Living in a Deep-Freezer!

Years ago, I wrote a blog post on Delhi winters, and this time it's all about Calgary winters.

I landed in Calgary in summer, and oh my God, it was beautiful. The days were long; sunrises happened at 5 am, and sunsets at 10 pm. Nice and warm afternoons, and cool breezy mornings and evenings. It was lovely.

I was in a different phase of life when I landed here, and took those summer days for granted. I spent the majority of my time doing lame things or nothing. I won't blame myself for that; it was a different time. Thinking of last summer reminds me of a fictional novel plot where the author describes a sad protagonist, beautiful surroundings, and she is lost in her thoughts, which are not worth anything but consuming her completely. That reminds me of the beginning of ‘Palomino’ by Danielle Steel, one of my very first romantic novels, and I loved it. And here I am drifting away from the topic yet again. :P

Coming back to Calgary winter. When I landed here, people were trying to warn me, scare me, and honestly, to some extent, I was scared. When this December was warm, I was hoping for a worse January, and people were saying, “Oh, December is good, January will be killer.” I lived here in -50 degrees Celsius in January and went for a walk in -45 degrees. I am more than alive, and it was not that bad. I still feel Delhi winters are more difficult than this. :P

I survived the coldest day in 55 years in Calgary, and I didn't even feel it was harsh. I wonder why these people, especially Indians who are living here for many, many years, were so scared. Delhi used to feel much colder than this, maybe because it was a moist winter with pollution and less sun. Calgary winters are dry with sun and are much better and less cold!

To be honest, -45 degrees was not bad. Different, extreme, crazy cold, colder than a deep freezer but still good.

Most days, I enjoyed good home-cooked food, coffees, teas, hot chocolates, while working from my warm and cozy home and looking outside from the glass walls, appreciating the beauty of falling snowflakes. I also stepped out on my balcony to capture the perfect snowflakes; they were the same star-shaped ones they used to show in Disney movies. It was like stars falling from the sky, so beautiful.

The temperature today is 4 degrees, and honestly, it's a hot day. All my windows are open, and I still feel it's hot. Snow is melting all around, but people said we’ll get some colder days in February as well. As long as I don't have to go out much, I am more than happy. Bring it on! :P

In the month of February, Calgary hosts a Hot Chocolate Festival every year where one can try hot chocolates in different cafes, places in the city, and give a rating online. The top-rated café wins the contest. For my Hot Chocolate love, I am looking forward to it!  <3

Sometimes it feels like I am living a Disney princess life; other days, a Tim Burton story. Anyhow, I miss my family a lot.

Dear God, I love you, and please take care of my people. And, as you know, I always need you by my side. :)

A Year to Remember - 2023!

Over the past few years, I never felt like writing down my year. In fact, I did jot down my thoughts as drafts but never felt right posting them on my blog. The main reason was that they were often filled with deep and dark emotions. Most were written with tearful eyes. Regardless, those drafts will always be dear to me. Someday, if I feel like going anonymous on the internet with a new blog, I might publish them. :)

Coming back to 2023, my year was full of emotions. The first few months were crazy sad, and I truly lived in a dark era. I think those were more of a continuation of the past few years. Anyway, in March 2023, I decided to go to New Zealand for my second Masters. I secured a seat in a sought-after course at the University of Auckland, and I was on cloud 9. I was weaving dreams of going to Auckland, living a free and beautiful life in a gorgeous country with mountains and sea. I started interacting with my course coordinator, had my university email id and student login created. Just before submitting my fees, I had to cancel the plan. Once again, it was to save something I could never have saved anyway, and when I look back, I feel fortunate certain things ended for good.

After saying goodbye to my NZ dream, I forgot about going out of the country and started focusing on my health, which had been going downhill for the past 2 years. I went back to the gym, restarted my yoga practice after a good break, and I was happy. I was just self-involved; I had my breakdowns but overall, I was positive. I did things I wanted to, bought myself a beautiful watch, and soon I got to know that my brother was moving to the US. He secured admission in the course he was looking for, and all of a sudden, everything changed. He actually secured admission in 2 universities, one in Asia and the other one in the States, but he chose to go to the US. I was busy helping him plan and pack for his journey while being clueless about mine.

