Canada

A look into Our Parents

Mark McLean, a Canadian prairie boy who moved to the West Coast, has spent the past few months living in Michigan and sixteen months prior in Dominica. His time abroad has allowed him not only the opportunity to meet locals and expats alike, but also to get writing. May we all be especially grateful for the latter.

Mark’s newest project involves taking a look into, not the people he meets, but the parents who raised them. He was inspired to start the blog Of Our Parents. (more…)

Picture Postcards: Food van in Toronto, Canada

We are taking a fun look at food vans around the world this month. This week we kick off with a photo of a van in Nathan Phillips Square in downtown Toronto, Canada. Our photographer, Ana, says, “They sell ice cream, burgers, hot dogs, fries and poutine. ”

Read more:
We really do dogsled in Canada
A Wedding on Yukon Time
How to be a Canadian

The 4-Way Stop Courtesy

This traffic pattern was never something I had considered before. I grew up with it. We learn how to take advantage of the situation practically as soon as you learn to drive. Then, I had some friends visit from Australia who just had to know how this amazing display of courtesy actually worked. I also heard, recently, that this may be a purely Canadian phenomenon, not North American as I assumed. Maybe someone can chime in.

All streets have their own stop signs.

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Aisha Ashraf, a British expat in Canada

Aisha Ashraf is originally from Ireland, then moved to Britain and she now lives in Canada with her Pakistani husband and their three children. If you would like to know more about Aisha, read her blog Expatlogue.

Aisha Ashraf

How would your friends or family describe you?

I’m enthusiastic, determined and a little too empathetic for my own good! My husband says I’m kind and according to my four-year-old son, I give good cuddles.

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

This day honors one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and today it is celebrated in over 100 countries around the world. Take a look at what some of our contributors have to say about it!

Valentine’s Day in the USA (By Jason, our contributor from the US)

As I child I remember getting a packet of Valentine’s cards and hand writing the names of every child in my class on the back of factory-made cards and putting each one inside an envelope addressed to each kid in my class.  I carried these to school in a brown paper bag then I put one on each classmate’s desk.  At the end of the day, I collected the exact same number of cards from my classmates and carried them home in the same brown paper bag.  I enjoyed reading each one.

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The etiquette of visiting around the world

Leave shoes on or take them off? Bring flowers or wine? Call in advance or drop in? What to do?

Some of our contributors got their heads together and came up with a very useful guide on how to avoid social blunders when visiting these countries: Canada, Spain, France, Costa Rica, United Sates, England,

Tea and cakes