Canada

Reverse culture-shock

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

I never suffer from culture shock. Seriously. Well, maybe I’ve had an hour or two here and there when I get irritated at a certain aspect of my adopted country, but that’s about it.
I always suffer from reverse culture shock. Sometimes quite badly. When I came back from three months from Burkina Faso in [...]

Winter versus elsewhere.

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

Canada, at least in winter, does not agree with me.
(Considering I had two colds, two flues and even a kidney infection that sent me to the hospital, I guess you could also argue that Guatemala doesn’t agree with me… but let’s just overlook that right now.)
Edmonton wasn’t even “that cold” while I was [...]

Edmonton is OK.

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

I guess if I judged cities based on the caliber of the teenage boys who loiter the streets, I would have to love Edmonton, hate Amman (groped) and hate Ottawa (grabbed… on Fifth Ave. in the city’s yuppiest neighborhoods, of all places.) But I loved Amman and I feel content (if a bit bored) in [...]

Caitlin’s guide to Toronto neighborhoods

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

You know you’re a grade A procrastinator when a friend asks advice about where to live in Toronto, and instead of giving a three sentence answer, you take a break from your MA thesis and illustrate a colour-coded map.

I do love Toronto. A lot. It’s a patchwork of unique neighborhoods. Once you start living [...]

Ottawa in April

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

It’s funny how you can live in a city and find it boring without taking the time to learn or appreciate more. Sure, I know that Ottawa is not the world’s most exciting place, and in the winter I feel claustrophobic and desperate to leave. but with springtime, there’s more opportunity to find dozens of [...]