Arriving to Our New Home in Canada?

On An Airplane

After what has seemed like an eternity the airplane began to punch its way downwards through the clouds and I could see the city of Vancouver. It was at this point, after a 9 hour flight from Heathrow, and now for the first time overlooking my new homeland I began to have the thoughts that many others in my circumstance must have had before me…”how did people manage before the days of inflight entertainment?!” Goldeneye may have been a bit cheesier than I remember back in 1995, but I credit Bond for getting me through this journey.

End of the Journey?

So, from England here we are in Canada, so we’ve done it, we’ve emigrated right? Well no, not yet at least. Our course is set to take us on a move to Calgary, into a house that my Mother in Law, Anna, currently has tenants residing in. We are in Vancouver to pick up my residency Visa from the solicitors. But that is for tomorrow, as for today, we are jet-lagged and are still due to meet up with the Mother in Law and her husband Todd who are travelling up to see us from Washington State.

Anna and Todd

Firstly they are both nice and kind people, Anna originally from Jakarta Indonesia, Todd from Montana, USA, they met in Calgary and in the space of about two years moved across to British Columbia before heading to Washinton State. Ok so now I should be in the good-books.

They are also serial relocators. Sacha has listed to me over 18 homes in three different continents to me before we even met. Myself, at that point, have only ever lived in one house. I have no idea how they can get up and actually move homes on such a regular basis, to me it is mind boggling.

Fitting In

A couple of hours later they both arrived and knocked on our hotel room door. With our jet-lag we must have looked as if we were hungover as we made slurring greetings. We then decided to go and try to be Canadian. We did this by going to a sports bar to order some beers and wings as we discussed our plans. Tomorrow we shall get the Visa then go across a land border to the US to stay for a while. I’ve never been to the US so this is exciting. I always heard my work colleagues recalling their holiday trips to Florida, mainly to go to Disney, or California for the sun, or New York to shop ’til they drop.

The televisions at the bar were all playing the ice hockey, and it seemed that Dallas Stars were dishing misery on the Vancouver Canucks. I must admit apart from the basic concept of scoring a goal with a puck I have no idea how the game works, and from what I can tell the referees’ job is to marshall fights. I shall strive to learn this, but first after many spicy chicken wings it is time for bed.

Vancouver cityscape