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The title of this piece is the main equation which defines the people of Vancouver and the foundations of its growth. According to the Canada 2011 Census, 603,502 citizens live in Vancouver and this makes the city the eighth largest one in Canada…plus one more, me. I arrived with my suitcase from the south of…
Living the full duration of my 17 years in metro Vancouver, I have always been immersed in the cultural diversity this city embodies. My first day of kindergarten at Sir William Osler Elementary, I walked in and sat down to find myself the only Caucasian student in the class. After spending a year being introduced…
Do I have a valid passport? Why doesn’t the lady from the office answer? Will the man from the employment office accept my letter stating I will not look for work in the country therefore forgoing my rights to unemployment without a whimper? Is my insurance still valid? So many questions – this is only…
Born in Zimbabwe to a white family in the 1980s, I was kept mostly separate from native, black Zimbabweans – albeit less so than a generation before. As I grew up and attended a racially integrated school, I saw this gap slowly shrink before being wedged apart by Robert “Bob” Mugabe, our long-standing dictator-president, as…
After dropping my bags in a land unknown to me, the aspect of my culture that I miss the most remains French cuisine. Suddenly I find myself dreaming of grandmother’s recipes, of St-Marcellin cheese from my cousin’s farm, the market stalls of my neighbourhood or of lemon tarts from my favourite bakery… A host of…
I was born in Vancouver, and both sides of my family date back four generations from Great Britain. Being born in Vancouver, I was fortunate to have experienced multiculturalism from birth. I grew up next to South Asian neighbours who taught my mother how to make Indian food and gave us customary gifts for my…
Vancouver is often considered cosmopolitan and multicultural. However, one attribute does not necessarily imply the second. Cosmopolitan comes from the ancient Greek kosmopolitês, which means “citizen of the world,” whereas “multi” is a Latin prefix denoting many and therefore implying multiplicity. A cosmopolitan city is a city where everyone picks some parts of the different…
Vancouver is often labeled one of the most diverse cities in Canada. Are we ever lucky! Our multicultural coexistence provides us with exposure to a plethora of different cultures, cuisines, lifestyles and languages that ultimately enrich our daily lives. Our city allows us to feel like global citizens in our local environment and provides us…
I’ve chosen to spend my Canadian working holiday in Vancouver for one simple reason: the climate. I come from the south of France. I’m one of those people who occasionally appreciate (and I do mean occasionally) spending a few days in the snow. Otherwise I take refuge at home under the covers with a cup…
Lately I’ve returned to studying French in my spare time. One of my workbooks contains a chapter entitled “French Culture,” which outlines such topics as French history, literature, art, music and food. “What is Canadian cuisine?” I remember asking myself, stomach growling, as I lingered over a picture of a mouthwatering chocolate croissant. Maple syrup…
I had only lived in Vancouver for three months and yet, when I returned to Paris, I required a certain amount of time to readapt. I had hardly set foot outside, but quickly found myself immersed in the hustle and bustle of Parisian life and the bad humoured spirit that accompanies it. At first I…
Over the short six months I’ve been living in Vancouver, the thoughts, feelings and experiences I have had have led me to see the subtle but powerful social paradox that Vancouver holds. Having lived in the now blooming city of Calgary, talk of Vancouver existing as a hub of cultural diversity had always been loud.…
Bundled up well in my winter clothes, I arrived in Vancouver on the April 18, 2014, having more or less made it through a Montréal winter. Despite spring’s imminent arrival, the thermal contrast between the two cities was impressive. The first thing that hit me was, quite literally, the rain. It was a fine refreshing…
