I just spent 4 days in Vancouver, B.C. visiting family, and encountered some phenomenal things. Here's just a bit about my most recent impressions of this intriguing city.
It seems that in Vancouver...
If you live on the street you might just wear a smile, instead of shoes.
But, there are still people walking down the street cursing at themselves.
It costs $1.20 CAN to send a Post Card, but if you give them a U.S. $10 bill you can get $10.20 CAN back... (I'm still not sure if that was a mistake or actually the correct conversion)
Exits and restrooms are more commonly found if you follow signs for the "Way out" and "Washroom"
It seems to be custom to hold the door for the person behind you if they're within about 6 meters - which may not be a rarity in the U.S. depending where you are, although you might say 20 feet is a bit much.. I might agree.
Libraries won't let you borrow a ukulele, even though they have a musical instrument lending program (WHICH IS SO COOL!) - if you're only visiting.
Various scents of cannabis waft through the air - despite it not being legal here (other than medicinally) for another month.
The wildlife is mystical & endlessly entertaining:
Black squirrels scurry through the streets
You can spend evenings counting wild bunnies in Richmond suburbs, and they seem to hardly mind if you walk right up to them
Canadian moths get trapped indoors, too
Vancouverites seem to be fairly "insular" as their free newspaper says they self describe in this article I read on the SkyTrain, BUT they do shine through when the almost constant cloud-cover slightly and occasionally subsides :)
Culture Reflects Society
Some other things I smiled at in downtown Van:
Someone walking their very sweet dog off-leash through the many people
A man holding a very beautiful orange and yellow parakeet
A woman playing amazing electric guitar (you know, the kind without a body) and singing on a street corner, with such blues... she drew me in for a while.
I loved visiting my family and getting to explore this beautiful city! I'm sure I will be back, and I'll not leave my ukulele at home next time :)
And maybe I'll catch a glimpse of another parakeet up someone's sleeve!
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