Esplanade Ernest-Cormier

It's 5:55pm on the 8th of August as I open this app and write for the first time in Montreal, Quebec. Canada, which I'm still finding it hard to wrap my head around.

I've waited 3 years to be here. I've stared at the map of this city countless times, getting familiar with the area names, and general layout of the place. I was dumbfounded when I opened maps yesterday upon landing, and saw the little blue circle hovering now right next to the big bold letters spelling Montreal. I'm really here.

The flight and transit, however long, felt truly effortless. Just like everything else that has flowed so seamlessly since I set my heart on getting here, the travel across pacific, and the entire width of the North American continent was delightfully comfortable. Both flights I had the luxury of a spare seat beside me, and managed to get sufficient sleep. The movies on offer were shockingly boring, so I focused on creating a video from my time up north.
Even 10 hours in the Vancouver Airport wasn't difficult. I've had other long layovers in the past that felt excruciating, but there I was eating an A&W Beyond Burger having a grand old time.

It's been a mixed bag since arriving in Montreal. I had a great chat with the Uber driver who gave me recommendations for the city, and told me a bit about his story coming from Benin, in Western Africa, to Montreal for a better life. He didn't know where New Zealand was, just as I didn't know exactly where his country was.

As we drove through the city I stared out the window like a child. In many ways it was exactly as I imagined it, and I had to keep pinching myself internally, feeling a smile playing from the centre of my chest, as I saw everything in person for the first time, of a place I've dreamed about for so long. It's really quite a magical feeling.
Besides that, Montreal isn't like anything else I've seen. Entirely unique in being this part European, part Canadian mix, and the lack of mountains anywhere disconnecting it from my previous associations with this mountain-obsessed country.

I'd pre-arranged a 4 week stay with a Help Exchange host, who has a glorious rooftop garden above an apartment in Mile End, the suburb whose name I'd known about from a famous bagel shop in Melbourne, which also happens to be where my massage course will be taking place.

Guy is the host, a lovely and somewhat eccentric man in his early 70's, and he's made me feel very welcome and at ease here. The food has been absolutely delicious so far. I feel like I'm in Europe. Bagels and apricot jam for breakfast, grilled eggplant and pasta for lunch, a salad with sweet fresh tomatoes from the garden, and the most delicious smoked salmon made by Inuit people from Northern Quebec.

I learned that this suburb voted not to have any big chain stores around. So no McDonalds, no giant supermarkets. It's a wonderful thing. So today we took the bikes and went to the smaller stores that Guy frequents. A fantastic little butchery, a zero waste refillery, and a bright supermarket, all of which had staff who clearly know him well. It's like a small town in a city.

The bike lanes are brilliant. Like a little bike highway beside the main road. The buildings are beautiful and quaint, many with sweeping staircases to the second stories, and fenced off gardens out the front. There are many flower boxes around, and plenty of murals, as well as shops with very artistic and vibrant shopfronts.

After being in Kaitaia in the middle of (admittedly a very sunny and settled) winter, it's a bit of a shock to my system to be in the heat and the haze of a large city, seeing all the trendy folk out and about. As I write this there is a loud gathering on the street yelling "trans lives matter", which is absolutely not something one would hear on the streets in Kaitaia.

My friend recently returned home from a stint abroad and jumped headfirst into the chaos of a whirlwind summer. He told me, "Land slow Izzy" and those words are resonating with me. It's a gift to be able to be on this beautiful rooftop, soaking up the presence of the plants, having the opportunity to rest and process leaving home behind, and prepare for this next chapter ahead.Read more