Day #32

Today was AWESOME! This morning I got up at like 9ish and got ready to go. I had toast with butter for breakfast and then Vicki's boyfriend Khalid came over. He is a know it all about U of G and everything I wanted to know about Canada. The 3 of us headed towards Toronto for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. It was about an hour drive and Khalid got us in for free with UoG vests since he was one of the people representing the school at the fair.

They had EVERYTHING there. There were like 100 cows, literally. I saw a woman catching a cow's shit in a giant bucket. It was pretty much the funniest thing I saw all day. There was a petting zoo area with emus, sheep, llamas, alpacas, cows, and goats. I touched a cow for the first time I think. There were local food vendors and a ton of information of agriculture, farming, animals, and stuff like that. I tried some of the strangest stuff. There was mango flavored yogurt made from sheep's milk. It was the most amazing yogurt ever.

For lunch I had apple cider and bison meat on a bun. Yes, bison meat. There were also little shops where people sold stupid little trinkets, but there were also some really cool ones too. There was a booth where they were selling full size cow skin rugs. They were massive, it was kind of disturbing. A painter had a whole area set up to display his work and we actually saw him painting part of one of his pieces. Seeing an artist at work isn't something you get to see everyday.

We watched a dog show, I had a candy apple, and it was just such an awesome day. I learned so much about this place. I don't know what it is, but being here really makes me want to live here. Did you know that they don't have toll roads here? I guess between that and healthcare, it would explain the 15% tax on everything. But minimum wage in Ontario is $10.50! And despite popular belief, the American dollar and the Canadian dollar are actually extremely close to equal. The conversion rate now is 1 Canadian dollar = 0.995 US dollars.

The drinking age here is 19. Thank god. I mean it doesn't matter much for me, but I just have more respect for a government that has a slightly lower drinking age. Oh, and that whole stereotype that Canadians say "eh?" is so true. If I had to guess how many times I heard Vicki and Khalid say it today, I'd have to about 15 times each. They also call a bathroom/restroom, a washroom. What we call scalping, like buying or selling Canada. Man, can you imagine how much culture I'd learn about in a week? I definitely need to come back here someday.

Anyway, when we left the fair, we walked through Toronto just kinda towards the center. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the CN Tower, which is the 3rd tallest free standing structure in the world. That's the giant pointy tower. It's one of the first things I noticed when I got here. We stopped at a restaurant called Jack Astor's for dinner. It wasn't anything special, just a popular chain up north, much like a Friday's or Chili's. I had a cheeseburger and a Canadian beer. There was something about the burger. It wasn't like holy toledo good, but it was noticeably different tasting, and it was pretty good. The beer was called Steam Whistle and I was impressed. I must admit that it was better than most American beers I've had. The tax on the bill was like 11% though. That's something I don't think I'd enjoy getting used to.

We took a taxi back to the place where the car was parked and headed back to Guelph. Khalid dropped us back off at Vicki's apartment and we said goodbye. He was so freaking awesome, both of them were. They really made an effort to make sure I was having a good time and I honestly really did. I felt so comfortable with them right away, it seemed like we had been friends for a while. Even though it didn't snow like the weather forecast a few days ago said it would, I didn't even notice until a little while ago. I don't even care cause today was just so amazing. I can't wait to see UoG tomorrow. Don't forget to change your clocks an hour back before you go to bed tonight!