Where to Stay in Winnipeg

If you're still considering visiting Winnipeg after reading this blog, here is one of the delightful lodging options in this town (I refuse to use the word "city"). Conveniently located in the hippie Wolseley area, it apparently accepts a variety of payment options. (Grandpa's gold tooth or Great-Grandma's wedding ring might be suitable.)

Prairie Pride

I made a realization this week about Winnipeg. The people who live here are profoundly proud of it. They are also, at heart, rural. Longtime Winnipeggers (I'm not referring to recent immigrants and refugees) talk of the mystique of the flat prairie, of things like "hoarfrost," of being connected to the land. Local singers write songs about the snow and the joys of being prairie people.

Also, the culture is analog, not digital. There are used CD stores (even in the mall), video stores and independent bookstores. There's no such thing as FreshDirect. The secretaries at health clinics riffle through endless sheafs of paper files - nothing has been digitized. The cashiers at the nicest children's store in town handwrite receipts and figure out taxes with a calculator. It sometimes feels as though one is living in 1975.

So, I think it's a mistake to categorize Winnipeg as a city. That's the mistake I made when I moved here. And that's why it's so foreign to me. My family doesn't have roots here, and I wouldn't know a farmer if one smacked me over the head with an apple. I'm used to places where the city center is where all the action is. I'm not a tractor person or even a car person. The heart of Winnipeg is not in the six-block-wide "downtown." It's in the prairie.

Finally, I will close by quoting a post from a Winnipeg message board that sheds a lot of light on the mentality here - the fierce "pride," if you will:

"I actually live in Winnipeg, I have for the past 21 years and would never move. This is my home. Those of you who have never been here, don't judge Winnipeg until you have. Those of you who have only visited, you're just not as tough as the rest of us. It takes a truly special person to live in Winnipeg, to put up with temperatures anywhere from +40C to -50C, snowstorms in April and the worst mosquitoes you'll ever see. Winnipeggers are some of the toughest sons of bitches you'll ever meet, especially ones who are lifers - just look at what we must endure. Sure we say Winnipeg is a s***hole, but only Winnipeggers can say it because, well, we live here... to anyone else to who says it we have two words for you: F*** you! I'm a proud Winnipegger!!! Wouldn't live anywhere else."

Just about says it all, doesn't it?

It's York Ave...

Except it isn't.

More Canadian Foods I Don't Understand

Pickled eggs. Is this really the optimal way to enjoy the flavor of an egg? And yet there seems to be a sizable amount of people who enjoy this dubious snack - even going so far as to post recipes.

Fortunately, there's a way to get that taste out of your mouth. New York Flatbreads (yes, they're really from New York; they're from Westbury, not NYC, but New York nonetheless). Available
at The Forks.

On the Positive Side

I realize that this blog might read like an onslaught of negativity, so I thought I might write about some of the good things about Winnipeg.

• There are some genuinely nice people. (Usually not on the bus, though.)

• There are a few good restaurants. (I wrote about them below.)

• From what I understand, Folklorama, the Fringe Festival and the Folk Festival are enjoyable summer attractions. (I haven't been.)
  

• As with many economically challenged places (say, Bushwick), there is a thriving artistic underground.

• It's multicultural.
  

That's it for now! I have to go throw away my suede boots because the melting snow (yes, there's a rare thaw today) waterlogged them and ruined them. What was I thinking.

Nickel and Dimed

There's a famous book called Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. But in my opinion, you haven't been nickled and dimed until you've moved to Winnipeg. (This picture was taken at a local grocery store.)

A recent article in the Globe and Mail talks about how Canadian companies charge much higher prices for the same goods you can find in the U.S. This practice persists even though the Canadian dollar has basically achieved parity with the American dollar.

Frostnip, Frostbite and Fear Thereof

It's been about -10F lately (without windchill). I went out for a few minutes today - I know I should've worn gloves, but I figured I wouldn't be out for very long. The skin on the back of my hands is now red, bumpy, and feels like it's been burned.

"What do you think this is?" I asked my husband. "Windburn, or something?"

"Maybe it's frostbite," he offered helpfully.

"FROSTBITE? Isn't that something you can die from?"

"Well, I'm sure there are milder cases," he replied. So off I went to Google to find out if I had frostbite, and I found this helpful article for expats at the North Pole. Thankfully, I do not have frostbite.