The Canada Chronicles--Day 1

If this is the third time I've published this, I apologize. I think the Internet has a personal vendetta against me. Changing the computer seems to have helped. Blasted technology.











Several of you and I have joked about me going to Canada and saying things like "oooh...Canada" and "Wow...foreign country" Ahahahahhaaha. ha. But coming off the plane today between two Air Japan flights and looking at the gigantic screen over the customs booths and noticing that English was about the fifth language down on the list made me realize the overwhelming truth:



I am definitely in a foreign country.







We don't realize it down in (as these Canadians call it) The Stehhhts, but Vancouver is one of the most diverse cities in the world, about as diverse as New york, percentage-wise, only in a smaller area. Surrey, the city I'm living in, has a demographic of about one-third Indian (as in from India, not First Nations, which is what they call the Native Americans up here, WorldQuest people), and the rest of the greater Vancouver area is full of people from everywhere else in the world. It is incredibly interesting to listen a minute to the snippets of all the languages going on at any given moment, and Tim, while driving us home remarked "Look! A white lady!" the one and only time we saw one.





I am staying in Surrey, which is the equivalent of Troutdale and is exactly like Troutdale except for the diversity part. We, like many of the Surrey residents, live in a basement apartment (the houses are gigantic, but each one has like two basement apartments that help with the absolutely redunkulous price of housing). Welcoming us into their home is an Iranian couple (and furthermore, probably the most adorable couple on the face of the earth) who have lived here almost two years. Their names are Sepideh, who is too fiery to be Islam's daughter, and AMin, who is too just to be its son. Both of them escaped to Turkey from Iran after their lives were endangered because of their faith in Jesus Christ, and were married there. On Thursday, they leave to visit Sepideh's family in Finland, and Sepideh brightens up just talking about it. She has not seen her family since they have been married.



This evening she made us Iranian saffron chicken and rice and I thanked God for Iran. And her.



Tomorrow marks the first venture into Vancouver. I wait in excitement.