings with a central area that include an indoor swimming pool (currently drained), a shelter, and a playground.
Our apartment gets light on one side, but it faces south so we get little direct sunlight. It's quite dark, though the closet doors are mirrored, reflecting some light back. No room has windows on more than one side.
It's nicely furnished. There's a suite of sofas and a chair in leather. There's also a coffee table, end tables, and a dinner table, all of glass and metal. (It will be easier for us to find Sarah's bogeys.) We have a full-size refrigerator/freezer and oven/stove again (yay!). The kitchen, dining room, and living room have hardwood flooring with lots of rugs; the bedrooms and hallway are carpeted; and the bathroom is tiled with mats.
There's a huge TV in the living room but it's quite old and probably long before the HDTV era. Under it is a DVD player and something else; we haven't tried either yet. There's a small boom box for music.
We have three bedrooms, one of us in each. Margo has the master suite. I have a room with a desk, and the bed folds out of the sofa. (This is where you will stay if you visit us.) Sarah has a small desk and a bed.
The bathroom has a marble countertop and the shower has glass doors. Above the counter is a wall-length mirror, so I can finally get visual feedback on how large I get. (Margo and I have been eating low-carb since we got here so it's helping.)
There are a number of kids living here. Sarah has already made friends with some. This is new for us and we're negotiating rules for when and how long she can be playing outside.
There's a nearby laundry room. We wish we had in-suite laundry of course. Payment comes from a smart card that we charge as we need to.
We're near a corner that includes a convenience store and an Italian restaurant. We visited the restaurant last night. It far exceeded our expectations - it has a wood oven, local wines, Granville Island beer on tap, and our food was great - our antipasto had a cured ham that made me moan, as well as a tasty prosciutto and salami. Also nearby is a pizza shop, a spa, and Sarah's elementary school.
We're also close to the Trans-Canada bike trail, and a major bikeway is just behind us.
From Hastings, we can catch a bus to downtown in about 25 minutes. It's also about a half hour walk south to the Millennium Line SkyTrain station.
Margo's already started scouring the classifieds for rentals in Burnaby. They seem quite affordable, and we should be able to secure a three-bedroom apartment for about 2/3 of what we're paying now (though our utilities are paid for). Margo and I are in agreement that we should rent for at least a year instead of buying. Prices are falling, and I really want to avoid being in a negative equity situation. Also, we'll be more confident when Margo is working again. In the meantime, we'll take the difference between a rental payment and a mortgage payment and put that into savings or investments each month.
It's furnished. We have couches, chairs, a dinner table, dishes, towels, and sheets. It's great.
We're on Hastings, a busy street that goes from downtown Vancouver out to Simon Fraser University in Burnaby. We're closer to the SFU end.
We are in what's probably called an apartment complex, though it's mixed - at least some of the units, including ours, are owned instead of rented. There are about half a dozen buildings with a central area that include an indoor swimming pool (currently drained), a shelter, and a playground.
Our apartment gets light on one side, but it faces south so we get little direct sunlight. It's quite dark, though the closet doors are mirrored, reflecting some light back. No room has windows on more than one side.
It's nicely furnished. There's a suite of sofas and a chair in leather. There's also a coffee table, end tables, and a dinner table, all of glass and metal. (It will be easier for us to find Sarah's bogeys.) We have a full-size refrigerator/freezer and oven/stove again (yay!). The kitchen, dining room, and living room have hardwood flooring with lots of rugs; the bedrooms and hallway are carpeted; and the bathroom is tiled with mats.
There's a huge TV in the living room but it's quite old and probably long before the HDTV era. Under it is a DVD player and something else; we haven't tried either yet. There's a small boom box for music.
We have three bedrooms, one of us in each. Margo has the master suite. I have a room with a desk, and the bed folds out of the sofa. (This is where you will stay if you visit us.) Sarah has a small desk and a bed.
