A New Land of my Own

A Different New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T21:36:00.000-08:00

View of Downtown VanCity

It's New Year's Eve and D and me have had a blast watching Team Canada beat the US at hockey tonight.

Here in Canada, the New Year is received a little different. The country closely follows the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship right from Christmas Day all the way until the first days of the New Year. This one is particularly sweet since it is taking place in Alberta, Canada and Team Canada is doing great.

The Championship is a great opportunity for young players to showcase their talent and that is one of the reasons why fans follow it so closely. D and I are wondering which team has Canadian player Mark Stone; that kid is doing such a great job. He's been putting the puck in the net like no one else there!

Ten teams make it to the Championship. The usual big opponents for Team Canada are the USA, Russia, and Sweden. This competition started in 1974 and Russia won the gold medal on that one. If I am not mistaken Russia and Canada are tied in the number of gold medals. They both have won the Championship 15 times and this year the final, it seems, is most likely going to be Canada vs Russia. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves just yet.

Well, I have to go kiss this awesome year goodbye and receive 2012 with a big smile! Happy New Year to you all and GO CANADA GO!!!

For more about today's game click here.

With my nieces during our Christmas Party this year. ~Notice my Canucks jersey~ It's always Hockey time around here :-D

The Othello tunnels - A park you shouldn't miss in BC

2011-12-30T20:42:00.000-08:00

Enjoying the view to the Coquihalla Canyon near Hope, BC

They say some of the best things in life are free. This is certainly the case with the Othello Tunnels Rail Trail. The trail is part of the Coquihalla National Provincial Park and it is located just outside Hope, BC. Hope, for those of you not familiar with it, is called Hollywood North since many movies have been filmed here. When you are in the Hope area and look at the rugged beauty around you, you see why action scenes in movies like the 80s Rambo where filmed here.

On my first visit to the tunnels my husband tricked me into believing we had to crawl though some caves filled with bats to get to the other side of the park. I was ready for it, camera in hand and all. I felt a little disappointed when I found out it was not the case but once I passed the first tunnel and saw the scenery that surrounded us my disappointment vanished.

The Coquihalla rapid waters roaring below me

The Othello Tunnels were part of the former Kettle Valley Railway that passed through Southern BC. So they are big enough to fit a big, steaming train. The Kettle Valley is said to be one of the most expensive railways to have ever been built in the world. Its construction took from 1911 to 1918 and it is said many workers, many of them of Asian origin, died in the blasts that cut through the canyon rock. This part of the Kettle Railway was declared out of service in 1959. The trail-tracks have been removed and now visitors can enjoy the 2 kilometers-hike that goes through the 5 tunnels (called the Quintette Tunnels). The tunnels are dark so it is a good idea to bring a flashlight but you will be OK without one because the tunnels are not all that long. The best part of the trail is the bridges; pause and enjoy the views of the Coquihalla river canyon that they offer. If you look close you could even see some fish jumping around in the roaring river waters.

There are picnics tables near the parking lot are and next to the river and also pit toilets. Keep in mind the trail is closed during Winter time, from November to March, due to the increase chance of rock slides so plan your visit accordingly. Check out people's opinions of the park on TripAdvisor here.

This video offers more views of the scenery surrounding the Othello Tunnels.

Stanley Park - A must-see in VanCity

2011-12-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

At Stanley Park, Vancouver. The Lions Gate Bridge is in the background.

One of the first places I visited when I arrived in Canada was Stanley Park. We were living a couple of hours away from the city back then. I remember D didn't tell me where he was taking me so all I knew was that we were going to the city. I had seem lots of pictures of Stanley Park and I happen to be a sucker for coastal cities landscapes so visiting Stanley Park was first in my list of places to visit in Vancouver.

Stanley Park was officially opened in 1888 and at the same time the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation was created. This park was Vancouver's first official green space. Today is the third largest urban park in North America and is definitely one of the best urban parks in the world.

The Park extends 1,000 acres near downtown Vancouver. It has two beaches where you can swim and a lake, Beaver Lake, where actual beavers live and work. Another landmark of the park is the Hollow Tree. The area of the park was logged in the past and this huge and hollow stomp is a reminder of that. People love to have their picture taken next to the stump to show its size. You can check some images here.

