Canada Trip (Blog)

[Weena]

Originally Posted by roxyruby

So you've been to U.S? How is the culture different from Aussie do you think?

That's very sad if many people there are negatively prejudiced on people because of their job waiter/waitress)

Here, the way I have seen, waiter/waitresses are treated with respect and as equals (which of-course they are!), often being told "the food was beautiful" and "thank you very much" etc at least that's what I try to do, and smile/be friendly towards them, but I try to do that to everyone. Like here I am enjoying their hard work and service, of course they deserve to be treated with respect and kindness for that.

I haven't been to the US (i don't want all my money to be wasted on tips ), it was more traveling Americans (especially Ireland, Italy, Thailand...and a couple who came here, they were lovely with us mind you, just a bit dry and rude to the waiters, sending back the wine etc...weird to us Aussies...plus as you know Australian wine is so yummy, why pretend to be a connoisseur and send back a fine wine, hehehehe).

Yeah, I totally agree with you about the waiter thing.

[Weena]

Originally Posted by aelle

!!! When applied to a woman, chaude means horny or slutty... Not hot! Didn't they teach you that in high school?

I was about to point that out too... maybe that's what he meant?

[roxyruby]

Originally Posted by aelle

!!! When applied to a woman, chaude means horny or slutty... Not hot! Didn't they teach you that in high school?

oh so, steve, any one that is horny or slutty is very attractive to you with no relation to their appearance?

chaude broads ^ ^

[roxyruby]

Originally Posted by Weena

I haven't been to the US (i don't want all my money to be wasted on tips ), it was more traveling Americans (especially Ireland, Italy, Thailand...and a couple who came here, they were lovely with us mind you, just a bit dry and rude to the waiters, sending back the wine etc...weird to us Aussies...plus as you know Australian wine is so yummy, why pretend to be a connoisseur and send back a fine wine, hehehehe).

Yeah, I totally agree with you about the waiter thing.

oh i see, damn

i guess drinking/eating something you don't like to be polite doesn't really make sense though, you should be able to not eat/drink something you don't like without it being seen as rude and without being impolite/rude about it

mmm wine ^ ^ yummeh. but champagne is yummeheh ^ ^ but i have had hardly any alcohol in my life yet ^ ^

[Weena]

One of my friends told me he found Canadian chicks to be chaude...in the French meaning of chaude .

[Technosmart]

Bravo pour ton (ré)apprentissage du Français Steve !

Originally Posted by tamzdance

I noticed that Parisian french sounds a bit different from Canadian french.

Indeed, France French and Quebec French have quite different accents and pronunciations, and quite different idioms too. French people instantly recognize Quebecois when they speak, and vice-versa !

[Lynn 007]

Steve, It sounds like you're having a great time. Montreal is such a beautiful city and your post reminds me I should go back for a visit soon.

Depending on the date, I would be interested in a Toronto meet up but my preference would be something in the city and accesible by transit such as High Park.

High Park is a 400 acre public park in the west end of the city. It is easily accessible by car and transit and has a large restaurant (Grenadier Restaurant) within a 10 minute walk from High Park subway station. The restaurant is large enough to seat a group of 5 or 50 inside or outside on the patio.

http://www.toronto.ca/parks/highpark...ghpark.pdf.pdf

If a Toronto meetup is a go and a date is set I will do my best to arrange my schedule accordingly so I can attend..........wherever it is.

Lynn

[JasonD]

Su Franglais est muy bien. Je te comprende perfectement.

I think you may have reawoken some of my latent high school French.

[JSB]

I wouldn't say that Americans are generally rude to waitstaff, though I've seen rude behavior before. There does tend to be the attitude of: "I'm paying for it, so I won't eat it if I don't like it." and "I'm expected to pay a 15-20% tip to the waitstaff, so I expect them to be helpful and attentive."

In some areas of the country, overt friendliness/warmth is more common than others. (New Yorkers and New Englanders tend to be a bit colder and more standoffish than many Midwesterners for example. Starting conversations with strangers and asking question will be perceived as friendly and welcoming in some places but nosy or pushy in others.)

