After living in Onterrible Ontario for almost 2 years, the following are the things that I still struggle with today. Don’t get me wrong, I love London, but these are the good and bad things that I’m trying to get used to.
1. Trying to deal with the whole “bagged milk” situation
Honestly, after two years, I’ve gotten kind of used to it. My only major complaint is that it’s not as environmentally friendly as BC’s method.
2. Drinking Water
Back when I lived at home, I can easily turn on the tap if I wanted drinking water. If I try doing that here, I feel like I adopted an allergy. #dramaqueenhour
But seriously though, if you’re in BC right now, please kiss the fresh spring water for me – it’s right from your tap.
3. Roots
Back in BC, I rarely notice people wearing Roots anything, shop at Roots, or really have any sort of affiliation with Roots. But here? Sweetie, you need a pair of Roots sweats to fit in.
4. Snow here, snow there, snow EVERYWHERE!
A lot of Ontarians get really surprised when I tell them that Vancouver barely gets snow (until recently they got a few centimetres). Why is that…?! We can still be part of Canada even if we don’t produce any white fluffy things that fall from the sky, okay?! :'(
Because of the lack of snow in Van, I used to get extreeeemelllyyyy excited when I see snow. But little did I know that all there is during the months of freaking November to possibly even March, snow will be around so it’s nowhere near a delicacy here.
- reaction to Vancouver’s recent mild snow conditions
5. Trying to say “Toronto” properly
Yes, there’s an improper way to say the word “Toronto”. For example, if you pronounce every syllable like so: Tor-on-to, you’re basically not from this province. On the other hand, if you say it really quickly (that’s what I do but doesn’t work at all), or if you jumble all the syllables together, you’re suddenly one of them.
The way I like to think about it is when someone says Vancouver like “VAN-(the car)-coo-ver” <— not from Vancouver. Then, someone says Vancouver like “Vang-coo-ver” <— one of us.
(I bet you’re all trying to say it now, aren’t you? 😀 I’m manipulating you and you don’t even know it)
6. Sushi
- people trying to understand my deep love for sushi
For those of you who know me definitely saw this one coming. The reason why I didn’t put this as my #1 is because it’s a very sensitive topic for me so it took awhile to gather the courage to talk about it. #dramaqueenhour
Truthfully, it’s not as bad as I had previously made it sound. But when you take price, portions, quality (okay so pretty much everything) into consideration… it’s definitely not comparable to Vancity 😛 And it’s just a given that the sushi here is not as fresh. I guess you can’t really blame them for that, I mean, c’mon, Vancouver is next door neighbours with all kinds of fishies. The only similarity that I really found is that sushi restaurants here are also not owned by Japanese people. #AddingItToTheListOfThingsIDontUnderstand
7. “True”
When I first got to Ontario, I didn’t really understand the overuse of the word “true”. I remember the first time I truly felt confused.
Friend: Where are you headed?
Me: Library, then home.
Friend: True…
Wait – why did you say “true”? If you knew where I was going, then why bother asking?!
Then it dawned on me. You know when you’re texting someone and you hit that awkward part of a conversation and you don’t know what to say anymore? In text, you can get away with saying things like “lol”. But in person, you can’t just say “laugh out loud” as a response. So … this is where the word “true” comes in (to my understanding). Unless I’m wrong then please disregard everything I just said #Awkward.
(and… this is where you have nothing to say and you say “true”. Get it? You’re welcome.)
8. Slang
There’s so much to say in this category so it should really be a post of its own. But to summarize some of the ones I’ve came across, here’s a short list.
a) “Wheeling”
What it means: when you’re trying to pick up someone. But it’s not limited to bars/clubs. It can mean that you really have your eye on someone and you’re just trying to get with them. (RIGHT? Am I getting this one right now?)
b) “Dealing”
What it means: This is what follows after you’ve successfully “wheeled” someone. You’re basically with them but you’re not labelled an official couple yet.
IMO, I feel like this was a bad word choice because when I heard it for the first time, I thought of it completely differently. My friend said, “I’m dealing with ____(insert name)___ right now.” To me, that sounded equivalent to, “ugh, I have to go deal with something first.” Instead of sounding endearing, it sounded more like she was making an effort to get out of some tough situation and she’s trying hard not to cut his throat in the process.
c) “Itus”
Vancouver equivalence: food coma
Ontarians (Is this right? Please fill in this blank for me: People from Vancouver call themselves Vancouverites as to people from Ontario/Toronto call themselves _____) argue that “itus” is more appropriate because it depicts the feeling of being too full and wanting to sleep. Okay… True… (notice how I’m using Ontario slang? Yay me 😀 #OneOfThem)
HOWEVER… I might argue that food coma is a more dramatic mental imagery because we’re basically saying that we’re so full to the point that we’re already unconscious.
Plus, when I first heard “itus” I legit thought it was some new form of STDs. #PleaseBeCarefulWithYourUseOfSlangAroundForeignPeople
9. Lack of LGs
This is definitely a positive struggle.
If you don’t know what a LG is… first of all, you go, girl! Or boy… #NotSexist. But if you insist on knowing, here ya go. You can even watch this if you like.
10. Not carrying an umbrella everywhere
Definitely another positive struggle. I love that it doesn’t rain 1/3 of the year here which means I don’t necessarily need an umbrella wherever I go. I also feel like it’s a lot brighter in Ontario just because there aren’t as many clouds covering the sky.
Overall, despite the lack of sushi, I love where I live right now. I definitely love going back to Vancouver to visit but I’m enjoying every minute of being in London 😀 #PeopleThinkImInTheUK #GoAheadAndBelieveThatSoISoundFancy
Love,
Lisa