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November 27, 2005
Christmas Season
I realise that we’re not yet into December and already the feel of Christmas is strong. Already I find it strange being in a different country for this holiday. Its not any worse and in some ways at least better.
Christmas shopping that isn’t all indoors at a mall seems strange and kind of nice. Christmas shopping in the rain seems just plain wrong. Its not that I’m fond of the snow but trying to protect against soggy packages is very strange to me.
I think the first warning I had that it was going to be a very different Christmas season was seeing the signs in the small food sellers. The very presence of small produce stores, butchers and fishmongers is strange to me. Seeing the signs that there were only X weeks to order a turkey or goose was very odd.
The arrival of the carnival really introduced the season to me while being entirely new. The thought of a Ferris wheel and other rides in late November and December strikes me as ludicrous. I can see it now in my mind. The Ferris wheel mechanism freezes up and by the time people can be unloaded their so many icicles. The less said about a roller coaster the better.
The German Market that is attached to the festival really brought home that Christmas would be soon. Again, the idea of such a thing in Edmonton just doesn’t work. It was a lot of fun puttering through the stalls, buying gifts and the occasional food treat for myself. Some of the wares are quite pretty and others amusing.
In all I’m glad I’m spending Christmas here. It may just be the novelty but there seems to be more excitement in the air than I’ve felt from Edmonton in a long while. Christmas lost its splendour a long time ago for me. For the first time in many years I feel a certain childish excitement that Christmas is on the way.
Posted by Bluerevolutionist at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2005
Homesick
I know that compared to a lot of ex pats I’m a relative new comer to the experience. Its been four months since I left. With all that I’ve done it feels much longer. I am for the most part very comfortable here. I still get the occasional bout of home sickness but it doesn’t seem to last.
I am frequently surprised at how little homesickness has affected me. I really expected before I left to spend several day stretches being debilitated by it. The reality has been that bouts of homesickness have been few and rarely lasted a full day.
I think that a lot of the reason for this is how very ready I was to leave Edmonton. Before I left Edmonton I would have said that I was ok with the status quo for the most part but I have never been one who liked the idea of settling for ok. I have a bad habit of being very negative about change but at heart I dislike mediocrity. I begin to wonder in retrospect if I was more unhappy than I thought. I know that certain things that had at one stage in my life had been a joy had become a great deal of stress.
When it comes right down to it I don’t think I can claim to miss Edmonton. When I get homesick it isn’t for the city or my house or even restaurants and the like. I find that there are people who I miss. The list isn’t as large as I would have thought and two of the people in question weren’t living in Edmonton when I left.
I find that homesickness and loneliness go hand in hand for me. The times when homesickness strikes are invariably when I am feeling most isolated. Usually this is tied closely to having too much time on my hands. If I’m too busy to think about it then I probably won’t notice being homesick.
The solution then is pretty easy for me. It comes down to getting myself out of the flat, doing something useful or fun and preferably associating with people. Right now I have to make a real effort some times as I don’t have a natural program of school or work to do this. Come January, University starts and that will be a major improvement. In the mean while I role play, I see the sights of the city an beyond and continue to toy with the idea of a martial arts course or something similar.
I sometimes wonder what it will be like in another four or so months. It occurs to me that with more time those people and even some other aspects of Edmonton may be missed more strongly. On the other hand its very possible that with more time I may be even more at home where I am. I certainly hope its the latter as I truly love this city.
Posted by Bluerevolutionist at 01:33 PM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2005
Foreign Food
A while ago I talked a little about the culture shock I experienced from there being new foods and tastes and very little familiar. It hit hard for me as I’m not only a picky eater but also a vegetarian. Having worked that out of my system I figured I would focus this post on some of the food related joys I have experienced.
As a Canadian I’ve been exposed to a dish called to poutine for much of my life. Pouting involves to foods that I very much enjoy, french fries and cheese with one that makes me shudder, gravy. In scotland they would look at you strangely if you asked for such a dish. Instead they serve Chips and Cheese, the parts I want without the scary gravy stuff.
My great joy since moving here though, has been the prevalence of East Indian food. Since discovering the New Asian Village in Edmonton I have been moderately addicted to the stuff. Finding that there are countless Indian restaurants to choose from here, most of which deliver has been a frequent delight. The prices and quality varies as one would expect but some of the delivery is remarkably good and very reasonable.
