Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

We finally got a car!! Yey!! A brand new Ford Escape in a three year lease and we are ready to roll.
After checking the weather forecast and the news we set off for a short road-trip just north of Toronto. It was beautiful. Everything was white and shiny. The air was fresh and clean. Everything we wanted to see in Canada that we never had back home.
After a long day of going around and around, we started heading back home. Like in a horror film, the weather was changing fast and for the worse. A snow storm with white-outs and temperature dropping to -35 Celsius with the wind factor were becoming unbearable.
We reached a closed road - first sign of trouble. We tried taking another route and ended up at another road block and having the road behind us also closed.
We were stuck in a small town named Flesherton and ended spending the night in the basement of the town church.
At about 4:00 Am we got some news that the snow storm had died and that roads were being cleared. We rushed back to the car and drove off...

Next time, we'll take sleeping bags.

No Credit

One of the major steps in our economy was the invention of the credit card. In Israel, I got my first credit card when I was in the army. It had gone through many phases and credit changes but I ended up having a gold MasterCard and used it for everything. It had come to the point, where like many of my friends, I didn't carry cash anymore.
One would think that a global computerized company like MasterCard would have identified me in Canada and would happily grant me a new local card. Here is the mistake. When you get a credit card in Israel, the bank gives you the credit according to your income, the amount of money you have in your account, your parents accounts, etc. In Canada you have to start over. Here no one will give you any credit because you do not have any credit history. You cannot get credit history, because you do not have credit - catch 22. No amount of money in the bank account will help.
So, what do you do? You establish credit the hard way. The first step would be to make a few long term payments - such as cell phones or cable television. Next, you need to ask for a zero-credit credit card - yes, such a card exists. CapitalOne can supply you a 300 $ prepaid credit card.
If you have successfully done these steps, you will start gaining credit history. After a few months, if all your bills are paid - you will start getting better offers and have sufficient history to get credit for loans, such as car leases.
Whatever you do, before coming to America, make sure your Israeli card is in good shape and keep some funds available back home.

What Food?

For those of you who have always dreamed of an "all-you-can-eat" diner, Canada is not the place. You'll probably have more luck just south, in the USA.

What you will find in Toronto is a spectacular mix of Asian, American, European and a whole lot of other cuisines. Noodles, ribs, burgers, pizza, bacon, sushi etc... even falafel, humus, shawarma.
All are available at the local grocery store or just on the street from the variety of restaurants Toronto has to offer.

The portions are fairly large here and the innocent bystander will have a hard time getting adjusted to the super-size meals but it's still not as bad as in the USA. Be careful or you'll start putting on weight.

The quality of the meats is much better than in Israel, especially the beef. Finding a decent steakhouse is not that easy, but buying your own meat and grilling it to perfection is an easily achievable task.

The only real problem, is cucumbers. Why do the need to be fifty (50!!!) cm long? One puzzled guy asking...

My Beloved TTC

Since I was twenty one I always had a car and assumed it was the only way to get around. My first car was a charming '88 Ford Fiesta that I took into the toughest of places and always brought me home safely. Since there is no real alternative to owning a car in Israel, you get used to driving around and getting stuck in traffic. Frustrating as it is, public transportation is almost non-existent. I couldn't have imagined living a life without a car until now.

Here in Toronto, the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) have done a wonderful job. No really. You can travel up and down Toronto without ever paying more than about two dollars per direction or about ten dollars for a day pass. It gets you everywhere and anywhere. Whether by subway, streetcars or buses, the system is outstanding. A bus will stop every block and there is no place you cannot reach, especially downtown.

If you ever need, you can always rent a car for about sixty dollars a day. Just make sure to get that extra insurance and damage waver. It's not that cheap but on rare occasions, my wife and I had to.

All in all, for new comers, a car is a luxury item you can do without (at least for a few months).

The House on Spadina

Our little house on Spadina Rd. was at a great location - in the middle of the Annex neighborhood and 100 meters from the TTC subway station. All in all, a perfect location. Shira could get from the house to her lab in under ten minutes door to door!

The internal condition of the house however was a disaster. We set to work - plastering, painting cleaning and then some...

Ray, our neighbor downstairs, was incharge of the house maintenance for the landlord, Alex. He fixed all the tiles in the bathroom and fixed the peeling ceiling.

We also started the buying frezy to fill up the apartment since we had no furniture at all. IKEA helped us alot as did neighbors who moved out of their place and left chairs and tables and other treasures to anyone willing to carry them away.

After a few weeks, our shipment of personal items from Israel also arrived and made us very happy - finally having a piece of our old home with us.

After two months of hard work and settling in the place looked hospitable.

Welcome to Canada

Big hug. After not seeing my wife for a week I finally got to see her at Toronto airport.
She came a week before me and got us a cosy little place on Spadina Rd. We hailed a taxi and filled up the car with all the suitcases and pets (to the drivers unhappy face) and took off to our place!
The floors were dirty, the paint was peeling and we had graffiti that the previous tenants felt obligated to leave us. After leaving a brand new apartment in Israel - this was a little harsh.
We placed all the suitcases and pets and went off to have a nice American breakfast to forget the airplane food.

See You on the Other Side

It was just another hot summer night in Ben-Gurion airport. Everything was exactly the same as I knew it for the last 30 years. But this time was different. After this time, I would become an outsider. I am moving to Canada. Now.

My mother was crying so Itai (my younger brother) took her back to his car and back home. I was afraid she would collapse from the stress.

I checked in my luggage - OMG 90 kg. It was just too much. But after some bargaining we got it all settled. My faithful cat also went down the rail into the plane's belly.

My dad helped me out all the way to the gate. I was still carrying my chinchillas. They would stay with me during the flight. Another last hug and onto the plane. Lucky I got an aisle seat with the chinchilla cage stashed under my chair.

Last call to my wife, she was already in Toronto - "see you on the other side".
I turned off my cell phone and the plane started to taxi to the runway.