Yes I've been back almost 3 weeks... but unfortunately came back to a pile of work that makes you wonder if two weeks away from the office is worth all the e-mails and catching up you have to do.
Anyway, in summary: It was a whirlwind trip to Joburg. A blur of lunches and dinners. It was great to see familiar faces and places - thanks to everyone that made it out in the 'cold' weather to see us.
Whilst it's been just under a year, the city was still familiar, and we could still find our way around. Driving on the left side of the road again was interesting - I truly do miss the stick shift. Scary that I almost drove up the wrong side of Jan Smuts avenue in Braamfontein. Coming back here and driving on the other side of the road was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
Coming back was strange, too. Leaving home but going home. Guess that's what it is to be a 'permanent resident.' Now that our house is almost ready (I'll put up some more pics soon...) Toronto is now more and more home.
For those of you whom we were unable to hook up with, you'll just have to come visit us in Toronto ;)
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
Monday, 23 April 2007
Seasonal Temperatures
We have just had a fabulous weekend, with temperatures in the 20's. Unseasonably warm.
Yet, this week is set to cool down again, to... unseasonably cold. I've come to the conclusion that seasonal temperatures mean very little in Canada (well, Toronto at least). We did not have a White Christmas, but instead celebrated a White Easter.
Speaking of which, Good Friday is a statutory (public) holiday here, but Easter Monday is not. It was strange not having the extra long weekend, especially since SA has so many holidays around April/ May. Easter Monday means banks and government agencies are closed, but us plebs still have to go to work. I do find it ironic that the US does not even have a Good Friday holiday, whereas India does. Well, now I know... I almost made a huge mistake by giving my staff the day off on Easter Monday.
My Easter weekend was upset by the news of SA's loss to Bangladesh in the Cricket World Cup. We drove out to Guelph (about 120 kms north west of Toronto) to visit Anita (my sister-in-law) and family and heard the news on arrival there. Arrghhh!
Anyway, cricket is very low on the horizon of Canadians, even though there is actually a Canadian team in the World Cup. This team is very representative of the immigrant population ;) Well, with so many South Asians in my office, at least I have people to chat to about the cricket, who know what I'm talking about. (Try explaining the game by comparing cricket to baseball that the North Americans do understand!) The worst part is not having freely available access to watch the cricket matches. In order to watch, you need to subscribe to the CBN cable channel which launched a special channel package for the World Cup - a grand sum of $180 (about R1200).
Oh well, we're apparently not missing much. Good luck to the Proteas on Wednesday!
Yet, this week is set to cool down again, to... unseasonably cold. I've come to the conclusion that seasonal temperatures mean very little in Canada (well, Toronto at least). We did not have a White Christmas, but instead celebrated a White Easter.
Speaking of which, Good Friday is a statutory (public) holiday here, but Easter Monday is not. It was strange not having the extra long weekend, especially since SA has so many holidays around April/ May. Easter Monday means banks and government agencies are closed, but us plebs still have to go to work. I do find it ironic that the US does not even have a Good Friday holiday, whereas India does. Well, now I know... I almost made a huge mistake by giving my staff the day off on Easter Monday.
My Easter weekend was upset by the news of SA's loss to Bangladesh in the Cricket World Cup. We drove out to Guelph (about 120 kms north west of Toronto) to visit Anita (my sister-in-law) and family and heard the news on arrival there. Arrghhh!
Anyway, cricket is very low on the horizon of Canadians, even though there is actually a Canadian team in the World Cup. This team is very representative of the immigrant population ;) Well, with so many South Asians in my office, at least I have people to chat to about the cricket, who know what I'm talking about. (Try explaining the game by comparing cricket to baseball that the North Americans do understand!) The worst part is not having freely available access to watch the cricket matches. In order to watch, you need to subscribe to the CBN cable channel which launched a special channel package for the World Cup - a grand sum of $180 (about R1200).
