Fishbowl

Lately I have gone on several long walks each week. My neighbour’s mother moved to Canada over a year ago and has made very few friends. Speaking English is definitely a challenge for her, and we have now schedule walks on Sunday morning when we are both available. I am learning a lot about her experience working as a doctor in her native country, and she is learning how to communicate more easily in English. Next week I will take her to Fisherman’s Wharf.

This photo was taken the day before while on a walk with a close friend who has found the isolation of living in a pandemic quite difficult. We try to go for walks regularly, and when the weather is warmer, will sit outside on restaurant patios enjoying a meal or a beverage, and talking about our very different lives.

As we walked at Fisherman’s Wharf we talked about how living on a float home was at one point quite appealing to each of us, but we quickly came up with reasons why it would be quite horrible! The wharf is located about 10 minutes walk from the cruise ship terminal. During cruising months, April to October, hundreds, or maybe thousands of people walk into the wharf area each day. There are several places to eat seafood, ice cream. There are whale tours, kayak rentals and boat taxis, gift shops and buskers.

The signs in front of several of the homes gives an indication of what the owners deal with from some of the tourists. “This is not a museum, please don’t enter”, is one example. Many of the windows are now tinted, others have the blinds pulled.

I think that living in such a cute little neighbourhood, perfect for gawking tourists, and a place where locals love to come for fresh seafood, would quickly feel like I was living in a fishbowl.