Yo Canada!

Tuomo writes: Before anybody gets hurt, let us explain a couple of things. We moved to Langley almost four months ago (June 27 to be precise). With the exception of one instance, the red tape was easy and pleasant to deal with (Walrus Lady out there, you know who you are!). The mountains are spectacular; Mt. Baker across the border (80 km/50mi to the south east) is a sight to behold being more accustomed to flat landscapes. People at Starbucks are genuinely friendly, they almost systematically ask if we want room for milk, and the treats are to die for. Thanks to their oat fudge bars, unavailable in the States, our initial plan Canada = Health remains as elusive as on Day One. Hah!

Then there’s the whole gay couple thing. It’s been amazing to be able to be treated as a couple rather than either do the same thing twice or have to explain why the person you live with and whose name and number you’re submitting as the closest contact person happens to be of the same sex. Yet another reason to love Canada!

Unfortunately, then gradually the every-day reality began to kick in. Prices are higher than south of the border, made only even more so aggravating considering that the exchange rate, initially at par, is now in favor to the Loonie. The selection of stores and goods made us realize that we had moved to a foreign country. Perhaps the biggest shock has been that there are no Targets in Canada. For crying out loud, where’s one to buy fabulous, yet inexpensive stuff to make life fun?! Walmart is definitely not the answer! The local Bay, the closest equivalent to Macy’s in the States or Stockmann’s in Finland, does not quite cut it either. Extra sharp cheddar, bagels, Close-Up, Target, Borders Music, … the list of articles that are not available in Canada is considerable; recently our inability to locate canned yams at our local supermarket was also a cause for some commotion.

So despite these shortcomings, um… we mean slight differences, we do love Canada, our new home country, we do, though then there’s also the issue of weather… oh well you get the point!

Understandably the reader of our blog will by now have gotten the impression that we are two whiners, a statement which we are the first ones to agree with. However, we’d like to point out that the word bagel is also meant to refer to non-material things that we are currently missing, either together (Maryland) or individually (Rhode Island and Finland). We left a large amount of high-quality friends behind (a k a The Champagne Ladies), and to date we have not made any new ones other than our family members and colleagues and co-workers (not that we’ve made much of an effort to expand beyond them either). In other words, the word bagel also means things like friends and other valuable aspects of life.

Then there’s the aspect of growing older. This past week, I’ve been wasting away plenty of time on Wikipedia and YouTube, looking up info on my favorite pop stars of the 80s and 90s. It’s amazing how much info there is out there – and all that at the tip of your fingers. So when we’re wondering on the whereabouts of our bagels, we’ll also be reflecting on where the time has gone. Like I was 20 and a freshman at the University of Helsinki just a bat of an eye ago…! Auuugh!

On that note, I’d like to include a link to Dave’s and my favorite Finnish group of yesteryear, Ultra Bra and one of their songs Villiviini (“Wild Vine”); Dave loves this so much that he has even bothered to learn the lyrics and knows how to sing along in perfect Finnish! Enjoy!