in canada

we made it to canada!  yesterday jessie and i left the santa fe house at 8 am, flew to seattle then took a shuttle to vancouver.  the shuttle took 6 hours.  no joke.  on a bus with some very excited 18 yr olds from jersey going to see some band in vancouver.  also, i learned that lying to customs officers is probably good policy.  i told him the truth, that i was not planning on returning to the US anytime soon, i'm going to south america, i don't have exit tickets out of the country.  he asked how i could prove that i wasn't just going to stay in canada.  i told him i couldn't, but i was going to south america in a few weeks.  and he asked who i was staying with, if she knew i was coming, how i know her, what job she did in baltimore.  oh my goodness.  next time i go anywhere, i'm leaving in a week and i have my exit ticket already.  no matter what.  

but we made it!  

vancouver seems amazing.  there are blackberries growing everywhere: on the side of the highway, in the parks, anywhere there are trees it seems.

nance's parents are super cute.  we went out for thai food last night and i couldn't eat anything so i think they were pretty concerned.  so even though i was super tired, we went to the grocery store and i bought a bunch of foods so they wouldn't worry.  and today billy chen (nance's mama) went with us to a couple restaurants that serve raw food.  i think she's for serious making an effort to understand the raw food.  not in a way that she's trying to eat that way, but more she's just curious.  also, she likes desserts.  and there are plenty of delicious raw desserts.  i think we may just bond over this...anyway, i'm really excited that she's seeming to be interested.  i was a bit worried because about 3 months ago she told nancyfoo that she thought i was influencing her (any by that, she meant 'i think katie made you gay').  so being really friendly and interested in the way i eat is good.  i'll take it.  

tonight foo made eggplant parmesan and we made mashed potatoes and salad.  and the elderfoos kept commenting on the food in ways that i don't think were actually critical, but if i were their kid and cooked them dinner, i would interpret as criticism.  i think nancy foo interprets it as such.  her dad really really likes meat.  and told us a lot of times why he needs meat with his meal and he couldn't eat like that everyday.  but they ate the food.  so i'll call that a success.

also, it's really really good to see nancy foo again!  it's been a month and a half.  mostly things seem the same, except in a new city so we have to learn new things to do.  

today jessie, foo and i went to granville (i think this is what it's called) island.  it's full of delicious food and a farmers' market and tons of art students.  and pigeons.  lots of galleries and art supply stores.  and an art school.  we took a tiny ferry across the water to get there.  it was probably a minute or two ride.  

also, any money that isn't US dollars feels like monopoly money to me.  turns out.  fortunately the canadian dollar is worth about the same as the US dollar.  we'll see how my spending goes in south america though...

vancouver seems pretty magical so far.