Sonja in... Canada
A recap of my summer in Canada and some very first impressions of Buenos Aires.
Hello hello hello!
I’m writing you this message from a beautiful cafe in the Soho Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina, but that’s not what this is about. What I really want to talk about today is my incredible summer living in Calgary.
Location 1: Warsaw, Poland
As you know, I spent all of May in Warsaw with Tom, Vita, and Katja, where I got my fill of being an older sister and connecting with my Polish heritage and by that I mean the most Polish family member I have — Katja. Hard to pinpoint exactly why but she has a very Polish personality to me.
I also got to onboard the Warsaw Monastyrskis to Berlin and Seoul culture through a Berlin-themed restaurant and a Korean food kiosk, both minutes away from the Warsaw apartment. While I may not physically be in Berlin or Seoul, closing my eyes and taking a bite of currywurst or kimchi can take me back to Friedrichschain and Haebangchon (my neighborhoods) in seconds.
Sidetrip 1: Groningen and Amsterdam, Netherlands
Then, right before leaving for Calgary, I spent the weekend in the Netherlands where I visited my friend Izzy in Groningen and Daniel in Amsterdam. And the reason for the trip— Tom and I saw an Olivia Rodrigo concert in Amsterdam. Not only was Olivia Rodrigo performing, but also a band called the Toppers which visually looks like a pineapple-hula-parrot explosion which Tom unknowingly matched the theme of pretty well.
Location 2: Calgary, ‘Berta
Then, with a quick pitstop in Warsaw to pick up my things, I was off to Calgary where I moved on my own to work at Leftovers for the second summer. I worked as a Programs Assistant which meant overseeing the Home Harvest (backyard produce rescue) program, launching the catered food rescue pilot project, and keeping up with our data and reporting metrics. My summer at Leftovers also landed me a CTV Calgary News Interview where I spoke about our catered food pilot to the good people of Calgary, bright and early at 7:15.
Work aside, I got to know Calgary, especially my neighborhood Dalhousie, in such a personal way, being able to form my own opinions and connections with the city independently of what friends or family think of a city. It was far less right-wing, redneck than I expected and I was pleasantly surprised by the internationality and hospitality of the city. In fact, most of the people I connected with weren’t even from Calgary. My friend Helen was from Edmonton, my colleague Liz from Nelson, BC, and my roommates Christine and James were from Squamish and Bakersville. James is a playwright who was raised on a cattle ranch in Bakerville. James is a real cowboy who describes the Calgary Stampede (AKA Cowboy Christmas) as “the greatest outdoor dress-up party”. But being able to experience the Stampede was one of the biggest highlights of my time in CowTown. I went to one ‘Pede concert night at the Cowboys Club to see Riley Green, a country singer who told the crowd “I ain’t ever seen this many cowboy hats in one audience”. The next weekend I went to the fair crowds to see heavy horse pulling, auctioneering, and try a pickle pizza— one of the best wacky Stampede snacks of this year’s Stampede. Stampede definitely shows the best that Calgary has to offer and it really did feel like Cowboy Christmas, a steadily-building excitement and bustle of the city leading up to the 10-day long festival.
Sidetrip 2: Winnipeg
Over the summer I was also able to visit Winnipeg during peak Fringe Festival season and got to see some pretty good shows including one called “A Woman’s Guide to Peeing Outdoors”— an educational experience that’s for sure! It was great to celebrate Uncle Tim and Chocha Lora’s birthdays with them and get some quality cousin bonding with Taryn (watching the new Despicable Me movie and getting Jenna Rae macrons and cupcakes). And of course, it was inspiring as always to see my Aunt Taisa and suck up as much wisdom out of her as possible. And no trip to Winnipeg is complete without a trip (or three) to A&W with Taras.
Sidetrip 3: Fernie, BC and Whitefish, Montana
After recovering from my Winnipeg travels, I took a quick side trip to visit my Minerva friend Grant in Whitefish, Montana where I traveled by bus via Fernie, BC. I got to reconnect with Mother Nature and spend some time offline. We went rafting, paddleboarding, and hiking while I was there. I’m still recovering from the sun burns! I also discovered a new favourite fruit — the huckleberry— very underrated as far as fruits go.
On one hike in Montana, we chatted with a man enforcing parking at Glacier National Park and when asking him about all the illegally parked cars he told me something I’ll never forget:
I’ve got nowhere to be and all day to get there.
Do with that what you will.
Sidetrip 4: Toronto, Ottawa, Graceville
Then, it was back to Calgary for a week to finish up with work before moving out. On my way to BA, I took a weekish-long detour to Ontario where I saw my friend Tosja (formerly Theodosiya/Tossia/Theo) and her parents Roman and Larissa Zyla. The view from Tosja’s Toronto apartment was absolutely breathtaking! It was also so nice to revisit my house in Ottawa, where I grew up. It was nostalgic and beautiful and peaceful. Being in Ottawa also afforded me the opportunity to catch up with old friends, duration-wise with my friend Christian and age-wise with my former neighbor Jane. Then we got to spend 3 days at Tosja’s family cottage in Graceville, QC, decompressing and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Then it was one night in Ottawa, one in Toronto, and I was off to Buenos Aires where I am now.
As I reflect on the summer, my biggest takeaway is that I’ve learned how to open doors of opportunity for myself, not for the sake of walking through the door but rather learning how to open it. I learned how to live independenty, how to be alone, and used my thoughts and impressions of Calgary to inform where I go next.
Talk soon,
Sonja