A big treat

I hardly expected to see any old Aussie friends in Calgary last year. But bless them, Steph and Tauri decided that a bit o’ nature was warranted after so long in the concrete jungle of Soeul. Tauri has family in Canada, Steph in the US and their trip coincided with weddings for cousins in each side of their family.

I had the fun of hosting them briefly but several times during their stay and they in turn, told me about places I didn’t end up getting to during my year, such as Jasper.

There is a strange validation in being visited friends from your own country. It affirms to your new, foreign friends that you are living overseas out of choice and not because you are incapable of socializing with your own people.

Steph and Tauri had a trip planned that took them as far as Oklahoma and Toronto, Vancouver and up some leg-torturing mountains. Their requests for me were simple, after so much delicious Asian culture they wanted some good European- style food and American movies. I obliged with a trip to the cinema to see the new Simpsons movie.

One of the most memorable occasions was taking Steph and Tauri to the Broken Plate, possibly the best name for a Greek restaurant I have ever heard. It is the only Greek restaurant, or any restaurant I know of where you can actually break plates. They have a special section of the restaurant for it. Fantastic. Also, they had some sort of flambé entrée which looked great too.

The world became a whole lot smaller last year. I met up with Laura in Quebec city, Calgary, New Orleans and Texas, Steph and Tauri in Calgary and Soeul, Stefan the German hostel worker I was buddies with in Quebec city and ran into by sheer coincidence on a street in Dublin 10 months later, Chris in Winnipeg and Calgary and Alistair in Venice and London. It was great to show some older mates my new life overseas, and most importantly to meet the people I’d made new friends with.

So, if you’re in Calgary, I recommend the Broken Plate. The calamari is worth it.