I was just considering
making a one year back in Canada blog and I just by chance found my last such
effort back when I was one year back in Canada from Amsterdam in 2007. ( See below as part
2) Fast forward 5 years and I am in the same situation, back in Canada after a
year out in Denmark. Granted, this time there were plenty of differences. The
main one being that I wasn’t on the back of a 6 year expedition previous to returning.
Also, being in Toronto isn’t a new thing anymore. This is home. Is it perfect,
well nope… if perfect means everything being handed to you, but it has the
qualities I need and appreciate.
Time for a comparative discussion of
Toronto versus other cities I have lived in.
On the surface, the main thing Toronto has going for it is that THEY CAN’T
KICK ME OUT! I actually have the right to stay, which is something that was a
bit of a stumbling block for me in the past. That’s not the full story though.
The truth is that like the other cities I have lived in and enjoyed –
Edinburgh, London, Sydney, Amsterdam, Copenhagen – I’ve developed close bonds
with a lot of people. The beauty is this time these bonds are just going to
continue to grow. I know it’s a cliché, but I really do believe that life is
just about the relationships you form. If you need a million dollars to show
the right status to people to be in their presence, so be it. But, I find that
30 dollars for beer should do just fine. Anyone who isn’t into that, rich or
not, isn’t anyone I’m interested in knowing. I like people, like me, that are in
the struggle: struggling for love, struggling for peace of mind; struggling for
security; struggling for professional recognition; struggling to be their best
selves… For those that don’t struggle have given in to the status quo and have
become passive. Even if you’re not a traveler anymore, the pathos of the open
spirit is striving and yearning and that is the struggle.
So there was my obligatory philosophical
tirade – the doings and un-doings of my platonic mind type – now for some real
talk. Toronto has a good size, its 4.5 million people with 2.5 million near, or near"ish" to downtown. That size means you can know the city well, but still find
new things regularly. Perhaps for all of my continuous praise for London that gem of metropolitan life might be a little too big. I get around 9 months of the year in Toronto by
bike, a proposition in London that would be impossible. Especially as the older
people get the further they move from central London. What I have witnessed
through friends is that given time London becomes more about the area you live
in rather than the attractions of the centre. People eventually tend to rarely
leave their niche socially. Toronto doesn’t have that problem. Everything is accessible enough.
There’s a place for anyone to go in Toronto as well
depending on your mood and personality. Here is a little rundown of some of the locales. The artistic, intellectual sets generally flock to the Annex
– more hardcore academic, writer types – and Queen Street West – slightly more
musician, artist, faux hipsters. Both of them are great spots for the
alternative scene of Toronto and my favourite parts of the city. Queen Street west houses
a new jewel, by Canadian standards, with Trinity Bell Woods Park. People in the
park are basically allowed to drink un-accosted by police. To my European
friends that would seem like a natural right… but alas, in Canada we tend to be
over controlled. King Street, one major street down from Queen, caters more to
young professionals. Can be fun, but also has a veneer of snobbishness and
yuppie entitlement. College street is kind of an inbetween for King and Queen street for people that find one or the other to polarizing. The entertainment district, right
downtown, is for the younglings who want to party club style. I guess I’m
getting old, as I haven’t been down there at night since being back a year. To
the east and west there are interesting boroughs for people wanting to be
outside of the bright lights of downtown. The west has High Park,
with Toronto’s largest park and trail network, and a pretty chilled area called
the Bloor West Village. To the east is Leslieville and the Beaches. The beaches
is Toronto’s attempt at beach culture, which goes alright – complete with beach
volleyball and bikinis - except for one annoying fact – it’s not safe to actually
go into the waters of lake Ontario. There are also more beaches on centre
island – a small island just south of downtown on lake Ontario that you get to by ferry.
So my one year back words one topic spun
forth more than any other - Toronto and the city it is… The reason for that is
that this is home. I’m going to make it here or nowhere. Challenges lay ahead,
but then again that will make it that much sweeter when it all works out
smashingly. There is poetry in the struggle if you look for it…
Part two: Words a year back from Amsterdam
2007
So
a year has past since I have left Amsterdam, and ended my six year expedition.
Considering in due candor there have been some enjoyable elements to my return
as well as some obstacles to overcome… One thing as a traveler I put forth was perseverance, I knew that giving up on
a poor situation was not an option. Will power, courage, and creativity will
elicit the answer to those that have the patience and the confidence in
themselves to allow an answer, or a situation to arise, that flips things upside
down.
Now considering my travels, I do have to
say that those dual elements did serve me well. There were times when easily I
could have capitulated and folded under the weight of adversity. I could have
followed suit of others, many others, that I have seen give in to stress and head
straight home for the security of their home city. I always chose not to do
this. Even during those times that I didn’t have money and I felt the fear and
the pinch of poverty across my body and my thoughts. Especially then, I chose
to stand tall and learn about myself and those around me from the experience.
There is no better time to look into your self and try to grow beyond your own
doubt and insecurities then when times are rough.
Having spoken about the down times, my
travels showed me that either through luck, or as a by product to my
personality, I have had
some amazing opportunities come my way. A person that has their imagination
peeked by the strainer of necessity is ready to leap on an opportunity. Like being
given the chance to earn 5000 pounds in one month working nights in a shop in Edinburgh, or getting the opportunity to go from being a
dishwasher to a copy writer in one of Amsterdam’s most successful advertising/
multi media companies with one interview and never showing a resume.I heard once you have to be at the right place at the right time. One element of that equation is left out: being in the right place at the right time, and being the right person to jump on an opportunity.
The year in Canada has shown me that success here is not a given and something that one needs to strive for. Why have it any way. Comfort and complacency are the fuel of a lethargic mind… a dynamic mind feeds on tension and a need to move forward and step beyond any rings of idiosyncrasy. Bring it on, it's interesting to see what the future will hold...