Stanley Park has a lot of trails but probably the most famous one is the Seawall with its 8.8 km. You can enjoy a spectacular view of the city, the water, and the big commercial ships in the background while you walk or ride a bike on this trail . On one end of the Seawall you will find some nice swimming pools you might want to jump into during the Summertime. I still haven't tried any of the forest trails but if you have limited time to visit don't miss out on them. You can also practice several sports in the park besides the obvious jogging and cycling. Tennis is one of them and you can check the rest of them clicking right here.

If you plan to go to Stanley Park it might be a good idea to get there on public transport. You can leave your car parked in any of the city's Park and Ride spots. We spent well over an hour to travel through the few last blocks to get to the park. It was well worth it though. And also, check out the food venues; they are really good and some offer some pretty spectacular views as well.

Stanley Park is a huge park. You may want to bring some extra cash to get drinks and food. But be ready to pay a bit more than regular price.

Here's a little video about Stanley Park

Christmas in Canada - The most wonderful time of the year

2011-12-20T22:04:00.000-08:00

Looks like Santa, a Timmies clad in a Canucks tuque.

This is the first Christmas I spend in Canada. I keep wishing for snow on Christmas day but the weather forecast is not on my side. It seems I am about to witness a green Christmas on my side of the country.

Christmas is celebrated in Canada pretty much the same way it is celebrated in the United States. There are a few differences though. In the States people open their presents the morning of Christmas day. In Latin America we open the presents at midnight on Christmas Eve so this was different for me. I hated the idea of not opening the presents on Christmas Eve after the big family dinner. I asked my husband when does he use to open his presents and he told me sometimes on Christmas Eve, sometimes on Christmas morning, and some other times anytime during Christmas day. I was very surprised by his answer so I decided to research a bit and even asked a few people and yes, the time of opening presents is pretty flexible here. Well, it makes perfect sense. Canadians are pretty laid back and they also have a mixture of the English and the French traditions.

In Quebec the focus is on Christmas Eve. A lot of people go to mass and prepare the reveillon, the Christmas Eve banquet they enjoy with family and friends. They also have a nativity scene under the tree and feast on a variety of dishes including a kind of meat pie, called la tourtiere. They also have a chocolate cake in the shape of a log called the Yule log. Presents there are opened during Christmas Eve.

In most of the country, where the English traditions are more dominant, the feast takes place on Christmas Day. Presents are opened in the morning and some of the common foods , besides turkey and pie, are roasted goose and beef.
In BC, you could also find smoked salmon on the table. Oh, I would love to have some smoked salmon for Christmas! The only way to get it right now would be off some supermarket shelf and I doubt we will do that. My husband used to be a fisherman long time ago and he refuses to buy salmon of the shelves. Some of our relatives still fish so we get to enjoy fresh salmon from time to time. My mouth is watering right now!

If you want to to test your knowledge about Christmas in Canada and even learn more about it, click here. It is a pretty interesting and fun little quiz.

You can feel the Christmas spirit everywhere here. My local bus driver has the best Christmas spirit I have seen. He decorated the small community bus like a reindeer, Christmas lights around the roof and shiny red nose included. And he wishes everybody a Merry Christmas and leaves out a warm, loud laugh every time they get off the bus just in case he doesn't see them again before Christmas. Oh and he also finishes every phrase with an eh! Very cute and very Canadian.

So Merry Christmas everybody, eh! And if you don't celebrate Christmas Happy Holidays and enjoy the time off from work and the festive spirit on the streets!

I leave you with the famous Canadian Brothers. Enjoy this Canadian version of a very famous Christmas Carol!

Bob and Doug McKenzie are famous and loved Canadian characters, that had their own show. They are not cartoons though. I will definitely blog about them soon because you have to know who they are if you plan to come here :-)

Mini Post - Perfect Christmas Gifts

2011-12-19T21:48:00.000-08:00


*I'm no longer a tourist but will I love to find these in my stocking!*

Anything with the Canucks logo (Vancouver's NHL Team) D adores. I bet a new Canucks tuque (knit hat) and scarf would be perfect stocking items for him!

Is it Centre or Center?

2011-12-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

Funny story the one of this picture I took today. My small fries are behind my POP.

