Oh Canada, a beautiful country (but super cold in the winter), friendly people, amazing poutine and obviously the sweet and lovely maple syrup. Do I sound like a tourism advertisement yet? Hahaha.
I moved to Canada 2.5 years ago and since then I allowed myself to be super busy with work (which is not smart, I know I know), forgetting about this website and my writing passion. Well well here I am, aint I? If you are wondering how Canada is, all of the points I mentioned above are true. here is why:
Located in North America with population of 37 millions, Canada is the second largest country by area in the world. From warm west coast to the Atlantic provinces, Canada offers you the best experience in the world and I am grateful to have a chance to live here. I live in Ottawa, the capital of Canada for these past two years. If you believe in love at the first sight, that is Canada to me. I love Ottawa especially since the first day I stepped my foot in. Ottawa’s summer is so beautiful, blue sky, warm weather, parks everywhere, and gelato (absolutely).
In the other side, winter emmmmmm… how do I put it….. I didn’t fancy it at first. When I said snow, you must imagine Frozen movie, white pretty fluffy substance that you can touch and play with while singing and dancing in the snowfall, but not here mate, not here (unless you wanna lose one of your fingers). Ottawa winter is always extreme and brutal. I mean -42 C extreme, wind chill is brutal, you can get frostbite anytime if you don’t dress properly, owh and did I mention it lasts 4-5 months every year?
But you mention warm west coast Fi? yeah yeah, -2C degree in the winter is warm for ottawans (and strangely for me too now). Then the summer comes, it is so pretty you forget Ottawa has winter too.
Secondly, friendly canadian. You might heard or read canadian are friendly and say sorry all the time. Those are what great people do. People always hold the door for people behind them, they say sorry for no reason most of the time (honestly, I do it too. It is better than shouting at each other, innit?) and they are always willing to help. I felt so strange on my first 2 months, but seeing the kindness of people here I felt welcomed.
Next, poutine eh? Fries (yeah everyone’s favourite), thick amazing gravy, with some cheese curds and topping as you like (bacon, ham, sausage, fried chicken, you choose) are heavenly food. To be fair, I didn’t like it at first because I am “kampungan”, I can only ate rice, noodles, and chillies. But now, I am sad I will be leaving soon because I will miss poutine everything.
Last but not least, maple syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees (see here) I honestly put it in everything to substitute sugar. it has its own unique taste that I cant explain and it is sooooo goooddd to mix in your morning coffee.
I love Canada, I will surely miss it (especially Ottawa) when I leave. Thank you for these amazing years I will never forget. Here is some pictures from this lovely country.