Oh well, we're apparently not missing much. Good luck to the Proteas on Wednesday!
Wednesday, 4 April 2007
Seasonal Changes
At last.... Winter seems to have passed. However, the weatherman has predicted some light snow for the upcoming Easter weekend, so it's not yet time to pack away the coats and gloves. Some work colleagues have scared me by telling me there have been years with snow still in May!
The past week had some beautifully warm days. It was quite amusing to see Torontonians eagerly strip off their jerseys and coats, and rush out of the office early to bask in the sun at some outdoor cafe. Funny how 12C in spring is 'warm', but 'freezing' in autumn!
The snow has all melted away, with only a few large lumps of snow in some parking lots. All it took was one weekend with mild weather (i.e. above zero celcius) and sun, and all the pretty white snow disappeared, leaving the ground wet and squishy. With the milder weather has come rain and grey overcast days. I can hardly wait for full-blown Spring with its promise of colourful, sunny days.
What is a bit strange for me, is feeling so 'down' at this time of year. I'm used to an energetic start to the New Year, but with the cold weather here, it's hard to get motivated and moving.
Our apartment, while not much smaller than our old place, feels more cramped because it's long and therefore dark as there are only a few windows at the front and back. I really do miss the sunshine, and I'm craving the summer - although most likely I will be complaining about the humid heat in a few months' time... ;)
Daylight Savings kicked in a lot earlier than usual, with Canada following the US's early switch in an effort to conserve energy (So Toronto is now 6 hours behind SA instead of 7.) Now, in early Spring (April) it is still light until 19h00. By July it'll still be bright until 21h00... it's going to be strange leaving work late with the sun still shining!
The past week had some beautifully warm days. It was quite amusing to see Torontonians eagerly strip off their jerseys and coats, and rush out of the office early to bask in the sun at some outdoor cafe. Funny how 12C in spring is 'warm', but 'freezing' in autumn!
The snow has all melted away, with only a few large lumps of snow in some parking lots. All it took was one weekend with mild weather (i.e. above zero celcius) and sun, and all the pretty white snow disappeared, leaving the ground wet and squishy. With the milder weather has come rain and grey overcast days. I can hardly wait for full-blown Spring with its promise of colourful, sunny days.
What is a bit strange for me, is feeling so 'down' at this time of year. I'm used to an energetic start to the New Year, but with the cold weather here, it's hard to get motivated and moving.
Our apartment, while not much smaller than our old place, feels more cramped because it's long and therefore dark as there are only a few windows at the front and back. I really do miss the sunshine, and I'm craving the summer - although most likely I will be complaining about the humid heat in a few months' time... ;)
Daylight Savings kicked in a lot earlier than usual, with Canada following the US's early switch in an effort to conserve energy (So Toronto is now 6 hours behind SA instead of 7.) Now, in early Spring (April) it is still light until 19h00. By July it'll still be bright until 21h00... it's going to be strange leaving work late with the sun still shining!
Wednesday, 14 March 2007
Better in SA
So I've come to the conclusion that all is not that great in Canada... here are some of the minor irritations I've encountered so far (and I write some of this with tongue-in-cheek):
GSM (Cellular)
GSM coverage here can only be described as adequate, and nowhere near as extensive as in SA. Go one level underground or inside some buildings, and you lose your signal! One of the networks here even has a TV ad that boasts it's a great thing that your cell call doesn't get dropped when you go in to an elevator. Radio interference is very common - when changing cell towers, you can hear the annoying feedback on your radio (remember when that used to happen in SA... *years* ago!) In fact, only two service providers in Canada actually use GSM technology (like in SA and the majority of the world) - the others use CDMA (analogue) networks.
A talk radio station was recently discussing the low use of cellphones in Canada - a national wireless penetration rate of approximately 58%. The high costs were cited as part of the problem. Something completely foreign to me is that you pay for incoming calls and incoming SMS's above a certain limit. This does seem to be falling away though - many of the providers are now offering packages with "free unlimited incoming calls." There's hope yet.
