I used to always think of Canada as a frozen, relatively-unpopulated nation north of the U.S. where everyone says “eh?” I was surprised, then, to see that there are parts (well, south-central British Columbia) that are much like California, with wineries, beaches, and lots of sun. The low population (less than California) of a country with more land mass than the U.S. means that much of the land is still unravaged by man. And the country has a history of being far less belligerent than its neighbor to the south.
I went to Hamilton, Ontario to check out where my parents attended university and lived shortly after getting married, and also to visit a couple friends of my mom, including Mabel (who was her high school teacher in Hong Kong) and her son McKenzie. Continue reading »
Ottawa was another surprise! It comes across as a clean, thoroughly modern city. Downtown has a nice river flowing through it along with a large daily outdoor market. Supposedly, Ottawa is even known as the “Silicon Valley of Canada” due to the tech companies there. Continue reading »
Here are some photos from my intensive French class at the Point3 Language School in Old Montreal. My French still has a ways to go, but it has definitely improved after the 50 hours of classes or so.
I will to expand this post later at a later date when I have time (probably July!)
Quebec City was definitely a surprise, and ultimately I regretted only being able to spend 1.5 days there. I sort of expected to be a lot like Montreal but in fact it was very different! It had more classic, historical buildings and architecture (in fact, 2008 was the 400 year anniversary of the city), and was much cleaner. Even people’s accents were slightly different. Here are some photos.
In May 2008, I spent two weeks in Montréal to study French and see where my dad spent his youth from age 13-21. I rented a sublet downtown just about a block away from Metro Guy/Concordia, which coincidentally was only about a block away from where my friend Kathleen used to live (great since she was able to give me tips on where to eat and visit within walking distance). I also visited my friend Sylvie, who I met in the Mardi Gras Marathon two years ago. Continue reading »
