Toronto: Canada’s Metropolis

“My parents are from Jamaica but I grew up in Toronto with a lot of Koreans. I think I had my first English speaking friend when I was 11.”
“Oh, crazy! So do you speak Korean?”
“Ha, no.”
“In which language did you communicate with your friends then!?”
“I don’t know… Counterstrike?”

This was the picture I had from the life in Toronto before I arrived. I didn’t really know anything about the city, except that it’s the largest city in Canada with 5 million inhabitants and that people from every culture around the world find a home here. And, honestly, this picture is still pretty much the same after my visit.

Everyone just lives together; from every country and culture and religion. It doesn’t seem like anyone here cares where you come from, just what you are right now.

Toronto on the Sea

However, the atmosphere wasn’t always as relaxed as I expected: I honestly had a hard time meeting people here. Walking through the streets of Toronto, I came across a lot of different people with every fashion style you could imagine and of every age. Still, I didn’t feel like I fit in anywhere and that anyone actually wanted to talk to me. It’s funny to think but the only person who really talked to me during my two days in Toronto was — who guessed it — from UVic. Cheers to Paige in the Biology program!

But maybe it was also me and not the 5 million people in the city who put me in that situation: I’m just not a fan of those mega-cities and often feel like they’re too big and a bit intimidating. Therefore, I was happy that I discovered the Central Islands: A little piece of green, just a 15 min ferry ride outside of the big, busy town where you can perfectly enjoy Lake Ontario on one of the several beaches. It was pretty fascinating to have a free view on the lake here because, well, it doesn’t really seem like a lake. It’s so big that you don’t see any land on the horizon and that there are actual waves on the water — just like on the ocean.

How Far Will You Travel?

Another great thing to see here for me was the sign on the dock. It pointed towards Vancouver, Halifax and New York City: the place where I came from, one destination that is yet to come and my final stop. What a great feeling to see the numbers of how far I have travelled already and how far I will go.

Floating Over the City

As the last stop before I travelled on, I had to be a total tourist and go up the CN Tower. It’s expensive, yes, but it’s also incredible, especially when you go up there during sunset. When you make your way through all the tourists that are looking for the same great shot, you can enjoy a view of Toronto and Lake Ontario from 342m above the ground. Plus, they have a glass floor up there where you can feel like you’re hovering 342m above the ground.