Toronto Chinatown

Walking west away from Dundas Square, the scenery starts to change a bit.  You know you're in Chinatown when the big banks have their names subtitled in Chinese. :-)

...and the street names too!

I don't think the Chinese characters on this facade translate to "Espresso" or "French Cafe"... looks more like a theatre company! :-) [Right to left: 聯僑劇社 = "United Overseas Drama Society"?]

The streetscape suddenly looks more like Hong Kong...except that there is more space and less crowds!

Dried fish...

...and other stuff.  Don't you just love that cracked scoop?

Jackfruit. No, this is not the smelly fruit.  You're thinking of durian. Looks similar though.

Freshly squeezed sugarcane..

The Chinatown dollarama! he! he!

Many cheap things here. But the bubble tea at 4.39 plus tax a cup is not!

I bought 4 "Toronto" t-shirts for 9.99 total.  Even if they don't survive the second washing, I won't complain! :-)

Downtown Toronto and Ramen

I am very grateful to an old friend who took the time to show me around downtown Toronto last Sunday afternoon.

I've almost forgotten what a big-city downtown was like.

No offense to downtown Halifax...but the corner of Dundas and Yonge was teeming with people!

Lots of things happening at Dundas Square -- Toronto's answer to Times Square! :-)

This group was protesting and creating awareness about the plight of the poor kidnapped girls in Nigeria. :-(  

(Read about it: http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/06/world/africa/nigeria-abductions-why-it-matters/ )

Yes, there are streetcars on the streets of Toronto!  According to Wikipedia, the Toronto Streetcar System "is the largest such system in the Americas in terms of ridership, number of cars, and track length."  Who knew?  I always thought San Francisco was tops in the streetcar department.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_streetcar_system)

Bay St. -- Toronto's answer to Wall St.  No, I didn't go around the bank offices begging for a job.  It was a Sunday and they were closed.  :-)

So what does one eat in downtown Toronto?  My request: ramen!  There were quite a few authentic ones apparently and my friend dutifully took me to one...a place called Raijin.

A thunderous chorus of "Irasshaimase!" from the friendly Japanese staff welcomed us in. OK, so I exaggerated a bit! :-)  "Raijin" means "god of thunder". There was a beautiful wooden sculpture inside. Sorry Marvel fans, it's not Thor.

Tonkotsu (pork bone soup).  Kakuni (braised pork belly).  Oishikatta (yum!) :-)

Mississauga and Marilyn

My first stop was actually Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area.  But, to call it a suburb is a dis-service because it is a full-fledged city (pop. ~700,000) on its own and is the 6th largest in Canada.  This is the city where most of my family and friends in Canada live.

Mississauga's famous landmark, I would learn, is the Marilyn Monroe towers.  That's just the nickname for the Absolute Towers, a pair of curvaceous condominium buildings at the corner of Burnhamthorpe Rd. and Hurontario St.  Do you see why they are nicknamed the Marilyn Monroe towers?

 

                                                                        (Image of Marilyn Monroe taken from here.)

The buildings, 50 and 56 storeys respectively, were indeed mesmerizing. 

Other inconsequential photos.... The lobby of the Novotel Mississauga.  

It was a fine sunny day.

...and I thought this was funny.  The perfect place to put a bottle of water...in case of fire. :-) 

Airports - Halifax and Toronto

I made a trip to Toronto last weekend. I got a fresh look at the already familiar airports. So here's just a bunch of images...

There is now a hotel connected to the Halifax Airport.  It is an alt Hotel (a chain brand). I don't know what the name is supposed to stand for. It does remind me of the old Usenet newsgroup hierarchy....  I think it opened last year.  Though I probably wouldn't need to use it, it is good to finally have an airport hotel in Halifax.

Early morning at the airport! Yawn. ;-o

They have new seating fixtures at the waiting lounge! Adirondacks...

...and rocking chairs! Very homey.

Everyone is relaxed in the Maritimes. :-)

And Toronto airport?  Same busy place.

"I Dream I Could Fly" (2003) by Jonathan Borofsky (USA). 

"Flight Song" (2001-2003) by Robert Charles Coyle (Canada).

