10. No one steals my underwear from the laundry.
I am still missing my 90-peso-purchased-in-Argentina-but-100%-Brazilian Triumph underwear! Brazilian underwear is so ergonomic and aerodynamic. I knew when I was piling stuff into the the bag to go to the laundress in Lima that it was a bit of a risk, but the soap in my dorm was so dodgy with more hair sticking out of it than a pigskin, that I couldn't be bothered to go the whole handwashing in the basin route. And I thought, "Who's going to steal my underwear?!" (Not that hygiene is necessarily priority one (See items 9 and 5)) Now I know. Do miss those freebie shirts from mixed-up orders though! Good thing I ended up back in Brazil to restock the underwear supply;)
9. Gloves
So nice to see employees in the Food Preparation Industry using gloves (without holes in them) to make sandwiches (and then removing the gloves to make change. Or go to the washroom.) Of course, I am pretty much basing this on a recent trip to Subway. An now that I am writing this, I am remembering that dude selling hotdogs outside the nudist beach. He didn't have gloves. And he was a Jack-of-All-Trades, making change, roasting weiners. And who knows which washroom he was using. Probably not the swanky hotel next door...so, same same.
8. Pedestrians Have the Right of Way
The first time I was back in Canada at the crosswalk and the cars let me by, I was pleasantly surprised. The second time I was downright suspicious. Why would so many people be giving me the right-of-way with no good reason. Then I remembered, it's the law here, and for some reason, people respect that. Also, we don't have much of a population. So, why not. However, I still feel subconsciously that the drivers are secretly waiting to gun me down the minute I step onto the zebra crossing. I zoom it across, never breaking the 'eye contact contract'. That said, I actually do miss those timed lights across the four-tiered Paseo Colon in Buenos Aires.. If I gunned it, I could just make it in the 30-second allotment without getting sideswiped.
7. Bagels and Salads (with a little bit of PB and J on the side)
So excited to have bagels back! Thick, oil-dipped, ponchy, spongy whole-wheat(ish) goodness toasted golden brown and slathered with PB and J! Not "marmelada" but actual jelly. Or banana. Or honey. Do miss Argentina's media-lunas with melted cheese and ham, and submarinos (how can you not love a chocolate bar dissolved in milk) but cannot live without bagels. And salads! Eating without fear. Salads with lots of random veggies: avocados, alfalfa sprouts, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, baby carrots, cucumber...
6. Hot Water Showers
Forget hot water. Running water. Period. It is absolute genius. You turn on the tap, water comes out. Every time. After running. After cooking. After using the washroom. Nine times out of ten you get soap, toilet paper, paper towel. Provided to the public. In your home, you get HOT water. Really hot water. Not tepid-masquerading-as-hot, or hot-if-you-land-in-the-lucky-two-minute-time-slot. Decadent! And bubble baths with your toes poking out of the bubbles and a glass of red wine perched on the tub ledge!
5. I can flush toilet paper down the toilet
Another small miracle. So cool. So efficient. All the smelly tissues immediately evacuated from the vicinity. No worries about emptying the wastebasket every day or having mischeivous pets upend and dismantle the waste basket. Or worse, mini sewage disasters because tourists don't understand signs that say "Please pull the paper in the basket" or "Please do now throw tissue to the bowl of the bath".
4. I can walk the streets at midnight
The first night I got back, I forgot it was a Civic Holiday. I took a cab to my friend's but she was already in bed, and the house dark. Like the entire street. And the street after that, and the one after that as I walked back to the main street seeking another cab to take me home. It was like being in a ghost town. I did get accosted by a lady begging money and then scoffing "Yeah, right!" when I didn't cough up change, so I felt less culture shocked. I later saw her chugging back a Coke at the same Internet cafe I was in. Seriously. Where are the people in this city? Surely with a population of two and a half million, they can't all be at the cottage!
3. I can hail a cab. Right off the street.
Once I did finally locate a cab, I could hop right in it. So nice not to have to pre-call or find a swanky hotel and get a cab from their vetted stock. So nice to not have the worry of express kidnappings; to not have the fear that after shopping at a mall, the cab driver parked outside will take you to a remote location and demand your debit and credit cards and PIN numbers at gunpoint. Sadly, when I was in Guayacil, two Dutch tourists were kidnapped by a taxi driver and gang-raped by him and two accomplices. It's such a good feeling to know that the majority of our cab drivers are above-board and safe.
2. It is what it is: Prices.
Sure the HST is annoying and 'what you see' is not actually 'what you get', but at least if you can do mental math you know what you'll be paying once you get to the register. It may seem overpriced and inflated, but at least you know everyone's paying that same overpriced and inflated price. It's nice to know you're not being charged 'the gringa price', that although the price says "500 Dong" the guy is going to look you in the eye and say, "For you, 1000 Dong" and not back down. It's nice not to have that Egyptian guy in Aswan tearing a strip out of you because you actually know the price is six times too high, denying that his register does in fact have change although he just made some for the Muslim woman next to you, counting on your baksheesh to pay his rent. It is nice not to be yelled at, or have that rude flicking-of-the-wrist-off-the-chin-gesture aimed at you. And hey, it's nice to just throw your wallet on the coffee table and know it will be there twenty minutes later. Or stroll down the street with a shoulder bag and have someone actually respond to your smile instead of your sack!
