First impressions of Toronto

I haven't had a lot to report lately. I'm mostly trying to get myself on a regular sleep rhythm and am desperately trying to finish my work for back home. My friend Amy is returning tomorrow, so I'll be shown around again soon. Before she left Amy took me took me to a shop called Snakes and Lattes. It's a store where you can play boardgames over a nice latte. We didn't have a chance to play because, get this, the hostess put us on a waiting list. On a Wednesday night at 23.30h a boardgames shop has a waiting list! So I'm definitively going there more often. I love boardgames and I love lattes (thanks to Kevin).

This is the line for signing up on the waiting list!

I'm actually living a bit more healthy here than I did back home. Groceries aren't too expensive, but confusing a fruit drink that's mainly sugar with healthier ones was tricky at first. Finally I figured out that the healthier stuff gets advertised as extremely healthy and is thus more expensive. But a coffee shop around every corner, serving a bagel with cream cheese is a very good way to start my day, so I don't mind too much. Random weird food observations: Milk in plastic bags to put in a pitcher, which I've been told is an Ontarian thing. British Colombia has the bags of yogurt, just to not stand out in the weirdness I guess. 

Jup that huge thing is a library

 Yesterday I worked on my research report by sitting in a Second Cup coffee shop, and it appeared as the most normal thing in the world. Mentioning back home you that worked at a coffee shop doesn't usually get a positive response. They either think you sold weed or that you're a hipster. My Dutch roots did start to ache, so after two hours I did go to write in the library. They have a Starbucks and a Subway anyway, so coffee and a bagel to go with that studying. The library is huge by the way. It has reading rooms with power for your laptop and other great facilities. So I finally got some work done. But the best thing is that afterwards I got to walk to the Subway station in the twilight.  And finally after three weeks of feeling like Toronto is a great place, it felt like home. 

Some snapshots of Toronto

The University downtown where I take the bus to go to my faculty

The CN tower, something I definitively need to visit

Random pub I ran into, thought my Dutch friends might appreciate the name