5 Things to Do When You Land in Canada (That No One Told You About)
The Parliament of Canada, Ottawa, June 2011
It’s the end of the process and you finally received the letter saying your visa is ready to be issued. You are a soon-to-be landed immigrant and you already have a list of all the practical things you must do after you arrive.
Let me add more to your plate! Here are 5 Things to do when you land in Canada (that no one told you about)!
All About Blogging: Dealing With Blogging Annoyances
I find blogging very rewarding. Yet, some little things can irk you. These blogging annoyances are everywhere and you have to deal with them to keep your sanity. Here are four annoyances you will probably come across.
Picture of the Week: Chalk
When I walked by The Bay the other day, I couldn’t help taking a picture of this stack of chalk, part of a “back to school” window display. I can still smell the chalk dust in my dream… yep, I’m traumatized.
Entertainment Week — WWE and Pearl Jam
Last week was entertainment week for us: we had tickets for two shows in Ottawa, Monday Night RAW and Pearl Jam.
When I first saw wrestling on TV in Canada, I dismissed it right away: “it looks fake and I bet it’s fixed!” I was later informed that indeed, the fight followed a specific “choreography” and that the outcome was determined in advance. This is not the point of WWE anyway. It has to be watched as theater: characters challenge each other, adopt gimmicks and portray roles.
Summer is Over
Standing on the lakeshore, wind blowing in my hair and producing whitecaps on the lake, the horizon just a flat line in the distance, I felt like I was at the seaside. Only the heady iodine smell of seaweeds was missing.
All About Blogging: Ten Tips To Be a Better Writer
How hard can writing be? You just have to type what you’re thinking, right?
Well, it doesn’t quite work like that, even if your spontaneous thoughts and observations can be a good starting point.
When you’re writing for an audience, a few basic tips apply.
Picture of the Week: 9/11 and the American Embassy
Last Sunday, most of the Western world commemorated the September 11 attacks on the United States. It’s been ten years already, and the tragic event remains engraved in everyone’s memory—we still all remember where we were when we learned about the attacks, how we reacted as the footage of the planes hitting the towers was replayed over and over again.
Barrie and Balm Beach
Balm Beach, the first beach we stopped at, seemed to be stuck somewhere in the 1980s with a few old-fashioned beach toys stores along the sand. Feng and I bought an ice-cream and a drink and the total came to $1.75—not quite Toronto prices! On the beach, people played volley-ball or were reading and not a single person had a cell phone in hand. Canadian take the outdoors seriously and most cars in the parking lot either had a canoe strapped to the roof or a boat in tow.
Toronto, Here We Are Again
Labour Day in North America always takes me by surprise, mostly because it is months after the rest of the world celebrates International Workers’ Day on May 1st. But in a country where holidays are given sparingly, a three-day long weekend always calls for a short trip.
All About Blogging: What to Blog About When There is Nothing to Blog About?
No matter how much you enjoying blogging, chances are you experienced or will experience writer’s block at one point or another. Fortunately, there are several ways to hack yourself out of a writer’s block.
The World Through My Eyes
