What I Would do to Halifax

Mark is busy tonight, so I'm filling in! Before I begin this post, I'll just start with a disclaimer: this is all imaginative and fun; I promise that I have no intention of doing anything to Halifax. I love my little apartment, after all. :)

As Mark and I have mentioned in previous posts, I am currently a student in Halifax. Halifax isn't all bad, but it's also not home. It is so humid here (Edmonton is very dry). The first thing I notice when I step off of a plane into Halifax is the feeling of moisture between my fingertips. People who live here don't understand why I find that gross, but I do! There are no mountains here, but there is a freaky ocean filled with sharks and lord knows what else nearby. School is here, which obviously makes me dislike it a little more. Worst of all, though, is that Halifax seems to be a little bit confused about the concept of winter. Yesterday in Edmonton, it was around -27 degrees without the windchill when I left. I arrived in Halifax and it was at least +5 and pouring with rain! I felt like I'd just stepped off of the plane into the tropics.

Point being, this is what I would like to do to Halifax:

1. Send Halifax a firm letter to remind it that January is in the Winter. That means that there should be snow (preferably blizzards that cause snow days) and definitely NO RAIN. It should also not be so wet in general, in my humble opinion, but we can take baby steps.

2. Hit Halifax with a wrecking ball and move.

3. Scratch the one above. I like the restaurants here too much, and the history is also super interesting. Going to Citadel Hill is a lot of fun. The houses are also so different from each other and tend to be very old!

4. Develop and shuttle that runs from my university to the airport. There used to be one last year. It was cheap and quick and beautiful. However, it has been cancelled except for tourist season. In other words, I don't get to use it! I'm still miffed about that one.

5. Create a teleportation pad to take me home every night. (Yes, I'm a little bit homesick. I did just get back yesterday.)

6. Alter the accent. To be fair, it's mostly because I'm not very used to it. However, hearing people say "about" as "aboat", "you guys" as "yez" (in what language does that mean anything?!), and a distorted "a" vowel (it almost sounds shorter and more nasal) drives me crazy! I think people always find other accents a bit strange, though, to be fair!

7. Build an opera house. There are some opera mini-performances or recitals here, but there's no actual opera. I think there needs to be one in every city (yes, I am biased)!

8. Outlaw rain-boots. Let me explain something. Edmonton is semi-arid, therefore no one wears rain-boots (and wearing them usually means you'll get multiple people giggling at you). In Halifax, they're a necessity and day-to-day normal fashion item. I just can't wrap my head around it!!

In fairness, Halifax isn't soooo bad. I do dream of destroying it sometimes (kiddingly), but it's only because I'm dreadfully homesick or depressed. Halifax isn't the problem, though! Every city has its ups and downs (including Edmonton). It's just not home; I miss the prairies that stretch for miles (you should see the sky over them!), the mountains, the piles of snow, and, most of all, my house and family.

If you started school today, I hope you had a good day, and I hope the brief thought of whacking your university with a wrecking ball brightened your day slightly.

-Laura