Link to Part 1 here.
Today (September 30th) is la Journée de la vérité et de la réconciliation, or the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. It honors the memory of thousands of Indigenous children who were taken from their families between 1867 and 1996 and sent to federally-run residential schools, where they were abused, neglected, and often died.… [Read More]
It seems that when you live in a certain place, you become the default consultants for tourism in that place. People contact you, sometimes on behalf of people you don’t even know, wanting to hear about the best restaurants or most exciting local experiences or whether the weather is weathering, etc.… [Read More]
Sylvain and I went to the MTL Pride parade yesterday; it was a homegrown affair but with abundant color and music and smiles.
Here are a few photos and three short videos of an Irish-dancing rainbow, two-stepping white hats, and a good ol’ cheer squad going to town.… [Read More]
I’ll get back to Becky deMarie and pretendian issues soon, but in the meantime I want to tell you a true story about a girl and a strawberry.
I’m the girl.… [Read More]
TW: racism and sexual predators (prison sentencing link)
Last month, the CBC ran this story about a Canadian woman sentenced to three years in prison for committing a unique kind of fraud: by falsifying birth information for her two daughters and claiming they had Indigenous heritage, she was able to access government funds earmarked for Indigenous people.… [Read More]
I read the news in French every morning to build my vocabulary and keep apprised of local goings-on.
As a result of this article (it’s in French only, sorry) about a cyclist who was injured after sliding on a newly-painted pedestrian crossing, today I learned the term dos d’ânes, or “donkey backs.”… [Read More]
Canicule = “heat wave” to you and me. Also vague de chaleur. Either way–much, much hot.
Temps are going to be “dangerously high” this week in Montreal and Ontario: 30C-35C, with humidex values of up to 45.… [Read More]
A subtle cultural layer you discover in a new city is the locally-sourced humor, i.e. the local problems that are joked about by the people who live there. Per my post yesterday about the Grand Prix, Dan Ramos Comedy posted the above graphic on Reddit with the headline, “I Fixed the F1 Poster.”… [Read More]
♫Another F1 race day, and it’s gonna be wet…♫
The Grand Prix du Canada is back in Montréal this weekend, with all its economic boom and ecological doom. It’s estimated that 1.2 million kilos of equipment get hauled into town for this event (that’s 1,320 tons to you and me) and then it all gets shuffled off to Madrid for the next race on June 23.… [Read More]
We haven’t gone on about it too much here on the blog, but when we moved into this furnished apartment it was a *disaster.* Filthy from the drawers to the floors, broken appliances, an unmade bed with a pile of crumbs on the chair next to it….just… [Read More]
