*This article is dedicated to LX, VV, EK, SB, CMD and Piccolo Grande. Thank you to EK for helping me make this list! Moving out is hard. This may be obvious to some of you, but it was not for me. I had always imagined living away from home as this great, big, fantastic adult moment where I was now free to do everything I ever wanted. Moving away to another town where nobody (or almost nobody) knew me, was even more attractive. Oh, how wrong I was. As some of you might know, I moved over the summer to Ottawa, Canada’s capital (no, it’s not Toronto) for work. For the curiouser of you, I was a Parliamentary Tour Guide in, you guessed it, the Parliament buildings! Now, do not get me wrong. Being a tour guide was great. I got to make friends from all across the country, gain more independence and learn new skills. However, there are some things I wish I’d known before moving. For now, I am back home in Montreal. As I prepare for my move to Paris in winter, I want to make sure I write these tips down, mostly for me to remember, but also for those of you who might be going on exchange or moving for a job. Hopefully, these are helpful to you, and if you have any tips to add, comment them! Food & Cooking
1. Put your bread in the fridge.Unless you are planning to live with someone that eats a ton of bread, put your bread in the fridge. Trust me, you don’t eat enough bread on your own to consume a full loaf before it starts to grow mold on it. 2. Learn how to cook three to five dishesEveryone starts at different levels of skill. Some of you might be cooking fanatics, others might enjoy watching videos online and the vast majority, I will assume, have no idea what to do in a kitchen. For those of you that have no idea, you can start easy with simple spaghetti and tomato sauce (add meatballs if you’re feeling adventurous, if not, swap for sausages), omelets and maybe frying frozen perogies (a lifesaver) with some cut vegetables. If you want to be wild, look at recipes before going grocery shopping and make yourself a list of ingredients. If you’re on a budget, you don’t need to get ALL of them for ALL the recipes. Get your basic things: peppers, onions, meat or veggie replacements etc. From there, you can easily either replace an ingredient or just not put them. Nobody will know you didn’t add red pepper flakes to your curry, and it’ll still taste good. 3. Spices are insanely expensive if you buy them in those tiny white plastic boxes. Here are three alternatives instead: 1. Buy in bulk. If you are near a plastic-free grocery store or if your local grocery store offers that service (as more and more do), grab a bag and fill it up. It’ll cost a fraction of the price and you can save plastics by reusing the bags! 2. Get seasoning packets. They are available a little bit everyone in stores for different purposes (taco seasoning, fish or steak seasoning…) While it may not be the exact blend you are looking for, it’s just as tasty and a fraction of the price. 3. Buy products with spices already included in them. The best example of this is tomato sauce. Instead of buying a regular one, just buy one with basil or garlic already in it. It'll be the same price as the regular one, but way better. Lifestyle 4. Go wander and explore by foot There are two reasons why I am including this on the list. First, it is one of the best ways to discover your new city. You get to familiarize yourself with the main streets and find out where are the coffee shops, the grocery store, the convenience store, the bakery, the late-night shawarma place, the bars etc. All the basic things you need to know on the tip of your fingers. There is a lot of value in doing all of this on foot as your memory retains the city patterns better if you experience them firsthand. Second, it is the best way to feel safe and at home. Part of what makes your hometown great is that you know where everything is and are comfortable walking around. I needed to feel the same thing in Ottawa. There is just a sense of comfort and peace of mind that comes with feeling grounded in your setting. While you are travelling for a short time, it makes perfect sense that you would marvel in seeing new things everywhere, but when looking to establish roots (whether long or short term), there needs to be a deeper connection to your surroundings. For me, I tried to take up running. Even if I hated the exercise part of it, I highly enjoyed going to the two parks that I discovered during my first weeks there (Strathcona Park and MacDonald Garden Park). Both were in my neighbourhood (Sandy Hill), therefore, I felt some sort of connection it, as if I was truly a part of the neighbourhood even though I knew I would only be there for four months. Strathcona Park specifically ran on the side of the water. The sunset views were beautiful, and the patches of forests provided an oasis of calm when I needed to clean my head. 5. Make some friends This is probably the most important thing on this list. Fortunately for me, my new job would mean constant contact with people my age out of which a good amount of them would live from walking distance from my residence. I was also very lucky to have some friends move with me to Ottawa for the same job (shout-out to EK, ACV and CS). Therefore, I was not completely like