I am speaking English I swear!

Hey Everyone,

Hope you all had a nice Bank Holiday weekend back in Ireland. I always love the Jazz weekend so I am gutted I missed out this year. I was working at the weekend but I did get to go out Saturday night to join friends for one of their Birthdays. So just a little update for you all. The job is going well. I got some great feedback today  and they seem to be really happy with me which is great. I am still getting used to how different it is, the hours etc but so far so good.

What I am going to talk about today is the fact that people are having a hard time understanding me. Its kind of funny really, sometimes its because I talk too fast but most of the time its because I use completely different words to what they normally use.This post is a little guide for anyone who has either experienced this when in Canada or for anyone planning on moving here...

• Rubbish: This isn't a word here, they have no idea what you are saying when you ask, "will I take out the rubbish?" Its Garbage!
• Hoover: I didn't realize hoover was a company name for what they understand as a vacuum cleaner! I am never going to be able to call it anything else though. Its a bloody hoover!
• Toilet/Bathroom: They do understand when you say it but you get some odd looks so its the washroom/restroom if you need to do your wees and poos.
• Jumper: I still laugh when I think about this one.. Me and Parker were doing a promotional job a few weeks ago and he left his jumper on one of the chairs. He asked the manger could he go back and get his jumper. The silence and blank stare was hilarious and I just shouted over..."Your SWEATER Parker". So if your looking for  something to keep you warm, get your sweaters out guys!
• Half Seven: I keep doing this when confirming reservations or giving someone the time. I say half seven, eight or whatever the time is and they can't for the life me figure out what I am talking about. Its Seven Thirty... This one I am really struggling with getting use to saying.
• Plaster: So today I cut me finger in work and asked for a plaster. They laughed and I figured out it was a band aid I was looking for."'Plaster is for the walls Zita". They are right though.
• Gawk: Ok, I'll let this one slide as even people from different parts of Ireland might not understand that gawk is another word for vomit. So when I said, " someone got the gawk", I guess its fair if they don't know what I am talking about.

To be fair when you think about it, the words they use make waaaay more sense then the ones we use. Like jumper, what the hell? You don't jump into it, why is it even called that? If I come back home using these words for awhile, forgive me..But for now I need to learn the way Canadians say things so I can communicate with the world!

Hope this guide helps others survive the communication barriers between us Irish and the Canadians.

Have a great week:-)

Talk soon xx

Zita J

My week in pictures

Someone said to me once (can't remember who it was right now) that if I ever feel homesick or feel down when I am away, do something nice for yourself. Well I must have been feeling very down last week, I took treating yourself to a whole new level. I got my hair and nails done. Ate too much ice- cream, drank way too much beer, watched fish and sharks swim around and got my name printed on a can of coke, which for me, someone who can't get her name on anything, was very excited about. This week we plan on doing more tourist stuff before we have to get our act together and find jobs but for now and as I said to the hairdresser (who thought everything I said was hilarious).. ."I'm jobless but fabulous", ya I just said that! haha! So here is my week in pictures...Enjoy!

Talk soon xx

Zita J 

The Story So Far...

Greetings from Toronto,

Sorry I am only getting a chance to write my blog post now but as you can imagine, I have been very busy. I only bought a laptop yesterday so its all systems go from now on. So... As you can see I have arrived safe and sound in Toronto and if I could describe in one word what I think so far it would be... AMAZING!

We arrived on Monday after a very doable six and a half hour flight. We flew with Aer Lingus and I could not sing their praises enough. One flight attendant started talking to us and we told her that we were moving over to Canada to live, a few minutes later she arrived back to our seats with two bottles of Prosecco to celebrate our big move.

After landing, going through security and getting our visas sorted, we got a taxi into Toronto to meet our friends who we are staying with. They met us outside their apartment block and brought us up to their apartment on the 15th floor, I am really going to have to get use to heights in this place because all the buildings are huge. Anyway after settling in a bit, some more friends called over to see us and we went downstairs to a communal area and had a BBQ and a few drinks. Surrounded by high-rise buildings in lovely warm weather, with friends around us was a great way to start our adventure.