If you string up these carts and make them float up in the air somehow, they might be considered as a work of art too. :-) 

Next stop...downtown Toronto!

Source for Toronto Pearson International Airport artwork identification: Art, Architecture and the Airport: The Visual and the Visionary

Shop Log: Let's Not Talk About Food Now

Shop's Log.  Halifax NS.  April 21st, Easter Monday, 15:23.  Weather: Sunny, 10℃.

In the course of my conversation with a customer, I found out that he originally had come from Hong Kong.  I lived in Hong Kong for 3 years and have fond memories of the place...notably all the eating establishments.  

Hong Kong is a place for a gourmand.  Cram in multitudes of restaurants into a highly competitive market and you end up with very good food indeed.  So, naturally I spoke about food...Chinese food in particular.  I said I missed the restaurants in Hong Kong and my mind began reminiscing...from yam-cha to congee, from Fook Lam Moon to that little hole-in-the-wall in Central that served super delicious beef brisket curry. 

So, I assumed that he must be missing really good Chinese food too.  Compared to Hong Kong, there's not too many choices in Halifax.  I asked him what he thought and it surprised me that his reply was politely evasive. He said that Halifax has its good points too...closeness to nature, abundance of space, etc. He mentioned he liked playing tennis...and our conversation then moved on to other topics.

As he was about to leave, we exchanged business cards.  His card said "Manager", So-and-So Chinese Restaurant...right here in Halifax.  Somebody take my foot out of my mouth now, please!

Transformation Complete

So there it is...my very own Canadian passport.

I waited two hours at the Passport Canada office just to hand in my application.  Many people were complaining.  I didn't. Not even after I had to make a mad dash to my car to add more coins to the parking meter.  Call me crazy but I would've waited longer for this privilege.  Sitting in the waiting area, I was an "insider" now.  No foreigner could get to see the inside of a Passport Canada office.  Heady feeling! :-)

I'd like to thank my friends who readily became my guarantor and references. I don't take the gesture for granted.  I am glad I have earned your trust.

Call Me "Citizen"!

The day finally arrived.  It took two and a half years but it is finally done. From March 24th, 2014, I am officially a Canadian citizen. Not in heart and spirit alone...it's the real McCoy.

I have been muting my feelings towards citizenship for fear of jinxing the application.  Now that everything is done and dusted, a heavy weight seemed to have been lifted off my shoulders.  It was not a comfortable feeling having one's future in the hands of somebody else.  It took a whole year for for Citizenship and Immigration Canada to respond to my application asking for more documentation.  Then another 15 months for me to be informed to prepare for the citizenship exam.  All that time I had been wondering: Did they find something wrong?  I knew I had nothing to hide but who knows...some bureaucratic technicality was always possible.  I dreaded getting a brown envelope (most Canadian government correspondence come in brown envelopes!) with a letter saying something like... Dear Sir, Your application was rejected because our background check shows that you are in arrears for an overdue library book.

Anyway, all's well that ends well.  I passed the exam and received the invitation to the Citizenship Ceremony.  During registration, the immigration officer collected my Permanent Resident Card.  You won't be needing this anymore.  I still felt an automatic jolt of anxiety.  All these years, I had kept that little card as if it were the Crown Jewels and now it was being taken away. I was not used to being somewhere without being required a visa!

I thought this ceremony would just be a boring formality.  Just give me the certificate, will you?  But, as I raised my right hand and enunciated the Oath of Citizenship...and later on, as I sang "O Canada", I felt something.... or some things.

First, a sense of immense gratitude.  I had chosen to live in Canada.  This day, Canada chose to accept me as one of its own.  No more trying to prove that I belonged here.

Second, an internal transformation.  Outwardly, nothing's going to change in my daily routine; but inside of me, there was a subtle change in attitude.  I used to be a guest in this country.  A guest may be welcome but his stay is at the pleasure of the host. This day, the host just told me, "You are a guest no longer. You are one of us now."  Wow, what a feeling!

Third, a renewed resolve. This is my backyard now and I aim to take very good care of it.

So, I can't wait for the next elections or a call to jury duty (but ah... I won't say that one out loud too much... he! he!).  Bring them on.  Call me "citizen"!