I always take the train back home and to kill time while I wait at the station I stroll around Downtown Vancouver. Today was rainy though, so I took cover in an A&W. I forgot my water bottle home so I decided to ask for a drink. I had brown-bagged my lunch so a drink was all I wanted. But today I realized I still haven't fully gotten used to the different vocabulary used in Canada. See, the nice Asian cashier took my order with a big smile when I said I wanted a small soda. She nodded, punched some numbers in and told me the total. I paid and then she asked me if I wanted ketchup. Ketchup? With soda? Oh! I know what happened! She obviously did not understand the word soda; I should have asked for a small pop instead. Silly me! She was still giving me a big smile so I just took my small fries and ordered a small pop this time.
Pop instead of Soda still sounds too cute to me. So much that I feel silly saying it but I better get used to it or I might end up getting wrong orders all the time! :-)

Canadian English and US English are not the same. Beside the obvious fact that no two countries use the same words, the spelling also follows the British pattern. When you are in Canada you go to the washroom, not the restroom. If you ask for tea you'll always get the steamy variety unless you explicitly ask for cold tea. If you park above ground level then you are in the parkade. And you don't ask for the check, you ask for the bill. And by the way, check is a very good example of the difference of spelling. Here it is cheque (which drives your spellchecker nuts). And centre instead of center. Other words would be colour instead of color; catalogue instead of catalog; cancelled instead of canceled. You get the idea. But if you dont, here is a good link that I will also keep handy because my emails are full of a mixture spelling that does me no good!

Father and daughter strolling around the rainy streets of Gastown in Vancity today

Mini Post - A Vancouver overpass on a rainy day

2011-12-17T12:35:00.000-08:00

This is a different post. It is kind of an intermission. Today, we are hosting a very informal Christmas dinner with the family and we are counting down the minutes to it!

Yesterday, I got the coveted (by me anyways) front seat on the Vancouver Skytrain. This is the picture I like best from yesterday's rainy day.

Bear Country

2011-12-15T22:29:00.000-08:00

A sign a couple of blocks from our home reminding us that we share the space with these furry animals

The very first week I was in Canada, there was a bear sighting alert in the community we were living at the time. A couple of people had spotted a black bear and authorities quickly let us all know. I remember how bad I wanted to go walking to a nearby convenience store with the hope of snapping a picture of the visitor but I chickened out remembering I had no idea of what to do if I did indeed came close to it.

In the town where I live now, we have to be careful not to leave our food garbage out so some black bear does not pay us a home visit. The garbage truck only comes by once a week so this is a bit challenging at best. Especially because I always want to get rid of trash right away. But I love knowing that bears are so close. It gives me the feeling I am living in a less spoiled land.

Bears in BC says the black bear population in the province is growing. Well, that is great news! It is currently anywhere between 120,000 to 160,000. Grizzly bears have smaller population numbers though. There are between 10,000 to 13,000 in BC but this is understandable since they are bigger and need more living space. Canada needs to protect its forests so bears have enough space. But they also need to make sure there is enough fish for them because when fish is scarce they turn to garbage and go to neighborhoods looking for food. This gets them killed too many times so it is important to avoid luring them in and not leave food garbage outside in the wrong kind of containers.

I'm still a little scared of coming across a black bear. Although my husband says he is not afraid of black bears at all but of grizzly bears who are more unpredictable (and bigger!). But gosh would I love to see one close enough to get a good picture!

If you want to know what to do in case you come across a not-hug-able teddy bear check my school's advice here.

The Maple Leaf - One of Canada's most popular symbols

2011-12-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

The big Christmas tree outside one of my school's campuses

It has been a few days since the last time I wrote here. School finals got me a little too busy but I am back in the groove now.

Today I want to talk about one of Canada's best well-known symbols, the Maple Leaf. This ubiquitous Canadian symbol is proudly displayed in the flag. Many historians say it was already a symbol of the country in the 1700s. That would be a few centuries of the maple leaf serving as a symbol of Canada although it was not officially so until 1965, the year the Canadian flag was proclaimed.

Well, Canada is well-known for it's maple syrup. European settlers learned from aboriginal peoples the food properties of the maple sap. The province of Quebec is the world's largest producer of this sweet food. How much does it produce? Some say over 100,000 litres yearly. That's more than the maple syrup production of the USA and all other Canadian provinces put together.