An interesting thing is that Number Portability was only implemented here on March 14 - granted, it's much more comprehensive than SA's MNP. Here, landline and cellphone numbers are interchangeable/ portable, and not just between service providers.
Another interesting comment I read on another blog (on Apple's announcement of the iphone, says "If there’s one thing Canada lacks it’s a good ol’ battle between Telecommunications providers." So take heart those of you in SA, you're not alone and at least the cell coverage is world-class!
Public Health Care
Not all is well with Canada's much touted public healthcare system - there are no "medical aid" companies and "private" doctors and hospitals. All doctors and hospitals essentially are paid for by the government and you don't pay for services that are "medically necessary".
Essentially, you need to find a family doctor, or go to a walk-in clinic... but there is a known problem of shortage of family doctors, with about 15% of Canadians not having or being able to find a family doctor. Most doctors are simply not accepting new patients, so you have no choice but to go to a walk-in clinic.
Going to a walk-in clinic means long waiting times to see a doctor, and not seeing the same doctor every time. In January, I had to wait three hours to see a doctor to get a simple prescription, and this after three attempts at the walk-in clinic (I was turned away twice as there were just too many people). When you're actually quite sick, this wait time is just ridiculous. And if you're not ill, you're more likely to get sick from sitting in the waiting room! I felt so very sorry for a mother with her sniffling and coughing toddler - the wait must have felt like forever.
A documentary called "Global Currents" aired end of last year highlighted the problem of immigrant doctors - many of whom are unable to get residencies and thus certified to work in Canada. There is a set amount of money allocated for health care, so more doctors means less money per doctor. There are few residencies made available each year, compared to the number of doctors available. This sounds like such a mess, but I guess at least all Canadians have decent health coverage one way or another.
Parking and Parking Fines
Parking... what parking. Unlike SA, parking downtown in general is not free nor freely available. Parking by-laws are actually enforced here - there are dedicated police "Parking Enforcement" vehicles that cruise around. Don't even think about parking where you shouldn't - you will get a ticket.
The cost of parking is insane. Downtown underground or covered parking is $8 (R48) per hour during business hours!!! Metered street parking (if you're lucky or early enough) costs from $1.50 (R9.50) per hour. Add that to the cost of driving, and public transit is all that more amenable, and of course, environmentally friendly ;)
Gas (Petrol) Price
The price of petrol is not regulated here as in SA. This means that you spend a bit of time driving around trying to find the "best" price before you fill up. To me, this is just a meaningless, pointless exercise. What this also means, is that you are even more so at the mercy of fluctuations in the price of oil and other external factors, with immediate price increases instead of the once-a-month adjustments in SA. Particularly, there is speculation of collusion as the price jumps up during schools' March break and at the start of summer, when people travel more by car. In fact, the price of petrol in Ontario has gone up 30c (about R2) a litre since we started driving - in December, we paid on average 73c per litre, in March we are now paying 102c per litre.
Then of course, there's different prices depending on whether or not you're willing to pump your own petrol ("self serve"), or pay a few cents extra *per litre* to have someone do so for you ("full serve"). Now is when you appreciate those pump attendants :)
As a side note: Ontario recently had a major petrol shortage - you would have to drive around to a couple of stations just to find one that has petrol, and even then, you were limited to the amount that you could pump. There is still a problem, as some gas stations display their price as "00.0c" which does not mean free petrol ;), but that there is none.
Weather
Need I say more. The weather has extremes here. However, on the up side, you really do appreciate the warmer weather and I can now really justify having a "Winter wardrobe" and a "Summer wardrobe."
The weather is usually the top story of the day. The Weather Network's self-proclamation is that it's "devoted to Canada’s favourite topic of conversation -- the weather!"
