Border Town

So I have spent my week in sunny Windsor, the place with the strongest UV rays in Canada I’m told. Is that because its so near the US? Anyway what it means is that I have a nice tan coming along. I would say that this has been my ‘vacation’ part of my Canada trip and after all that sightseeing in Montreal and Ottawa I have enjoyed nothing more than lounging by the pool and reading this week.

Apart from a from a few scattered French emersion schools and once person I met at a house party who was bilingual I feel a million miles away from the French influence here in Southern Ontario, gone are the bilingual street signs of Ottawa (or entirely French ones of Montreal). Here ’down South’ people’s Canadian accents are twinged with a more American accent and they talk about ’going to the States’ as if it’s the same as going down the road. I’m informed that one takes a trip either grocery shopping or clothes shopping to Detroit ‘because there’s more choice in the States’. Having said that, Windsor is, of course, still in Canada and therefore people are still therefore fiercely Canadian. They certainly smoke pot like they’re Canadian.

Not wanting to be crude or anything but I have extended my Canadian vocabulary: they use ’bang’ as frequently as we may use ’shag’ and they refer to their ’box’ (front bottom.) I have also been introduced to some Canadian music as I went to a gig last night (the bands were great but I was too hung over to fully appreciate it.)

Ah, yes, the joys of downtown Windsor! The University of Windsor I’m informed is a big university and although ’school is on summer break’ right now many of the students seemed to have stayed for the summer in their quite frankly palatial student homes compared to our digs in East London. I very much enjoyed myself and we went to a medium sized club (by London standards) and the drinks were cheap (I’m informed I shouldn’t get used to this, its just Windsor that’s cheap for alcohol not Canada). One thing I did notice is the way they (the girls) dress to go downtown. A pretty top, shorts or a denim skirt and flipflops, more fancy beach wear as opposed to clubbing wear to me, but I supposed it’s hot in the summer and its certainly more modest than what some people wear in Bristol on a Saturday night (and its cold in England!)

And so after a very enjoyable week in Windsor I am off to Toronto (2 days after all the G20 chaos) and then on Canada Day (July 1st) I fly to Vancouver! I wonder what my Canada Day will be like as I will spend the morning in Toronto and the evening in Vancouver. But as far as I can tell Canada Day is a holiday something to do with the independence of Canada but no one really cares, all they care about is getting drunk/high/both or working and earning double pay because it’s a National holiday.