Where else beside the flag can you find the maple leaf? You will see it everywhere in the country. In the pennies, in many companies names and logos, and there is even a hockey team name after it. A big Canadian packaged food corporation with operations in Canada, the US, the UK, Mexico and Asia goes by the name Maple Leaf. It couldn't have a more Canadian name than that, eh? And the Toronto Maple Leafs are not a bad team either. Don't let the name make you think this is not an intimidating team. It has a long, great history since it was part of the original 6 teams of the NHL and it has won 11 Stanley Cups.

You know what is a great souvenir to send home from Canada? A maple syrup in a maple leaf bottle! I bet my family would like that! You can find it here.

Kate wearing a statement hat during a visit to the country

The Alarmingly High Suicide Rates in Aboriginal Canada

2011-12-09T22:55:00.001-08:00


Don't worry, I did not stand in front of a moving train to take this shot.

I had planned to talk about about something else today. But this morning I learned a close friend of my husband's family had died. And he didn't just died; he committed suicide. This young man apparently walked to the train tracks to end his life. I keep wondering what would possess a young man to do such a thing? What would make a young person think that suicide is the answer?

My husband's family is First Nations (aboriginal). In native communities suicide has reached epidemic proportions. Some sources have numbers that say that suicide rates in native communities in Canada are anywhere from 5 to 7 times higher than in the non-native population. The more alarming rates are those of the Northern communities. Some say in some Inuit communities the suicide rate is even 11 times higher. In 2009, in a town of 1000, 14 youth committed suicide. Some experts are saying that these remote communities are the suicide capitals of the world. I know many stories of many young people taking their lives from my husband's recollections of his growing up and now I get to see this reality closer. I hope it never touches my Canadian family. But everybody agrees it started after residential schools opened their doors and native kids were taken from their families and thrown into these places were they lost their cultural identities, their languages, and it seems often times even their will to live. Suicide was almost non-existent in native cultures before. But the previous generations that went through so many traumas grew up and raised new generations and they passed on many of their problems. It is certainly a difficult cycle to break.

Native communities are closely knit and even though this is a great thing, it can also lead to suicide clusters, like Health Canada puts it. Well, I see how that can be. When one youth goes the others seem to have a reinforced belief that suicide is the way out of their problems and negative feelings. Plus they also have a new heartbreak from the passing of somebody close to them.
I hope Health Canada and the native leaders get a hold of the problem and eradicate it. I know they can do it if they launch a well thought out, country-wide campaign. The best native communities have going for them is how they care a lot about each other and their real sense of community. I know it because I lived among them for a short while and they embraced me like my own family.

Listen to some leaders on their views of the problem and potential solutions

Sam Roberts - I Feel You

2011-12-07T23:38:00.001-08:00

The open highway is even better with the right music. On our way to the Fraser Canyon.

It is almost the weekend and I am feeling in the mood to talk about something pleasurable today. Sam Roberts, at least for me, fits the bill perfectly.
First. let me confess that I did not know who he was or had listened to any of his music until a few years back, maybe as late as 2009. It was D who introduced me to Sam Roberts. I heard Hard Road and there was an instant spark. After that, I was hooked for life on his fresh indie rock sound and his smart, poetic lyrics. I used to crank up my stereo while driving on the wide Texas highways and dream of what it would be like to venture into what was taking more and more shape as my new destination; Canada.

"Feel, feel it grow ♪ ♫
      In your mind, in your mind
      Life is how you live it
      Through time, through time... ♪ ♫

...When the sun dies until it's reborn
   But there's no road that ain't a hard road to travel on
       ...Been dying since the day I was born
   'Cause there's no road that ain't a hard road to travel on" ♪ ♫

Sam Roberts has been around for a while. His first solo album, The Inhuman Condition, came out in 2001. He had belonged to a few other bands before but it was in 2001 that he became wildly famous here. The single Brother Down from this album, which he recoded at his home studio, became an overnight sensation in Canadian radio stations. Other albums from him are: We Were Born in a Flame (which I love), Chemical City, Love at the End of the World, and this year's Collider. This last album is under the Sam Roberts Band name. Check out the video for his single, Without a Map, below. It's refreshingly different from most rock videos.

Sam was born in Quebec, on the island of Montreal. His parents are South Africans. Something you probably don't know about him: He speaks English, French, and Spanish. Well, if he speaks Spanish that explains why he is so cool.

