Fascination

People absolutely fascinate me.  I love to watch people and hear their stories, which I've mentioned previously.  And, yes, I like to look at the visas and stamps in their passports.  But I also love to hear different accents, try different foods, see the way people dress.  You know, even if I don't or can't appreciate all quirks of society or someone's culture, I can still--and do--appreciate them.  I know I sound redundant, but writing about my observations has really helped to appreciate what I appreciate, if you will.

For instance, Canada is absolutely chock-full of foreigners.  They have this permanent residency program--like the green card program we have in the States.  Only this one lets a lot more people in.  Canada is absolutely gigantic, but it's underpopulated.  They subsidize that by allowing tons of immigrants in.  We literally see almost every nationality in the Embassy, and a large percentage of those people are immigrants--permanent immigrants--here in Canada.  People come here for different reasons and under different circumstances, most of which boil down to having a better life.  We see lots of refugees from war-torn countries and "protected persons."  Many of these people come here and work to send money home to their families, like Filipino nannies.  A lot of these women come here under the "live-in caregiver program."  I don't know all of the ins and outs of it; but from what I understand, they live with a family (or families) for a two- to three-year period on a work visa and are then able to gain permanent residency here in Canada.  After that, they can begin petitioning for their family members and/or obtain Canadian citizenship.  I think it's wonderful.  This program is amazing because these nannies basically live debt/rent-free and have all of their food, lodging, etc. paid for.  When they become PRs (permanent residents), they can begin using Canada's socialized healthcare.  I think it's a win/win for everyone, considering the good it does for the immigrant and how much money a family can save by not using daycare.  Yeah, you read that right: it's cheaper to have a live-in nanny than it is to put two children into daycare.

So, these PRs come from everywhere.  Many, if not most, of them wind up at the American Embassy trying to obtain a tourist visa for the U.S.  One thing most people don't know is that as big as Canada is, something like 90% of Canadian residents and citizens only live an hour or so from the border.  That means there is a lot of unpopulated territory in this country.  My guess is that it has to do mostly with the bitter cold.  We only live 45 minutes from New York, but temperatures get as low as -40 (did you know that at -40 degrees, Fahrenheit and Celsius meet?) and as high as 100+.  There is literally up to a 140 or 150-degree temperature difference every year.

When it gets about 10 F outside, your nose hairs freeze solid.  It's incredibly uncomfortable and painful.  But the heat is absolutely sweltering as well.  The amazing thing about it is that these people LIVE to be outdoors. Everyone embraces whatever the temperature is.  If it's 110F, people are out riding their bikes, rollerblading, playing ball, etc.  And if it's the other extreme, they're out ice fishing, ice skating, skiing, snowshoeing.  You name it, and they do it.  I thought it was crazy when we moved here and people were outside in shorts and flipflops when it was in the fifties.  Well, now I completely understand.  When you're covered head to toe in sweaters, snow boots, ankle-length down coats, hats, scarves, gloves, wool socks, etc., for 8 months out of the year, you want to feel that sun on your skin!  I totally get it now.  I was amazed to realize that I've become one of those sun worshipers in the past year because we never see the sun.  The proof came when I walked outside and it was in the thirties and I told Don how warm it was.  THAT's when you know you've been in Canada too long.

Another crazy difference between Canada and the U.S. is the amount of sunlight you actually get.  Right now, in June, the sun rises at 4:30 AM and sets around 9:30 PM.  In December, the sun rises at around 7:30 AM and sets at 4:30 PM.  It is incredible.  Ecuador never varied much:  the sun rose and set at around 6:30 AM/PM every single day, 365 days a year.  They don't even have time changes there like we do.  And it's always mid to high 70s to high 80s or low 90s, even in the rainy season.  In Ecuador you will never see a drop of rain for 8-9 months out of the year.