Week 4-5

Hey there, everyone! I'm really sorry for not updating for two weeks... Time suddenly flew by and then I got sick as well. Not that many things happened as well, so I figured by the time I could move again I would just wait out the weekend, because stuff was happening! 

Now, without further ado... Here's week 4 and 5!

Thursday 1 October

One of our coworkers was sick this day, so we were only with 2 baristas instead of 3. We had to spread ourselves thin in covering everything, so I took over the till at this location for the first time. The things on display are different, so I had to keep on asking what was what, though. 

Friday 2 October

Another day of work at the hospital. Nothing much happened, except that the assistant manager had been impressed with my work the day before. 

Tuesday 6 October 

Nothing really happened on the weekend. There was no time to go anywhere or we didn't know where to go, so it was a stay-at-home weekend. 

Anyway, today I worked at Millstone again. It was a rather easy-going day and nothing much happened. I had a lovely talk with a couple about carrot cakes. They always went to Millstone for that cake and the week before we had been out, so the lady had basically been scandalised by the thought. She advised me to try some before I leave again, so I think I might just drag Leah there on a day off and treat her to some.

Wednesday 7 October

Another day of work at Millstone. Most of the time I spent doing dishes. Boy, were there many. Also, one of the cooks quit out of no where and gave the manager no time to find a replacement, so the manager was quite miffed that day. 

This was also the dreaded day I fell ill. It wasn't that bad yet, just a little stomach ache. It became much worse the next day and I couldn't quite drag myself out of bed.

Leah thought it was probably the food catching up to me. They put in a lot of preservatives in their food and not everything is all that natural as I'm used to. My body was finally done with it. 

Friday 9 October

So, while I was still wasting away in my bed, the Advance Voting started for Canada for the Federal Elections. Advance Voting happens on the 10th, 9th, 8th and 7th day before the actual election day. It's for those who cannot vote on the actual voting day due to work or other reasons. You can cast your votes from noon until 8 p.m. Generally, the location where you can vote is somewhere close-by where you live. 

On the first three days of this year's Advance Voting 2.4 million Canadians voted. In 2011, during the previous elections, only 2 million Canadians showed up for the Advance Voting. 

I think this news article is rather fitting to the Canadian stereotype as well: Elections Canada apologizes for advance voting lineups

Saturday 10 October

This morning we went to The Martian that just came out in the cinemas! I hadn't read the book yet, but it was one of Leah's favourites and she was absolutely psyched to see the movie! She had showed me the trailer and it looked incredibly interesting, so I wanted to see it too.

The movie was amazing! The acting was great, the casting was great, and the scenery was beautifully made. There were also many funny scenes and so, so much music from the 80's. I really loved it! I was a bit nervous to watch it, because I was afraid there would be many technical terms which I wouldn't understand, but it was fairly easy to follow. 

Canadian cinemas aren't all that much different to Dutch ones. They do have the American sign outside above the doors where all the movies were spelled out on. The tickets aren't all that expensive, because the cinema receives its income from selling drinks and popcorn. This particular cinema does a thing on Saturday mornings where the movies are half-price, which is really quite nice.

Apparently, on Sundays the cinema becomes a church.

Sunday 11 October

We went on a little drive around on this day. We first went to Ladysmith for gas and to give the car a wash (sadly not through the car wash). We then drove through Chemainus and after a lovely drive through the countryside and hills, we ended up in Maple Bay. It's both the name of the town and the wide bay. The town is built on the hillside, so it looks really pretty. The docks were a bit creepy to stand on, because they bobbed up and down with the waves, making it feel like you could plunge into the water at any moment. It was really lovely, though. I went through my ritual of feeling how hot the water was (not very, if at all) and then we drove off to Duncan. While I didn't really see any of the town, we went to a giant Walmart there (seriously it was huge) and to a Best Buy which is their main electronics business like our Mediamarkt. In comparison to the euro everything is a lot cheaper here, making your fingers itch. 

Monday 12 October

12 October is a big day in a lot of places in America. In the US it is known as Columbus Day, the day Columbus set foot in America. Officially in the US it is celebrated on the Monday of the second week of October. The official date Columbus landed is 12 October 1492. The landing is celebrated in many countries of Latin America, Spain and Italy. 

However, the date coincides with Canadian Thanksgiving, which has absolutely nothing to do with it. It's a public holiday for most of Canada except for Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. 

The day itself celebrates the bounty of the previous year and being thankful for what one has. Generally, you spend the day with family and maybe have a feast. A lot of families come together during the entire long weekend and not just for the Monday itself. The feast has many traditional dishes including turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, many fall vegetables, and pumpkin pie. Although, everyone has their own variations of dishes. 

We ate a whole turkey with stuffing, which I had never had before and was absolutely delicious, and fried rice with spring rolls. Like I said, everyone has their own variations and Will said he hadn't celebrated Thanksgiving for a while, so I was really glad he would even consider buying a turkey. 

Anyway, that's all I have for now. I will find out more information about the parties in the run for the Federal Elections for next week and come up with a more detailed report about the elections, which will be held on the 19th of October. I will probably even be able to tell you the outcome.