I say if you live in Canada, plan to move to Canada, visit Canada, or just love Canada and/or Canadians then you really need to check out Sam Robert's music.

Without a Map - Album: COLLIDER

Treasurable Canadian Freshwater

2011-12-06T21:14:00.001-08:00


Cultus Lake, BC in the Summer. It is as fun and refreshing as it looks :-)

I remember when D and I started talking. I was living in the States and he was trying to convince me that Canada was the place to be. So he kept telling me that Canada not only had the purest air but also the cleanest water in the world. I know now he would have said anything to get me to come here but that really stuck with me. In a couple of the cities I had lived before I had to put up with brownish water coming out of the faucet more often than I would have liked it or even worse, water that smelled strongly of chlorine. I know, yikes!

Although I am sure he did not checked his facts extensively before making his sales pitch to me he definitely was onto something.

Freshwater availability is very important for a country's economic prosperity and the quality of life of its inhabitants. Just think of the severe droughts in some African countries and what that means for their populations. Here in Canada there are freshwater sources everywhere. I live a few blocks away from a major river and less than 40 minutes of driving distance of several major lakes. I have never lived in a country with so many lakes. The amount of lakes in Canada is not known but it is estimated that there are over 3 million lakes and that in some areas there are up to 30 lakes per square kilometer. Many large rivers also roam the country. Canada has one of the longest rivers in the world, the Mackenzie river. It is 4,241 km long and it is also the third largest river in volume in North America. Surface water only accounts to 0.014% of all fresh water deposits. And about 87% is in the Ice Caps and glaciers according to UNESCO. Now put that together with the fact that Canada is actually the country with the most lakes in the world (60%) and think of what a privilege for Canadians it is to enjoy the majority of the scarce surface freshwater bodies present on Earth.

Stats Canada reports that 44% of the freshwater in the Southern part of the country is considered good and 56% in the Northern part. Why is this important? Well, only 2.5% of all the water in the world is fresh water (not a whole lot, right?). The rest of it is salty water. So now you can see why it is such a valuable resource to have. But of course when it comes to water and its preservation not everything is rose tinted; not even in Canada. Stats Canada has also reported the country is losing fresh water resources at a rate of 3.5% a year. Canadians really value their natural resources and they are pressuring the government to take more aggressive actions to protect their fresh water supplies. Hopefully citizens will start making enough noise so to make the government listen.

PS: Please let me know what you think of the posts by either voting below, commenting, or emailing me.

"The Lakes of Canada" song

Terry Fox - Canada's Hero

2011-12-05T22:48:00.001-08:00

D could not resist taking off running on this endless beach on the coast of California during a trip we took to cheer our hockey team, the Vancouver Canucks.

A blog about all things Canadian would never be complete without talking about Terry Fox. My husband loves to run so I learned very early on who Terry was. He is considered one of the greatest Canadians of all times.

I am very proud to tell you that Terry was a Kinesiology student at my very own school, Simon Fraser University in BC. He belonged to the school's basketball team. Terry was diagnosed in 1977 of bone cancer and he lost his right leg to it. His leg was amputated about six inches above his knee. He had seen the suffering of other cancer patients, specially of children, and he decided he had to do something to raise awareness and money. What he came up with was running across Canada. He called this mega marathon The Marathon of Hope.

He started running on April 12, 1980 at one of the most Western part of the country in St. John's, Newfoundland. He ran an average of 26 miles a day, which is the length of a full marathon, every day nonstop with just one leg! That is some serious determination. People congregated in the streets to see him run by their towns and cities and cheer him up. When he was forced because of cancer to stop his race in Thunder Bay, Ontario about 4 months and two weeks afterwards he had run 5,373 km.

He lost the battle to cancer in 1981 but his legacy lives on. The Terry Fox Foundation has raised over $550 million for cancer research to the date. D has this dream of running across Canada too. I think many Canadians do because what Terry Fox started is very fresh in the memories of them all. There is a Terry Fox run in SFU every September, I would love to participate in the 2012 one.

Canada - A Business Startup Heaven?

2011-12-04T18:53:00.001-08:00

A local bike rental business near Stanley Park in Vancouver

I walk pass the Small Business BC office on my way to work every morning and my feet itch to go inside and check it out. But of course I always have just enough time to make it on time so I kept telling myself that I'll do it tomorrow. I have found out online though that they have seminars that go for as little as $25 and a pretty nice range of affordable services for entrepreneurs.

