It’s not often I can honestly say I prefer being in Canada over being in Europe. I have always felt more at home and more alive when I’m over in Europe; both in the UK and on the mainland. That being said I have always tried to focus on what’s great about Canada and I totally understand why many people (including myself for the time being) would choose to make it their home. Canada is so diverse it’s like many…
I recently set my students an assignment to write a few paragraphs about ‘A Day in the Life of’ any career of their choice. I asked them to consider what time they might have to wake up, what they would eat for breakfast, what some of the typical tasks would be, and what time they would take breaks, etc. This got me thinking about my ‘typical’ day. Typical being employed loosely here as I’ve realised that no day ever really…
Although it was coming to live in Canada that prompted me to start writing this blog, I have never discussed the process(es) by which a person can come to live and work in Canada. One week ago, almost 10 years since I first landed in Canada with ‘Permanent Resident’ status, I finally became a Canadian Citizen. I decided to write a series of posts to help anyone considering a long-term move to Canada. There are different processes for people seeking…
Although looking out the window today it feels like winter with the grey skies and drizzle, it’s starting to feel like spring around here. Not only are the trees beginning to blossom, the buds open, and the bears awaken, it also seems as though many of us are coming back from a period of hibernation. Living in a small town, especially one which is so remote, can leave me feeling cut off and longing for a more varied social scene….
Every now and again I find myself noticing small things that seem to hint at my subsequent moves around the world. Of course the connections are easy to spot in hindsight and are almost certainly mere coincidence but one such link between my hometown in the UK and my current home in Canada is quite interesting. Since I am feeling nostalgic for all things British at the moment I decided to do a bit of further research into this link…
Moving to a foreign country can be a wonderful opportunity to learn a new language and to experience a new culture. Moving to Canada is no different. Canada is officially bilingual so you will have the opportunity to put those school French lessons to good use (depending on the region). The First Nations of Canada have their own languages such as Ojibway and in my current location Kwak’wala and many people are making efforts to preserve their native languages and…
This is my first official blog post on the new site, so welcome. Welcome to anyone just stopping by and especially to any readers who have followed me across from my old Blogger blog. I promise this website is going to be bigger, brighter and better! I have imported many of the old blogposts which is why this doesn’t appear as the first post. I’d like to say it’s for the benefit of anyone joining who might be interested in…
On the subject of typical Canadian pastimes, I thought I’d talk about our last few weekends in Winnipeg. Over the past few weeks we have been actively searching for a base, a new (or new to us) house in Manitoba’s capital, the city of Winnipeg. In Canada, one of the major techniques for selling houses is to hold an Open House. This means potential buyers just show up at the advertised time, without having to call ahead to arrange viewings…
I had never heard of a Bonspiel until this week and as a linguist I couldn’t help but wonder if it might have a particular meaning; perhaps from the French ‘bon’ meaning good and German ‘Spiel’ meaning game. In any case the curling tournament held this week between the local schools was a good game. As I have mentioned before, Winter sports are big in Canada so curling is pretty popular around these parts, for people of all ages. Ashern’s…
On my Erasmus year in Cergy on the outskirts of Paris, from about mid October until at least the end of March, the words “Que frio hace” usually preceded by “Joder” were uttered constantly by my Spanish friends (meaning more or less “Shit it‘s cold!”). I know from experience that Spain can reach temperatures below zero and it’s not just rain in Spain that falls mainly on the plains. Snow is certainly not unheard of, but nevertheless the Spanish are…