Soon enough, I got the news that I could go to Canada. My application was through, and the option came out of nowhere. I completely ruled out this possibility, a long story but it was a miracle, and I had an option I always wanted but never thought I would get.

My brother was leaving on June 15th, and till that day, I had no clue on what I was going to do. I focused on his journey, and after dropping him off at the airport, I was sitting and thinking what I should do. I started looking for tickets to Canada with no fixed plan in mind. While looking for tickets, I recalled a lady I met in Bali; she was from Toronto, and we are still friends. She was on her solo birthday trip to Bali and gifted herself a luxury experience for her 50th birthday. She flew business class and stayed in a 5-star property (that's where I was staying while volunteering). She explained that journey as the best journey in her 50 years of life, and that business class, the way she explained, I could never forget.

While looking for my Canada ticket, I thought I should gift myself this business class experience now; why wait to live until I am 50! And I booked myself a comfortable business class on a good international flight. I was definitely scared. Canada was far, very far from India. Not that I was scared of traveling alone, but I think in the last few years, I completely forgot who I was, what I was like, and what I was capable of.

I gave myself 10 days to pack and prepare. And in no time, I was in Canada.

Those were my first 6 months in India; I landed here at the end of June, and from that day, things changed. Ghosts from the past followed me till here, and I had dark, sleepless nights, panic attacks, and a really hard time for the initial few months. I used to sit here and wait for my family to get up and talk to them. I never felt this low in my life ever, and I was on my own, all alone for the first time.

I am thankful for how everything unfolded for me here. Soon enough, when I started being myself again, everything just changed. I ended up receiving more than I could think of; I ended up finding a decent apartment in the location I wanted, secured a fine job (I came here with my India job, and worked nights sticking to the India time zone, it was crazy).

I wanted to list down things I tried for the first time in my life in 2023; many things changed for me here, and I have penned down some of them below:

1. Business Class Travel - I think that was the highlight of my year and after traveling business class, I find it hard to look back to economy. My journey was so good; I didn't care about the destination. My luggage was lost, but I was still happy. I was miles away from home in Calgary without luggage, with jet lag, and still smiling. I waited for my luggage for 2 days and started buying the essentials which I claimed back from the airlines. Luckily, I got my luggage back in 8 days.

2. Calgary Stampede - Stampede is like Diwali here. The biggest festival they celebrate. It's a 10-day long event and crazily massive. When I landed here everyone said you came at the wrong time, it's gonna be super crowded and messy in the city and they were not wrong. I ended up loving the entire Stampede vibe and volunteered in the event. Loved every bit of it! Even though my schedule was hectic, I had an Indian job from 9 pm to 7 am and did volunteer work during the daytime. Pheww! Insane!

3. Improv - I always wanted to learn acting, while searching for a school I came across an improv lab and their upcoming course on “Intro to Improv ''. I am an introvert, and doing things like these really scare me, and that was a good enough reason to give it a shot. It was painful for me initially but became easier with every class. Plus point was I managed to secure myself a good scholarship. Thanks to my sales skills.

4. New Cuisines - I ended up trying a lot of new cuisines here. For the first time I tried Thai, Vietnamese, Venezuelan, Mediterranean, Peruvian cuisines here! I really liked Thai & Vietnamese. I am already in love with Mexican & Italian. My list definitely expanded here.

5. New Drinks - Eggnog, I tried for the first time here. I don't know if they used to introduce new coffee seasonal flavors in India, but here I have developed this habit of buying a coffee and walking with it. Because of which I ended up trying many small/big coffee shops here and explored all their seasonal flavors starting with Pumpkin spice latte to Sugar cookie oat latte, which by the way is my favorite now! <3

6. First Snowfall - I have been on many snow treks in India, but here for the first time I saw snow pouring down and I loved it. It was much more beautiful than I expected. I never thought I would experience this alone for the first time, but I did and it was mesmerizing.

7. Banff - Another place I never thought I would experience alone but I did and loved it. I didn't go alone as such but it was not how I visualized it for myself. Anyhow, the experience was beautiful beyond words.

