I have a killer excuse: this Saturday, I’m taking a 5 hours long French as a second language exam at the university to prove that I can actually speak French. No kidding. This is not exactly how I like to spend my Saturdays after a long week at work. Merde.

For those in Paris or around: my dad is having an exhibition of his paintings in the suburb of Paris. From November 12th to December 6th, he is actually painting in the art gallery in front of the visitors. The exhibition will then last till December 20th, 2009. Go check it out and say hi from me, the ungrateful daughter who can’t fly home to admire his art!

Related Posts

1. Woman On Top
2. Ah, Paris! (1/2)
3. I Belong Here… And There Too

Canadian Flag

Exactly four years ago, I got up very early. Feng and I got in the car still half asleep. It was a big day for me: I was crossing the border to the U.S.A only to come back to Canada a few minutes later, to validate my permanent resident visa and to become a landed immigrant.

It all went very smoothly. We drove to Prescott, an hour from Ottawa. We exited Canada, stepped into the U.S.A, and then showed up again at the Canadian customs. I had nothing to declare but a box of Tim Hortons donuts, my papers were in order and I already had an address in Canada to receive my permanent resident card.

The immigration officer tore my one year working holiday visa from my passport, saying I wouldn’t need it anymore. He wished me luck and informed me that three years from now, I would be eligible to apply for citizenship. It had seemed like a long time back then, and it was pretty much the last of my worries — becoming a landing immigrant was already a huge accomplishment for me. We drove away, back to Ottawa.

Four years ago already.

A lot happened during the last four years. After gaining some work experience here and there, I found a job as a French teacher and taught government workers for a few years. I started a new job that I love last October in a whole different environment: it’s challenging and pretty rewarding. For the first time since I’m in Canada, I feel that I found a “normal” job, not one immigrants take because they don’t really have the choice.

My English got better too. When I first arrived in Canada, I could speak some English but I was far from being fluent. First, I had trouble understanding North American accent: in France, French teachers teach British English. I could understand written English fine, but writing was a painfully long process. And I was missing a lot of cultural clues to understand what was going on around me. English is not a difficult language but it does rely a lot on pop culture, slang and idiomatic expressions. Learning from a book isn’t very helpful but for the basics. If you want to speak like a Canadian (or an American for that matters), you have to be familiar with the culture.

I remember that when I first met Feng, I asked him once how long it took him to be fluent in English. I was impressed because he didn’t have any accent. He replied something like ten years. “You gotta be kidding”, I thought. But I can see what he meant now. Communicating in English isn’t difficult: after a few months in an English-speaking country, anybody can pick up enough language skills to get by without any problems. But if you really want to be fluent, it takes much longer. It always makes me laugh when I hear people saying: “oh, I spent a month in the U.S.A, I’m fluent in English now”. Yeah, right.

I learned a lot about Canada these last few years. I learned so much about it that I feel I’m more comfortable living in Canada than in France. Indeed, I’m almost lost when I visit my birth country. I can still relate to the education system and a few social values because after all, this is where I grew up. I can find my way around my hometown, even though during the eight years I have been gone for, a lot of businesses changed. But I no longer follow politics, economic or social news. If I had to go back to France tomorrow, I wouldn’t know where to start — hell, I can’t even write a proper French resume! I bet I would use “tu” with everyone as well, instead of the polite “vous”. Yes, French language has two way of saying “you”: a formal one, “vous”, and a familiar one, “tu”. Like “tú” and “usted” in Spanish, or “你” and “您” in Mandarin. And among francophone in Canada, the rule is very flexible and using “tu” most of the timeis common, whereas France has less flexible social rules.

I mostly realized how much I changed when I speak with other French people. I know longer feel an instant common bond and I can’t relate if they are really into French culture. I have difference cultural references now.

Immigrating to Canada wasn’t a life-long dream for me. It wasn’t a strategic or economic choice either. I sort of ended up here, up North, and decided to stay.

I was a challenge at first but I don’t regret it.

Thanks Canada for adopting me.

Related Posts

1. Two Solitudes And One Loneliness
2. From Teacher To Student
3. To Be Or Not To Be

On Saturday, Gail headed to Ottawa and we meet downtown, two addicts with cameras in need of something to shoot. Between rain showers, we covered the Chateau Laurier, Notre-Dame Church and many places in between downtown. With the greyish weather, it was almost like shooting in black and white but I’m quite happy with the results.

