Climate Change

Adjustment periods are full of ups and downs. Whether you’ve moved a few miles, a few states, or an entire country, you’ll experience a flurry of successes and a whole lot of failures. Here’s what I’ve experienced in my first 24 hours in my dream city of Vancouver, BC.

Success
My rental unit is in the heart of downtown Vancouver, giving me a view of this city’s beautiful skyline from the inside out. After a long drive and eventful move-in, I got to fall asleep to the glow of skyscrapers. I’ll always prefer a view of the stars, but the beauty of the city’s architecture makes for a heck of a view.

Success
Upon waking this morning I wandered into the living to find the morning news. Instead I found one of my favorite TV shows, which happened to be filmed in Vancouver. It was like the city was saying, “Welcome!”

Failure
Did you know that it rains here? I did. I mean, it’s a rainforest. What I don’t know is why my midwestern clothes didn’t hold up to pacific northwest rain. I mean, rain is rain, right? Apparently not.  I went on a much-needed grocery run this afternoon and came back two hours later with wet shoes, socks, pants, groceries, and purse. And yes, I had an umbrella. Mom, send the rain boots STAT.

Also, I had to visit four stores before I found everything I was looking for. And then realized I forgot the contact lens solution.  ...sigh...

Success
Much of the afternoon was spent hunting for a long-term rental. I sent out a number of emails and received some very quick responses. I have three places to visit by Friday morning.

Failure
I found most of what I was looking for while grocery shopping, but a few things came in different packages. Like butter. Who needs smaller amounts when you can just buy a large brick of it?

I made mac & cheese for dinner (comfort food, people) but I had to combine the American measurements on the Kraft box with the metric units on the ingredients. Despite the conversion chart on my phone, I ended-up with ‘chunky’ mac & cheese. It tasted fine, but the sauce wasn’t so much sauce as it was clumps of cheese-flavored bits mixed in with pasta. Apparently mac & cheese is challenging in Canada.

Success
I had distributed some of my new contact information earlier in the day and was so grateful to spend the evening talking with family & friends. I'm happy to be here, but I do miss people, you know.

Finally, as promised, here are some photos of my home for the next two weeks.

It's pretty nice, right? Not a bad place to spend a few weeks!