The bathroom has a marble countertop and the shower has glass doors. Above the counter is a wall-length mirror, so I can finally get visual feedback on how large I get. (Margo and I have been eating low-carb since we got here so it's helping.)
There are a number of kids living here. Sarah has already made friends with some. This is new for us and we're negotiating rules for when and how long she can be playing outside.
There's a nearby laundry room. We wish we had in-suite laundry of course. Payment comes from a smart card that we charge as we need to.
We're near a corner that includes a convenience store and an Italian restaurant. We visited the restaurant last night. It far exceeded our expectations - it has a wood oven, local wines, Granville Island beer on tap, and our food was great - our antipasto had a cured ham that made me moan, as well as a tasty prosciutto and salami. Also nearby is a pizza shop, a spa, and Sarah's elementary school.
We're also close to the Trans-Canada bike trail, and a major bikeway is just behind us.
From Hastings, we can catch a bus to downtown in about 25 minutes. It's also about a half hour walk south to the Millennium Line SkyTrain station.
Margo's already started scouring the classifieds for rentals in Burnaby. They seem quite affordable, and we should be able to secure a three-bedroom apartment for about 2/3 of what we're paying now (though our utilities are paid for). Margo and I are in agreement that we should rent for at least a year instead of buying. Prices are falling, and I really want to avoid being in a negative equity situation. Also, we'll be more confident when Margo is working again. In the meantime, we'll take the difference between a rental payment and a mortgage payment and put that into savings or investments each month.
A European's Guide to North America, Part 1
These people build their cities in grids of roads. Sometimes the grids are aligned with geographical features like rivers, but mostly they are aligned to magnetic north. If you do see a traffic circle, it will probably be for traffic calming.
They have spaced things much further apart. Roads are very wide. There are dual carriageways cutting right through neighbourhoods! And houses and buildings have space between them - only on the most central streets do you see shops and businesses next to each other and sharing walls. There's space between the sidewalk and building fronts also. And the houses don't have gates in front! You can just walk right onto someone's front yard.
They also build some houses and structures here that are only one storey tall! Bigger than sheds even!
They build small rooms in their houses just for clothes. They're called closets.
Many buildings have an exterior of wood! And the wood is painted. Old buildings will have flaking paint! Can you imagine?
They have this mad vehicle called a pickup truck. It has two seats in front and space for a payload in back, but the payload is open to the elements. Whenever you see one, it will be empty in back. And sometimes you'll hear this throaty growl from a vehicle that's unlike anything you've heard before. It might come from a pickup truck, or from a car with a big engine called a muscle car. The cars in general are bigger. Just about everything is bigger than it needs to be, really.
And if I remember what it's like to be a European much longer, I may have more to write on the subject.
They have spaced things much further apart. Roads are very wide. There are dual carriageways cutting right through neighbourhoods! And houses and buildings have space between them - only on the most central streets do you see shops and businesses next to each other and sharing walls. There's space between the sidewalk and building fronts also. And the houses don't have gates in front! You can just walk right onto someone's front yard.
They also build some houses and structures here that are only one storey tall! Bigger than sheds even!
They build small rooms in their houses just for clothes. They're called closets.
Many buildings have an exterior of wood! And the wood is painted. Old buildings will have flaking paint! Can you imagine?
They have this mad vehicle called a pickup truck. It has two seats in front and space for a payload in back, but the payload is open to the elements. Whenever you see one, it will be empty in back. And sometimes you'll hear this throaty growl from a vehicle that's unlike anything you've heard before. It might come from a pickup truck, or from a car with a big engine called a muscle car. The cars in general are bigger. Just about everything is bigger than it needs to be, really.
And if I remember what it's like to be a European much longer, I may have more to write on the subject.
Friday 29 August 2008
Another New Bike
Today, after all our errands (getting social insurance numbers, and a bunch of shopping) I went shopping for a bike for myself. I knew I could order a Norco with an internal hub at the nearby bike shop, but that wouldn't arrive until Thursday, and Sarah was itching to ride (me too) so I started calling around to see who had any internal hub bikes in stock. I got a hit with Bikes On The Drive and bused out there.
