Dani does Canada

No matter how much we all try to escape it, every once in a while you just have to admit this eternal truth: there is absolutely no place like home. It is absolute solid ground. The safety net that catches you when you fall.

There are a few things I missed about Canada that I wasn't aware that I missed. Sure, I knew how badly I wanted a Tim Horton's Large Double-Double and maple-dip donut. I knew how badly I wanted a spoonful of Kraft Peanut Butter. I knew how badly I wanted to wake up to proper, greasy, fried bacon. I knew how badly I missed my friends. I knew how much I wanted to hug my family. There are things, however, I wasn't aware that I was missing.

1. The politeness. While I adore the English way of simply saying what you feel, Canadian politeness is an unreal experience. I was walking through the wine aisles at the LCBO and 4 people in a row apologized for being in my way, when they weren't really in my way. And I apologized back. I love it. I love it so much. Saying "Sorry" for everything is sooo Canadian and I missed it without realizing.
2. Skating. Good lord nothing beats skating, outside on a crisp, winter day. Bundling up in layers to go out, just to strip them off as you work up a sweat. Amazing.

3. The landscape. The English countryside is beautiful. The English oceanshore is lovely. The English architecture is breathtaking. The Canadian landscape, on the otherhand, is just so simply unlike anything you can experience in England, or Europe even. Miles upon miles of untainted forests; trees as far as the eye can see - almost always overlooking a large body of water. Lake Ontario is everywhere in Kingston. It seeps through every view from right around the corner from my house to the beautiful downtown core of Kingston. Being close to water is like taking a valium, it puts your mind completely at ease. Being close to hundreds upon hundreds of trees gives you that deep, crisp, fresh air that I didn't realize I had been longing for. If you are English, or live in England and you know of a place like this in England, I beg you to show me.
So Canadians, while exploring this great, big world is neccessary, when you are walking through the woods, or strolling along the waterfront as we do so often without thinking about it, just remember you are from the greatest, most NATURALLY beautiful, unkempt place on Earth.