Trying to explain Vancouver

There must be something about the claim that matcha raises you energy levels (in the spirit of learning local customs I'll go with spelling matcha with 't' as that's the one they use here). One of my favourite nap times is just after lunch because I feel very sleepy then - but today I had a cup of matcha from Infuze and some sushi from Akira, and felt very alert afterwards. Very natural feeling too - like they told me at Infuze, unlike with caffeine there's no high in the beginning and no sudden low in the end. Like it!

It was raining again today. It looked heavy when I was leaving so I took my big umbrella - however the rain was more like heavy mist with very small drops. I still considered it to be "real" rain as it was still pretty wet - but that just proves what kind of tourist I still am. This kind of misty rain apparently doesn't qualify as proper rain here as pretty much everyone I saw had folded down their umbrellas and were carrying them. After a while I had to do that as well, I felt too out of place and embarrased.

One of the things I absolutely love about Vancouver is how friendly and open the whole society is. Before I came here I was reading City of Glass and one of the things Coupland was writing was mixed race marriages. I think myself to be an open minded person and I couldn't quite undertand why he was making a point about the whole thing - but now I do. Mixed race couples are everywhere here, and I really mean that. Sometimes in Starbucks or on the bus most couples seem to be mixed race, and we live in mostly Caucasian area. It comes without saying that nobody bats an eyelid about it, it just adds to the "everything goes" mentality of this city.

And another thing is that same thing goes for gays - West End whrere we live just happens to be the original gay village of Vancouver so you see a lot of gay couples here. I'm a keen observer of people so I always pay attention to people around me and how they behave towards each other - for example the girl at my favourite bakers often flirts with me. There are also lots of businesses catering gay community in West End - or what would you call a restaurant called "Sugar Daddy's" or a shop called "Gaymart" or a underwear shop only selling mens' underwear. It just all adds up to the wonderful athmosphere here on the seaside.

When I talk to my mom or Chu I always come back to the topic of Vancouver and trying to explain how wonderful it is, and failing miserably I fear. This city has captured my heart so quickly I didn't think it was possible. It just feels home.