Day Six in Canada: Bon Voyage

My first trip abroad is complete. I use abroad loosely as Canada is about 95% the same as America and the small differences throw you for a loop for a few days and then they are over.

We saw a lot of things as we always do and also spent a decent amount of time relaxing. We ate some good food and some mediocre food. I drank some good coffee and some Starbucks. What sticks most about this trip was getting to spend time with my parents. It is surprising to me how many people are so surprised at how I can travel for 6 days with my mom and dad and not kill someone. Sure, they get on my nerves but so does Jake and pretty much everyone else at some point. The ability to spend quality time together for more than just a day is something we really have had to work at especially given everything we have been through together. I will always remember this trip not because of Dill Pickle Doritos or using different money but because of the time my parents bought $31 worth of fish because we forgot about the metric system or the time my mom told the cashier her change was wrong because we forgot about $1 and $2 coins. It isn't that I went to Canada that was meaningful. It was that I experienced something completely new with my parents.

Day Five in Canada: Homesick

In the past two days, we have really maxed out the city. We've seen pretty much every tourist attraction and see three drug deals. We have been to two breweries, at steamed buns in China town, took a ferry to a weird foodie island, tried to go to the Indo-Canadian part of town for samosas only to learn it disbanded, ate "Vancouver's Best Cheesecake", and went to a vintage store. At 2:00 PM today, we realized we had done it all which is a strange feeling. 

I also started to miss home at this point. Don't get me wrong. I think it is a healthy activity for a relationship to spent a few weeks a.year apart so you miss the other one. Same with my dog. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. What was really strange is  I kept thinking about how I was looking for copies of Portland neighborhoods in . I wanted to find Vancouver's Hawthorne and Mississippi which never materialized. In fact, the coolest stores hear sold things like Woodblock chocolate and Heart coffee and Alma caramel sauce. I just thought about how I would have rather been.shopping on Hawthorne with my mom than in this.city.

This is strange. Lately, I don't really like Portland much but now I can't wait to go home and see Jake and Girlfriend but also just my home.

Day Four in Canada: Sexism

I feel asleep early last night so I never posted this entry so I am doing it now.

Today's entry is about sexism. It is less an entry and more a rant. I should tell you we did a lot of things and saw a lot of things and I had a great time before I rant.

So my parents are laying for all of the food on our trip and billing me at the end to reduce multiple foreign transaction fees as well as having to constantly get separate checks. Additionally, cards are run differently in Canada. Here they bring the machine to your table and run it right away. Every time, they bring the bill and my mom sets her card on the bill in the center of the table which, judging by proximity, makes it impossible to know whose card it is. On multiple occasions when my mom hasn't given a cue that it is her card, the server hands the portable device to my dad who is obviously not paying attention. One time he was looking out a window at a boat. In two instances, the server made a face when my parent corrects them indicating the server knows what they did.

WHY!?! My mom's name is on the card. She is named Deborah not Terry or Pat. She is making eye contact with you. My dad is looking at a fish tank. This is small d insignificant but it drives me nuts that people assume that the big man is paying for the meal. Absolutely nuts.

Even worse is that my mom just shrugs it off. At fifty, I can't imagine how many times this or something similar has happened and she just rolls with it. I asked her about it and she said she does take it personally.

My mom is a great person and so is my dad which means they both deserve an equal opportunity to pay for my meal.

Day Three in Canada: Unexpectedly Eating Rabbit

Today's entry is chronological list of what I did that is of interest:

1. We drove Vancouver with the intention to find something we missed before riding ferry to Vancouver. We found nothing but I did get an awesome latte at Bows & Arrows Coffee Roasters.
2. Because we maxed out Victoria, we rode the nicest ferry in the world over at 11. I spent most of the time trying to get the wifi to work so I could get some really exciting news about work. Wifi that doesn't work properly sends me into a spiral.
3. I got really hangry after disembarking from the ferry but we started on a journey to find an Asian mall so my mom could look at $2 knickknacks. It culminated with me standing in the food court of the wrong Asian mall in the Vancouver suburbs surrounded by school girls and a million different versions of Panda Express extrapolated over various Asian cuisines (Thai, Korean BBQ, Japanese, Vietnamese).
4. We made it to the Vancouver hotel. This city is huge and different has a lot of condos.
5. We drove to the University of British Columbia where the Museum of Anthropology was supposed to be free. It wasn't so we didn't go but instead visited the totem polls outside which was enough anyways. Then, we walked 405 to a clothing optional beach with our clothes on. Everyone else was clothed on the beach too. It was beautiful and then we walked back up the 405 stairs to the car.
6. We had tapas for dinner which was new for mom and dad. My mom got really excited because they had rabbit in the menu and she wanted me to cross off another item. I decide to go for it since buying a rabbit is so.expensive and no one else was particularly excited to go in on eating a rabbit. Rabbit tastes like lean but juicy chicken. I did have to suck the meat off the tiny rib cage which was kind of gross but the point of eating a rabbit was thinking about what I was eating. It is done and I don't know that I will ever seek rabbit out again. It was good but not worth $40.
7. Which brings me to now. My parents are asleep and the sun just set. I am writing to you listening to Kylie and drinking pink cream soda.

Day Two in Canada

I have got a pretty gnarly headache which comes from a lack of caffeine and squinting into the sun and seasonal allergies so I will keep it short. We saw Victoria up close today. We drove out to Bushart's Gardens to see these crazy manicured Victorian gardens. We went and visited the BC Parliament which looked like something straight out of Europe and had an awesome breakfast where I got Moroccan eggs Benedict. We decided to buy some local fish and clams and take advantage of the kitchen tonight and climbed the sea rocks to enjoy amazing ocean views.