We eventually ended up at Starbucks a few hours later to warm up. We put both our camera on the table and Gail’s two lenses. Customers around probably thought we were some kind of paparazzi, but never mind.

A Row of Benches	War Memorial
"Maman", The Big Spider	Four Drops of Water
Interprovincial Bridge Structure (and Samuel Champlain)	Bridge to Québec
Notre Dame Church	Notre Dame
The Bridges	Parliament Hill (from Québec)
Samuel de Champlain	Warm At Starbucks (Gail, Trying my Lense)

Related Posts

1. Best Of Paris (2/2)
2. Ah, Paris! (1/2)
3. Best Of Paris (1/2)

Hockey Game

Welcome to my new series, the “Canadian List of Ten”! Ten weeks, ten posts, ten lists and one hundred new Canadian things for you, from food to language, from city to weather.

There is more to Canada than ice hockey, eh!

Indeed, Canadians participate in a variety of sports, professionally or as amateur. They compete in various championships and international games and Canada is a good contender in many fields.

Have you ever heard of curling? Did you know that cricket was popular here? Can you name Canada’s official summer sport?

No?

Looks like you need this 10 Canadian sports list!

1. Curling: this is a sport I had never heard of before I came to Canada. To me, curling is like playing darts horizontally on ice…! Basically, curling is a sport in which teams take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones down the ice towards a target. This sport is most popular in the prairies.
2. Baseball: although more strongly associated with the United States, baseball is also popular in Canada. The only Major League Baseball team are currently The Toronto Blue Jays, since the Montreal Expos moved to Washington.
3. Lacrosse: this is a true original Canadian sport, since First Nations started playing it some 500 years ago. Today, it is a widespread sport among autochtones and Canadians of all backgrounds, and it has been recognized as Canada’s official summer sport.
4. Football: not soccer (one of Canada’s weak points!), but US style football. Canada has eight football teams: the B.C. Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Eskimos, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger Cats, and Montreal Alouettes.
5. Basketball: it is a popular sport in Canada, especially in Nova Scotia and Southern Ontario. Currently, the only professional team is the Toronto Raptors.
6. Cricket: although not as big as in India or Pakistan, cricket was the most popular sport in Canada until the early 20th century. It is still played today by a number of fans. The match between the USA and Canada the oldest international fixture in cricket, having first been played in 1844.
7. Auto Racing: who hasn’t heard of Gilles Villeneuve, the famous Grand Prix Driver? It was a huge deal when the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal has been dropped from the Formula One calendar in 2008, but it is scheduled to return in 2010. Indeed, the Canadian Grand Prix was the most watched Formula One GP in the world in 2005.
8. Running: although it is not really a professional sport in Canada, running is something that a lot of Canadians enjoy doing. It is a popular activity and it’s not rare to spot courageous soul jogging in a blizzard (I even took a picture once!). Marathons, semi-marathons and various races are also often organized to fund raise for various charities and participation is surprisingly large.
9. Field Hockey: what do you do in the summer? You play field hockey, a fun substitute to ice hockey, very popular in many countries including Canada.
   
10. Ice Hockey: Canada’s official pastime is best watched live, among other fans who will cheer during each fight. Many stereotypes are associated with hockey, starting with the toothless bloodshot-eyed players cliché. But in fact, the sport is surprisingly graceful. It is also fast-paced and quite fascinating, not only for the game itself but for the skating skills of the players.

Related Posts

1. Stuffs Canadians Like (Part 2)
2. Sports Nation (3/10)
3. Hockey (2/10)

Stumbling Upon A Sunset

The other day, I stumbled upon one of the most amazing sunset ever.

I was downtown, shopping around, when suddenly I realized the sun was about to set (at 4:30 pm, stupid Winter time!). I rushed to Parliament Hill to catch a glimpse of it and I spend over an hour there, watching the amazing colors as the sun set on the city. It was just magic.

The bridges you see are the bridges between Ottawa and Québec over the Ottawa River. The city skylight is Gatineau, right across Parliament Hill.

Related Posts

1. The Peace Tower
2. A Walk In Ottawa
3. Flower Power

We headed to Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General of Canada, as well as that in Ottawa of the Canadian monarch. The estate, located at 1 Sussex Drive, is huge. Like many officials places in Canada, such as the Parliament, it is open to general public for free.

