Ah, Calgary

My time in Calgary is quickly coming to an end -- in under a week I will be relaxing in the sun in Honolulu. This trip hasn't been so bad though. I was prepared for the worst and it turns out I have actually enjoyed my time back. That being said, I'm looking forward to getting back to Melbourne and am definitely feeling like 6 weeks away was a bit too ambitious. Maybe part of that is the guilt I feel for not having worked on my ethics application, which was supposed to be approved by the time I got back. Or maybe it's just that being back in Calgary is not my ideal way of spending my vacation time.

Regardless, it has been good to be back, on a number of levels. I've enjoyed catching up with friends and family. And I haven't broken out into horrible rashes, confirming that I am allergic to suffites, and not the water in Calgary. The best thing about being back has been realizing that it's not so bad to be back...for a visit. I could never live here again, not if I wanted to be happy.

Calgary is still the soul sucking place I remembered it to be, and it seems like things are slipping backwards instead of creeping forwards. I admire the people that stay on and try to challenge the repressive corporate cuture of this city, but I don't blame anyone for leaving the moment the chance arises.

It's been amazing to see how much the cost of living has risen here. It's nearly on par as Melbourne, which is shocking considering how much less value you get for your money here. Public transit, for instance, is only slightly more expensive in Melboure (and a day pass is less expensive) than Calgary, but in Melbourne you can actually get to nearly every corner of the city at nearly any time of day or night.

In Calgary, if you're downtown past 6pm, not only are you walking along empty streets, but it's really not safe. I have heard a ridiculous amount of stories about people being harassed and attacked by anyone from drug addicts to police officers in the still civilized hours of the evening on the streets of downtown Calgary. The more I see of this city the more I think it really has disintigrated into a wild-West era vigillante run city.

If I'm downtown at night in Melbourne, I'm not really worried about being harassed by anyone, and I'm certainly not concerned about police brutality or vigillante street chapels. Seriously Calgary. What the fuck?

One thing I have come to realize from this trip back is that Canada and Australia have both taken very different traits from the British. Canada took on the polite, PC, never-stick-your-nose-in-anyone-else's-business traits. Australia took on the humour, spelling, and gardening. Australians stand up for themselves, and for others. Canadians could learn a lot from this.

I'm looking forward to getting back to the land of smiling faces and sun burns, where community is important, and people help one another out.