Internet Banking
South African online banking is so much easier and efficient. I can pretty much transfer money from my SA account to any other SA account, given the bank name, account number and branch code. However, Canadian internet banking has limited functionality - adding beneficiaries (payees) is a mission, to say the least. You cannot do this online, but have to call in - even if the person is at the same bank! Perhaps this is only true of my Canadian bank, but it's annoying nonetheless.
Another great SA banking feature I truly miss, is SMS notification of transactions - I guess this also relates to the lower use of cellphones (see above).
In Conclusion
This being said, I am loving it here in Toronto - these are minor annoyances compared to the convenience of 24-hour grocery stores, shops open until 9pm in the week, clean and safe streets to walk on, public transit that almost eliminates the need to drive, affordable high-speed internet connectivity ...
GSM (Cellular)
GSM coverage here can only be described as adequate, and nowhere near as extensive as in SA. Go one level underground or inside some buildings, and you lose your signal! One of the networks here even has a TV ad that boasts it's a great thing that your cell call doesn't get dropped when you go in to an elevator. Radio interference is very common - when changing cell towers, you can hear the annoying feedback on your radio (remember when that used to happen in SA... *years* ago!) In fact, only two service providers in Canada actually use GSM technology (like in SA and the majority of the world) - the others use CDMA (analogue) networks.
A talk radio station was recently discussing the low use of cellphones in Canada - a national wireless penetration rate of approximately 58%. The high costs were cited as part of the problem. Something completely foreign to me is that you pay for incoming calls and incoming SMS's above a certain limit. This does seem to be falling away though - many of the providers are now offering packages with "free unlimited incoming calls." There's hope yet.
An interesting thing is that Number Portability was only implemented here on March 14 - granted, it's much more comprehensive than SA's MNP. Here, landline and cellphone numbers are interchangeable/ portable, and not just between service providers.
Another interesting comment I read on another blog (on Apple's announcement of the iphone, says "If there’s one thing Canada lacks it’s a good ol’ battle between Telecommunications providers." So take heart those of you in SA, you're not alone and at least the cell coverage is world-class!
Public Health Care
Not all is well with Canada's much touted public healthcare system - there are no "medical aid" companies and "private" doctors and hospitals. All doctors and hospitals essentially are paid for by the government and you don't pay for services that are "medically necessary".
Essentially, you need to find a family doctor, or go to a walk-in clinic... but there is a known problem of shortage of family doctors, with about 15% of Canadians not having or being able to find a family doctor. Most doctors are simply not accepting new patients, so you have no choice but to go to a walk-in clinic.
Going to a walk-in clinic means long waiting times to see a doctor, and not seeing the same doctor every time. In January, I had to wait three hours to see a doctor to get a simple prescription, and this after three attempts at the walk-in clinic (I was turned away twice as there were just too many people). When you're actually quite sick, this wait time is just ridiculous. And if you're not ill, you're more likely to get sick from sitting in the waiting room! I felt so very sorry for a mother with her sniffling and coughing toddler - the wait must have felt like forever.
A documentary called "Global Currents" aired end of last year highlighted the problem of immigrant doctors - many of whom are unable to get residencies and thus certified to work in Canada. There is a set amount of money allocated for health care, so more doctors means less money per doctor. There are few residencies made available each year, compared to the number of doctors available. This sounds like such a mess, but I guess at least all Canadians have decent health coverage one way or another.
Parking and Parking Fines
Parking... what parking. Unlike SA, parking downtown in general is not free nor freely available. Parking by-laws are actually enforced here - there are dedicated police "Parking Enforcement" vehicles that cruise around. Don't even think about parking where you shouldn't - you will get a ticket.
