13. In Squeem is covered in snow.
For 
spindizzy! How is living in Canada? Did you have any expectations before you moved? Is it what you hoped?
I like Canada a lot! There are a few things I miss (like the omnipresent heat of summer), but my wife is here, social health care is here, and the legitimacy of same-sex relationships is backed by the government, so I feel a lot more free to do things like hold my wife's hand in public. Which! Is excellent.
I didn't have a whole lot of expectations when I moved - I'd already spent a lot of summers in Canada, visiting my super sekrit girlfriend (back before she was my wife, obviously :3), so I at least knew what Ontario was like. Canada's a really big place, though, so I'm not really sure how to answer for all of it. Prince Edward Island, though, is… well, if I had been Canadian, I think I would have had more expectations than I did.
Prince Edward Island is kind of like the Rhode Island of Canada. It's tiny. The whole province is basically like one big small town, because seriously? Everyone knows everyone here. And if they don't know you, they know your father, or your aunt, or somebody in your family, and they will automatically have this whole history they assign to you based on that. I once witnessed a complete strange say, "Who's your father? … I thought you were John's boy!" (I have slowly started becoming one of them, too. I am positive I've seen the sister of one of my students working as a cashier at the grocery store. And it keeps happening, too!) The island is also full of gossips. It's hard to be a private person here, but I do my best and have not yet bitten off the head of any of my neighbors for staring out the window at me as I go to my car.
BUT. The Island also has beaches EVERYWHERE and I love that. I also love how I can walk anywhere in town in under an hour. And if I want to cross the street, all I have to do is stop, stare mournfully at the other side, and within a minute, the cars will stop for me. THE POWER. *cackles*
The lightning is different up here. The angle of the sun is definitely not the same angle as the one in Nebraska. Light slants through the air, here, and in the winter, nights come early. You can almost see the difference when the sun sets on a daily basis, and for someone who flirts with Seasonal Affective Disorder, this is a blessing (in the summer) and a curse (the rest of the time). Which. Is why I turn ALL THE LIGHTS ON when I am home. :P
The winters here sort of... well, on the Island, it definitely snows more than it did in Nebraska, but it wasn't until last year that I finally got the winter I had been expecting ever since moving to Canada. I... shoot. I need to add photos to this post before I can post it. THIS WILL HAPPEN, LATER. Watch this spot! I'm gonna post it anyway, though, because I'm tired of posting late.
Other than that, I'm not sure Canada feels vastly different to me than the U.S. Which kind of makes sense, considering the cultural bleedover. Having said that, I can instantly tell when I cross the border. There's just something about how the streets and sidewalks and houses are arranged that somehow makes all the difference. That and, uh, certain towns in Maine have a propensity to hang flags EVERYWHERE. Everywheeeeeere.
spindizzy! How is living in Canada? Did you have any expectations before you moved? Is it what you hoped?
I like Canada a lot! There are a few things I miss (like the omnipresent heat of summer), but my wife is here, social health care is here, and the legitimacy of same-sex relationships is backed by the government, so I feel a lot more free to do things like hold my wife's hand in public. Which! Is excellent.
I didn't have a whole lot of expectations when I moved - I'd already spent a lot of summers in Canada, visiting my super sekrit girlfriend (back before she was my wife, obviously :3), so I at least knew what Ontario was like. Canada's a really big place, though, so I'm not really sure how to answer for all of it. Prince Edward Island, though, is… well, if I had been Canadian, I think I would have had more expectations than I did.
Prince Edward Island is kind of like the Rhode Island of Canada. It's tiny. The whole province is basically like one big small town, because seriously? Everyone knows everyone here. And if they don't know you, they know your father, or your aunt, or somebody in your family, and they will automatically have this whole history they assign to you based on that. I once witnessed a complete strange say, "Who's your father? … I thought you were John's boy!" (I have slowly started becoming one of them, too. I am positive I've seen the sister of one of my students working as a cashier at the grocery store. And it keeps happening, too!) The island is also full of gossips. It's hard to be a private person here, but I do my best and have not yet bitten off the head of any of my neighbors for staring out the window at me as I go to my car.
BUT. The Island also has beaches EVERYWHERE and I love that. I also love how I can walk anywhere in town in under an hour. And if I want to cross the street, all I have to do is stop, stare mournfully at the other side, and within a minute, the cars will stop for me. THE POWER. *cackles*
The lightning is different up here. The angle of the sun is definitely not the same angle as the one in Nebraska. Light slants through the air, here, and in the winter, nights come early. You can almost see the difference when the sun sets on a daily basis, and for someone who flirts with Seasonal Affective Disorder, this is a blessing (in the summer) and a curse (the rest of the time). Which. Is why I turn ALL THE LIGHTS ON when I am home. :P
The winters here sort of... well, on the Island, it definitely snows more than it did in Nebraska, but it wasn't until last year that I finally got the winter I had been expecting ever since moving to Canada. I... shoot. I need to add photos to this post before I can post it. THIS WILL HAPPEN, LATER. Watch this spot! I'm gonna post it anyway, though, because I'm tired of posting late.
Other than that, I'm not sure Canada feels vastly different to me than the U.S. Which kind of makes sense, considering the cultural bleedover. Having said that, I can instantly tell when I cross the border. There's just something about how the streets and sidewalks and houses are arranged that somehow makes all the difference. That and, uh, certain towns in Maine have a propensity to hang flags EVERYWHERE. Everywheeeeeere.