The fact that I can chose to order delivery that will feed two people for about three days and be exceedingly tasty for under £20 makes me a happy man. The fact that I can also walk to two other restaurants for very good food is wonderful. One has fun ambience and a wooden camel that is life size if not larger. The other is less than 2 blocks away. The food is amazing. The service leaves something to be desired though. Still, options and good food....yum.
Posted by Bluerevolutionist at 11:22 PM | Comments (2)
November 11, 2005
Remember
Reading Trouble’s blog reminds me of my own Grandfathers’ experiences with the war. The affect that they have had on my family have been profound. My Paternal Grandfather never fought in the war but lived under German occupation in the Netherlands. My other Grandfather joined the Military near the start of the war and in 1944 volunteered to go overseas when he had not been ordered across.
I never new my Paternal Grandfather as he died before I was born. From all accounts though his reaction to the war was very much in keeping with his personality. During the war my grandparents had a terraced garden that was hidden from the road and neighbours. It was intended to grow vegetables for the residents. My grandfather grew tobacco. This was an illegal act that could easily have destroyed his family if he and my grandmother were caught. They weren’t. The money supported their families during the war and brought my Grandparents and their two young sons to Canada first class. My Grandfather Monsma tricked the Nazi occupation at great risk and one. He was a scoundrel, not a soldier.
My other Grandfather served with the Royal Canadian Air Force from about the start of the war until mandatory retirement. He speaks little of his service, even after the war. What i do know is that he chose to go overseas well after the war was underway. He knew what was at stake and still chose to take that risk. When asked about the war he claims that he wasn’t a hero and refuses to discuss the issue. To my mind he is a hero. He knowingly put his life on the line for something he believed in. I may not get along with him but I admire what he did. On Remembrance Day I can’t help but reflect on what he did.
I remember too the countless people who didn’t come home from the war.
Posted by Bluerevolutionist at 02:13 PM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2005
Leaving Town
Trying to summarise why I left my home city is far from easy. There is no single reason that prompted me to become an ex-pat. As many who read my blog know, prior to this move, I had lived in Edmonton my whole life. I can’t remember for sure when I first started talking about living elsewhere. It started out as an idea of going somewhere for University and eventually became more of an issue of just getting out.
It probably would have stayed as just talk if it hadn’t been for certain factors all coming together at the same time. The year before two of my closest friends moved out of province for career reasons. I can’t fault them in the least but it left a hole in my world. At the same time I was watching my good friend Trouble going through her own journey towards leaving the country again. The idea of Edmonton without three of my closest friends changed how I viewed the city.
I have often held that there are three things that I deeply want from my life. I hope for good friends, a life mate and a vocation. Most of my closest friends were in the process of scattering and I had to face the realisation that those who weren’t already on that path were likely to, especially the ones who, like me, were not focussed on fledgling families. I started to realise that I needed to seriously focus on other parts of my life.
My home university requires me to take a certain number of electives that can be done at any institute that isn’t St. Stephen’s. I have never been a fan of the University of Alberta and because of a mistake on my part the red tape to finish off my electives there would have been painful. I decided to do a test run of sorts and take a semester out of province.
That semester proved a lot of things to me. It proved that I could live without my support network even though there were problems. It also proved to me that Edmonton was no longer where I wanted to be. I learned a lot in being away and in coming back. It clarified a great deal in my mind about who my friends were. Some relationships picked up as strong or stronger than when I left and others didn’t. It also showed me that I couldn’t afford to leave my house with tenants.
Seeing Edmonton no longer as home and having gained some confidence left the door open to move farther afield. I wanted a new city and I wanted it outside of Canada. Its not that I have anything against Canada but it has always felt small to me in the social and political sense. I wanted to be part of a larger world an finally had the push I needed.
I don’t think I would rush to make another move. I’m not ruling out the possibility but there is so much where I am that I want to explore. I enjoy having a stable home to base from. As long as Edinburgh can be that home then I’m happy and would rather take short trips to other places than live there. Given time it may change but right now I love this city too much to leave.
Posted by Bluerevolutionist at 02:11 PM | Comments (0)