With just more than a month behind us in our new land, the initial shock has worn off and I finally have the peace of mind to stand back and really see what's different and what's not. For the things that are different, I can honestly say that the good does out way the bad. There are lots of little things, like the metric system, the French Canadian slang that the locals use, and the different Canadian creatures that visit our back yard (we have a resident woodchuck that Brenna has lovingly named Chuckular, but I'll save that for another post). With those small things aside, there are four major differences that stand out here. Those are the weather, the pace of living, the cost of living, and the food!
I'll start with the weather. It's cold!!! It's cold for me especially because I like it hot!!! It's mid-May!!! Where is Spring??? Much less Summer!!!! As I write this its 45 degrees outside and the 5 day forecast says we won't break 65 this week! I'm tired of wearing a coat! I'm tired of running the heater! The locals try to assure me that it gets hot in Sarnia. I don't think these people have any idea what hot is! So far this Spring has only made me afraid of what the winter will be like for this Southerner!
The move has dramatically slowed down our pace of life. Things here are very laid back and easy going. This pace stretches to the businesses and the schools also. There's not that much to do in Sarnia, but even it there was it wouldn't open until 10 AM and then it would close at 6 PM. We do have a movie theater, but it's only open in the afternoons after 6 PM and on weekends after 11 AM. Having reaped the benefits of the Palladium, which was just steps from our front door, this came as a shock to me. Coming from Houston, we're used to things being available 24/7, and that's definitely not the case here.
School here runs from the beginning of September all the way through the end of June, but they do get a lot more time off than we did in the States. Even the school day itself is very "cushy" with playground time before school, two recesses during school, and two lunches. They even provide swim lessons as part of their PE curriculum. So, once a week for the last two hours of school, Brenna's class gets bused to the local community center for swim instruction. Needless to say, Brenna loves everything about her new school!
At work, Jacob also get additional time off with more holidays. They also have a fantastic benefit called "Happy Friday" where salary employees who usually work more than the standard 8 hour day, gets one Friday a month off to compensate for their overtime! Unfortunately, Jacob may not be able to to reap the full benefit of "Happy Friday" because of his specific job, but it should at least make for some short-day Fridays!
The cost of living is expensive. Some laughable examples of this are that everything at the Dollar Tree costs $1.25. Also, the first time I went shopping, I thought it was odd that the cashier asked if I would need bags, since I didn't bring my own and obviously had more than I could carry. Then I discovered that they charge you for every plastic bag you use! You learn to bag your groceries with efficiency! This is specifically troublesome since our grocery list has increased in the base case. There's not a lot a variation to their food venues here, so we don't go out to eat often. So, I cook a lot! Breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Since school doesn't start until 8:45 AM, Brenna has time to eat breakfast every morning (not something we did in Houston). I also pack lunches for both Jacob and Brenna everyday. It's a necessity for both because Jacob can't get away for lunch because of time/convenience and the schools in Canada don't have cafeterias. And finally, I cook dinner every weekday night, and then take the weekends off.
So that brings us to the food! There's not a big selection of restaurants here, and don't expect to find any international food options. I miss Papasittos, Papadeauxs, Carrabbas, and PF Changs! We hear that there is a bigger selection in London (more than an hour away) and Toronto (3 hours away), but that's not helping us here in Sarnia! The idea of a day-trip for dinner isn't exactly appealing to me, not even on the weekend. Once again, oh how we were spoiled with the convenience of Houston! So the lack of flavor has driven me to cook some of my favorite dishes. Things that I may not have cooked as often in the past, because homemade from scratch takes a lot of time and effort and why bother when I could get something just as good from a local restaurant right down the street. Now there's no more "just as good" or "right down the street"! So we've cooked a lot of comfort food in the last month. Things like Taco Soup and Savory Taco Cupcakes (for Cinco de Mayo), Fried Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce, Spicy Mexican Shells, Blackened Mahi Mahi, and Grandmaws Chicken Pie.
Here's something I never thought I would say, but I've enjoyed it! The days are longer here, which gives us lots of time in the afternoons. We don't feel as rushed to get through homework, dinner, and bedtime routine. Brenna helps with dinner everyday and it's turned into a fun time for me and her. Last week while we were cooking Grandmaw's Chicken Pie, I decided to pick up my camera snap a few shots.
We stared off rolling out the dumplings. It took a while. We like them thin and fluffy!