The cost of parking is insane. Downtown underground or covered parking is $8 (R48) per hour during business hours!!! Metered street parking (if you're lucky or early enough) costs from $1.50 (R9.50) per hour. Add that to the cost of driving, and public transit is all that more amenable, and of course, environmentally friendly ;)
Gas (Petrol) Price
The price of petrol is not regulated here as in SA. This means that you spend a bit of time driving around trying to find the "best" price before you fill up. To me, this is just a meaningless, pointless exercise. What this also means, is that you are even more so at the mercy of fluctuations in the price of oil and other external factors, with immediate price increases instead of the once-a-month adjustments in SA. Particularly, there is speculation of collusion as the price jumps up during schools' March break and at the start of summer, when people travel more by car. In fact, the price of petrol in Ontario has gone up 30c (about R2) a litre since we started driving - in December, we paid on average 73c per litre, in March we are now paying 102c per litre.
Then of course, there's different prices depending on whether or not you're willing to pump your own petrol ("self serve"), or pay a few cents extra *per litre* to have someone do so for you ("full serve"). Now is when you appreciate those pump attendants :)
As a side note: Ontario recently had a major petrol shortage - you would have to drive around to a couple of stations just to find one that has petrol, and even then, you were limited to the amount that you could pump. There is still a problem, as some gas stations display their price as "00.0c" which does not mean free petrol ;), but that there is none.
Weather
Need I say more. The weather has extremes here. However, on the up side, you really do appreciate the warmer weather and I can now really justify having a "Winter wardrobe" and a "Summer wardrobe."
The weather is usually the top story of the day. The Weather Network's self-proclamation is that it's "devoted to Canada’s favourite topic of conversation -- the weather!"
Internet Banking
South African online banking is so much easier and efficient. I can pretty much transfer money from my SA account to any other SA account, given the bank name, account number and branch code. However, Canadian internet banking has limited functionality - adding beneficiaries (payees) is a mission, to say the least. You cannot do this online, but have to call in - even if the person is at the same bank! Perhaps this is only true of my Canadian bank, but it's annoying nonetheless.
Another great SA banking feature I truly miss, is SMS notification of transactions - I guess this also relates to the lower use of cellphones (see above).
In Conclusion
This being said, I am loving it here in Toronto - these are minor annoyances compared to the convenience of 24-hour grocery stores, shops open until 9pm in the week, clean and safe streets to walk on, public transit that almost eliminates the need to drive, affordable high-speed internet connectivity ...
Wednesday, 26 July 2006
Shopper's Paradise... with banking to support you
Stores are usually open until 21h00 during the week. I wonder how much later they will stay open during Christmas shopping periods?!
Sales are true sales here... up to 75% off.
24 hour stores allow for late night grocery shopping... woohooo.
Standard business hours:
Certain banks are open late here, till 20h00.
As a South African, the most amazing thing is that there are no bullet-proof glass windows separating you and the teller! No heavily-armed security guards patrolling the entrances, no double-door entry system either.
In fact, security at the movie theatres is more hectic than at the banks!
Speaking of movies... it is *really* expensive to go to movies here. Especially compared to Discovery Vitality R14 movies ;)
$10.95 + tax = R77 a ticket!! After R14 Discovery Vitality movies, I feel ripped off.
DVD's here cost $24 (R169). No brainer. Hell, with high-speed Internet access, no wonder there's a piracy problem...
Sales are true sales here... up to 75% off.
24 hour stores allow for late night grocery shopping... woohooo.
Standard business hours:
Certain banks are open late here, till 20h00.
As a South African, the most amazing thing is that there are no bullet-proof glass windows separating you and the teller! No heavily-armed security guards patrolling the entrances, no double-door entry system either.
In fact, security at the movie theatres is more hectic than at the banks!
Speaking of movies... it is *really* expensive to go to movies here. Especially compared to Discovery Vitality R14 movies ;)
$10.95 + tax = R77 a ticket!! After R14 Discovery Vitality movies, I feel ripped off.
DVD's here cost $24 (R169). No brainer. Hell, with high-speed Internet access, no wonder there's a piracy problem...