While the main buildings are off-limits (they are used for state affairs), anybody can stroll the grounds freely. We took the chance to shoot some nice late Fall pictures. The trees were mostly bare but it gave the place quite an atmosphere. Plus, I had fun with the leaves on the ground!

Related Posts

1. Not Winter Already…
2. Fall Colors
3. Winter In Canada

Bilingual Stop Sign in Ottawa

Welcome to my new series, the “Canadian List of Ten”! Ten weeks, ten posts, ten lists and one hundred new Canadian things for you, from food to language, from city to weather.

Contrary to popular belief, Canadians don’t speak Canadian. Most speak English, or French, or even both.

Overall, Canadian English is quite straightforward. There are local accents (for example in New Brunswick) but overall, the English Canadians speak is very close to American English. In writing, Canadian English does use some UK English spelling (which I can never seem to remember, like “color” vs. “colour”) and you may hear some UK English expressions that are not popular in the USA.

But Canadian English also has words or expressions not found, or not widely used, in other variants of English. Do you know these ten?

1. Toonie/ loonie: The “toonie” is the Canadian two dollars coin (the one with a polar bear on it). The “loonie” is the gold-colored one dollars coin which bears images of a common loon, a well-known Canadian bird. And like in the USA, the ten cents coin is called “a dime”.
2. Pop: in Canada, soft drinks are often referred to as “pop”.
3. Double-double: when having your coffee fix at Tim Hortons, you may hear people asking for a “double-double”. It means they want their coffee served with two cream and two sugars (maybe to make it drinkable… let’s face it, Tim Hortons coffee is only extremely hot brown-colored water after all!).
4. Dépanneur: this one puzzled me for a long time. A “dépanneur” in France is a repairman or a mecanic. “Dépanner” someone means to “help someone”. So when I heard “we need to go to the dépanneur”, I automatically assume it was some kind of breakdown mechanic. But in Québec, a “dépanneur” is actually a convenience store! Anglophones in Québec and in some parts of Ontario use the word “dépanneur” as well.
5. Hydro: in Canada, an “hydro bill” doesn’t refer to water but to electricity. This is probably because most of the power is supplied through hydroelectricity.
6. Newfie jokes: French make fun of Belgians, Canadians make fun of Newfoundlanders. “What do you call a Newfie sitting in a tree wearing a suit? A branch manager“.
7. The states, down south, our southern neighbors: obviously, the U.S.A. Hate them, love them, we can’t ignore Uncle Sam. The U.S.A are Canada’s largest trading partner and a lot of American culture is exported in Canada. Plus, we like to visit them, especially when the Canadian dollar is high.
   
8. Interac: this is usually a synonym to “debit card”. Interac is the network through which are done financial transactions. For example, if you buy something in a store, you may pay with cash, a credit card or “interac” (your debit card, with fund directly withdrawn from your checking account).
9. Anglophone/ francophone: A person with English as the first language is called an Anglophone. The corresponding term for a French speaker is Francophone. These expressions are mostly used in Québec and some parts of Ontario where people could be either French or English speakers.
10. Eh: imitating Canadians is easy — just start saying “eh” after each word! In fact, Canadian don’t use it that much. “Eh” shows continued interested: “it’s cold eh, I drove this morning“. It can also be used to turn a sentence into a question: “fucking cold, eh?“. Or even to show agreement: “I know, eh.”

Related Posts

1. Do You Speak Canadian…Eh?
2. Two Solitudes And One Loneliness
3. Four Years, Already…

You hadn’t pictured me as a metalhead, had you? Well, I’m not usually into heavy metal but I love Metallica. I had heard the band was great live and I couldn’t wait to attend the concert in Ottawa.

Unfortunately, what was bound to happen happened. I was searched upon entering the arena and couldn’t go in with my beloved camera. Fear not: I’m so addicted to photography that I still managed to sneak out a smaller digital camera — ah! Don’t expect DSLR quality pictures this time, but I’m still quite happy with the result. Think of it as photojournalism: reporting live (well, a day later) from the mosh pit!

One of the best parts of the concert was definitely the crowd. Metal fans are loud, fun and take their concerts seriously. Yet, because they are Canadians, they are polite and don’t go into knife fights in the mosh pit. Love them. The two guys in front of us, for example, prepared their seats before the show: they went back-and-forth to the bar and lined up 15 cups of beer on the floor, at their feet. Drunk them all, trust me. I actually had to wash all of the clothes I was wearing because I could smell beer, even though I didn’t drink anything!