It is on Commercial Drive, a neighbourhood of funky shops like Hawthorne in Portland. They had four models of internal hub bikes. I knew then that I'd be riding home in one.
I settled on a Brodie Section 8. I am in love with a bike again! It's got the internal hub, as well as internal brakes - something I had on my Giant bike in Ipswich but wasn't expecting to find here. And the rear brake is a coaster! One of the shop staff mentioned that it has the advantage of letting you slow yourself down when riding downhill with your arms in the air. Always a plus. But this is so simplified. It has just two cables instead of the usual six - just one for shifting, and one for the front brake. I may go years with no maintenance other than fixing flats and keeping the tires filled. And it also doesn't have all that comfort stuff like a suspension fork or saddle post. And it's quite lightweight!
I had to wait for the staff to finish assembling the bike and to add the light mounts, so I went up the street and had my first local microbrew, an amber ale from Russell Brewing. Tasty! The sun was out by now. I picked up my bike and, cycling home, micro on my belly, seeing the forested mountains in the sun (for the first time on our trip, not hidden by rain), and realising: hey, I'm back in the Northwest, and it feels great.
I'd phoned ahead before leaving, so by the time I arrived, Sarah had her hair up and her helmet on, ready to ride. And we did ... first in the parking lot, then on a gravel path along the golf course behind our apartment, then on a nearby football field, where she practised shifting gears for the first time. Then a bit along the road behind us, that's also a bike route, and carried on to the bike path that cuts through nearby Kensington Park. Plus some back and forth.
We have a three day weekend of decent weather ahead of us, and I'm sure we'll be doing more cycling together. It's also a chance for us to relax a bit and enjoy our new home city.
It is on Commercial Drive, a neighbourhood of funky shops like Hawthorne in Portland. They had four models of internal hub bikes. I knew then that I'd be riding home in one.
I settled on a Brodie Section 8. I am in love with a bike again! It's got the internal hub, as well as internal brakes - something I had on my Giant bike in Ipswich but wasn't expecting to find here. And the rear brake is a coaster! One of the shop staff mentioned that it has the advantage of letting you slow yourself down when riding downhill with your arms in the air. Always a plus. But this is so simplified. It has just two cables instead of the usual six - just one for shifting, and one for the front brake. I may go years with no maintenance other than fixing flats and keeping the tires filled. And it also doesn't have all that comfort stuff like a suspension fork or saddle post. And it's quite lightweight!
I had to wait for the staff to finish assembling the bike and to add the light mounts, so I went up the street and had my first local microbrew, an amber ale from Russell Brewing. Tasty! The sun was out by now. I picked up my bike and, cycling home, micro on my belly, seeing the forested mountains in the sun (for the first time on our trip, not hidden by rain), and realising: hey, I'm back in the Northwest, and it feels great.
I'd phoned ahead before leaving, so by the time I arrived, Sarah had her hair up and her helmet on, ready to ride. And we did ... first in the parking lot, then on a gravel path along the golf course behind our apartment, then on a nearby football field, where she practised shifting gears for the first time. Then a bit along the road behind us, that's also a bike route, and carried on to the bike path that cuts through nearby Kensington Park. Plus some back and forth.
We have a three day weekend of decent weather ahead of us, and I'm sure we'll be doing more cycling together. It's also a chance for us to relax a bit and enjoy our new home city.
Update from Margo
Hey everyone,
Just a quick note from me. We are still feeling rather unsettled, and with the jet lag on top of that I have been pretty depressed and headachy since we arrived. There is a significant piece of me that just does not want to go through all the uncertainty and chaos and loneliness that accompanies a move to another country. Having said that, Canadians are very, very welcoming and this is an amazing change from the norms of customer service in the UK (Lack of service being the usual.) Without exception, when anyone hears that we are newly arrived, we hear "Welcome to Canada!" and it seems sincere - so that has been nice. There also seems to be a willingness to sort out beaurocratic tangles, in comparison to the reverence for processes, no matter how inefficient, that I observed in the UK.
