Rainy Greetings
Before we left for Canada, we had learned that February in Vancouver was the wettest month of the year. Very quickly we understood just what this meant and the realities of living in our new home town. The rain is not nearly as heavy and intense as it can be in Queensland. Actually, it's mostly quite pleasant. It's light and subtle. And very magical. Despite the prettiness of it all, it has taken me some time to adjust to the new climate. We've just come from sweltering summer days - we arrived in Canada with sun-kissed skin (a farewell light sunburn from walking across the Story Bridge a couple of days prior)! Within a few hours of landing, we walked around our new town with our friends, trying to soak it all in; the sun was setting and the ground was wet from an earlier drizzle. Our hands and faces chilled by the frosty air and brains fading from sleepless nights.
The days that followed were spent setting up our new home and adjusting our bodies to the new time zone. We're living with our Australian friends Brendan and Sara, a couple who moved over about 18 months ago. It is the perfect set up for us, especially while we find our feet and figure it all out. Because of the vast difference in climate, we found the first few days go by so quickly. In hindsight I realised it was partially due to the sun. It Australia, we have very distinct times of day, based on where the sun is positioned in the sky. Subconsciously, I could track my day based on the amount of light. I knew when it was 10am, 1pm, 4pm etc based on the sunlight. Well.. my sun clock is totally different in Vancouver! The sun is not a reliable way to track the day - at least right now when it's all new and unfamiliar! 10am looks the same as 1pm which looks the same as 4pm. The sun rises much later in the morning and sets pretty early (I mean it is winter, go figure right!). This didn't help when trying to overcome jet lag and adjust to a new time zone!
Something I neglected to properly consider before we left was that we were moving overseas.. This has meant setting up a new home with all the home things we need. Bed sheets, pillows, towels. Kitchen appliances, utensils. Clothing fit for a much colder, wetter environment. Little things that I so easily overlooked but make day-to-day living comfortable. Moving home can be frustrating as it is, let alone doing it in an unfamiliar country on the other side of the world! Once we got over the hurdle of buying necessities and catching up on missed sleep, we finally began to relax and enjoy our new surroundings.
For the second time in 7 days - a week since we arrived in Canada - the sun came out to play for a few minutes before disappearing for the night. We seized the moment for some photos of our new neighbourhood.
