The Canadian Adventure

Part 10 - 5th September 1997

HOME >> WRITING >> CANADIAN ADVENTURE
 

Links:

Next episode
Previous episode

It's half past midnight, a year to the minute since I arrived in Vancouver for the first time. It's been quite a year. I've met the woman I'm soon going to be living with, asked her out just as she was giving up on me as a lost cause, discovered Starbucks coffee, fleeces and baseball caps, learned to snowboard, learned to skate, seen bears, chipmonks, elk, eagles, skunk and raccoons, grew accustomed to Star Trek twice a night, learned to channel surf, bough a futon, then another futon, discovered totem poles, grew a beard, shaved it off, got used to being called "Shaaaaan", bought a Pontiac, brewed 100 litres of beer, and drank it, lost weight, walked up mountains, down gorges, along a nudist beach, through snow, on ice (but not on water), rode a horse, rafted white water, bought a bike, had it stolen, learned to say sidewalk, pavement, trunk, hood, windshield, two weeks, truck, (never pavement, roadsurface, boot, bonnet, windscreen, fortnight, pickup), saw plays, symphonies and opera, won a camcorder, a chest of drawers and a huge lamp, got to expect good service in restaurants, tried ice hockey (and didn't break any bones), yearned for digestive biscuits, good cheese and blackcurrant jam.

Oh, and still had time for a day or two or work.

As the second year approaches, I'm off to Australia for six months. Another year, another continent. Plenty more to discover.