a fish out of the sea. However, making friends for me has always been a very difficult process, one that is filled with doubt and insecurities. Getting over the fear of possible rejection is something that I have always struggled with, but I did not want to be left alone so it had to be done. The one thing that helped me push through it all was ice cream. Yes, yes, ice cream. Why? Well, I figured that I needed to develop connections that went deeper than just talking at work (also works for school). So, I got a plan. I figured that everybody loves ice cream. I found the best spots in the city and then invited a couple of friends to go with me. It's not as heavy of a commitment as going out for dinner, it's cheap and most stores nowadays have vegan options so everyone can have a taste. It can also be squeezed between work and dinner with your parents, or you can even go late at night. By removing the pressure of organizing some sort of large-scale activity, I was much more at ease. As the summer went by, more people started coming to get ice cream with me. Everyone wanted to taste the deliciousness, therefore, it allowed me to make more connections in a setting that felt comfortable to me. That does not mean that I would not go out of my comfort zone, but, especially in the first few weeks, ice cream helped me to break out of my shell. So, find that one thing that makes an uncomfortable situation comfortable and go do it as often as you can until you feel satisfied with the connections you’ve made. 6. Never say no because you’re tired Unless you are drained or sick, do not say "no" if someone asks to hang out. This does not mean that there are no good reasons to say "no" other than tiredness! If you are feeling like being alone or that everything sucks (happens to the best of us), then maybe you are not the best company. However, if you do not want to go because you are too tired, just go. Once you get to the museum or bar or bowling alley you will feel better. Of course, after coming out of school or work you might feel tired, but chances are, it will go away once you start doing something fun and active. Also, you know that if you don’t go and you are alone in your bed at night and looking at your friends’ Instagram/Snapchat stories, you will feel sad and alone. So, go! Have fun and don’t overthink it. 7. Do not study in your dorm This might be a personal situation as I am sure some of you can study in the same room where you sleep, but for me, it is just the worst idea. I just see my bed and just want to drift off into Neverland. Instead, go find a coffee shop, a library or even just a quiet space with a plug for your computer. There are some everywhere if you just take the time to look for them. 8. Check out the deals for museums, galleries or other activities Trust me, everyone loves a good deal especially when you have to pay for your entertainment. Luckily, as students, we have access to a lot of privileges especially when it comes to museums and tourist spots. Several museums will have free access to their permanent collections on certain nights or have student discounts for exhibitions. A lot of restaurants offer promotions of the same kind too. These rebates might be hidden, so look for them. You can often hear about it by word of mouth from your peers, by subscribing to the institution's newsletter or by following Instagram accounts or hashtags that promote your new city's food and cultural events. Miscellaneous 9. Get a library card (or raid your friends’ library before leaving) Well, this blog is 99% books so I could not not write about books. Books, as you know, are expensive and take a ton of luggage space. I say, bring all those that you can, but once you get to your designated location, get a library card! It is often free or very cheap and allows you to rent as many books as you want. Now, for those that know me, you know that I am not the biggest fan of libraries, but, in this case, I don't have a choice. Your other option is, if possible, grab as many books from your friends as you can. However, that only works if you have enough luggage space to carry them all. Also, don’t forget to give them back! Nobody loves a book borrower that doesn’t bring the books back. 10. How to deal with fruit flies Fruit flies will ruin your life. The main problem with them is that it's never just one fly, it's dozens upon dozens of gross creatures that have no purpose other than being annoying. At least, they are not dangerous. Here are my suggestions for how to deal with fruit flies: 1. Catch them by putting fruit in a glass. Fill the glass halfway with some sugary juice (sweetened iced tea, orange juice etc.). Top with a nice thick layer of dish soap. Cover the glass with saran wrap. Use a fork to poke little holes in the wrap. The flies will fly inside the glass, attracted by the fruit, and get caught in the dish soap. 2. An alternative, replace the fruit and juice by (cheap) wine. 3. Eventually, when you feel you have caught most of them, empty the liquid in the drain. Clean the drain well after that. You don't want baby fruit flies growing in your drain. Hopefully this helps! Xx.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
MeI'm in love with the world. Archives
April 2020
Categories
All
Archives
April 2020
|