Continuing my legacy of visiting countries in their off-season, I packed all my warm clothes and winter gear for a month long trip to Canada in March.
After a 27 hour journey, two flights, 5 movies, 2 documentaries, a few TED talks and nearly no sleep, I was treated to the aerial view of Calgary, which looked like black pepper spread across endless fields of snow. As we landed, the view only got better and the pepper turned into well-synchronized houses.
Calgary is a city in the province of Alberta located in the west of Canada. My Granduncle’s (Aajoba’s) cozy home had a picture-postcard-perfect view from the window by the dining area. I felt at peace while watching the snowflakes fall in a disorganized random fashion, unlike the directional raindrops. It was a scenic frame choreographed with pine trees, houses with snow-clad rooftops and occasional pedestrians in their bright colored snow boots. I even spotted a furry white rabbit merrily hopping in the backyard one day.
There were days when temperatures dropped to -20 degrees and I simply found it hard to believe when Calgarians said “The summer’s nearly there!”. Well, I realized they weren’t kidding after several failed attempts at finding ‘winter’ boots and a jacket. Interestingly, no matter how cold it gets, much to my delight, the sun always shines in Calgary. To make the most of it, I set out for sunny winter walks, soaking in the fresh Calgarian air and befriending the surroundings.
I enjoyed my drives to the local strip malls (chain of stores) to pick groceries with my Aunt. It felt like some Hollywood movie from the 80s ~ cars covered with snow dust and the radio playing country music. One thing I learned while in Canada is that you might be ridiculed if you tried to compare it to its southern neighbor. Though you’ll find Walmarts and Costcos, there are plenty of other brands that I’d never heard of. Tim Hortons (named after a popular ice hockey player), for instance, is Canada’s largest national chain of coffee and fresh bakes, which has a rather interesting history.
Cultural insight: Thanks to ‘Timmies’, Canadians drink more coffee than Italians, Americans and the French. In fact, they drink more than 14 billion cups of coffee each year. What’s more? Canada considers Tim Hortons to be central to its national identity.
Canadians are warm-hearted souls, ever willing to reach out and help. It has been by far the easiest place to strike a conversation with a complete stranger. “The more westward you go, the friendlier the people”, as I was told. No surprise, if I were just figuring out a perfect spot for a photo, a bystander would quickly jump in and offer to click one for me. The photo session usually followed a pleasant small talk – one of my favorite things about travel 🙂
Stay tuned for more winter tales from the Canadian Rockies in the landscape-rich province of Alberta!
Kulture Kaleidoscope 