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It’s November and I Can’t Wait to Fly to Australia

Tim Hortons Cups on Parliament Hill

November is such a depressing month—I don’t even know why it exists. Days are cold and damp and it is pitch black by the time I go back home at 5 pm. This month is an interregnum between pumpkins and Santa Claus, between red leaves and snow. I guess we need a transition period to adapt but boy, November drags on forever.

I have tons of little things to do before we go, ranging from buying a few books to seeing my accountant. Last week, right after I finally took my winter coat to the dry cleaner, I also realized I needed to buy some practical summer clothes for Australia. Felt like a déjà-vu: a couple of years ago, before going to Latin America, I noticed at the last minute I didn’t have a swimsuit. The old one I had brought from France was all washed-out and the black had turned greyish. I had no idea where to buy a swimsuit in Canada in November but I remembered seeing Bikini Village stores at the mall. Oh boy, wrong move… tops and bottoms were sold separately and any set was much more than I was willing to pay. Seriously, who pays $100 for that little fabric?

This time, I do have a swimsuit (bought in Rio de Janeiro) but I needed shorts and tank tops. I must have sounded like a crazy lady at Sears when I asked where the “summer clothes” rack was but never mind. I bought a great pair of Calvin Klein shorts for $20—the perks of shopping off-season.

We also took care of our Australian visa. Well, Canadians don’t need a visa per se but we had to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority online for AU$20.00. For some reason, mine was granted right away but Feng’s got stuck in limbo. Poor Feng, his passport is always double-checked because he was born in China…! It was also a problem upon entering Panama last time.

It got pretty cold lately and even though we don’t have snow on the ground yet (the Halloween snow has long melted now) I long to feel summer again. Walking barefeet, getting rid of my big winter jacket… I started hot yoga again a couple of months ago and I must admit half of the reason why I regularly go is because it’s nice and warm in the practice room. Yeah, yeah, sure I enjoy the workout too…

The Qantas A380 plane problems don’t scare me much, however, I’m slightly anxious at the perspective of going through the U.S.A. A lot of ink has been spilled over the latest TSA security requirements and I hate the fact that flying seems to get more complicated each year. Seriously, what kind of choice is that, between the body scanner and a pat-down? I don’t like either, both are invasive! I think the world has gone crazy over the threat of terrorism.

At least, I’ll be travelling with my Canadian passport so I shouldn’t be questioned as much as I used to with my French passport. Plus, no more fingerprinting. ETA and visa waiver paperwork. I’m grateful for that.

Australia… two weeks to go!

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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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