Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Boxing Day

It's my first full day in Canada, and it happens to be Boxing Day. For people like me who don't know much about Canada, it's a holiday where most stores have sales. There's a bit more history to it and conflicts on origin so just read the link if you're interested. Mean's cousin is gonna get an mp3 player so we're gonna tag along.

I go out and I see the how it looks in the daytime. I try to step on the snow but my foot quickly sinks. It's already snowed several inches. Since nobody steps on it (and compacts it), it is very soft. It was a bit embarrassing since I though Mean was behind me but it was her cousin instead.

We get in the car and Mean asks me to fasten my seatbelt. In the Philippines, seatbelts in the rear are pretty much useless. There was quite a bit of traffic similar to moderate days in Manila. I'm told this is the worst it ever gets. Parking is also difficult with some cars standing by, waiting for others to leave. Again like in parking areas in the Philippines. Of course, I'm told once more that this is the worst it could get. I spot someone trying to reserve a parking slot for a car that wasn't at the area yet. In the Philippines, this may lead to an argument or a fight. I'm not sure how it is here.

Best Buy

Best Buy is huge. Actually a lot of stores are huge. Most of the big stores have a warehouse style set-up. While they look at mp3s, me and Mean go to look for a Router and Wireless adapter. She bought a computer by the way, and it should be delivered within the next few days. Mean decides not to buy yet though. We're now going to Polo Park.





Polo Park

Polo Park is one of the bigger malls in Winnipeg. It's probably comparable to Robinsons Galleria in the Philippines, but with less levels. I suppose with the smaller population, malls as big as Megamall would be impractical.





So we entered through SportChek and separated again since we were gonna buy a warmer jacket and rubber shoes for me. We end up with a Columbia Jacket. It's an outer jacket with a removable hood, with a detachable fleece jacket inside. So you can wear both for really cold weather, or pick whichever fits current weather conditions. I also got some Adidas basketball shoes. Here are some pics in case the links die.



From here, we enter the main part of the mall. I still have cough so we head over to Shoppers Drug Mart. This is pretty much like Watsons and Mercury Drugstore i.e. a drugstore + mini-mart. I get myself some Robitussin and some vitamins.

After a bit of window shopping, we meet up with Tito and the kids. We ask if we can go to Superstore to pick up some other stuff.

Superstore

Superstore or Real Canadian Superstore seems to be a direct competitor of Wal-mart. They sell a large variety of items but I'd say mostly grocery items. And needless to say, it was HUGE. We go off and pick up the shoe rack we needed, a bunch of hangers, food and other stuff. There was also this time when we were looking at towels and this guy who was also there said "They're beautiful towels." It was nice of him to offer his opinion but it's something I'm not used to. So I refer to the towels we bought as "beautiful towels" now.

So that ends boxing day for me. Pretty mild activity for us compared to the normal citizen I guess. I'm still not picking up all the streets and how to get to the above places. It's pretty hard taking everything in but at least I have Mean to help me out and answer my questions. Tomorrow, I'll get my SIN and health card and get a taste of public transportation. Now, it's time to put together our shoe rack.

No comments: