Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
A SURPRISING EXPERIENCE
Today, I would like to talk about one of my experiences. I have a vivid memory of it because it happened not long after I came to Canada. It was the first thing that surprised me in Canada. It was interesting.
Last August I was living in Charlottetown, the capital of PEI, and was studying in an English school for newcomers. It is similar to LINC schools in Toronto. Charlottetown is a very small city, and there is no TTC there as in Toronto. If we wanted to go somewhere by bus, we had to wait for one or two hours. There was no car park in the school. So the students living far from school had to drive to school and had to park in different spots for free parking every day.
One day after school, I received a call from my friend. We were studying in the same school and had landed in Canada on the same day. She said anxiously, "Lily, something is wrong! I can't find out my car." Oh, my God! She couldn't find her car.
To be honest, I had had a similar experience. Once, I parked my car behind a building. But I didn't notice the sign on the wall. It said something like "authorized parking only". When I came back, I couldn't find my car. It had been towed. I spent $80 on a fine to get it back. I thought her case was the same as mine. It was urgent. I asked her where she had parked and went there in a hurry. When I arrived, I found my friend standing there helplessly. She was upset. I looked around. The car park was beside a printing centre. And there was no sign on the wall or in the car park. So I had no idea what happened. We decided to go into the building to ask for help. The receptionist was very nice and asked the security guards if they knew anything about the car. Nobody knew. The receptionist went out with us and had a look around. He also didn't know what happened. Finally, he said we could call 911 in this situation. We were worried that we couldn't describe it clearly on the phone, so we asked the receptionist to called for us. The police asked for some information about the car. It was a new red Dodge car. My friend also told them the car's model and plate number. Just a few minutes later, the policeman told us the car was about 100 metres away from the car park. It was in next block. Really? We couldn't believe it and looked at each other. But we had to go see. After we arrived there, my friend laughed and said, "Sorry, Lily. I forgot that I haid parked the car here this morning!" I laughed too.
But it was so surprising. How could the police find out where the car was so quickly? On my way home, I tried to think of the answer. Maybe there was something in the car, and the policeman used the satellite positioning system to find the car. It was just my guess. Anyway, it was lucky that my friend didn't lose her car.
Last August I was living in Charlottetown, the capital of PEI, and was studying in an English school for newcomers. It is similar to LINC schools in Toronto. Charlottetown is a very small city, and there is no TTC there as in Toronto. If we wanted to go somewhere by bus, we had to wait for one or two hours. There was no car park in the school. So the students living far from school had to drive to school and had to park in different spots for free parking every day.
One day after school, I received a call from my friend. We were studying in the same school and had landed in Canada on the same day. She said anxiously, "Lily, something is wrong! I can't find out my car." Oh, my God! She couldn't find her car.
To be honest, I had had a similar experience. Once, I parked my car behind a building. But I didn't notice the sign on the wall. It said something like "authorized parking only". When I came back, I couldn't find my car. It had been towed. I spent $80 on a fine to get it back. I thought her case was the same as mine. It was urgent. I asked her where she had parked and went there in a hurry. When I arrived, I found my friend standing there helplessly. She was upset. I looked around. The car park was beside a printing centre. And there was no sign on the wall or in the car park. So I had no idea what happened. We decided to go into the building to ask for help. The receptionist was very nice and asked the security guards if they knew anything about the car. Nobody knew. The receptionist went out with us and had a look around. He also didn't know what happened. Finally, he said we could call 911 in this situation. We were worried that we couldn't describe it clearly on the phone, so we asked the receptionist to called for us. The police asked for some information about the car. It was a new red Dodge car. My friend also told them the car's model and plate number. Just a few minutes later, the policeman told us the car was about 100 metres away from the car park. It was in next block. Really? We couldn't believe it and looked at each other. But we had to go see. After we arrived there, my friend laughed and said, "Sorry, Lily. I forgot that I haid parked the car here this morning!" I laughed too.
But it was so surprising. How could the police find out where the car was so quickly? On my way home, I tried to think of the answer. Maybe there was something in the car, and the policeman used the satellite positioning system to find the car. It was just my guess. Anyway, it was lucky that my friend didn't lose her car.
Federal Bridge
holiday parade
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
TRIP TO NIAGARA FALLS
I had looked forward to visiting Niagara Falls for a long time. Fortunately, the opportunity came last Saturday. It was a nice day for a trip. My friends and I, a total of 12 people drove to Niagara Falls at noon. Actually, before I set out, I looked for some information about the Falls. I was eager to go to see the most famous waterfalls in the world.
Niagara Falls is located nearly half-way down the Niagara River on the international boundary separating New York and Ontario. We took about one and a half hours to get there. Standing just 58 metres high, I saw a completely different waterfalls from that which I had seen. Niagara Falls is not one of the Top 10 highest waterfalls in North America. But you can imagine that one-fifth of all the fresh water in the world pours over the edge of the falls. As it flows down the river, it makes a big sound and a huge mist. The mist sprays into the sky about 100 metres high. How powerful it is! I was shocked by the scene. Nature is unbelievably great.
The water in Niagara River is from the four upper Great Lakes: Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Erie. The river is split by tiny Goat Island before dropping over two giant falls: the smaller American, and the larger Canadian. The Canadian waterfall is often called the Horseshoe Falls, because its rounded U-shape looks like a giant horseshoe.
Niagara Falls is located nearly half-way down the Niagara River on the international boundary separating New York and Ontario. We took about one and a half hours to get there. Standing just 58 metres high, I saw a completely different waterfalls from that which I had seen. Niagara Falls is not one of the Top 10 highest waterfalls in North America. But you can imagine that one-fifth of all the fresh water in the world pours over the edge of the falls. As it flows down the river, it makes a big sound and a huge mist. The mist sprays into the sky about 100 metres high. How powerful it is! I was shocked by the scene. Nature is unbelievably great.
The water in Niagara River is from the four upper Great Lakes: Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Erie. The river is split by tiny Goat Island before dropping over two giant falls: the smaller American, and the larger Canadian. The Canadian waterfall is often called the Horseshoe Falls, because its rounded U-shape looks like a giant horseshoe.
After visiting the falls, we had a nice lunch. Then we divided into 3 groups: four people went to the casino, four went shopping, I visited Downtown Niagara Falls with the other three people. It was not long after dividing up, when my friend called to say that those who want shopping were detained by the American customs. Because they took a wrong turn, they had gone to America! They had to be inspected for a long time. And we had to wait them. Although it was bad news, but I had time to go shopping. So it was also good news. Of course, they came back safely. It was almost midnight when I arrived home. But I enjoyed the tiring and exciting trip.
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