Where “eh” is used as a question instead of a statement
We have arrived!
We now reside in the country where “eh” is used in question form when speaking….personally I think us Kiwi’s use it as a statement more than a question as in
“I’m going down to the dairy to get a mince and cheese pie eh”
Actually how do you even spell it? My brother always spells it as “aye” in texts….I give up!
So we have been in Toronto just over a week now. It’s taking some getting used to. Before we left, we researched all the important things, like where were the good coffee shops. That was pretty much all we researched.
Nothing looks the same. It’s really weird because as a Kiwi (or an Aussie), if you travel anywhere in NZ, Australia or England, things look pretty much the same. The buildings and architecture are similar, we drive on the same side of the road. In a lot of cases the branding of products is the same…except for Jif, I will never get used to it being called Cif in England (just weirdness!).
In North America and Canada, it looks SO different. There isn’t anything in particular that I can put my finger on, but the feeling of “not quite right” sits so heavily on me here.
It will take time but I will get used to it, I might even get used to driving on the wrong side of the road. There have been so many occasions when I have totally freaked out thinking that someone isn’t watching the road while they drive through busy intersections or try to get in the drivers side door thinking its the passenger side.
Geoff and I still forget to walk on the right hand side of the street, or to stay right on escalators. Annoying for the poor Toronto people walking towards us!
So what have we done since we arrived….not much really. It snowed for an hour last week. We went insane! I pretty much danced around the apartment for 20 minutes with a stupid grin on my face, then stood at the window for another 15 minutes staring at the snowflakes. I must also point out that this was proper snow (although it didn’t stick), unlike the day after we arrived when there were about 5 snowflakes in total and Geoff and me were getting totally overexcited “there’s one, OMG I just saw another one!” type conversations every 15 mintues (pitiful touristyness!).
We went for a walk in the snow to the supermarket, it was wet. It’s like really pretty rain.
I LOVE the supermarket. It’s actually quite sad. We go to the new Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens. I could spend hours in this supermarket…I go at least every second day and try to make excuses to go more often. It’s sort of sad. But I could easily spend 45 minutes just staring at the stuff on the shelves. There is a wall of cheese that is easily 9 feet tall. You can buy chocolate by the chunk – they will actually chisel off a chunk for you.
So apart from staring at the cheese wall at the supermarket, now Geoff has started work, I am on the search for somewhere to live, that I can also (hopefully, fingers crossed) fit a tiny studio space in. And trying to adjust to being unemployed.
At the moment my blog is populated with words more than pictures….I’m working on it sort of! So here’s some of the photos I have taken in the last week starting with the leaving Melbourne on a beautiful start to a 38 degree (celcius) day….sigh!
Bye Melbourne!
Swarvoski Bombay Gin
mmmm Cheese Nips – Loblaws visit
Cheese Whiz – Loblaws visit
Whippets – Loblaws visit
SNOW – real SNOW!! well for us anyway. Apparently this has been a VERY mild winter with hardly any snow
Dark Horse Espresso on Spadina
Bum Cleaner – I giggled the whole time I used it because it was so weird
2 Comments
Larynxa · March 21, 2012 at 00:15
Though I’ve not yet visited the “Palais du Loblaws” in the former Maple Leaf Gardens, I have heard many people marvelling about that mammoth Wall Of Cheese.
I am a devotee of Truly Bad Poetry, and as soon as I heard about the Wall Of Cheese, I thought of a poem, written in the early 1800s by John McIntyre—a Canadian poet who was rather obsessed by the record-breakingly huge cheeses which were often displayed at Exhibitions, Expositions, World’s Fairs, etc.
I think that Loblaws should have this poem put on a plaque, and displayed next to the Wall of Cheese.
Ode to the Mammoth Cheese
By John McIntyre
We have seen thee, queen of cheese,
Lying quietly at your ease,
Gently fanned by evening breeze,
Thy fair form no flies dare seize.
All gaily dressed soon you’ll go
To the great Provincial show,
To be admired by many a beau
In the city of Toronto.
Cows numerous as a swarm of bees,
Or as the leaves upon the trees,
It did require to make thee please.
And stand unrivalled, queen of cheese.
May you not receive a scar as
We have heard that Mr. Harris
Intends to to send you off as far as
The great world’s show at Paris.
Of the youth beware of these,
For some of them might rudely squeeze
And bite your cheek, then songs or glees
We could not sing, oh! queen of cheese.
We’rt thou suspended from balloon,
You’d cast a shade even at noon,
Folks would think it was the moon
About to fall and crush them soon.
captiouscarrie · March 6, 2012 at 21:40
Welcome to Canada, Eh?
I hope you’re not having too hard of a time adjusting – talk about a major cultural shift! At least you don’t have to learn a new language (unless someone tells you to wear your tuque on your way to Timmie’s!)
Best of luck with settling in, Toronto is a great city!