Day 43: Outside

Since friends and family must feel they know every nook and cranny of my school by now, I've decided to take a break today and show you the rest of my world. But not my room, it's a disaster at the moment. 

Down the street there's a cafe called Helen's Grill, I go there on Saturday mornings to have a cheap diner breakfast and read all the weekend newspapers.  The decor is lacking, the menu is huge and waitresses are old and surly, in a nutshell - I love it! (I especially love it when the surliest waitress orders me around without a second glance, "Wet umbrellas in the can please!")

Helen's has a bar I can sit at, and I always do because it makes me feel like a regular. The surly waitress knows I want coffee and always calls me "girl".

But the piece de resistance is the music, which is controlled by the quarter jukeboxes at every booth. One moment you can be listening to "Morning Train" by Sheena Easton, the next minute it's a Tom Jones song and then Abba's "Chiquitita"  or some other song that had fallen off your music radar.

On my boulevard. 

They make me smile every morning as I run for the bus.

Solly's is the closest coffee shop to my house. It's a jewish bakery

 so bagels, knishes and the best cinnamon buns in the city live here. It's usually packed on weekends and the sidewalk outside turns into a great place to hang around and mingle with the locals. I like to chill here after school and go over the day's lessons. Besides, the coffee is cheap and you get a free refill! 

Canadian Pride on my street! Not one house was left unadorned. 

Well... except my own, (my landlord is from Hong Kong). 

But in his defense, he and his wife went downtown

 to party when the men won the gold in hockey. 

Broken English on Main Street. 

My area of Main is filled with Japanese sushi shops, Fillipino supermarkets and Chinese noodle houses. Up the street a few blocks is Punjabi Market, on any given day I hear just as much Chinese and Tagalog as English, if not more. (Especially Chinese.)

And lastly, the local watering hole within staggering distance of the school. Enjoying some quality Canadian beer with my classmates after a stressful week.