I'm loving it

So the end of my third whole day is nigh, and so far I am feeling good. The only thing bad about this is that I don't get to see Chris very much. But that is temporary. He is coming over tomorrow though, hurray!

Yesterday I got myself a Canadian social insurance number, and then just mostly hung out, walked around, and read a book. I went to see Chris after work, at around ten pm... And today I bought a ps2 and played that for a few hours, and then walked around downtown for four hours or so. They are cutting off the water in the apartment building tomorrow, so I guess I have to go out and wander around again.. Or just stay dehydrated.

Vancouver is absolutely wonderfully beautiful! It rained this morning but when I went for my walk around five the sun was shining and people were out enjoying themselves. This is so different from Toronto, where you were pretty much forced to enjoy concrete and look at seagulls. In Vancouver you can watch the streams, the trees, the crazy-looking birds (I think I saw a blue jay today), the ocean, the mountains... You name it - and I've only kept myself downtown so far! And people are just sooo friendly. Seriously. This is the friendliest city I've been to so far. People keep out of your way on the sidewalks, they keep doors open, they smile and say hello, and they tell me they love my hair. Haha. The last one was done by a Unicef-girl on the street. But she made me smile.

When I had a day off in Toronto, I was restless and didn't really want to go out because there was nothing going on, nothing to do, nothing to see. This is so different. The city is so alive - which is strange - since Toronto is bigger and people would say that there are more places to go - but just walking downtown here gives you so much to look at and so many options regarding where to eat, what to do, where to shop... Everything is so close. Even to our apartment. We live by Denman, which is a pretty lively street and leads right down to English Bay Park and Sunset Beach - both of them just simply breathtaking. I have attached two pictures of that area to this post, but they do it no justice.

I am surprised to not be more in awe of this place than I am - because I remember how I felt when I got here last December. I think the difference lies in the fact that I have now spent a lot of time in Finland, which is quite like B.C. (hmm, sure), and I was coming straight from concrete city in December. The transition is smoother this time.

Tomorrow I should open a bank account. And perhaps maybe look for a job.