On the other hand, I had gotten used to various products being available and to different services being readily accessible and these are different here, and I find myself, quite unfairly, feeling rather cranky about it.
Food and products in Vancouver are really, really expensive. I think my perception of this is flavoured somewhat by having gotten used to trading in Pounds sterling, so everything seems twice as costly - but also, it's just a hell of a lot of money. I did a big shop, but really this was some staples and the week's perishables and it cost more than $500. I was astounded - I hadn't even been buying extravagantly as Mike and I are both trying to shed some excess poundage and attempting to stick to a diet of meat, veg and fruit, with just a little bit of whole grain and almost no rubbish at all. Three average serving sized pieces of (farmed - not even wild!) salmon filet at Safeway were more than $15.00. Needless to say, I am trying to find a more economical shopping routine.
In the meantime, Sarah needs school supplies and clothes and shoes, I needed a few things, we needed new phones, bikes, printer for the computer etc ... so today we just swept through the mall, grabbed the necessary items, took a deep breath, closed our eyes and swiped through the debit and credit cards. I have to say, the retail therapy cheered me immensely!
We've decided to rent a home for couple of years, until I can work full time, just to reduce our anxiety. Also, we will be better positioned in respect of having established credit when we apply for a mortgage then. Rents are about 1/2 to 2/3 of the cost of a mortgage and it looks like there is a good supply of houses in our preferred area and price range. We hope to be in a new place by November and I am looking forward to hanging our pictures, buying some houseplants and feeling settled for the first time in a long time. This flat is lovely but it is not ours and I am looking forward to making a home again.
Lots more to write about, but will need to sign off for now. I am missing all of my friends and family and hope we'll be able to visit soon.
Love,
Margo
Just a quick note from me. We are still feeling rather unsettled, and with the jet lag on top of that I have been pretty depressed and headachy since we arrived. There is a significant piece of me that just does not want to go through all the uncertainty and chaos and loneliness that accompanies a move to another country. Having said that, Canadians are very, very welcoming and this is an amazing change from the norms of customer service in the UK (Lack of service being the usual.) Without exception, when anyone hears that we are newly arrived, we hear "Welcome to Canada!" and it seems sincere - so that has been nice. There also seems to be a willingness to sort out beaurocratic tangles, in comparison to the reverence for processes, no matter how inefficient, that I observed in the UK.
On the other hand, I had gotten used to various products being available and to different services being readily accessible and these are different here, and I find myself, quite unfairly, feeling rather cranky about it.
Food and products in Vancouver are really, really expensive. I think my perception of this is flavoured somewhat by having gotten used to trading in Pounds sterling, so everything seems twice as costly - but also, it's just a hell of a lot of money. I did a big shop, but really this was some staples and the week's perishables and it cost more than $500. I was astounded - I hadn't even been buying extravagantly as Mike and I are both trying to shed some excess poundage and attempting to stick to a diet of meat, veg and fruit, with just a little bit of whole grain and almost no rubbish at all. Three average serving sized pieces of (farmed - not even wild!) salmon filet at Safeway were more than $15.00. Needless to say, I am trying to find a more economical shopping routine.
In the meantime, Sarah needs school supplies and clothes and shoes, I needed a few things, we needed new phones, bikes, printer for the computer etc ... so today we just swept through the mall, grabbed the necessary items, took a deep breath, closed our eyes and swiped through the debit and credit cards. I have to say, the retail therapy cheered me immensely!
We've decided to rent a home for couple of years, until I can work full time, just to reduce our anxiety. Also, we will be better positioned in respect of having established credit when we apply for a mortgage then. Rents are about 1/2 to 2/3 of the cost of a mortgage and it looks like there is a good supply of houses in our preferred area and price range. We hope to be in a new place by November and I am looking forward to hanging our pictures, buying some houseplants and feeling settled for the first time in a long time. This flat is lovely but it is not ours and I am looking forward to making a home again.
