4 Things I Appreciate More about Winnipeg

Well I've been in China for over three months now, and I feel that's long enough to qualify me to discuss things I miss about my hometown. Here's an unranked list of things that I'll definitely appreciate more when I go back to Winnipeg...

1. Chocolate
Honestly, I didn't think I could appreciate chocolate any more than I already do, but when I get home I'll find a way. The chocolate selection here is extremely limited, and the good stuff that's available is pretty expensive. The only chocolate bars that have made it in China are Dove and Snickers, and chocolate chips (possibly my favourite food) may as well be non-existent. China is torture. Thankfully they have Oreos over here though, so I've gotten into them in a big way.

I wanna dive into this picture and eat my way out of that alternate reality. 

2. Multiculturalism
A very cool aspect of Winnipeg, and Canada in general, that I didn't consider much before is how prevalent other cultures are. I'm not talking about bottled up, specific evenings like Folklorama that brag about here or there once a year; I mean the wide array of choices that are available to you on a daily basis. If you want to get a Greek gyro, drink a bunch of bubble tea, do whatever French people do, and hang out with a busty gal from Trinidad and Tobago all in the same day, you're free to do so. You have those opportunities!

3. A Clothes Dryer
If you read my blog, you know that I'm an outspoken supporter of clothing dryers. Here in China I have a spin dryer, and it's just not the same. I spin my wardrobe like a breakdancer testing out a new cardboard sheet, then I still have to hang it all up to finish the job, like a breakdancer that can't afford a clothes dryer. All that is actually fine, but the finished product is stiff and scratchy, which I imagine is how clothing felt a hundred years ago. Who am I, Tom Sawyer? Also, without that hot dryer keeping things tight, all my t-shirts are slowly getting bigger. Necklines are plunging further and further, and in a few more washes that white v-neck is going to get downright revealing.

4. Clean Air
It's pretty amazing because I'm not even in a large city by Chinese standards (Jilin only has around four million people) so I should count my blessings, but the air just ain't as good as it could be. Now I actually look forward to some rain here and there, welcoming the refreshing, crisp air that follows it. I think of wide open, green spaces just minutes from my home in Winnipeg, and miss the clean air that goes along with it.

I'm told this is Winnipeg. Look at all that clean air!

Of course there's a few other things that I miss while I'm out here... specific foods like spinach (for spinach salads), and dairy products like cheese (for spinach salads with cheese on them), and specific activities like training jiu-jitsu, and going to movies and concerts. But I won't bore you with discussing all of them. The point is that yes Mom, I miss home, and yes I'll come back sometime.