The rest of of week was spent eating some amazing food, shopping for bits and pieces, playing basketball, watching softball and getting lost in this fascinating city. So far I am absolutely loving it! The people are so friendly and helpful, the weather is in the high twenties everyday and they have some cool shops for example Bulk Barn you can buy every type of food imaginable in there from spices to sweets, to peanut butter and soups, all you do is put what you want in bags or containers and they weigh it. So simple yet so great!

Next week will be spent viewing apartments and getting to know the city even more but for now its so far so good. I will leave you with the story so far...

Have a nice weekend:-)

Talk soon xx

Zita J

Packing.

Ok, so its 9 weeks today that I'm jetting off and yes, I have started packing. For some of ye reading this ye are probably thinking, "is this one off her head", but in fact this process is more daunting then your ordinary packing for a weeks holiday. I have to try fit my whole room into one suitcase (jokes). All jokes aside this task is something I have to plan well and I thought I better start sooner rather than later because knowing me I will be spending the last few days at home, crying to my cat, freaking out about leaving and having all the Barrys Tea and Taytos I can manage, just in case I can't find "real" tea and crisps in Toronto.

So the first thing I did two weeks ago was buy new suitcases. A large one and a carry on. I bought them in home store and more for half price and they both came to €75 .They are light weight and come in lots of different colours. I got them in purple of course. (I love purple). They still have the offer. See pic below:

We are flying with Aer Lingus and we are only allowed one bag (23kg) and one carry on. Naturally, this is freaking me out. Since I  am going in the summer I need to pack summer clothes like shorts and t-shirts as the temperatures can be between 25-40 degrees. HOWEVER, the winter is a different story altogether and temperatures have reached as low as -32.(As I wrote that I nearly change my mind about going). So that means I have to pack hats, scarfs and long johns :-) For people who know me, they will know I am always cold.They have laughed at me thinking about the winter that I will be facing. I'm just not going to think about how cold it will be and maybe then it won't happen right? I am more worried about how I will get all the clothes and shoes I love in. Oh god the shoes! How will I leave some of them behind :-( As the time gets closer, I might consider buying a second bag, for my shoes( jokes).

Summer
-v-
Winter

I hear vacuum bags are quite good also for getting lots of clothes into one suitcase so I think I may have to purchase some and see how I go. Packing aside, for now and you can probably tell by my face in the above photo, I am a little worried about the cold but I'm sure I'll get on with it. One thing is for certain though, I am not leaving the country without my dressing gown. The moment I get in from work it goes on, I wear it so much at home that my niece has pointed at dressing gowns in shops and said "Zita J".(Awks).Nothing beats being comfy though.

Talk soon.

Zita J

xx

The Waiting Game.

Welcome all to my first ever blog post, so whats this all about you may ask? Well back in January I was sitting at home, still recovering from overindulging at Christmas and already after breaking my New Years resolutions, when I started thinking about what direction I wanted my life to go in. While happy in the job I am in and life in general, I just wanted a change. At 25 years of age I felt I had more to see and explore, so the planning begun. I had a chat (not a long one to be honest) with my boyfriend, when we both decided we were on the same wave length. After trashing out a few ideas, weighing up what destination we both would like and me instantly ruling out Australia due to the fear a spider would kill me in my sleep, or a snake or a shark. (I'm a wimp), we came to the conclusion that Canada was the best choice for us. I know there is bears and mousses that could kill me but bears are kinda cuddly right? (jokes).

Anyway, irrational fears aside, from January onward, we played "The Waiting Game". In order to live and work in Canada you must get a working holiday visa. Last year, this type of visa was released early in the year and various websites stated that it would be the same this year. That was not the case, every day for FOUR MONTHS we checked the website for any mention of visas and it was not until mid April that the day finally came and by God were we ready, filling out our application in 1 minute. So from here on, the only waiting game we have to play is waiting to move our life to Canada in the Summer. The main reason behind my blog is solely for me (selfish I know), I don't have a very good memory,people who know me well can vouch for me on this one.I want to remember my new adventure and all the memories I make, I want to share them with the people who I unfortunately will be leaving behind. My blog is just for fun, for me, my family, friends and anyone who would like to see how I am getting on with the new chapter in my life. I am not a writer, I am just a normal girl with fears and worries like the next person and a girl who is courageous and ambitious and wants to regret the things I did,not the things I didn't do. (Prepare for cheesy and emotional sentences like that).
 Hope you enjoy my blog,
 Zita J xx