I've met lovely people and obnoxious people all over the world, regardless of nationality.

Originally Posted by roxyruby

oh i see, damn

i guess drinking/eating something you don't like to be polite doesn't really make sense though, you should be able to not eat/drink something you don't like without it being seen as rude and without being impolite/rude about it

mmm wine ^ ^ yummeh. but champagne is yummeheh ^ ^ but i have had hardly any alcohol in my life yet ^ ^

[RT Wolf]

All sorts of great places to meet up in Toronto.

You can have a picnic on Center Island which is an island in Lake Ontario, off the coast that you take a 20-30 minute ferry to. Picnic in High Park is also an option.

Most of the city is easily accessible by public transit (TTC). There's a number of raw food and vegan restaurants around, too.

As others mentioned, lots of cool touristy stuff, too, like CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), etc. I live downtown Toronto and would love to be your guide for the day if you wanna check out that stuff. Hell, I haven't been to most of them myself.

Toronto is often referred to as the city of neighbourhoods, where we have lots of interesting communities, like Koreatown, Little Italy, Little Spain, China Town, the Gaybourhood (or the Village), the Annex (popular young people area), Little India, etc. So walking for 40 minutes in any direction takes you a completely different place. Chinatown is completely different than the Annex, etc.

Speakin of, when are you coming to Toronto? Where will you be staying? You might want to be careful if you're comin around G20 time cause large parts of downtown Toronto are being shut down or restricted. Unless you wanna join in the protesting, in which case, you can work around that. Early July has the Just for Laughs festival coming to Toronto. Home | Just for Laughs Toronto I'm going to see Demetri Martin on July 8. Louis CK, Wayne Brady, Aziz Ansari, Mike Birbiglia and a load of other great comedians are coming.

Montreal is the city of festivals. Especially in the summer, there's lots happening.

Cheers!

[Savage]

I expect to be in London June 19-27 and Toronto June 28 afterwards. Not sure when I'll return to Vegas, but probably in the range of July 2 to July 6, flying back from Toronto.

[Zach M]

Originally Posted by aelle

!!! When applied to a woman, chaude means horny or slutty... Not hot! Didn't they teach you that in high school?

Can slutty really be translated to French? I don't think the negative connotation is even imaginable in French culture.

[Zach M]

Originally Posted by roxyruby

& steves Appearanceism made me cringe, treating/speaking about that person at customs as if they are more important than other people because of the way their appearance is, which all or most human beings largely can't help or change.

Hey Roxsome, I'm not sure where you got the idea that appearances can't be changed. Anyone can work on their clothes and hair, and women even get to paint their faces.

As I've said before on Facebook, dark hair with blonde highlights is such a turn-on.

[theorique]

Originally Posted by roxyruby

& steves Appearanceism made me cringe, treating/speaking about that person at customs as if they are more important than other people because of the way their appearance is, which all or most human beings largely can't help or change.

I didn't really get the sense that he commented on that woman as being better or more important than other people due to her attractiveness. It just sounded like a basic adjective (and from Steve's subjective POV) not a judgment of innate worth.

BTW, does it also count as "appearanceism" if you feel more sexual attraction for, or want to become romantically involved with, someone whom you deem to have a nice appearance? Or do people get a pass for that special case.

[James81]

Originally Posted by roxyruby

& steves Appearanceism made me cringe, treating/speaking about that person at customs as if they are more important than other people because of the way their appearance is, which all or most human beings largely can't help or change.

Originally Posted by roxyruby

That's like saying not my fault this person is white, that's why I treated them as more important than a black person.

I have been thinking lately that it would be more beneficial if people said "this look is attractive to me." instead of "this look is attractive" etc cause when that happens on mass with one particular look, that's basically creating beliefs/prejudices about the rest of the people that don't appear like that as physically unworthy/unimportant or even wholly unworthy/unimportant and it becomes really ingrained and accepted.

Here's some more clues for you pertaining to the threads you made this week. More distortion of reality, more internal discomfort...all of which is boldly declaring to you: "This is who I am!"

