Canada, The start of the winter.

When I chose to come to Canada I knew it would be a cold experience. With this in my mind I was very surprised how good the weather still was during the first weeks. There was still a reasonable amount of summer and good weather left. After, during autumn, it was still warmer than I expected. On my trip around Georgian bay with my stepdad during thanksgiving, I was still able to wear shorts and flip flops! My girlfriend didn’t pick the most fortunate time to come around. The weather was changing and in the two weeks she was here it doubled the amount of rain I’ve seen in Canada so far.

From the day she was here, it really started to get cold. First with some wet snow and rain but soon it was cold enough for the snow to stay around. I didn’t bring a winter jacket so it was time to buy one. Noëlle is the best shopping buddy ever. Every time we go into a store we walk out completely satisfied within 10 minutes. This time, there was no difference. The first shop we walked in had some awesome snowboard jacket’s and for a good price. The first jacket I tried was immediately a winner. I wanted to try other ones to compare, but eventually I bought the first one.

Now I was all set for the winter. At least, that’s what I thought. It was still very cold and my body had to adjust to this cold climate. Within two weeks I was completely adapted to this new temperature and also trained to dress up for a cold climate. This includes scarf, beanie and gloves. If you dress up warm it is actually not that bad.

NBA: Chicago Bulls vs Toronto Raptors

One thing I always wanted to do was watching a NBA match of the Chicago Bulls. Conveniently, they were coming to play in Toronto. This is only an hour away(two by bus) and with a huge group of international students we made our way to the stadium. Some of them purchased fake tickets and had to buy new ones. Luckily we bought them at an official place and I didn’t have any troubles to get in. As it was my first time to go to such a big event, I was completely lost in the madness and had no idea where to go. I asked everyone and eventually managed to get to the section I was seated. The stadium was huge! Apparently they also have the Maple Leaf games in this stadium(Ice Hockey). Within three hours they can transform the Ice Field in a basketball field. The whole experience to watch this game was amazing. There is so much stuff going on around the game. It starts with the National Anthem followed by cheerleaders that come up in every break or time-out. It almost seems like the game itself isn’t exiting enough. Actually the game was, compared to most games, not that exited. Within 5 minutes, the Bulls were way ahead with more than 10 points and the entire game there was no real comeback from the Raptors. I was cheering for the Bulls, but it seemed like I was the only one. I was a bit scared that people would beat me up if I would be making too much noise, so I kept it down a bit. Haha. On the other hand, when there was anything happening on the Raptors side, the entire stadium went nuts. Just a steal would bring so much live into the stadium, this was usually punished by a score from the Bulls and everyone would be quiet again.  It was very amusing to see. The final score was: Chicago Bulls: 96 – Toronto Raptors: 80.

After the game we finished with a couple of beers and while other international students went partying, I made my way to Nathan, a Canadian friend. He would go to Waterloo the next day so after spending the night with him he brought me back to WCRI.

The following weeks I was quite busy with studying. We were nearing the end of the term and had to finish the last assignments and midterms. The pressure that comes with the prospect of the final exams was noticeable. It was very hard to find a place to sit in the library and they transformed it with hundreds of study tables. I did not share this pressure because at my university we only have final exams. Back home I would be nervous at this time. At this university, the final exam is a part of your grade but most of it you earn along the way by making exams and assignments. Most of the assignments and midterms went pretty well so it was not in doubt if I would pass or not.

New York

In one of our last free weekends we decided to plan a trip to New York since it is located so closely to Waterloo.  We had some troubles with finding enough beds for the entire group at one hostel so we had to split between two. There were 7 of us and also a group of Swedish exchange students but we did not see them during our trip. We took the bus on Thursday night and returned on Sunday night so we would have 3 full days.

We chose the perfect weekend to come to New York. It was still very mild and the weather was amazing. After the first morning with a bit of rain we could enjoy the next day without wearing a jacket! This was a bit cold if you were standing on a windy corner in the shade but warm enough if you walked around.

After we arrived at the bus terminal we immediately continued to time square. It had always been a dream to stand on this world famous square and I was very pleased to cross this of my bucket list. With the rain and daylight it was still impressive but we decided to come back during the night. We split up with our group to check in our hostel and decided to meet at a subway station later that day. As New York is very big we were a bit anxious that we might not be able to find each other again. The subway trip took a bit longer than expected, so we ran a bit late but when we showed up at the point where we planned to meet, they just showed up as well. It was just perfect. After walking around in Little Italy, Soho and China town, we made our way to the Brooklyn bridge. This gorgeous, state of the art bridge gave an amazing view over the skyline of NY. It caused the same behaviour as I had with the Niagara Falls. I just could not stop taking pictures. From every piece of wood, every cable, every stone and every clinch to the flag on top of the towers could be appreciated by itself and gave another picture perfect look. The entire time in NY it all seemed so familiar. It was almost as walking through my hometown, DELUUUFFTTT!!! I can understand why so many films are shot here and it was funny to recognise some of the images in the city. After the Brooklyn bridge, and a thousand pictures, we made our way to the Central Station and MoMa(Museum of Modern Arts). I was so hungry at that time so we went for some food from the street. This so called “The halal guys” seemed very good since it had a huge line. First we walked past it but it looked and smelled so good so we decided to step in line. The service was very quick and before we knew it we scored some amazing kebab. In the museum we sat down and literally bulldozered the food inside.