Lots more to write about, but will need to sign off for now. I am missing all of my friends and family and hope we'll be able to visit soon.
Love,
Margo
Thursday and Friday
We're still waking up early. I keep rising at 3:30 and we're usually out of bed by 5. Yesterday it rained all day. Margo had a graduate school orientation at UBC and spent most of the day there. It was for all the grad students so it was large and generic. She didn't meet any classmates.
Sarah and I stayed home all morning. I had a phone interview at 11:30 and I couldn't find any errands (like going to the library and getting library cards, or opening a bank account) that I could complete before then, so I called some of our accounts and updated our address. (It's nice to be able to use 1-800 numbers.)
After my interview we walked a few (really long) blocks (in the rain) to a bike shop. It was the highlight of Sarah's day. The shop sells Norco bikes, a Canadian brand. This shop didn't have any of the models I was interested in, in stock, but we did get a bike for Sarah. We were first looking at a frame for 8-10 year olds but we realised, as tall as Sarah is, and with this cycling season nearly over, she will outgrow it quickly, so we went to the next size up, and even that still had room to raise the seat for her. So it's a bit big for now but she'll grow into it quickly. Sarah is really excited. She was happy to ride back in the rain. She'd been singing Queen's "Bicycle Race" all day.
Today we're going to a government service centre to apply for social insurance numbers. Then it's off to the Metrotown mall to get clothes for Sarah plus perhaps other sundries - cell phones, a wireless router, office supplies, some kitchen supplies.
Then, if there's time, I'll visit another bike shop near Metrotown and see what they have in stock. I'm picky about having internal gears - they're much less maintenance and chain wear is greatly reduced. I've been trying to decide between a performance commuting bike (really lightweight but bare) and a comfy commuting bike (heavier, with fenders and a rack built on, and with some suspension). I'll probably go with the comfy one.
Margo and I are spending most of our free time taking turns on her laptop. We don't know what we'd do without an Internet connection - we're constantly surfing, and locating places on maps. I've been tracking the shipment of my iMac - it arrived in Vancouver yesterday and I'm waiting with bated breath for its delivery. A bike and a computer and I'll be pretty well sorted.
In a way, we're struggling with just about everything. It's nice to have a furnished place to stay. But we're getting used to the high cost of everything (Margo spent about $500 on groceries her first trip!), the constant research and decisionmaking, and not knowing anyone. I struggle with not having any work role. We don't really belong anywhere yet. We went through all of this when we got settled in Ipswich, but it's still a pain. But with each new account and each discovery we get closer to being settled, and I'm guessing a week from now we'll be feeling much more comfortable.
Sarah and I stayed home all morning. I had a phone interview at 11:30 and I couldn't find any errands (like going to the library and getting library cards, or opening a bank account) that I could complete before then, so I called some of our accounts and updated our address. (It's nice to be able to use 1-800 numbers.)
After my interview we walked a few (really long) blocks (in the rain) to a bike shop. It was the highlight of Sarah's day. The shop sells Norco bikes, a Canadian brand. This shop didn't have any of the models I was interested in, in stock, but we did get a bike for Sarah. We were first looking at a frame for 8-10 year olds but we realised, as tall as Sarah is, and with this cycling season nearly over, she will outgrow it quickly, so we went to the next size up, and even that still had room to raise the seat for her. So it's a bit big for now but she'll grow into it quickly. Sarah is really excited. She was happy to ride back in the rain. She'd been singing Queen's "Bicycle Race" all day.
Today we're going to a government service centre to apply for social insurance numbers. Then it's off to the Metrotown mall to get clothes for Sarah plus perhaps other sundries - cell phones, a wireless router, office supplies, some kitchen supplies.