1. Steven Harper and Rob Ford
Just kidding. I think I was back all of twenty-four hours before having to write a vitriolic email petition to Rob Ford's "people" about saving our public libraries. What is this nonsense about having more libraries than Tim Hortons'? Isn't it sad when more people are addicted to caffeine than literacy? Harper...well at least he is "thickening the relationship" with Brazil;) But I digress. Reason Number One is actually: Family and Friends! Upon arriving in Toronto I was inaugurated back into city life by Alexa with caipirinhas on the back patio (nice segue back from Brazilian life). Day Two was a lovely stroll in High Park (the old hood) with Sara and an evening of blackbox theatre with Sheena, Claire, and Kathleen tailgated by bar-hopping with Jenny and Steve, ending at Sweaty Betty's in the wee hours in the morning. Then there was the day at the nudist beach with Janice, keeping it real, a quick lowdown with my supreme travel agent and neighbor with flavour, Andrea, and dinner and drinks after a shopping spree in Mirvish Village with Vicki, Diego and Claire. Looking forward to more GT's in the GTA come late Augz.
Now, I'm up here in Thunder Bay relaxing with the fam, welcomed back with banners and fanfare at the airport. My mom got me books by all my favorite authors and movies from...yuppers...the public library! She baked me my favorite chocolate cake, among many other meal requests, and we just spent a lovely afternoon at the art gallery. Went canoeing with my Dad yesterday and tomorrow morning he's cooking me pancakes! And I can run the trails every evening, without fear of bandits, rapist, or trampling wildebeests. Life is good. Life is very, very good.
(I have to put in a disclaimer here that I did have a great mid-way-point dose of friends and fam when the girls came to visit me in SanFran and L.A. Hanging with Edith, Em and Sara in our townhouse, visiting Alcatraz and joyriding the coast, gave me a much-needed dose of home, after which I was subsequently spoiled rotten by my brother who actually made me Montreal-style bagels from scratch, cooked my fave macaroni, (and rigged me up with an archaic, yet fully-functioning internet connection in my loft room) in good ol' Argentina.
Still, I've been to see the Wizard, and though the yellow brick road was epic and demands to be revisted, there truly is no place like home!
I am still missing my 90-peso-purchased-in-Argentina-but-100%-Brazilian Triumph underwear! Brazilian underwear is so ergonomic and aerodynamic. I knew when I was piling stuff into the the bag to go to the laundress in Lima that it was a bit of a risk, but the soap in my dorm was so dodgy with more hair sticking out of it than a pigskin, that I couldn't be bothered to go the whole handwashing in the basin route. And I thought, "Who's going to steal my underwear?!" (Not that hygiene is necessarily priority one (See items 9 and 5)) Now I know. Do miss those freebie shirts from mixed-up orders though! Good thing I ended up back in Brazil to restock the underwear supply;)
9. Gloves
So nice to see employees in the Food Preparation Industry using gloves (without holes in them) to make sandwiches (and then removing the gloves to make change. Or go to the washroom.) Of course, I am pretty much basing this on a recent trip to Subway. An now that I am writing this, I am remembering that dude selling hotdogs outside the nudist beach. He didn't have gloves. And he was a Jack-of-All-Trades, making change, roasting weiners. And who knows which washroom he was using. Probably not the swanky hotel next door...so, same same.
8. Pedestrians Have the Right of Way
The first time I was back in Canada at the crosswalk and the cars let me by, I was pleasantly surprised. The second time I was downright suspicious. Why would so many people be giving me the right-of-way with no good reason. Then I remembered, it's the law here, and for some reason, people respect that. Also, we don't have much of a population. So, why not. However, I still feel subconsciously that the drivers are secretly waiting to gun me down the minute I step onto the zebra crossing. I zoom it across, never breaking the 'eye contact contract'. That said, I actually do miss those timed lights across the four-tiered Paseo Colon in Buenos Aires.. If I gunned it, I could just make it in the 30-second allotment without getting sideswiped.
7. Bagels and Salads (with a little bit of PB and J on the side)
So excited to have bagels back! Thick, oil-dipped, ponchy, spongy whole-wheat(ish) goodness toasted golden brown and slathered with PB and J! Not "marmelada" but actual jelly. Or banana. Or honey. Do miss Argentina's media-lunas with melted cheese and ham, and submarinos (how can you not love a chocolate bar dissolved in milk) but cannot live without bagels. And salads! Eating without fear. Salads with lots of random veggies: avocados, alfalfa sprouts, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, baby carrots, cucumber...
