sounds like - -

That's me walking around dowtown Halifax with a $10 bag of candy I bought from the Freak Lunchbox. I went a little nuts in there. I should wish I could show you all their stuff. They have 'Gay Accent Mints' and Jesus Christ action figures. Heheh.

Yes, the coat does look a little big but that's probably because it's for winter. I bought it at a thriftstore for $30 and it smells like other people but I like the way it looks and at least it prevents hypothermia.

There’s so much to be done and so much to write about. I don’t know where to start but I guess I should kick this post off with an apology for not having written in the past few days. I would have except:

There are very few internet café’s in this city. Getting to one is a feat beyond my capacity to achieve at this moment. Anyway, even if I’d reached one, the minutes would cost a lot more than they do back home and I would have a hard time paying for it right now, unemployed as I am.

My cousin, Michael has a good laptop with a cable connection but I can’t just drop by to use it because it’s hard to get anywhere in Halifax without a car. And besides, he’s busy preparing for a trip to Scotland and his wife’s got enough to deal with without me hanging around and bugging her all day.

So I’m here, on the one computer in my aunt’s house with internet access which is unbelievably slow. I’ve privately dubbed it ‘Slothra’ and I’m trying very hard to resist bashing in the CPU with one of the firewood logs on our neighbour’s yard.

Words cannot describe how much I miss the Philippines in general, more specifically:

The Noise: It is so fucking quiet here. I wake up in the middle of the night because of the unnatural silence. Not a cricket, chicken, or passing car to be heard. I am in a suburbian vacuum of sound called Dartmouth.

The City: We live in the suburbs and getting to the city entails crossing a bridge, much like getting to Mandaue from Lapu-Lapu. However, even when we do cross that bridge, we find that Halifax is not as big a city as Cebu is.

Sure, it has conveniences and things Cebu doesn’t have like huge supermarkets stuffed with products I’ve only ever heard of or imagined, parking meters, toll booths, shelters for the homeless, sturdy stone architecture, crime-free parks, decent city planning, and so on but there are far fewer people here. It’s strange to go around a place where there aren’t many people crossing the road, running around, playing on the grass, spitting on the sidewalk, selling rags or fruit or newspapers – I guess everyone’s indoors, trying to stay warm.

I’ll never forget flying over Nova Scotia the first time, seeing that tiny little airport in the middle of a thousand leafless trees, telling myself, “There is NO way this is Halifax. Where is the city?” Not a single shelter in sight, not even a little log cabin, just miles and miles of brown trees, dirt, and frozen little lakes. “Probinsya man ni.” Turns out, the city was just far away from the little airport, more visible on the other side of the plane.

Cebu is a bigger city, it’s wilder, more lively, and best of all: HOT.

I miss the humid warmth of the tropics... It is so fucking COLD here. The other day, I got a taste of rain in 2 degree weather and it was so unfun. The unfailing coastal winds drove those little needles of ice into my skin and let me tell ya, they stung.

The People: I miss the people.

But I should stop bitching about stuff. There’s just too much to complain about and it would wear me down to the bone. I mean – here I am in a climate that prompted people to beat baby seals to death just so they could stay warm, trying to learn everything about growing up, attempting to adjust to this massive change with just my sister, no helper, no support from friends or other close family members, trying to make it in a place where the public transport system sucks and you can’t get by without a car, paying outrageous prices for basic commodities, especially food, hoping the power never goes out ‘cause if it ever does and you can't heat your home or water supply, you’re screwed... But there are things here to love.

My family here is really nice. I worried about the differences in our cultures and I thought they wouldn’t be as accommodating as my Pinoy relatives but I was completely wrong. What’s more, I’ve learned more about my father in the past five days than I have in the past five years. It’s fascinating.

And my granny is unbelievable. She’s 82 but she’s still razor sharp and when we arrived at the airport, she pushed my sister luggage cart out to the car herself. That night, she cooked an entire meal by herself for Michael’s going-away party and she lives by herself, totally independent. It’s unbelievable. She could pass for a person in their late 60's too, she so healthy.

My cousins, my aunt, they’re all great and it’s such a relief to be surrounded by people who sympathize with us and really go out of their way to make us feel safe and welcome.

I have no complaints about the food. I mean – much of it is cheesy and bready, totally fattening and pumped with preservatives (mostly) but there are so many healthy alternatives and I could see myself going vegan here easily. For now, however, I’m trying to bulk up. I lost so much weight in the month leading up to our departure.

The people here are mostly very polite and sweet. I don’t know how they stay so chipper in this weather. Maybe the cold makes everyone want to be nicer just so people want to be around them more. I miss people! Send in the crowds.

Yesterday, my sister and I applied for Health Cards at a government building here (‘free’ medical) and it took all of ten minutes. No lines. Can you imagine?

You guys should see what it’s like here. Visit my buzznet account. I have new photos up. I’ll keep posting.

Yesterday, I saw snow for the first time. I ran outside in my pajamas and let it melt on my goose-pimpled skin. It was exhilarating.

The sun’s out! I want to write more but I’m running out of time on this. Write me beh. I’m homesick and I could use a little warmth. Thanks. Ayo ayo.