Then, if there's time, I'll visit another bike shop near Metrotown and see what they have in stock. I'm picky about having internal gears - they're much less maintenance and chain wear is greatly reduced. I've been trying to decide between a performance commuting bike (really lightweight but bare) and a comfy commuting bike (heavier, with fenders and a rack built on, and with some suspension). I'll probably go with the comfy one.
Margo and I are spending most of our free time taking turns on her laptop. We don't know what we'd do without an Internet connection - we're constantly surfing, and locating places on maps. I've been tracking the shipment of my iMac - it arrived in Vancouver yesterday and I'm waiting with bated breath for its delivery. A bike and a computer and I'll be pretty well sorted.
In a way, we're struggling with just about everything. It's nice to have a furnished place to stay. But we're getting used to the high cost of everything (Margo spent about $500 on groceries her first trip!), the constant research and decisionmaking, and not knowing anyone. I struggle with not having any work role. We don't really belong anywhere yet. We went through all of this when we got settled in Ipswich, but it's still a pain. But with each new account and each discovery we get closer to being settled, and I'm guessing a week from now we'll be feeling much more comfortable.
Wednesday 27 August 2008
Wednesday
We got up early this morning. Sarah and I were up around 4am. At 5:30 I got a newspaper and some bran muffins from a convenience store on the corner. (Bran muffins ... another thing I missed in England.) I'd tested the keys on the way out, and this was my first trip outside the flat. I survived pretty well.
I didn't have any appointments until 11 but I left around 7:30 anyway to have a leisurely breakfast and explore and learn. On the bus ride in (a double-long, not a double-high bus) I was still looking at the world with European eyes. I should savour it before they go away. But it was shocking. I saw pickup trucks. People driving to work, alone, in pickup trucks. And these wide streets. Some don't even have sidewalks! And some very shabby storefronts. Tut, tut.
It was rainy again. I found a coffee shop with an Italian name. The coffee was all right. I got a bran muffin and read the newspaper. The morning paper seems pretty light - I sped through it in minutes.
As it opened at 8:30 I was in a driver's licensing centre in a downtown shopping mall. Despite the online information, I need more proof of residence than our landing record - they require the permanent residence card. We're sending in our application (as soon as we receive pages that can only be mailed to us by the immigration office) but it will be weeks before this is returned to us. So no driver's license for me - my Oregon license expired on my birthday last month and it can only be renewed by mail. Not too much bother - I don't plan to drive often anyway.
I spent the rest of the morning trying to find things. Like a shop that could unlock my two older mobile phones (Cingular from the States; Virgin from the UK). No luck. I also got more coffee, and then found a drugstore that sold transit tickets and got some. I used my Portland bank card at an ATM to see if I could still remember the PIN. I could.
I'm still getting used to the currency. Every time I use change I look like an idiot holding up the coins and looking for the numbers. Quarters again, but no 20 or 50 cent pieces. I'm remembering to say cents, not pence. The dimes are smaller than nickels.
After my first interview I found a Rogers shop that would unlock my oldest mobile for $35. Perhaps I will. Margo and I are still comparing mobile providers.
The sun was also out partially and the city looks much nicer with sun. I got a bit of build-your-own-salad for lunch and then wandered near the north shore to take in the view and the water and mountains.
After my second appointment (which I was really excited about) I took the bus home and felt like an idiot again as I needed help putting the bus pass into the slot the correct way.
At home Margo cooked us a first dinner - ground beef patties with caramelised onions, and sides of new potatoes and peas. Sarah was asleep; we woke her up just long enough to eat, then she was crashed again. We're all tired come afternoon.
Margo got Sarah nearly registered at her school today. We don't have two proofs of address - just the one rental agreement - as all utilities are included and don't have our name on them. I'll call the district tomorrow and see if I can facilitate things.
We're learning where the light switches are. An agent dropped off a second set of keys. I'm listening to a public radio station at the bottom of the FM dial and it's all in French. It's feeling a bit more like home.