Tuesday, 25 July 2006
Proudly Canadian
There are Canadian flags wherever you look... from people's houses to cars to flagpoles in the middle of nowhere.
And of course following the Soccer World Cup, some Italian pride too ;)
Canadian humour can be quite ... interesting. Roots is the national clothing brand, kind of like Mad Dogs I guess. They are currently having their Big Beaver sale.
And of course following the Soccer World Cup, some Italian pride too ;)
Canadian humour can be quite ... interesting. Roots is the national clothing brand, kind of like Mad Dogs I guess. They are currently having their Big Beaver sale.
Monday, 24 July 2006
Waste & Recycling
Canada is a very environmentally aware country - everyone does their part in not contributing to damaging mother earth. It's quite refreshing to see this happening. There are "green" campaigns for everything from recycling to picking up doggy poo (to prevent water pollution) to turning down your aircon (to conserve energy).
Everywhere have recycling bins - even the public ones on the street.
Here, they will take away anything you leave on the sidewalk. Saw someone dispose of their bicycle, and once before a bar fridge! I wish I had my camera, but unfortunately did not.
Saw this monitor and keyboard on the sidewalk downtown:
Everywhere have recycling bins - even the public ones on the street.
Here, they will take away anything you leave on the sidewalk. Saw someone dispose of their bicycle, and once before a bar fridge! I wish I had my camera, but unfortunately did not.
Saw this monitor and keyboard on the sidewalk downtown:
Saturday, 22 July 2006
Foreign Accents, People and Languages
When people here first hear me speak, they ask where I'm from. When I ask them where they think I'm from, their first guess is usually British. Then Australian. Then New Zealand. Africa doesn't even feature on their radar.
So I ordered a Caramilk McFlurry at McDonalds the other day and got a caramel sundae. Hehe, not quite sure if it was my accent or an inattentive server!
Some more terms I've had to learn...
Cooldrinks/ fizzy drinks are called pop (i.e. Coke, Sprite, etc)
Prams are called strollers
Pavements are called sidewalks
Serviettes are called napkins
Shops are called stores
Jelly is jello
I have heard so many different languages heard around here.. in fact, I think the only time I have heard the second official language of French was at the airport. So many people asked if I was going to learn to speak French - well, I think I would do better to learn Mandarin there are so many Mandarin speakers here.
The cosmopolitan nature of Toronto is so aptly pictured here - one neighbourhood shopping block has such a variety of cultures... from Chinese to Indian to Middle-Eastern
So I ordered a Caramilk McFlurry at McDonalds the other day and got a caramel sundae. Hehe, not quite sure if it was my accent or an inattentive server!
Some more terms I've had to learn...
Cooldrinks/ fizzy drinks are called pop (i.e. Coke, Sprite, etc)
Prams are called strollers
Pavements are called sidewalks
Serviettes are called napkins
Shops are called stores
Jelly is jello
I have heard so many different languages heard around here.. in fact, I think the only time I have heard the second official language of French was at the airport. So many people asked if I was going to learn to speak French - well, I think I would do better to learn Mandarin there are so many Mandarin speakers here.
The cosmopolitan nature of Toronto is so aptly pictured here - one neighbourhood shopping block has such a variety of cultures... from Chinese to Indian to Middle-Eastern
Thursday, 20 July 2006
True Broadband
Broadband Internet is a reality here.... my brother-in-law has cable to his home - a grand 6Mbps.
Is this enough to make you sick... It costs $49.95 per month, which is about R350!
Modem set-up of up to 6.0 Mbps download and 800 Kbps upload.
I'm not even going to say anymore except that companies don't have problems with employee Internet abuse here - it's quicker to download from home than to abuse company resources.
Is this enough to make you sick... It costs $49.95 per month, which is about R350!
Modem set-up of up to 6.0 Mbps download and 800 Kbps upload.
I'm not even going to say anymore except that companies don't have problems with employee Internet abuse here - it's quicker to download from home than to abuse company resources.
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