Reasons I Know We Aren't In The States
1. Cream soda is pink and bathrooms are washrooms.
2. We thought the sign at the market said the fish was $3.99 a pound by then we realized we had $31.70 worth of fish. Then we realized it was sold by the kilo but we definitely weren't buying 10 kilos of halibut and then we learned that meat is priced by 100 grams but sold by the kilo which is entirely confusing.
3. Gas is $1.39. Then you realize that is a liter and you have a sad face.
4. Cider is really prevalent and it comes in a two liter with a screw top. You can't buy beer in a store but you can buy non-alcoholic beer in the store. They also sell soft cider which I don't quite get.

Day One in Canada: Finding A Foreign Land

I checked off another item on my 29 by 29. I used my passport to enter Canada. This is my first time on foreign soil and the first place we went was a mall food court to use wifi.

I got up at 5 and we left Portland by 6. We drove 4 hours to Port Angeles and had an awesome brunch followed by a 90 minute ferry ride. Standing on the boat I was excited to be out of my element exploring somewhere new. We drove around for just a bit and saw the grand European buildings and I can't wait to explore tomorrow. Tonight, we had dinner and just watched a lot of My 600 Lbs Life because my mom were worn out after two days of traveling.

Reasons I Know I Am Not I Am In the States:
1. My mom telling the cashier she gave her incorrect change because my mom didn't realize they use dollar and two dollar coins here.
2. Buying Coffee Crisp which Brad brought me last year and I loved.
3. In Canada, you can buy scones in bags and they aren't all that sweet which makes them even better. They come in bags like English muffins.
4. I spent 10 minutes in the chip aisle reading the different kinds of chips. Dill Pickle Dorritos are disgusting sounding. I will investigate.
5. When you tell a Canadian you are from San Diego, they treat you like a tourist. When you tell them you live in Portland, you are a Northwest hindered spirit on a visit.

Disney Movie Reflection: Brother Bear

I needed to have a definite moment before I left for Canada where I just laid down and rested so I structured my entire Saturday morning to be just that. There were chores to be done in preparation but those all halted so I could just stop and do nothing. To signal to my body I was on vacation. I didn't do this with Florida and I regretted it.

Saturday morning was coffee and Brother Bear which is the perfect movie to kick off a Canadian adventure with. I had never seen this one though I bought it a few years ago. It never seemed like the perfect moment and Saturday was just the morning.

The movie is a solid B. It is funny and pretty but the story is a little confusing and I really don't like the little bear's voice. I do like Disney and bears and the Pacific Northwest so there's was stacked. The story is kind of complicated with a lot of layers of revenge and hurt but I liked that. I also like that it doesn't have a happy ending but requires the main character to make some serious sacrifice to make what he did right again.

The sidekicks in the movie are two.moose who are also brothers and idiots who also say "Eh" a lot so that will be stuck in my head all Canada.

Making it happen: Canada!

My parents arrived today and tomorrow we leave for Canada. I know it is silly because it is just Canada but I am a little nervous and a little excited. I've travelled a lot with my parents as an adult so I know we will do fine and Victoria and Vancover are really just Portland and Seattle in a neighboring but familiar country. Crossing a boarder is something I have never done and doing on a ferry is even more exciting. I plan to blog everyday to keep my thoughts in order but I can't wait to get on the road even though I am sad to leave Girlfriend and Jake for a week.

Disney Movie Reflection: The Princess and The Frog

Post working at Disney I had a bit of a cooling off period with interacting with all things Disney. I didn't see the Disney movies that came out. I should mention that I was kind of an asshole during this period as I was consumed by drinking and partying and buying designer jeans I couldn't afford. Part of the reason I wanted to watch all 53 Disney movies was to catch up on some that I missed (and apparently I wasn't missing much according to Chicken Little).

The Princess and The Frog was my welcome back movie. My parent's took me to see it for my 24th birthday. I was still kind of a butthole but was about to have my world turned around with meeting Jake and going through some significant health problems.

The Princess and The Frog goes back to the traditional princess story roots but puts the emphasis on hard work and determination instead of wishing on a star. Tiana makes her dreams come true by putting in the effort. It has funny sidekicks and plenty of charm. It is everything in a classic Disney movie with a modern feminist spin.

People say that this movie marked the beginning of a new golden age of Disney. I mean even Jake thought it was funny. It marks a turning point for both Disney and a turning point for me. 

Disney Movie Reflection: Tarzan

I watched this movie on the flight home from Florida having only slept for 4 hours from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM. The plane was loud but there was no one sitting between me and the other guy. I was also having a lot of feelings about leaving Florida and coming home. I was happy and sad and missed Jake but was having a great time.

So, to pass the time, I watched Tarzan. I like Phil Collins and I like Minnie Driver. I remember watching the movie some Christmas with my Grandma. I remember watching the Tarzan stage show and the men being half naked. What could go wrong?

Rosie O'Donnell could go wrong. I mean I like Rosie when I think of the Rosie show and Koosh balls and Tom Cruise being attractive but man does she do a terrible job of playing an adolescent male gorilla. Maybe it is the forced Bronx accent or maybe it is the lack of sleep.

The movie isn't the worst and it isn't the best. It is a sad metaphor about cultural imperialism and globalization.  Additionally, the villian whose name I will never remember looks too much like Gaston.