I didn't have any appointments until 11 but I left around 7:30 anyway to have a leisurely breakfast and explore and learn. On the bus ride in (a double-long, not a double-high bus) I was still looking at the world with European eyes. I should savour it before they go away. But it was shocking. I saw pickup trucks. People driving to work, alone, in pickup trucks. And these wide streets. Some don't even have sidewalks! And some very shabby storefronts. Tut, tut.
It was rainy again. I found a coffee shop with an Italian name. The coffee was all right. I got a bran muffin and read the newspaper. The morning paper seems pretty light - I sped through it in minutes.
As it opened at 8:30 I was in a driver's licensing centre in a downtown shopping mall. Despite the online information, I need more proof of residence than our landing record - they require the permanent residence card. We're sending in our application (as soon as we receive pages that can only be mailed to us by the immigration office) but it will be weeks before this is returned to us. So no driver's license for me - my Oregon license expired on my birthday last month and it can only be renewed by mail. Not too much bother - I don't plan to drive often anyway.
I spent the rest of the morning trying to find things. Like a shop that could unlock my two older mobile phones (Cingular from the States; Virgin from the UK). No luck. I also got more coffee, and then found a drugstore that sold transit tickets and got some. I used my Portland bank card at an ATM to see if I could still remember the PIN. I could.
I'm still getting used to the currency. Every time I use change I look like an idiot holding up the coins and looking for the numbers. Quarters again, but no 20 or 50 cent pieces. I'm remembering to say cents, not pence. The dimes are smaller than nickels.
After my first interview I found a Rogers shop that would unlock my oldest mobile for $35. Perhaps I will. Margo and I are still comparing mobile providers.
The sun was also out partially and the city looks much nicer with sun. I got a bit of build-your-own-salad for lunch and then wandered near the north shore to take in the view and the water and mountains.
After my second appointment (which I was really excited about) I took the bus home and felt like an idiot again as I needed help putting the bus pass into the slot the correct way.
At home Margo cooked us a first dinner - ground beef patties with caramelised onions, and sides of new potatoes and peas. Sarah was asleep; we woke her up just long enough to eat, then she was crashed again. We're all tired come afternoon.
Margo got Sarah nearly registered at her school today. We don't have two proofs of address - just the one rental agreement - as all utilities are included and don't have our name on them. I'll call the district tomorrow and see if I can facilitate things.
We're learning where the light switches are. An agent dropped off a second set of keys. I'm listening to a public radio station at the bottom of the FM dial and it's all in French. It's feeling a bit more like home.
Tuesday 26 August 2008
First Night
We spent our last night in Europe in a small hotel in a small town minutes from Gatwick Airport. We had dinner at the restaurant of a hotel across the street: once more I had fish and chips, with one of the two available lagers on tap. We didn't pick it for the experience, but for convenience - it was a nice break in the trip from Ipswich to Vancouver, and allowed us to start our long flight refreshed.
And what a long flight it was - about ten hours, the longest Sarah or I had ever flown. I had things to read, and there were multiple in-flight movies as well as BBC series episodes, but that's a long time to be in one place. The day before we killed lots of time in our room watching telly and one of the Bank Holiday Monday films shown was George Pal's film of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, and during the flight I was really wishing I could jog the dial forward a few hours. We chased the midday sun across the Atlantic, and though I did get a bit of a nap in, the sun kept me from really feeling tired.
The flight was remarkable for other reasons though. We hardly saw a thing - whenever I looked out the window, from takeoff until just before landing, I saw nothing but cloud below. And we also had quite a few empty seats. The entire row behind us was empty. I didn't think that happened on flights any more. But I should also mention that this flight, from the carrier Zoom, was perhaps the most pleasant flight we've experienced - checkin was quick and smooth, boarding was painless, the crew were unfailingly polite and friendly.
