Daily Archives: February 15, 2012

by Emily Monaco

When I tell people that I went to Canada for college, most people seem surprised, especially when they learn that I have no family connection to the Great White North. I’m not entirely sure what drew me to Canada, but as soon as I arrived in Toronto, I found that a perfect mix of the familiar and the foreign was awaiting me. Toronto was just similar enough to American cities to be easy to navigate and get used to; it was just different enough to always give me new things to explore.

My favorite, however, was getting out of my comfort zone, like we did when ten of us decided to pack up for a week of skiing in Québec. Up until that point, skiing had always been a family affair for me: our trips to Vermont were spent cocooned in our rented condominium; meals were homemade by my mother and delivered directly to cold laps. Our ski vacation in Québec was a combination of skiing and tourism, of getting to bed long after nightfall and getting up shortly after daybreak to hit the slopes. I don’t think I’ve ever been more tired, but I never had more fun either.