Syed's Blog

5 posts · terminal version · RSS · all tags

Credit Scores: Canada's Mysterious Report Card

· life-in-canada

Newcomers arrive with a credit history of zero, which banks treat like a suspicious silence. How credit scores work, and how to build one from scratch.

Tim Hortons, Explained to My Friends Back Home

· life-in-canada

A double-double, a Timbit and a national institution. A loving, slightly confused guide to Canada's favourite coffee chain for people who drink tea with condensed milk.

Canadian Politeness: A Field Study

· life-in-canada

Sorry, eh. A newcomer's observations on Canadian apologies, line-ups, thanking bus drivers and the art of saying no without ever saying no.

Surviving My First Newfoundland Winter

· life-in-canada

A person raised in tropical Bangladesh meets freezing rain, snow banks taller than cars and locals who say "it's not too bad today" in a blizzard.

Photographing Newfoundland Weather: A Survival Guide

· photography

Fog, wind, sideways rain and four seasons before lunch. How to keep your camera alive and come home with photos worth the frostbite.