And then we were in Vancouver. There was a slight delay at customs - apparently we should have got a returning resident visa since we don't have our permanent residence cards yet. We picked up our car - much more expensive than we'd expected (prices are twice as high for us now!). We phoned Margo's contact about our vacation rental, and she met us as we arrived.
And now we have a home. Three bedrooms, leather furniture and a huge telly in the living room. We have closets again! Sarah is very happy with her room. We will be here three months, giving us plenty of time to find more permanent accommodation.
But we are also pretty tired. We arrived after 5pm local time. We have so much to do and learn. We got some cash (I'm glad the notes are colourful, but was disappointed that the bills aren't different sizes). But as we unpacked we deliberated on what to get for dinner. Pizza Hut won out. We'll get food tomorrow. I don't even know what our building looks like from the other side. I don't know what I can recycle or compost. I just spent time online finding out how much a bus fare is. But it will be exciting to be discovering.
Tomorrow we get Sarah registered at the nearby elementary school. I have two interviews in town which should keep me busy all day. The next day Margo has an all-day orientation so Sarah and I will run some errands and perhaps do something fun. There's so much to do ...
And what a long flight it was - about ten hours, the longest Sarah or I had ever flown. I had things to read, and there were multiple in-flight movies as well as BBC series episodes, but that's a long time to be in one place. The day before we killed lots of time in our room watching telly and one of the Bank Holiday Monday films shown was George Pal's film of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, and during the flight I was really wishing I could jog the dial forward a few hours. We chased the midday sun across the Atlantic, and though I did get a bit of a nap in, the sun kept me from really feeling tired.
The flight was remarkable for other reasons though. We hardly saw a thing - whenever I looked out the window, from takeoff until just before landing, I saw nothing but cloud below. And we also had quite a few empty seats. The entire row behind us was empty. I didn't think that happened on flights any more. But I should also mention that this flight, from the carrier Zoom, was perhaps the most pleasant flight we've experienced - checkin was quick and smooth, boarding was painless, the crew were unfailingly polite and friendly.
And then we were in Vancouver. There was a slight delay at customs - apparently we should have got a returning resident visa since we don't have our permanent residence cards yet. We picked up our car - much more expensive than we'd expected (prices are twice as high for us now!). We phoned Margo's contact about our vacation rental, and she met us as we arrived.
And now we have a home. Three bedrooms, leather furniture and a huge telly in the living room. We have closets again! Sarah is very happy with her room. We will be here three months, giving us plenty of time to find more permanent accommodation.
But we are also pretty tired. We arrived after 5pm local time. We have so much to do and learn. We got some cash (I'm glad the notes are colourful, but was disappointed that the bills aren't different sizes). But as we unpacked we deliberated on what to get for dinner. Pizza Hut won out. We'll get food tomorrow. I don't even know what our building looks like from the other side. I don't know what I can recycle or compost. I just spent time online finding out how much a bus fare is. But it will be exciting to be discovering.
Tomorrow we get Sarah registered at the nearby elementary school. I have two interviews in town which should keep me busy all day. The next day Margo has an all-day orientation so Sarah and I will run some errands and perhaps do something fun. There's so much to do ...
Sunday 17 August 2008
Looking Ahead
I'm writing from England but already we are looking ahead to our new lives in Vancouver. This morning Margo was online telling us about the open swim times at the UBC pool. I've turned in my VPN key fob, my door pass. I've used my rail pass for the last time. I sold my bike today and I have just one key left on my key ring. Bits of our current lives are falling off like leaves, and mentally we're already partway over the Atlantic.
At this moment we can receive mail at four addresses in three countries. We have boxes of stuff in a storage unit in Portland, boxes of stuff in one or more ships at sea, boxes of stuff in planes or waiting to be loaded. And still stuff in Ipswich waiting for new owners.
At this moment we can receive mail at four addresses in three countries. We have boxes of stuff in a storage unit in Portland, boxes of stuff in one or more ships at sea, boxes of stuff in planes or waiting to be loaded. And still stuff in Ipswich waiting for new owners.
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