After that quick meal we made a small tour through this huge museum. The first floor was not so impressive but the other floors contained some high quality art. I found some Dutch art: Vincent van Gogh, Piet Mondrian, a chair from Rietveld but also other giants like Picasso. It is funny how my interest for art has grown by following the course Expressive Drawing. It changed the way you look at the composition and the use of light. I was never a big fan of any form of art but I start to appreciate it more.

After dinner our group split up once again. Everyone was a bit tired after the long bus ride and the long and exiting day in NY. I could definitely use some sleep at that time but others felt more like partying. After we said goodbye to the party animals we left to go and see Time Square by night before heading back to our hostel.  It was AMAZING!!!! Better than my expectations and much better than earlier that morning. It just felt like a dream to walk around here. Before I came to Canada I did not expect to visit New York and I’m so happy we decided to come here. It was picture perfect and all the different screens created so much light that the street lighting was really unnecessary. We made tons of pictures and after walking around for an hour one of my new Australian friends, Sheldon, bought us ice cream. Delicious Ben & Jerry’s in different flavours. After seeing the biography of this company I appreciate it even more. The reason why it’s so tasty is because one of the makers, I believe it was Ben, had really bad taste buds so they put 3 times the amount of flavours in it than the “how to make ice” book described.

The next day we took a ferry to Staten Island which was free and cruised along the Statue of Liberty. It was actually smaller than expected but still quite impressive. After a quick coffee on the island we made our way back to NY and walked around in the financial district, visiting Wall Street and seeing Tower One. We wanted to see the “Ground Zero” memorial, but there was an enormous line to get in and we were not feeling like waiting for an hour. We tried to meet up around the memorial but we couldn’t reach each other. This would be our last night in New York so we wanted to go out drinking and maybe see one of the shows on Broadway. Most of these shows were very expensive. More than a $100 for one ticket. We found a place where they sold tickets for half price and decided to go to iluminate, Artists of Light. Still a bit expensive but much more affordable than the other ones. Sheldon heard of these artists because they won the show: “America’s got Talent”.

Before the show we met with our other friends again we decided to go for dinner at this Chinese Restaurant. It was a good choice because they had a good and cheap selection of cocktails and after spending three months in Canada where alcohol is very expensive this was a real blessing. After some good food and delicious cocktails we were ready for the show. It started snowing but this was not a real problem.

When we walked in the theatre I really hoped we made the right choice, because I had no clue what we were about to see. We sat down and it started immediately, it was a perfect timing. It was completely dark in the theatre. This already gave a special feeling. A voice started and told us we were not allowed to use our phones during the show but that it was an interactive show and that you could make noise or clap if you see something you liked. The show started and this figure came walking up the stage. He only wore black clothes with lights sewed to it. Because it was completely dark you were only able to see the lights. It looked amazing when he was dancing and it really gave an entire new dimension to dance. I’ve never seen anything like it and when the audience started to applause during the first trick, I felt goose bumps all over my body and knew that the money was well spent. It was so amusing to see and it is so much better for the experience to give applause during the show instead of doing it only at the end. It is also better for the performers, because it will give them some sort of feedback to see which tricks work and which don’t. The dancers were very skilled and the combination of good music with the lights made it very spectacular. I was a big fan of the music and it was similar to music like “Disclosure”. The entire show took a bit more than an hour but I never enjoyed a show this much. I can recommend this to everyone and if you want to have a bit of a better idea of this great performance, you should try and find some video’s on Youtube.

After the great show we went in town for some shopping. In NY was one of the biggest H&M’s in the world and it is ENOURMOS. The selection was great and the prices were much cheaper compared to Holland. I bought a nice sweater. I think the most clothes I bought here so far were sweaters. Every time I walk into a store it was very cold outside and the only thing I could think of was warm stuff. I think I bought 4 sweaters so far. Haha.

We caught up with some other friends around SoHo to go out for some drinks. It was a great coincidence to find Annick, a Dutch friend, in one of the biggest subway stations, when we were waiting for the tube. She was actually not planning on coming with us because of a misunderstanding but we could convince her and now we were complete again with all our friends.

