Articles by Juliette Giannesini
French woman in English Canada. Occasionally: speaks Mandarin or Spanish, bitches about the Canadian weather, writes left-wing rants, gives test to her students so that she can read the paper and have breakfast, speaks of cultural difference or goes backpacking across the world. And enjoys Canada as her new home.
Picture of the Week: Slush
The weather has been very strange for the past few days. We had snow, blizzard, very strong winds, warmer temperatures, hail, drifting snow and then cold temperatures. This resulted in dirty snow banks and some slush.
5 Canadian Culture Facts I Never Truly Understood
I have been living in Canada for quite some time now and all in all, I think I adapted pretty well. Yet, there are a few cultural facts—habits, customs etc.—that I adopted without being entirely comfortable with.
On The Rideau Canal
On one of these cold days (- 25°C with wind-chill), we headed to the Rideau Canal. The “world’s largest skating rink” is one of Ottawa’s most famous landmarks, and with a cleared length of 7.8 kilometres, it’s a huge frozen playground for skating enthusiasts.
Couponing, a North American "Sport"
When I first came to Canada, I did notice stacks of flyers filling the mailbox and catalogues left periodically at the front door, but I didn’t think much of it. Spontaneously, I’d put all that in the recycle bin. I mean, I hadn’t skimmed through a brochure since I was a six years old impatiently waiting to look at the Galerie Lafayette toys catalogue around Christmas time!
Picture of the Week: Red Gloves
I’m terrible when it comes to wearing gloves. Doing so is common sense: the wind can be extremely cold and winter weather is generally dry. But I always seem to need my bare hands and I hate taking the gloves off and putting them back a
The Fitness Quest
My plan A was Goodlife Fitness, a gym with several locations in Ottawa. The membership fee being one of my main criteria, I went online to see how much it was. Surprise surprise, the fees were nowhere to be found. Instead, those interested in joining Goodlife where asked to provide their info to be contacted about plan rates.
Surprise Snow Storm
I was lucky to be home when the snowfall started, and bundled up like a snowman, I took a long walk with my camera. I loved the colours (or lack thereof) and the fact the sky and the ground seemed to blend perfectly. It was worth getting my hair frozen!
Picture of the Week: Gunball Machines
Although I’m not a huge fan of sweets and rarely have candy or chewing gum (I like mints, that’s about it!), I found these gumball machines at the mall very picturesque.
The Canadian Immigration Taboo: Those Who Go Back Home
All immigrants go through a phase in which they hate Canada. Sometimes it happens during the lengthy immigration process: it’s hard to keep faith when you have to deal with so many administrative requirements, and when your life is pretty much put on hold waiting for someone to take a decision about your future.
Winterlude 2012 in Gatineau
Ottawa has the best ice sculpture and the Rideau Canal to skate, but Winterlude in Gatineau, Quebec, is also a great playground for some winter fun. Although it no longer has the huge snow sculptures competition, a few impressive bas-reliefs are carved at the bottom of the main attraction: the giant snow/ice slides.
