Debates, discussions, news articles, cultural differences stories and everyday life blah blah.
On Saturday, I have to go vote for the first round of the Presidential Elections at the French Embassy in Ottawa. France will only vote on Sunday, but as “French abroad” we have to cast our ballot a day earlier.
One of the first things I had to do when coming home, along with doing loads of laundry, was to get a phone.
Well, technically, I have a phone. Two, even: a landline (primarily for telemarketers to call) and a cell phone that I never use because I haven’t bought minutes in ages.
I’m the kind of person who reads a book a day (and because OCTranspo is rarely on time, I have the chance to do so). Like most women, I carry my life in my bag, plus a couple of books (just in case I finish one, I like to have a backup). Some of my friends have tried to get me to switch to an eBook reader but I reacted like a granny. “It’s gonna hurt my eyes! It’s not the same as paper!” I protested.
We attract supermarkets.
When we first came to live in the neighbourhood, there was only a Loblaws. Then came Food Basic and Shoppers Drug Mart, right across the road from Loblaws. And when we came back from traveling this winter, we discovered that a huge Wal-Mart had popped up on the other side of the road. We now have three supermarkets within a 20-minute walk.
For a conservative government city, Ottawa has many little quirks. For instance, Four-Twenty aka National Pot Smoking Day is celebrated on Parliament Hill and there is a yearly Zombie Walk (where you can meet zombie hockey players and people with a bad headache). We also have interesting alternative places such as the Prince of Wales Bridge… and let’s not forget about “Maman”, the huge spider.
I’ve just added one on the list: apparently, Saturday was Naked Bike Ride Day. And by “naked”, I don’t mean without a helmet. I mean naked.
I’m a bit disconnected from French news. But recently, a few headlines caught my eyes again, mostly because they quickly spread internationally. First, there was the tragic story of the Dupont de Ligonnès family—the father is still on the run by the way.
The U.K and Royalists around the world celebrated the Royal Wedding, the U.S.A finally got “America’s most wanted” and Canada woke up from the federal elections with a hangover—Harper in a majority government, seriously?
Meanwhile, the headlines in France were all about a grisly case that took place in Nantes, my hometown.
When I first came to live in Canada, Feng got a job working in a movie theatre. We were two penniless travelers and the perspective was very exciting: a job! Free movies! And so we started going to the movies regularly, thanks to the free passes Feng got at work.
On this cold Saturday, hundreds of Canadians gathered on Parliament Hill, right in front of the Peace Tower, to march in solidarity with the people pushing for democracy in Libya and Yemen. The protesters peacefully called for the end of the Gadhafi regime in Libya and a loosening of oppression in Yemen. Despite worrying reports from Libya where violence escalade and demonstrators clash with Gadhafi ‘s brutal security forces, people were optimistic in Ottawa and hoped for a better future.
The difference between European coffee and North American coffee can be illustrated by the cup: in the old world, you sit down for hours sipping a concentrate of the precious beverage in a thimble-size cup, a small piece of sugar and a square of dark chocolate in the saucer. In the new world, you line-up for a mega-size of super-hot coffee served in a large disposable paper cup.
During summer, days are long, humid and sunny and people make the most of it by engaging in as many outdoor activities as possible. But once a blanket of snow falls and the days get shorter, we all become hobbits. Suddenly, nothing is more appealing than a cup of hot chocolate, a movie and layers of clothes and blankets. People are less chatty and more reserved—like if the cold had drained all the energy from them and what little they have left was used to fight winter.
Whenever Canada wants to commemorate, celebrate or simply show its artistic side, it releases a new quarter. An Anniversary of the Confederation, the Millennium, the Olympics, Canada Day… there is a new quarter minted with a special reverse design for a ton of occasions.
Amid the recession, money is tight for everybody.
Let’s face it, immigration can bring a fair share of financial trouble. First, applying for permanent residence and relocating in Canada isn’t cheap. Then, finding a good job may take time. And above all, managing your money in a new country isn’t easy, as you may not be as “street smart” yet as residents.
A while ago, I was visiting Gean’s blog when I noticed an intriguing banner: “Lend $25, change a life. Get $25 back and lend it again. Change another life.” I clicked on the banner and I was directed to Kiva.
I learned that Kiva’s mission was to: “empower individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe”.
Every day I thank the language Gods for the invention of the pronoun “you” in English. No matter who you talk to, whether it’s your boss, your in-laws, a close friend or a perfect stranger, it’s a no-brainer: just say “you”.
It’s not a given, you know. A lot of languages have two ways of saying “you”: French has “tu” and “vous”, much like Spanish has “tú” and “usted”, Portuguese has “tu” and “você” and Chinese has “你” and “您”.
It’s only when I showed up at Starbucks that I realized I had no idea how to order in French. And ordering my coffee in English in Montreal would look back, wouldn’t it. But I needed coffee: this is a working weekend for me and I haven’t had much sleep the last few days.
When I exited The Bay, he was standing here, playing the harmonica. I stood here for a minute, looking at him. I grabbed the camera which was slung over my shoulder and our eyes met briefly. He nodded, still playing. He first slowly turned on his side to show me the cat perched on his shoulders, safe from my camera’s peering eye. I smiled and waited. Eventually, he looked straight into my eyes. I snapped two pictures quickly, gave him a couple of bucks and walked away.
In France, the saying goes that “le client est roi”. But in fact, the customer is anything but a king: at best he is an idiot, a minor annoyance in your day. As this funny article on “How to play the French service game … and win” explains: “The customer is king. But we all know what they did to their royal family. The guillotined head of Louis XVI bounced across the Place de la Concorde as a few thousand Parisians laughed at it”.
The more I attend classes at university, the more I feel like I belong in a museum. The big museum of failed and forgotten ideals. Move along, nothing to see here.
After shooting the torch relay, I decided to stay downtown and to have a look at the night festivities on Parliament Hill. By the time I got there, I learned from two ladies (pictured below) that they would only start after sunset… I wasn’t going to sit on the cold waiting, like them, for a few hours. I headed to Chapters and grabbed a hot coffee.
Today, the Olympic Torch of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics arrived in Ottawa and it traveled all over the city. I walked to Bank Street and waited patiently with the next torch bearer for the current bearer to arrive.
When I stepped outside the house for a last smoke, right after midnight, I caught sight of a shadow on the sidewalk. A young woman was standing there, looking in my direction.
I was absolutely unaware of our reputation abroad until I started traveling. Then, I realized that the French were said to have this little je ne sais quoi. In plain language: French were libertine, were doing it all the time, routinely had several mistresses and lovers and had a god-given talent for romance.
The news caught my eye on Monday morning. Maybe it is because we are travelers, maybe it is because we were going to fly from Rio de Janeiro to Paris a just few months ago (we eventually bused back to Buenos Aires), or maybe it is because it was an Air France flight.