Right, I'm in BC too. I must be one of the frightful-looking ones

Me too. Good thing I found my hockey helmet.... just in time for a trim.

I have a Canadian friend of 30 who lives near Pbro. She says quite firmly that you cannot get a decent haircut around here, you have to go to Toronto. She wont shop for clothes here, nor makeup, shoes. purses. All is old fashioned to her.

When my 78year old mum was here she thought Sears had some lovely clothes in....

Canada may have many good points but cutting edge isnt one of them!

Need some blunt scissors?

The next test will be to see what they do with my eldests hair, hers is very long and naturally curly and all they seemed to be able to manage with that in Texas was one layer about an inch up from the bottom, and that was it.[/QUOTE]

ohhh please let me know how this goes....I too have curly hair. I hate having my hair cut!

Linda

Well then, your friend must be right. Must be just horrible for her, living in Canada. Actually, I'm starting to wonder why anyone comes here at all. Bad haircuts; old fashioned clothes; fruit and veg no good; bad supermarkets; can/can't get marmite; too many immigrants; bed linens are crap; (let's not mention the vacation time, it's been done to death). And that's just in the more recent postings. It must all come as such a culture shock when the new immigrants finally land, and can you imagine their horror when they see the first resident with Canadian-hairdresser cut?? Must make them want to turn tail and run.

Nothing like a good ole moan is there

Posts like yours makes me glad I stayed in blighty

p.s. you can get bad haircuts here too LOL

Oh, it's all so similar to the conversations I've had and heard with other expat Canadians and Americans about living in the UK. It's like any other kind of social interaction/bonding via shared observation and experience.

I would say more but I've got to go get my mullet out of the clothes dryer.

OMG you killed your pet beaver!!!!!! *sob*

Now...about those clothes dryers.....

Your cage is well and truly rattled isnt it?

My friend is Canadian, and has lived in this area for 20 years. So not a new immigrant. I reckon she knows this are better than you do so I would trust her judgement more than yours.

Now I am a new immigrant and yes now I am here I do wonder why we came. Its a culture shock, the lack of the familiar. Its a struggle, every day I want to cry and often do. I its from frustration, homesickness, the lack of trhe familiar, the "trivia" of spending longer food shopping as you dont know what to buy for the best with not very much money. A bad haircut?? Its important for self esteem to be happy with how you look, dont trivialise that. I write on here what I see, what I find. I dont lie or make it up.

You may be coping just fine, good for you. Some of us need to let off steam in here, hopefully to people who while they may have different opinions and experiences will recognise yours as real and valid.

Now I'm off to laugh at HWPs mullet

LOL

Glad to hear you found your sense of humour by the end of your posting.

If you want to talk about frustration and homesickness - my heart goes out to you. Been there, done that. Making a new life is total hardship. But these idiotic generalisations and blaming the way you feel on a haircut is just not on.

There actually is a lot of good stuff about being in Canada. Honest.

Surely you can see that all these little annoyances just add up to make your life miserable and then if you cant even look in the mirror without a reminder then its effing hard. I know there is good stuff in canada, there is also a lot of rubbish and we have to come to terms with the rubbish before you can settle.

I really have found that the hairdressers are bad, the veggies and fruit are poor quality rotten inside, the ham tastes vile, ( but have found a Dutch butcher so can get european style) This us what I have found to be true around here. Its not idiotic at all.

I'm Canadian and will admit to having a hair disaster in the past, but in mentioning my displeasure, I personally wouldn't go as far as making a blanket statement and say only that my experience happened in Canada, rather than that particular city/town. I have read people's accounts here and have only recently made some tongue in cheek comments in response.

I can respect that venting is sometimes needed and I try to keep an open mind.... but must admit that sometimes the blanket comments I read here make me feel looked down on because I'm Canadian. My husband is from the UK and I have learned a lot about the country he grew up in through conversations on this forum.

In my location of BC, orchards abound and I purchase fruit locally. If I had a problem with the quality of the products I find here in my city, I would say "I can't find the level of quality products I prefer here in Kelowna".... rather than not "in BC or Canada".

When I was in Rugby, Warwickshire (for example) and couldn't find the products or the quality that I wanted for a meal I was making.... I didn't say I couldn't find any good products in England... (Britain, or UK for that matter).

Some friends recently had a conversation about Heinz beans.... UK version as opposed to the N. American version. It was finally decided that neither were horrible, but it did depend what you grew up with and were accustomed to. Different strokes, for different folks!

I hope your hiccups in getting settled in the area of Canada you live will subside and that you can find a happy medium.

All the best....


Oggy
(prepares to get skewered by the masses!!)