I read a very interested article on the Financial Post that says that Canada has been ranked as the best place out of the G20 countries to start a business. Here, it only takes 5 days to start a business as opposed to 22 days to start one in a G20. Some of the reasons for this is that Canada has a very strong banking sector, good coaching and education programs available, and that start up costs are not as high as in some other countries. In a study for the Youth Business Foundation from the firm Ernst and Young Canada got 93 points and the United States, its closest competitor, got 75 points . So this gives you a good idea of how favorable the business climate is here. Canadian entrepreneurs can count on the education system to provide them with a large pool of qualified employees, more opportunities for collaboration and less regulatory burdens than in other highly develop economy.

Being an entrepreneur is, of course, not all that easy. One tip that might help your business success is that Canadians spend more time than anybody else in the world online (see article here). This explains why it is so easy to get in touch with my husband and family here just by using facebook. I can send them a message and get an almost instant reply like with text message. So maybe blogging or getting your business its very own profile page can help you reach out to your customers not only more effectively but also cheaply. So what do you think, would you like to start a business in Canada?

A short video with advice to help your business keep up with trends

Metro Vancouver "Create Memories, Not Garbage" Campaign

2011-12-03T17:48:00.001-08:00

Our modest Christmas tree. We are trying not to create too much trash and literally throw our money in the garbage.

I am very pleased with Metro Vancouver's campaign Create Memories, Not Garbage. For the last couple of weeks, every morning at the SkyTrain station I see an ad that portraits John , a motorcycle gang rider kinda looking fella with a smile on his face and a halo over his head, who is treating Barb to the opera. Bravissimo!, the ad reads because he's creating memories, NOT garbage. This is one of the various ads giving people guilt-free, gift giving ideas.

The city has a point. I mean how many of us really remember all the gifts we have gotten during Christmas? What we remember is the memories, not the knickknacks. Metro Vancouver is giving people some real nice gift giving ideas like dancing lessons, bungee jumping and cooking classes. Not to mention the added benefits of creating jobs and keeping the money in the community.
This is the first time I see a campaign like this one in a big city. I wish Houston, the city I used to call home before, had a campaign like this going on. Metro Vancouver was spreading the same Christmas message last year to vancouverites. I wonder if all major cities in Canada are doing the same.

You can check out MV website here for gift ideas that will turn you into a green angel.

Watch this before buying toys this Christmas

Thinking of buying a tree?

Longest Hiking Trails in Canada

2011-12-01T22:25:00.001-08:00


A Summer snapshot of Vedder Trail in Chilliwack, BC.

Today I want to tell you about Canada's largest hiking trails. It must have something to do with the weather getting chillier and me trying to keep warm feeding myself with sunny days hiking memories.

Canada has tons of great hiking trails and the views that even the most mundane ones offer are simply too nice to miss. The country is right now working on two recreational trails that will extent from coast to coast. The Trans Canada Trail and the National Hiking Trail.
The Trans Canada trail is going to be the longest trail in the world with an incredible length of 22,000 km (pretty mind blowing, right?). The plan is to connect hundreds of shorter trails to created this master trail. The Trans Canada trail starts on the North at the Northwest Territories, crosses the Yukon, passes through British Columbia and finally arrives in Alberta. On the West side, it starts near the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island and it goes all the way to Nova Scotia on the East. It also has a few 'legs' or scenic detours like the one going deeper into Saskatchewan. This trail is intended mainly for hiking and bike riding but of course some parts of the trail will allow for other activities like horseback riding and skiing.
The National Hiking Trail, formerly known as the Sentier National Trail, will in part overlap with the Trans Canada and in other parts offer a different alternative. It's a much shorter trail but so far is about 3,800 km long . The terrain on this trail is rougher so it is meant to be used mainly for hiking unless you are an experience biker or skier.

Weather predictions say this is going to be one of the coldest and whitest winters in Canada's recent history so I guess that means I have to get a good pair of snowshoes and some real warm winter clothes before going out for my first hike on the Trans Canada :-)

Want to know more about the Trans Canada Trail? Click here!

First kilometer mark. Not as impressive as a 20k one but you got to start somewhere!