The bar we went was great and luckily Sheldon had no problems coming in, since he is still under 21, the legal drinking age. The beers were cheaper compared to Canada and with some great company it made the perfect formula for a wonderful night. I was very happy. After a few beers we walked around and started dancing on one of the small tables. Others were standing on the little bench that was next to the table so it seemed that they would approve. As we, Sheldon and me, climbed up on one of the tables the bartender started to take a torch and try to signal us that we should come down. The light was very bright and we first thought that someone was trying to make pictures. Haha. Eventually I saw that the light came from the bartender, so we climbed down but we gained a lot of kudos from the other guests. The night ended in a drunk walk to a hotdog place. We started to order more and more hotdogs. It was really funny. After we took a taxi back home and started to play pool. Since my stay in Canada I played a lot of pool because our residence owned a pool table and almost all the bars have one. I really improved my play but this didn’t came out this particular night. I played horrible and it took forever to finish the game.

Last day NY

The next day was the last one in New York. We started by visiting central park and visiting one of the bakeries. New York is a real food capital and everywhere we went the food was delicious. This bakery was a real treasure and made some very tasty cookies and good sandwiches. After a nice tour around central park we planned to see the skyline from one of the high buildings. It was very expensive to go up in the buildings that had “official” look out points. We decided to sneak up. This was not possible at the Rockefeller Centre but when we tried the Hilton hotel we had more luck. It was rooftop mission 3.0 but we were with a big group this time. We did the same trick again. We took the elevator to the highest floor possible that you can reach without a special card. From there we took the stairs and walked up. We almost got caught because there was a security guy when we stepped out of the elevator. As an experienced rooftop sneaker, I managed to get everyone moving on so it seemed like our room was up here. When we took the stairs we didn’t know if we could get to the roof. After several floors, the staircase changed and there were no more floors which contained rooms. If someone found us here it was mission failed. We continued and found an open door. We stepped outside and it was mission accomplished! We were the only ones on the roof and we had a great view of the Rockefeller Centre, Central Park and The Empire State building. It was a great experience once again.

After the Hilton rooftop it was time to say goodbye. Other friends took a bus earlier and had to proceed to the bus station. Sheldon and I went to the Hostel to get our luggage and after we found a nice Greek restaurant to have our last dinner in this great city. We took a starter but this turned out to be huge! We were almost not able to finish our main course anymore, and completely stuffed we stepped into the bus back home. The bus to NY was pretty bad and this one was much better. The seats way more comfortable and more space. We drank our beers and after an hour the seats behind us became free so we both could have 2 seats. This was way more convenient and I was even able to find some sleep.

 Last weeks of school

The end of the lectures was in sight and with this also the Canadian experience. The time of saying goodbye started and suddenly I noticed how fast the time went. It felt like 2 weeks ago since I arrived at Toronto Pearson Airport. I remember how curious I was to this new country. All these preconceived ideas about big Canada would soon be confirmed or demolished. Are they really the friendliest people on the planet? Do I see a bear or moose every time I leave the highway and walk around a bush? Is it starting to get cold as soon as I arrive and will there be snow for 4 months long? Is the maple syrup really that legendary?

Looking back, it was such a great experience to learn about this new culture. The people are very friendly and that is the only preconceived idea that was confirmed. Sadly I didn’t spot any moose besides the floating piece of wood that we found in Algonquin park. I think the people and the rough nature would make it possible for me to live here one day. I did not have the time to see much more than Ontario besides 2 days in Montreal and I would really enjoy coming back in summer and travel more.

It was weird to be in the final lectures and to realize that this also comes to an end. I thanked every teacher for the ability of my participation and I told them how much I’ve learned during this term. After the lectures it was time to study. I wanted to finish the term with some nice grades so it was time to lock myself in my room again. Luckily I had only 3 exams and these were nicely widespread over 2 weeks, which gave me plenty of time in between to learn for the next exam. I just received the grades and I finished the courses with the following grades:

Expressive drawing: 85%

Green Entrepreneurship: 84%

Industrial Ecology: 82%

Social Psychology: 70%

Physiological Psychology 65%

 I am very pleased with the grades. It was such a nice experience to be able to choose al my courses. This made me so much more motivated and I enjoyed learning in all these courses. I will try to stay just as motivated when I will be back home.

Montreal

Before my last final of Social Psychology my lovely sister Myrthe came around to visit me for one weekend. She was staying in Chicago for work and on the way back she did a little sub tour to Toronto. From here she hired a car and came over to me. The day prior to her visit I had to say goodbye to most of my Canadian friends. It was such a pleasure to meet every single one of them. From day one I was surrounded by the friendliest guys that immediately  invited me to birthday party, house parties, Thanksgiving dinner, Hockey game and much, much more. I felt very welcome and without them the Canadian experience would not be the same. So here is a special thanks to all you guys!