6. Hot Water Showers
Forget hot water. Running water. Period. It is absolute genius. You turn on the tap, water comes out. Every time. After running. After cooking. After using the washroom. Nine times out of ten you get soap, toilet paper, paper towel. Provided to the public. In your home, you get HOT water. Really hot water. Not tepid-masquerading-as-hot, or hot-if-you-land-in-the-lucky-two-minute-time-slot. Decadent! And bubble baths with your toes poking out of the bubbles and a glass of red wine perched on the tub ledge!
5. I can flush toilet paper down the toilet
Another small miracle. So cool. So efficient. All the smelly tissues immediately evacuated from the vicinity. No worries about emptying the wastebasket every day or having mischeivous pets upend and dismantle the waste basket. Or worse, mini sewage disasters because tourists don't understand signs that say "Please pull the paper in the basket" or "Please do now throw tissue to the bowl of the bath".
4. I can walk the streets at midnight
The first night I got back, I forgot it was a Civic Holiday. I took a cab to my friend's but she was already in bed, and the house dark. Like the entire street. And the street after that, and the one after that as I walked back to the main street seeking another cab to take me home. It was like being in a ghost town. I did get accosted by a lady begging money and then scoffing "Yeah, right!" when I didn't cough up change, so I felt less culture shocked. I later saw her chugging back a Coke at the same Internet cafe I was in. Seriously. Where are the people in this city? Surely with a population of two and a half million, they can't all be at the cottage!
3. I can hail a cab. Right off the street.
Once I did finally locate a cab, I could hop right in it. So nice not to have to pre-call or find a swanky hotel and get a cab from their vetted stock. So nice to not have the worry of express kidnappings; to not have the fear that after shopping at a mall, the cab driver parked outside will take you to a remote location and demand your debit and credit cards and PIN numbers at gunpoint. Sadly, when I was in Guayacil, two Dutch tourists were kidnapped by a taxi driver and gang-raped by him and two accomplices. It's such a good feeling to know that the majority of our cab drivers are above-board and safe.
2. It is what it is: Prices.
Sure the HST is annoying and 'what you see' is not actually 'what you get', but at least if you can do mental math you know what you'll be paying once you get to the register. It may seem overpriced and inflated, but at least you know everyone's paying that same overpriced and inflated price. It's nice to know you're not being charged 'the gringa price', that although the price says "500 Dong" the guy is going to look you in the eye and say, "For you, 1000 Dong" and not back down. It's nice not to have that Egyptian guy in Aswan tearing a strip out of you because you actually know the price is six times too high, denying that his register does in fact have change although he just made some for the Muslim woman next to you, counting on your baksheesh to pay his rent. It is nice not to be yelled at, or have that rude flicking-of-the-wrist-off-the-chin-gesture aimed at you. And hey, it's nice to just throw your wallet on the coffee table and know it will be there twenty minutes later. Or stroll down the street with a shoulder bag and have someone actually respond to your smile instead of your sack!
1. Steven Harper and Rob Ford
Just kidding. I think I was back all of twenty-four hours before having to write a vitriolic email petition to Rob Ford's "people" about saving our public libraries. What is this nonsense about having more libraries than Tim Hortons'? Isn't it sad when more people are addicted to caffeine than literacy? Harper...well at least he is "thickening the relationship" with Brazil;) But I digress. Reason Number One is actually: Family and Friends! Upon arriving in Toronto I was inaugurated back into city life by Alexa with caipirinhas on the back patio (nice segue back from Brazilian life). Day Two was a lovely stroll in High Park (the old hood) with Sara and an evening of blackbox theatre with Sheena, Claire, and Kathleen tailgated by bar-hopping with Jenny and Steve, ending at Sweaty Betty's in the wee hours in the morning. Then there was the day at the nudist beach with Janice, keeping it real, a quick lowdown with my supreme travel agent and neighbor with flavour, Andrea, and dinner and drinks after a shopping spree in Mirvish Village with Vicki, Diego and Claire. Looking forward to more GT's in the GTA come late Augz.
Now, I'm up here in Thunder Bay relaxing with the fam, welcomed back with banners and fanfare at the airport. My mom got me books by all my favorite authors and movies from...yuppers...the public library! She baked me my favorite chocolate cake, among many other meal requests, and we just spent a lovely afternoon at the art gallery. Went canoeing with my Dad yesterday and tomorrow morning he's cooking me pancakes! And I can run the trails every evening, without fear of bandits, rapist, or trampling wildebeests. Life is good. Life is very, very good.
(I have to put in a disclaimer here that I did have a great mid-way-point dose of friends and fam when the girls came to visit me in SanFran and L.A. Hanging with Edith, Em and Sara in our townhouse, visiting Alcatraz and joyriding the coast, gave me a much-needed dose of home, after which I was subsequently spoiled rotten by my brother who actually made me Montreal-style bagels from scratch, cooked my fave macaroni, (and rigged me up with an archaic, yet fully-functioning internet connection in my loft room) in good ol' Argentina.
Still, I've been to see the Wizard, and though the yellow brick road was epic and demands to be revisted, there truly is no place like home!
I feel the need to defend our honour(at the risk of sounding like someone else you know)- it was a clothing optional beach, not nudist, so we kept our clothes on! ;) But it was a great day, wasn't it?
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