This is not a holiday

Thanks to Cate Elliot for the very handy map! Its got Quebec City on the other side too!

So we did some administration stuff yesterday. The acquisition of a SIN - Social Insurance Number. That, along with the actual work permit and RAMQ card (national health insurance) are the three official documents you need to live and work successfully here in Canada.

We were told to get there early and be prepared to wait as its first come first serve but, mostly due to jet-lag, by the time we got there it was touching midday... And the whole thing took more than about 45 mins. It was probably the most pleasant visit to a government administration office I've ever had. it felt more like waiting at a fancy bank.

Then, with that out of the way, we did a bit of shopping in china town. Found a very well stocked Chinese Supermarket. I can see its going to be tricky buying certain things in small quantities - I had to buy a sack of Pak Choi for instance - but I'm sure we can cope.

Its also interesting to note the vast differences in prices from one place to another. Later in the afternoon, when we went out for a walk around la Plateau, we came across a grocery store where everything seemed to be both high quality and super cheap. But its hard to tell because of a) the exchange rate and b) the 15% tax that gets added on and c) the massive size of it all.

We actually ended up shopping at a supermarket later again. Aside from that being a favourite sport of mine, we need to get into the swing of living here, rather than treating this as a holiday. I can already feel the money running down due to constant eating out.

Saying that, I also had my first 'things are not what they seem' experience, on returning from the supermarket. little details such as buy pods of tea not teabags (pods? for a coffee machine? say whaaaat?) and what I thought was a can of chopped tomatos was a can of tomato sauce ready cooked.

that's nothing to do with things being in french btw, because everything is in both languages. that's just me not paying close enough attention.

So. Holiday mode off. Living mode on!