Toronto: Memories of summer

At the end of June, I said goodbye to Sydney and moved to Toronto. It felt harder leaving than usual, the amount of luggage I had hinting at a bigger trip than I usually take. After a few days in Hawaii, lapping up the sunshine and having some real good times with V, I landed on a muggy afternoon in Toronto. The first few days were surreal, suspended in jetlag and frustration with bureaucracy. The newly found companionship of friend #1 and swimming gently to the sunrise were the only saviours during this haranguing time.

Soon I moved to my own apartment, at first a barren space that I could do cartwheels in. I borrowed some things from #1 and went on massive shopping sprees at Walmart & Ikea on a scale I had never undertaken. Before long I had filled it with furniture and “things”, and now my little abode feels like a cosy home. Humans are always looking for familiarities from home, even if it is something tiny like the Ethiopian scarf that used to cover my accordion, now resting over the violin table.

Work started and I was reminded of how human beings adapt to new environments. There is an acute sense of unease whenever one is thrust into unfamiliarity. The initial days, especially the first few disasters and challenging situations, were really difficult. My first intubation was unexpectedly complicated, and no-one understood me when I asked for a Guedel. I struggled with the ethics and politics of the Canadian health system. But little by little, just as I knew I would even at the near-despair of the beginning, I began to settle in. Strangers turned into familiar faces, and I started to feel happier and lighter at work.

The flurry of moving, furnishing, settling in, paperwork, redtape, finally ended in mid-July. Then I could really take a big breath and look all around me in this new exciting city. I met friend #2 on a post call day when I went to a downtown walking meetup. We were naturally drawn to each other given we were both Chinese and of similar age and temperament. The day after that, on a whim, I went to a piano meetup and met friend #3. The piano meetup was interesting – we drew numbers out of a hat and played whatever we wanted on a warm toned Yamaha grand. She asked me at intermission whether I could sightread, but before we could continue the conversation we lost each other. Quite out of character for me, I messaged her through the meetup app and was happy that we got in touch again. And so, there it is, the story of how friends #1,2,3 came about. How lucky I am to chance upon these three wonderful women in Toronto.

Food is never far from my thoughts, and moving to a new country brought so many new excitements. Canadia doesn’t really have its own food, but I love the snacks like poutine – crispy fries doused with gravy and topped with squeaky chewy curds and beavertails – who doesn’t like fried dough? Toronto is so multicultural and we can get pretty much every type of ethnic food – from Ethiopian to Lankan to Chongqing noodles. We enjoyed fancy summerlicious meals at Auberge du Pommier and Momofuku Daisho. Also lots of cheap and cheerful meals like the wonderful black garlic ramen at Sansotei.

The weather was glorious for all of summer. Torontonians complained about the heat and humidity, but I loved every moment of it. I went for long walks exploring various corners of the city. I invited myself to #1’s civic day long weekend in Ottawa and spent the entire time sunbathing, swimming and kayaking (and chasing Canadian geese with the kids!) Some work people invited me along to their outings and I gladly went with them tubing in Elora, caving at Warsaw and canoeing. One day I had planned to go kayaking on the Humber river with #3 but she was sick, so a friendly Italian guy showed me around the waterways instead. Everywhere I turned, the scenery was utterly gorgeous and I fell in love with the water activities. Outdoors and summer go together so wonderfully, and I cherished every moment of it.

Before long it was time to head back to Sydney for a brief sojourn at E’s wedding. P came to visit for a few weeks in September and that time passed by just like a blur. We went for a long drive around Ontario, first heading up to the Bruce peninsula where we saw some amazing clear water and climbed down to a secret cave at the Grotto to chill. Then we had a rocky moment at the French River provincial park, a stunning river with ancient trees all around, though a scene that we could not fully appreciate. We camped for a night at Sturgeon Bay and watched the stars by the campfire. A rainy day drive took us all the way to Ottawa where we hunted for poutine. Finally we had a couple of romantic days at the cute cabin in Golden Lake, relishing the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and the wonderfully clear warm lake. We went to Algonquin and looked unsuccessfully for beavers (never mind, there was a cute stuffed beaver at the cottage). And on our last night, we managed to order takeaway from the wrong Golden Lake Chinese restaurant – who knew it would be in Missisauga!

Another weekend we went to Niagara falls and pretended we were on our honeymoon as our second date. We gaped in awe at the amazing falls every time we saw it and giggled at all the silly tourists. We went to America for breakfast and found everything closed except Starbucks. We went to the game arcade and collected silly tickets to swap for a blue plastic penguin. I loved this trip and was so glad I went with P - the kitsch could only be enjoyed with a loved one.

Then he was gone and with him, the last warmth of the summer. We had still been swimming in Golden Lake the 3^rd week of September, but quickly the nights got chilly and the leaves started to turn. The summer was over.