8. Winter hike - In India, I always used to wonder why we climb for 6-7 days, sleep in tents to reach a place so gorgeous, I used to wish for shorter hikes with beautiful views and to come back and sleep in my cozy bed. That wish is fulfilled. Here, you need to walk hardly 10-15 kms (to & fro) to reach a strikingly beautiful place and come back, and another 2-4 hours for reaching the site and coming back to the city. Couldn't have asked for more. Experienced 3 hikes here in the last year! :)

9. Music - This is my favorite; after coming here I wanted to explore better music and clicked on “Iconic 80s hits” playlist on Prime music and there was no looking back. I am in love! This music is just mind-blowing, and I wish I was alive in that era, I wish this was my college days' music! It's just so beautiful, all these songs.. my God! I already am an old soul and I found my old soul music. Of course I am a big fan of Md Rafi & Kishore Kumar, but this playlist is something else. Next will be 70s music once I will get enough of 80s!

Well, this was my year in nutshell. I also tried Kooza for the first time here; it's like a musical circus show which costed me a bomb! :P

I am really grateful for everything; though these days I do feel a lot homesick. I hope I will get better!

Dear God, I love you and am thankful for everything you have done for me; please take good care of my people. Love you! Muah :))

Love Me Like You Do!

Yeah, Calgary loves me equally. Our love is mutual.

When I landed here at the end of June, people used to say, 'Wait for the winters, and you’ll hate Calgary.' Now, in December, people are saying, for the first time in the history of Alberta, December is this warm. Of course, Calgary loves me. Global warming is a myth. :P

Most people from India move to Toronto in a quest for a better life, better opportunities, then live in suburbs and drive every day for hours for work. I don’t think I am meant for that kind of life. I lived it in India, and I was sure that's not how I want to spend my entire life.

I always wanted a small town, peaceful life. Had it been in India, I was sure to relocate to Rishikesh or Himachal after a few years, start my own small business in the mountains, and live a peaceful life away from the big city. A house with a backyard and a kitchen garden, close to the river and mountains. A morning walk in the hills with my coffee and ending my day with a beautiful sunset and a clear sky. It's still my plan, though.

Every time I thought of Canada, it was always Calgary. Much before I got my PR card. I never dreamt of a big city life with the chaos and stress.

Calgary is a perfectly beautiful small city, best of both worlds. People are warm and nice; you can reach anywhere within 20 mins if you have a car. There is a beautiful river in the city, and I can see mountains from my balcony. <3

The only thing I miss here is my family, and the only reason to go back for me will be my people.

Here, no one cares about where you are from, how much you earn, how fluent your English is, what you do for a living, how expensive your car is, or how big your house is or how many gadgets you own. All people care about is how you are doing, what are your hobbies, what music you like, or what you like to do in your free time. And I just love it; living here is like living a dream.

In college, I visited a small village in Himachal for my field trip known as “Junga”; it was a village where every marriage was a love marriage, and I call it the land of love. I thought I would someday go back there and live for a longer period of time. I think I can say the same about Calgary. I feel I live in a city of love, all I see around me is couples, families, and happily married people. I just love it; it makes me smile every time I see an old and happy couple. Something I always thought of as my life goal.

The other day I was sitting in a small Italian restaurant, and I saw an old couple in their 70s; they were celebrating the lady’s birthday with a small candle on the Tiramisu. I was feeling so happy for them that I had to control my tears. Oh God! I so badly wanted to cry! <3

I just love this city; it's like straight from a romantic novel. Novels I used to read and visualize where everything used to be like a beautiful dream. A place where I love sitting in small cozy family-owned coffee shops and sipping my coffee.

The other day I was having dinner with a friend; she was telling me about her dating adventures and then asked me why I'm not into dating apps or giving it a try, and I just didn't know what to say. I think it's difficult for people to understand how having an old soul feels. I just smiled and said it’s not for me, and she said, 'Are you one of those who thinks a charming prince will come and sweep you off your feet?' Well, the truth is, I used to be one of those but not anymore. I think I don’t care anymore. I am just happy being here, eating good food, living my life, reading books, and looking forward to what's next. I think in the last 3 years, for the first time, I feel like I am finding myself back, and I don’t want to lose it for anything. I think after many years I feel at peace.

Well, I think I can write a book on Calgary; it's just something else, and I am full of gratitude to be here.

Dear God, I know you are the best, and I am your favorite girl. Thank you for everything. I love you; please take good care of my people. Muuaah :))"