I have been in Ottawa for less than 24 hours, though I have been in Canada for about 2 weeks (sight-seeing in some of the major cities, as I make my way east). I am still settling in at my shared accommodation in Wilbrod St, which is virtually behind Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa. Classes do not start for another week, so I will have time to adjust to the new environment.
The biggest adjustment I have had to make so far is getting used to the fact that they drive on the "wrong" side of the road here. Old habits die hard. Several times, I have found myself on the wrong side of the road for catching a bus that is heading in a particular direction, or caught myself looking in the wrong direction for cars when crossing a street, so that's something to work on.
Another "culture shock" I received while travelling around this lovely country is the scarcity of public toilets (they call them "public washrooms" here). I swear I will never complain about the relatively high tax rates in Australia, as long as the local/state/federal governments continue to provide public toilets everywhere. I mean, I don't even mind if they are the pay-per-use type of toilets. In Vancouver, for instance, I walked around a tourist area for about 40 minutes before I could locate a toilet in a shopping centre/mall. Not all shopping malls have public washrooms (in fact, many have signs that say "no public washrooms available here"), and most restaurants here don't either. Perhaps Vancouver can lift its game, seeing as it will be hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Maybe we Australians take public toilets for granted, and we expect them to be available everywhere. Maybe no one else expects every shopping mall to have public toilets ...
