You know when you're from Vancouver when...

The removal company came and took last of the empty boxes out this morning, so we officially have a dining room now. I spent the morning talking to Chu after a too long break - we still don't have a land line here but I used SkypeOut, Skype's pay-service. Not too brilliant quality, but good enough so we got everything on our hearts poured out.

Yesterday when searching for some information (I forget what it was) I came across a Vancouver message board that had a list of things that you immediately recognise if you're from Vancouver and it had me giggling so I'll pull out some of my favourites and explain them:

You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.

It's true! In England I got so used to just throwing everything away - I did collect glass and newspapers, but recycling was made so difficult we ended up having huge piles of the stuff laying around and only took them to recycling every few months. In here, even in the hotel, there are recycling points where you take the trash out to make it as easy as possible. Fantastic!

You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal.

This one is weird, but Vancouverites really do obey the pedestrian lights and generally don't cross the street anywhere else. In England people would cross wherever and whenever - here cars honk at you if you break the rules. Recuires some adjustment.

You consider that if it has no snow, it is not a real mountain.

Indeed! Otherwise it's just a little hill. The real mountains are majestic and everlasting, peaceful giants that watch over you.

You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Blendz, and Tim Horton's.

You would have to ask Dragon about coffee, but the truth is that while in England there was a church in every block, here there is a coffee shop. Literally, I'm not kidding: there is a coffee shop every 100 meters or so. Vancouverites must love their coffee.

You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."

It sounds bad, but it really isn't. The rain is gentle, and it's not often cold and rainy. Also, it doesn't last to long - it comes and goes in a blink of an eye... in fact, it's always important to be dressed up prepared for rain, or carry an umbrella if you're a wimp like me.

You cannot wait for a day with "showers and sun breaks".

Sunny days are just so gorgeous here. The mountains, the sea, the city, the sky, the people... Incredible.

You notice "the mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.

I've said this before.

You recognize the background shots in your favourite movies & TV shows.

Ah, guilty as charged.

You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in your car in the same day.

Well, I don't own a car currently, but this is certainly a familiar phenomenon by just walking outside for couple of hours. You dress up warmly when you leave and feel fine. Halfway down the road you start to sweat like a pig because you have too much on - so you take off your gloves and open your coat. The next minute you're shivering again because it feels cold again. Alternatively, you feel fine but the moment you step into a shop you're in an oven... it's just very difficult to dress up so that you would be comfortable all the time. Answer of course is layers, I just have to figure out the right ones.

You actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your friends in the British Columbia or those who used to live here!

Ahem... Since I only know two people from this city and they both read this blog, consider yourselves forwarded.

Posted by kolibri at 15 December 22:29, 2004