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Being a teacher is no easy thing. There are long hours, lots of preparation and the endless use of their voice as they guide students through their studies.
Every year a large number of English as a Second Language (ESL) students arrive in Canada to learn, or improve, their English skills with the hopes of securing quality employment back home, or in North America. [Read more…]
Mug shots are a new sight at the corner of Robson and Granville. No, we’re not talking about an accusatory collage dedicated to shaming participants of the 2011 Stanley Cup Riots. The faces outside of the Sears’ building, have been dead for decades. [Read more…]
Together For Chile, a community organization, aimed at raising funds for rebuilding a school in a region worst-hit by the 2010 Chile earthquake brings the acclaimed Chilean ballet (BAFONA) to Vancouver as part of the company’s first-ever Canadian tour. [Read more…]
Vancouver is two custom agents and 4,452 kms away from Jalisco’s capitol of Guadalajara. We are a city with stores whose only major connection to Mexico is freezers full of tortillas. [Read More…]
Terry Fox’s legacy continues in this latest memorial designed by Vancouver artist and writer Douglas Coupland. It replaces the previous memorial by Franklin Allen which stood on the same site for 27 years. [Read more…]
Presenting cinematic marvel from the world over, the 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) will take audiences from the northern skies of Nunavut all the way to the sands of Africa. This year’s line up includes the winner of HotDocs Best Canadian Feature Length, Family Portraits in Black & White by Julia Ivanova. Exploring sadness, devastation, isolation and life’s cruel injustice, Ivanova takes our hearts and minds on a journey through the darkness bi-racial orphans experienced in the former Soviet Union. [Read more]
How do you like Winnipeg so far?” That’s the first question that always comes up in conversations with people I meet here. It’s already been almost four months since I settled into Winnipeg, Manitoba and I have the feeling that I’ll be asked that very same question all year long. [Read more]
Our neighbours in the south are already finding themselves caught up in the paralyzing cogwheels of their electoral cycle. While the economy (as much in the United States as in the rest of the world) is spinning its wheels, the American political class have their eyes on the next presidential electoral appointment. If you live in the United States and the situation disquiets you, don’t count on your Congress to make life easier for you anytime soon. [Read more]
The numbers 211 are not regularly dialed on most people’s phones. Its better known cousin, 411, is so common that it’s become a phrase of its own: “Give me the 411.” But for more in depth information it seems you are better off dialing 211. [Read more]
They herded us like cattle. We walked, single file, through a maze of metal barricades. The dour, blue-clad sentinels that lined both sides of the street observed our every move as we shuffled towards the enclosure. [Read more]
My wife hasn’t been to the U.S. since her birthday over a decade ago. I can think of worse traditions, especially since I usually reap the travel benefits. But it’s a tricky habit to maintain if you live in Vancouver, as your options for quick, cheap non-Canadian travel are quite limited. I love Portland, but I can only handle the company of bearded hippies for so long, especially considering that I live on Main Street. [Read more]
The Congolese band Staff Benda Bilili’s 2011 North American has been cancelled until further notice. The band was set to play at the Vogue Theatre on Sept. 19, but due to problems securing their U.S. visas, the tour went sour. But if the documentary Benda Bilili! is any indication, not even the U.S. government will be able to stop them. [Read more]
