The presents are all unwrapped, the lights flicker brightly in the window and the dusting of snow outside reminds me of many childhood Christmas' past. The anticipation that was felt on the fly over to Jersey and the drive up and over our country's northern most boundary was met with many stomach flip-flops and rationale justification. Upon arrival at our destination, a year and some in the making, we breathed a sigh of relief to have finally completed the journey. We promised ourselves that we would treat every day like a vacation and pushed the tendency to "pro/con" everything to the back of our brains.
The ancient feeling of the city surrounds you and the crisp air is felt in every nook and cranny of this limestone covered city. Buildings date back to the 1800's and up and down the brick laid streets people are out and about their business seemingly unfazed by the frigid temperature. Our first day is a wet one with light rain softly spitting on the pavement, guaranteed to freeze over by evening. We are given the grand tour in my uncle's 1992 diesel Volkswagen Jetta. All the way out to the far west of the city, along the lake shore and into the city's wildlife conservatory. Fit joggers stretch their legs at the entrance of the park and as we circle back towards the heart of the city, we pass two marinas with hundreds of blue covered boats up on lifts. My eyes light up and my stomach flutters at the thought of the possibility of one of those boats being ours to sail! Pushing that thought aside, we continue our tour into the historical part of the city. The houses are breathtaking; each with their own character. They line the streets like bulging brownstones and each one seems to snub it's nose down on you saying, "I know you're admiring my beauty; it took years for me to to look like this." My stomach once again suppresses the butterflies. We press on and enter the campus of Queen's University. A sea of gray engulfs us on either side and the aged limestone buildings tower overhead. Students flit and float across streets with books in hand oblivious to the coming and going of traffic. There is an air of life here, laughter and excitement. It is the air of possibility and I must say it permeates. We escape the car for a while and button up tight as we skip through the rain into the nearest open building; the bookstore. The friendly English lady points to the next building over when we inquire where the School of Law is located. We fit into the surroundings with our matching p coats, deceiving those around us and making them believe we are students ourselves; I find myself wishing that might be so.
The following days are filled with many trips; trips downtown, long walks down to the lake shore, trips down memory lane. We went from one perspective to another. We visited with an older couple filled with knowledge of the ins and outs of the education system to visiting a local pub with an exuberant young bartender. Our heads we filled with knowledge on the health care system, education system, provincial reform, politics, food, housing markets, etc. A realistic perspective is what we came for and our hopes were met with enthusiasm.
Canada is a wonderful, under-rated country. The people are jovial always and the cities are well maintained. Health care is free (albiet paid with your tax dollars), but complaints are limited and people enjoy full, satisfied lives. On the whole, the largest impression that differs drastically from that of their southern neighbors is that they live for the betterment of the whole, not the individual. Which, in my opinion, is why everyone is happy and complaints are minimal at best. There is a strong draw to this country and this city specifically, due to the strong combination of a bustling college life and a historical downtown.