I gave a route description to my sister and although this contained one mistake she managed to reach my house without too much problems and arrived spot on our arranged time. After a big hug I showed her my room and the drawings I made during my stay here. I made some soup the day before, so after a quick lunch with soup, epic eggs and a lot of catching up we hit the road to drive to Kingston. I booked a room for the night and this was a good stop station between Toronto and Montreal. I hoped we would be ahead of the traffic jams but unfortunately we got stuck on the highway around Toronto. This took us 2 more hours but after a long drive and loads and loads of talking we arrived in Kingston, the old capital of Canada. We stayed in the oldest hotel in Canada. We had a pretty, small room with a very comfortable bed. We dressed up as warm as we could because this weekend it hit -17 C. After a little walk through the lovely centre of Kingston, we found a very nice restaurant. We got a table right next to a fireplace and I was completely satisfied. It was a new experience to spend an entire weekend with my sister but it felt very good and this will definitely be repeatable in the future. The food was very tasty and for desert we went to another place to try some cocktails. We found a nice bar that was specialized in beer. The cocktail changed into tasting of several different beers. They had a unique concept. They imported every week different kegs (fusten) from different places and if the keg was finished it was finished so they had a huge variety. I really liked this concept and if I would ever open a bar in Holland I might use it. The bar was a good choice and after talking with the bartender a bit he offered us to try his new cocktail. Of course we agreed and it was DELICIOUS! It was whiskey mixed with black tea that had a very “smoky” taste. We got the cocktail for free and with the good service they provided we couldn’t resist in giving a good tip. When we arrived back in our little room we immediately fell into this deep, deep sleep.

The next day we proceeded to Montreal, passing a scenic route called “The thousand islands parkway".”It was a gorgeous drive but if we stepped out to take pictures it was too cold to take more than 2 pics before your hands started to freeze to the camera. The entire drive to Montreal went very well and Canada looked very pretty. The entire landscape was covered with a white blanket of snow. When we drove in the city it was a bit hard to navigate because our GPS wasn’t working that well. Eventually we found our hostel and it turned out to be a very “hippy” like place. The name of the room where we were sleeping was called “rouge” and I immediately send a picture to one of my housemates with the same nickname.

We dressed up as warm as we could and stepped outside to brace the cold. It was ridiculously cold with the wind and the “feeling temperature” was -25 C. After walking for 15 minutes in the cold we looked for some warm shelter. Interested in souvenirs or not, it didn’t make much of a difference, we would go in anyway. After a short stop to recover to our own temperature we tried again, but soon we escaped for a coffee into a Starbucks. After, we decided to go for dinner to a restaurant that was recommended by some international friends that went to Montreal a month prior to our visit. This was an Italian restaurant specialized in all sorts of pasta with an unlimited salad bar. The food was just as good as we hoped for and after filling our stomach with plenty of fresh veggies we went home. We wanted to have a nice drink before going to bed but the entire city was a bit deserted because there was a snowstorm in the prospect. We hoped that it would not be too much troubles for our journey back home because we had a lot of miles to kill.

The next day we woke up and discovered that over 30 centimetres (a foot) of snow fell that night. We were a bit worries and tried to leave as soon as possible to have bit of a time buffer. This was a good decision and released a bit of the stress because my sister had a plane to catch that night. When we returned to our car it was completely snowed in. We first cleared our car from all the snow. When we got all the snow off we discovered a parking ticket... This was my very first parking ticket ever. It was for the most stupid reason I could think of: parking in 5 metres of a fire pole. Why would they built a parking spot in front of a fire pole if you can’t park there?! A little confused we started our journey. Luckily my sister got the car out of the snow without too many problems. After escaping the city it was a very long, intensive drive to Toronto. It felt a bit like that movie: “The day after tomorrow” because it was still snowing a lot and we didn’t know how the conditions would be along the way. Along the road we saw over 20 accidents which reminded us to drive as save as possible. We arrived in time at the airport without too much problems and I was very happy when we finally returned the rental car with the knowledge that we didn’t crash along the way.

It was great to see my sister after such a long time of separation and it was a pleasure to spend an entire weekend together. It was a bit hard to say goodbye but I knew this experience really strengthened our band. After saying goodbye it was a three hour bus ride home, caused by all the bad connections between busses on a Sunday night. Exhausted I arrived at the Waterloo and I was warm welcomed with a nice meal, made by my French friend Clement. A great way to end this weekend and to fall asleep with some delicious food in my stomach.

I just arrived in Mexico safely and had an awesome time in Cuba, I will soon write more.

Lots of love,

Iori