As many of you may know from reading my previous articles, or the profile that my friend, Terri, wrote on me this past Spring, you will have probably discovered that I am not from the city. As I spend more time in Vancouver and meet new people, experience new things and places, the more I realize, I am not from Vancouver. So, my friends, I have compiled a list of things that I believe to be dead giveaways to others as to why or how I am not your typical Vancouverite.
1. Chopsticks
No, not the name, Chopsticks, but the real sticks themselves. I cannot use them. I have never been able to use them, and I cannot express to you the amount of anxiousness and nervousness I begin to feel when I know that I am going out for sushi with other people. Sushi is a hot commodity in Vancouver, and it should be, it is delicious! But my total and entire amount of incompetence when it comes to using them is painful. So, to my embarrassment, I sincerely apologize to anyone who has had to witness or will witness in the future, the terrible image that is me, eating sushi with my hands.
2. Aritzia
If you don’t wear or work at or have ever worked at Aritzia, get out, am I right? No, but seriously. When I take a look around not only SFU but Vancouver in general, I am overwhelmed with the number of girls, covered head to toe, in clothing, apparently purchased at the one and only, Aritzia. When I go into this store myself, I feel like the employees can tell from one glance at me, that I am not a real Vancouverite; that I am merely some underdog. This is not being paranoid, people, I am serious. Out of the countless times that I have shopped in that store in my short two years of living here, I could count on one hand the number of times an employee has approached me or offered me a hand while shopping. Truth. They know.
3. Geography
This is indeed something that I have found most difficult about living here. When I meet new people and have conversations about where I am from, I always explain, “I am from the West Kootenay’s”, assuming the “Kootenay’s” in general, is a large enough region that most people, having lived in BC their entire lives, must have heard of it. But almost every time, to my disappointment, no one has, and I always receive the same response, “oh, I’ve never been that far North”. Well, let me tell you, my hometown is as far South as you can get. This is something that truly amazes me though; the fact that so many people I have met have never actually left the Lower Mainland. It makes me wonder if maybe small town folk aren’t as sheltered as they are often pegged to be, but instead, it’s the city folk that need to get out more?
4. Snow
This was a big giveaway for me being from the Kootenay’s; the sheer excitement that I felt and very publicly expressed when I saw my first Vancouver snowfall, and the shock and disgust I saw on everyone else’s. Being from BC, I love the snow! Further, growing up in the Kootenay’s, I love it even more and utilize it every chance I get; skiing, sledding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and the pure admiration of the beauty of a real Canadian winter. Not only was I one of the few who was genuinely appreciating our little snow storm, but I was also one of the only ones who was indeed prepared. Snow? No problem! I whipped out my snow boots, ice scraper, shovel, and thanked the lucky stars that I had brand new winter tires.
5. The Housing Crisis
I know, I know, this is something that no one will ever be able to get used to, and they shouldn’t. Frankly, I find it appalling what the current cost of living is in Vancouver. However, I see that I am often especially shocked because I always compare it to home and are much, much lower living costs. I hear people talking about how good of a deal they got on the condo they just bought, or the screaming deal they got on their Yale Town condo, “only $3000 a month”. Now, I, of course, know that this is typically the upper class and wealthy who can afford these types of places to live, but I am not kidding you when I say that when I first moved here, I was greeted with shock at some of thee Vancouverites as to why I lived in Coquitlam when there were entirely right, empty condos downtown, for the small price of $3000 a month. That is all. Vancouver, I love you, and I hope that one day I will be able to afford to stay with you. As for now, your expenses are killing me, not-so-softly.
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