The music was awesome: the band is definitely worth seeing live. They interact quite a lot with the crowd and they were quite funny — in a dark metal kind of way. This is the kind of concert where you can’t help pumping your first in the air, throwing the devil horns and screaming “nothing else matter”.

Related Posts

1. Green Day In Ottawa
2. ACDC In Ottawa
3. 10 Canadian Bands

To non-initiated people, it’s hard to explain what is going inside a Canadian’s head right before winter. It’s a mix of fear and pride, a mix of apprehension and excitement.

Winter can be fun, at first. The first snow fall is usually beautiful: a pure white blanket covering the city, covering the dirtiness (and the potholes). The following storm is stronger and next thing you know, you are shoveling two feet deep of snow to get out of the house. Daily tasks can be a pain: getting up in the cold, getting dressed, getting around — all that takes longer.

But the slow descent into winter is also somewhat soothing. We are like animals: we eat more, we stay home and we (try to) sleep longer. After all the excitement of the summer and the long days, it’s somewhat comforting. So let’s all grab a cup of hot chocolate and snuggle in layers of thick sweaters.

Related Posts

1. Snow, Snow, Snow… And More Snow
2. Snow Sculptures And Winter Fun
3. Not Winter Already…

Terry Fox Statue In Front of the Parliament (Ottawa)

Welcome to my new series, the “Canadian List of Ten”! Ten weeks, ten posts, ten lists and one hundred new Canadian things for you, from food to language, from city to weather.

There are great Canadians in all fields: sports, science, arts, social sciences… Thousands of Canadians from all backgrounds and all origins helped improve this world, one way or another, through the centuries.

Today, I invite you to get to know ten of them. Like all lists, this one is subjective — I had to make a choice among all the great Canadians out there. But I’m waiting to hear from you: who should be added to the list?

So, in no particular order, here is the list of 10 great Canadians.I’m sure you know at least a few, and I know you will be impressed by some of their achievements.

1. Terry Fox: he was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer treatment activist. He became famous for the Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research, which Fox ran at the age of 21 years old with one prosthetic leg. He started his run in the Maritimes, through Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. He was forced to stop because of his health and died one year later. Canada celebrated his young hero and the marathon of hope is still ran every year to raise money for cancer research.
2. Norman Bethune: he was a Canadian physician and medical innovator. Bethune is best known for his service in war time medical units with the Chinese Communists during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He is still viewed as a hero in China. He died in China right before the the beginning of WWII.
3. Pierre Trudeau: he was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968, to June 4, 1979, and from March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984. He is still a controversial figure today and always arise passionate reactions, both very positive or extremely negative. He is famous for establishing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, promoting Canada’s multiculturalist policy and implementing the official bilingualism politics.
4. Margaret Atwood: she is a Canadian author, poet, critic, feminist and social campaigner. She is most famous for her novels, but also for her poetry. She is also involve in politics and spoke against the Conservative government.
5. Louise Arbour: she is the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. She indicted then President Slobodan Milošević for war crimes, among other state leaders.
6. David Suzuki: he is a Japanese Canadian science broadcaster and environmental activist. Since the mid-1970s, Suzuki has been known for his TV and radio series and books about nature and the environment. He has been a long time activist to reverse global climate change and patiently educate people throughout the world.
   
7. Alexander Graham Bell: he was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone. Although he was born in Scotland, he moved to Canada as a young man. His interests were very varied and he is also credited as the inventor of the metal detector.
8. Kenojuak Ashevak: this Inuit artist is regarded as one of the most notable pioneers of modern Inuit art. She designed several drawings for Canadian stamps and coins. She is most famous for her drawings, prints and sculptures and she is one of the ambassadors of Inuit art around the world.
9. Frederick Banting: he was a Canadian medical scientist, doctor and Nobel laureate noted as one of the co-discoverers of insulin. In the 1920, the Parliament of Canada granted him a life annuity to work on his research. His discovery is estimated to have saved over 16 million lives, worldwide.
10. Julie Payette: she is a Canadian engineer and a Canadian Space Agency astronaut. She went to space twice and she is now Chief Astronaut of CSA.

Related Posts

1. Stuffs Canadians Like (Part 2)
2. 10 Canadian Bands
3. 10 Canadian Sports