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The streets are silent, but a rare morning breeze is bringing the smells of spring right to my window. Vancouver is in lockdown, but its cherry trees are in bloom, and the soil of its many millions of gardens is awake and exhaling a nutrient rich fragrance. Twenty-two years may seem a long time, but…
In 2018, Kolaj Magazine initiated World Collage Day, an international celebration of collage on the Second Saturday of May. We invited artists and art venues to hold events on that day to celebrate collage. We saw fifty events in twenty-five countries and thousands of posts on social media using the hashtag, #worldcollageday. The following year, the event…
It’s been six months since I moved to Vancouver, and life in this metropolis is a major contrast to the quaint towns and small cities I’ve been living in over the past 10 years. Ethnic populations have a presence even in the most rural parts of Canada, but nowhere near the degree they do here…
When I think of Brazil, I imagine beautiful beaches, amazing barbequed meat, rain forests and sunshine. Last year I had the opportunity to stop imagining these things and truly experience them on my first trip to South America. One of my best friends comes from the city of Florianópolis, located in the South of Brazil.…
This is a multicultural and multi-ethnic haven where people from everywhere intertwine in a safe and peaceful manner. Walking the streets, it is possible to hear languages coming from every country imaginable. Before coming to Vancouver, I lived in Philadelphia, an ethnically and linguistically homogeneous region of the United States. Intermingling between cultures was not…
Rome is known to many as the Eternal City. It has lasted for centuries and continues to stand tall even today. Over the holidays in December/January, I went on a mini-Euro adventure that included Barcelona, Paris and finally ended my trip in Rome. Barcelona was full of lively people, and Paris had delicate beauty around…
I have never had the skin tightening feeling of growing out of a space, of packing a suitcase and finding my somewhere new. Vancouver is my perpetual somewhere new, a community transient, fluid and ever-evolving. It’s my someone new I met in passing on the SkyTrain. It’s my new discovery of an Indian-Chinese fusion place…
The Covid-19 pandemic has required efforts worldwide to contain the increase in the number of cases and death. In Brazil, it has not been different. The largest country from South America has, until March 19, 647 cases, one death and some confirmed cases of local transmission. The scenario is concerning and it is expected a…
Paris – a city that you can find close to the top of most people’s bucket list – is known for its beautiful architecture, its delicious food, and its long history. This past December, I decided it was finally time to see this dreamy city for myself. Over the holidays, I started part one of…
I come from Manaus, a hot and rainy city located in the heart of the Amazonian jungle. I decided to move, looking for a more sustainable life. This might sound a little paradoxical at first, but it is not. Since studying in environmental sciences, I’ve known Vancouver to be referred to as a benchmark in…
I’m in love! But not with a person, with a country. Over the last few years I have slowly been falling in love with the Spanish language and culture. It started with a flirtation, taking Spanish as an elective in high school instead of French. Later, when I moved to Vancouver, the love grew; one…
These days, many Canadians are proud to call our country multicultural and diverse. Along with saying ‘eh’ and living in igloos, Canada is also known internationally for being a kind and welcoming place. As a nation, we can look back to Canada’s history and the decades of oppression, negligence and exploitation of minority groups and…
I arrived in British Columbia over a year ago, and I’ve been in Vancouver for nine months. Time flies. I had no particular expectations when I left Paris other than to improve my English, practice more yoga and live close to nature. I believe that all these objectives were successfully achieved: I became a yoga…