Technorati K2589UJ99WAE.

A cup to your health!

2011-11-29T17:46:00.001-08:00

The other day my husband made a surprising confession to me. He said that for breakfast he had brewed some tea instead of our morning usual timmies (short nickname for Tim Hortons coffee). Talk about something I had never expected to hear from him! I mean I had never seen anybody drink as much coffee as he used to.

Coffee is huge in Canada, especially Tim Hortons coffee. Although McCafé® is becoming more and more popular. But Canadians are also avid tea drinkers. I read in Stats Canada that in 2008 Canadians consumed about 79 litres per person in a year. That's a lot of tea! It must be a combination of the British legacy and the large Chinese and Chinese descendant population. It's great news though since tea has so many health benefits like helping you build stronger bones.

If you want to know more about the health benefits you get from drinking tea read this article from Canadian Living magazine here. I just know that when I am waiting outdoors for the train to take me home, it feels great to sip on a warm cup of tea.

BC Lions - The New Champions of the CFL

2011-11-28T17:14:00.001-08:00

In case you didn't know it Canada has its very own football league. It is called the Canadian Football League (duh!) or in musical sounding French the Ligue Canadienne de Football. I admit I did not know this until I landed here. I thought in football, like in hockey, Canada shared its major league with the US.

Yesterday the BC Lions won the 99th Grey Cup and British Columbians couldn't be happier. My husband is one of them. I don't think he is ever going to let me forget that we could have gotten tickets for the game a few months ago (when they were very affordable) but I assured him we would get them later because we had other financial priorities at the moment. Unfortunately, tickets were going for $1500 a few days before the game. I know I am going to be hearing about this for a long time.

This win comes in a great moment to lift the spirits of British Columbians who are still heartbroken about their hockey team not winning the Stanley Cup in hockey. Even I was cheering for them and I don't understand the game very well!

Football is big in Canada. Not as big as hockey of course, I mean nothing is as big as hockey here, but it comes a close enough second.   The CFL is an easy to follow league. The football played here is supposed to be slightly different from American football. The CFL has 8 teams divided into the East and West divisions. Interestingly, the CFL expanded to the US for a few years in the 90s but that wasn't very successful and in 1996 it became again an all-Canadian League. I like it better that way.

See the game highlights directly from the CFL website here

My nephew posing with coach Jim Sandusky, a former BC Lions player

"Photographing the World Around You" - My favorite photography book so far

2011-11-27T15:05:00.001-08:00

One of my fondest passions is photography. If you happen to be like me, then you probably also spend countless hours browsing the internet for tips that will help you achieve the awesome images you know you are capable of producing but that for some reason rarely make it to your memory card. I am going to give you the great tip you've been waiting for and that is read an awesome photography book and put the knowledge into practice right away. No, don't discard my tip right away! It works if you pick the right book.

I happen to have found a jewel at my university library and to my delight the author is a Canadian fella.
Photographing the World Around You by Freeman Patterson is by far my favorite book about photography! It is not the newest book and it doesn't give you a recipe of tips that will magically improve your skills. But it teaches you the "building blocks of visual design", like the the author puts it. You know a photography book is good when you look forward to reading it and the pictures are there to give you that aha! moment. I'm pretty sure you'll agree with me after you read it. Because what is better than to truly understand what makes a photograph visually striking so that your creativity is focused on what you want to show rather that on how you are going to do it.

I can't wait to put my hands on all the other books he has published. Just thinking of all the awesome pictures I will get in this very photogenic land gives me butterflies in my stomach!

If you want to know more about Freeman Patterson or buy his books his webpage is here.

I love this picture I took of my husband at Cultus Lake, BC. I think it has good rhythm and a nice texture going on. I wonder if Mr. Patterson would agree.

Welcome to my new adventure!

2011-11-26T20:44:00.001-08:00

It occurred to me a couple of months ago how fun it would be to start blogging. I happen to follow some wonderful blogs out there. I like them because, unlike with most webpages, you feel like somebody is sitting right in front of you sharing some knowledge or experiences. So not being an expert on anything but knowing that I can contribute with something personal to the world I've decided to start sharing about my discovery of this exciting land I have just arrived to and I am loving so much which is Canada.
So here it is, my first post for a blog that will be about all things Canadian mixed up with a little bit of my own experiences in The True North.