Toronto #2

Thursday, July 25th

We got up at around 8 am. Downstairs in the community room breakfast was waiting for us: pancakes and syrup (nope, no maple syrup, just plain corn syrup)!! We were given some free time until 1 pm. We made our way to St. Lawrance Market district, where we went into the aforesaid market hall (see the picture). Most of the vendors sold meat, but you could also find fruits, bread and fish. Exiting the hall facing south, we went on to Ontario Lake at the ferry harbour. Starting here, you could go on a ferry and get to Toronto Island Park, a big island just at the coast to Toronto. I'm thinking about going there when I come back to Toronto for the second time.

However, we walked past the harbour and along the coast line on Queens Quay, a street along the lake, accompanied by fairly new built parks and ports. We arrived at Spadina Av from where we headed back north to Chinatown just as the day before. This time we entered one of those tiny malls and had lunch at a Korean restaurant. The food was decent and plenty and the Korean waitress was a really fun person. 12.45 pm struck so we hurried to the meeting point to get to the rest of the group.

From Spadina Av/College Street we went to Service Canada, which lies in "Little Italy". Here we were given our SIN (social insurance number) which we need in order to work in Canada. We were introduced by a friendly young lady who explained to us what we have to know to come along in Canada properly. Then we filled out some forms and waited a couple of minutes in the waiting room until we got our transitional SIN (the 'real" SIN will be sent to our working places).

After everyone was being served, we went to a welcoming meeting at the AHK (the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, "Auslandshandelskammer"). We were offered some finger food and cold drinks, and then engaged into little chats. It was a very pleasant stay as the AHK has some very friendly and attentive employees. By then, it was already around 4 or 5 in the afternoon and, once again, we were given the rest of the day as free time to spent on our own howsoever we want to. A part of our group including me went to Kensington Market  which is a more artistical area, with lots of little cafés, painted and sprayed buildings and some good live music and bright folks (be sure to have a look on the pictures I took of it).

Back at the hostel, I went online downstairs in the community room. I had to book the bus to New York City! When I entered the room, Markus was already there, chatting with two German girls, who are also on a vacational trip. They arrived on Monday and they are considering to go to Calgary, however are unsure how to get there. You have to know, that is is a long distance between Toronto and Calgary (have look on google maps) and that there is not really much between those to cities. Taking the plane is fairly expensive in Canada (a flight of this kind would cost at least 250$), as well is the train. The third option is to take a bus (e.g. Greyhound). This is cheaper however it is also a long ride.

When I arrived in Toronto I thought that we would spent one more day as a group (until friday) in town, however this proved to be wrong (all of those who would work first were taking their second flight on friday already). My plan was to take the bus to NYC on Monday the 29th of July, but...well, I rescheduled everything. I decided to buy one of the tours offered by the hostel to go to Niagara Falls the next day, and taking the Greyhound bus at the same night (saving one sleep-over at a hostel). As said before, I then booked my ticket for the Greyhound bus - and hoped that everything will work out just fine.