Nobody told me...

I've now been away from home for more than seven months, through summer, fall and then now winter. There are lots of things that I've found out about living by yourself on the other side of the world in extreme seasons that would have been useful to know that nobody told me...
So, for the benefit of anyone who may be thinking about doing something like this, I am going to explain a few of these...

Firstly, check twice before you leave the country that you dont need any kind of visa to get into the country you're going to. Don't believe the travel agent. I didnt think about this since I was only going to be in the States for a few weeks... this ended with me lining up for an hour, making up details about myself and paying them lots of money so that I could get to the plane on time.

Watch your water cup on those wobbly plane tray tables... I thought it would be a good idea to pretend to be asleep so I didnt have to talk to the scary looking man beside me... I didnt just spill it on him once but twice because after the first time I tried even harder to be asleep!

Squirrels are not exotic animals... yes they are fun and cute but to avoid potential embarrasment, dont throw yourself against the window the first time you see one across the back yard.

Canadian locks are different...For weeks I didnt know why every door I tried to open was locked yet I could never work out how! For future reference, you push the handle in and twist it slightly to lock it.

Just because you swim in the lake every day during the summer does not mean you can forget about having a shower for two and a half months. This is important. I am pleased to report that I didnt make this mistake personally, however I did have to live with people who did...

They tell you that North America and New Zealand both speak English, but this isnt entirely true... here is a few handy translations...
Tea = Dinner
Jandel = Flip Flop
Jumper/Jersey = Sweater
Togs = Bathing Suit
Duvet = Comforter
Sneakers = Runners
Boot = Trunk
Bonnet = Hood

Everything that you buy in a supermarket has both French and English on it because these are both national languages of Canda. But sometimes the people who stock the shelves happen to put all the french facing out, just by co-incidence. If this happens, do not panic and assume that you can never buy groceries because its all in a different language so you're probably going to starve and die... just keep calm and turn the can around. you will find the english no problem.

In the winter it does get colder than Nelson... if you lick your lips they will freeze and it hurts. If you dont wear a hat your ears will hurt for the rest of the day. Dont assume your legs wont get cold, its not okay to wear shorts in November.

If you want to avoid a painful death due to impaling, check above the door for icicles before kicking the door frame to get the snow off your boots. I forgot the law of gravity also applies to icicles and narowly missed one the length of my arm last night.

Just because the lake is frozen doesnt mean you can walk on it... enough said.

Crunchy Peanut butter is a rare commodity. They have about ten types of smooth but who wants to eat that stuff?!

Canadian phone plans are very different... do not continue loading money on it if you havent talked to them about what plan you are really on, no matter what the automated voice tells you! Those things are dollar suckers!

Im sure there are so many more... but it wouldnt be so fun if you didnt get to find out some things by yourself!