I arrived this morning in Milan. I hadn't no troubles during the travel, but the jetlag's hard. Anyway, I'm still alive. Tomorrow morning I'll be in the office.
How could I speak about this 3 weeks in Toronto? Too hard, but I try. I said something in past days, but I try.
First impact? Well, in Malpensa Airport (Milano) you meet a beautiful girl each 5", at Schiphol (Amsterdam) each 15', at Pearson (Toronto) each 50'. Eh! Eh!
When we arrived, it was late and we're tired, so we decided to go to our residence by taxi that means limousine... Good start!
The accomodations is not exciting: something like a very big youth hostel (+- 3.000 rooms), but cheap. The best thing's we're in the Downtown, in the University campus (later, we'll understand that' we're very very lucky). We lived near Spadina Avenue (I thought often to my friend Spallina...).
During the first 3 days, Sasha and me we're free so we visited the city. In Toronto you've to pay everything and something's wonderful (Toronto Islands), something interesting (Inuit Art Museum), something no (the big Royal Ontario Museum: for Europeans as us there's nothing interesting, excepted the Inuit wing). It's wonderful the Harbourfront.
We understood very quickly that the idea "this place is close to" doesn't have sense in Toronto: everything is far! Anyway, the first impact's great: Toronto's an American City, but well done (no Yankees!). It's nice to look the face of the Queen in the coins, it helps us to feel not so foreigner.
The school starts four days ago, first impact: it's very full of Spanish people (the main part from Valencia, someone from Madrid and stop - no Catalans or Andaluz :( and it isn't good). Of course, there is a lot of people from Eastern Asia (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan... no Chinese).
For the first time I met someone from Southern America (Venezuela and Brazil), some Caribanas (Guadaloupe!) and Turkish (more than in Ireland or Scotland).
The school's not so good, only few teachers are good and I understood very soon who I don't have to trust and who I can. Furthermore, the accomodations provided by the school are generally too dispersed in the city. This thing makes very very difficult to go out in the evening. Anyway, I learnt in Edinburgh how to survive: speak! I spoke everytime, with anyone about everything: it's the best way to improve my English, really. Be Italian helps me: talkative, smart, hands-speaker, and "flirter" (this last one isnt' so good, anyway...).
Around me Valencianos, Valencianos y Valencianos (sometime some Spanish...), anyway... yo puede hablar castillano sin problema... mas o meno (the Spanish version of this blog will arrive, no soy cuando...).
The people's good, really. I try to seem Catalan to feel better with so many Spanish, but one night a drunked Valenciano thought me that's better if I'm Italian... (he explained me only by words, luckly...). I tried to mix nationalities, and it works more or less. For the first time it's me who repeat "speak in English, please!").
Two great week end, two great experiences.
The first one I went to Niagara Falls. The town confirm the worst prejuges against the American entertainment places, but the Falls are very very very very very very very wonderful!
The second one is a wonderful trip to Quebec City (wonderful!), Montreal (wonderful cathedral, but the city is too big to visit in few hours) and Ottawa (very wonderful!). The second week-end was the only time that I staied with a lot of Italians :)
Canadians (or probably our school) have the bad habits to don't say what is included in the ticket. So, everytime we'd to pay more :( Anyway, for this place that are moey well used.
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Finally, the trip to go back in Italy has been heavy, but I'm still alive.
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My idea about Canada? Great country. The good side of Northern America, also if probably Canada doesn't exist. I went only in Ontario and Quebec and they're too different to consider as a same country, but I don't know enough them to support the Bloc Quebecquois.
Toronto isn't very beautiful: too big, too rich, too industrialised. I enjoyed very much to stay, but I won't live there, I won't feel Torontonian (but I keep my love for Edinburgh and my friendship for Dublin/Baile Atha Cliath). Canadians call "streetcar" the "tramway" and "washroom" the "bathroom", but it isn't so hard.
Little Italy in Toronto is a very wonderful. We find the best Italian restaurant outside Italy!!!
I'd like to visit the "natural side" of Canada (Algonquin Park, or something like that).
At the end, two songs.
I did it my way, Frank Sinatra because... Yeah! I did it my way: Bath, Dublin, Edinburgh and Toronto. I did it my way. Everytime a different experience: in Bath the first experience, in Dublin I found the best friendships, in Edinburgh the most funny and in Toronto... the conquer of the New World!
I sang everytime this song, so sing with me:
Canada & Nuvole, il lato allegro dell'America.
Il vento soffia la sua armonica, che voglia di ridere ho!
(Canada and clouds, the smart side of America.
Wind plays its harmonics, what I want is laugh).
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