[Kathe76]

Originally Posted by theorique

I generally present myself to the world as a mature grown up, but when I'm faced with something that could be interpreted in a juvenile way (and there's a lot of that in the world), the inner immature kid comes out and expresses himself...

LOL!! I might have to ground mine then and teach it acceptable social behavior! Of course that would take all the fun out of me.

[Cochonette]

roxyruby, the majority of people have no interest in analyzing their subconscious mind so long as they aren't the ones suffering for it. But I agree with you. In our society, attraction is not a conscious act, but a compulsive act. Except we like to pretend that we aren't really actors at all and aren't really responsible as long as it doesn't disturb the hierarchy we'd like to insist is entirely "natural."

But there's not really evidence in Steve's words what he thought was attractive about the woman, so I don't see much reason to judge that. Plus, I totally fell for that joke!

[theorique]

Originally Posted by Kathe76

LOL!! I might have to ground mine then and teach it acceptable social behavior! Of course that would take all the fun out of me.

Absolutely - where's the pleasure in that?

[Kathe76]

Originally Posted by theorique

Absolutely - where's the pleasure in that?

There isnt! I usually give fair warning to people on my outer 9 year old, so they are prepared. I hate restriciting myself.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Cochonette

But there's not really evidence in Steve's words what he thought was attractive about the woman, so I don't see much reason to judge that. Plus, I totally fell for that joke!

I seem to be attracted to Canadian women.

[MrBenj]

Personally I think the best way to learn a a language is through full immersion. I moved from England to France when I was 13 and learned French by speaking it with my friends at school. Writing and reading came first to me but that's probably because I am very analytical and I got a better understanding of a lot of French grammar than most of the French students within a few months. In fact I learned more about English grammar in France than I ever did in England.

It is certainly the best way to extend ones vocabulary. The words just seep in when you are hearing and using the language non stop for prolonged periods of time.

I hope you enjoy our trip. This is my first post here but I have been reading this blog for almost a year now.

Keep up the good work.

Ben

[roxyruby]

Originally Posted by James81

Here's some more clues for you pertaining to the threads you made this week. More distortion of reality, more internal discomfort...all of which is boldly declaring to you: "This is who I am!"

hi james81 what is who I am?
Distortion of reality ftw ^ ^ jk...

[roxyruby]

Originally Posted by Cochonette

roxyruby, the majority of people have no interest in analyzing their subconscious mind so long as they aren't the ones suffering for it. But I agree with you. In our society, attraction is not a conscious act, but a compulsive act. Except we like to pretend that we aren't really actors at all and aren't really responsible as long as it doesn't disturb the hierarchy we'd like to insist is entirely "natural."

But there's not really evidence in Steve's words what he thought was attractive about the woman, so I don't see much reason to judge that. Plus, I totally fell for that joke!

Yeah most people will have appearancism because it's just easy and normal belief in this society. We are brought up for example with maybe millions of examples all around us of appearancism, so that it's just easy to believe and not even question the "fact" that attractiveness= thin, smooth skin, particular body shape and size
which most people seem to believe despite the problems in self esteem, self worth, and relationships/dating this causes.

I do my best to put that crap out of my head and see all people as beautiful BECAUSE they are human! And humans are MEANT to be ALL varieties of both thin, and fat, smooth, and wrinkly skin, all varieties of hair style and color, all varieties of body shapes etc...that's what human beings are meant to look like, all of it. It's all sexy & beautiful cause it's human.

@Zach, all of the above that I mention, how easy is it Really to change all of that?? It is such a struggle to simply overcome addictive eating and lose weight. Obese+Overweight people deserve to be thought of as highly & as physically worthy & desirable as anyone else, many are going through struggle they don't deserve. Therefore there is unfairness.

Yes I may presume what other people think without truly knowing sometimes. ^ ^ So If I make this mistake ^ ^

[roxyruby]

Originally Posted by Zach Matley

Hey Roxsome, I'm not sure where you got the idea that appearances can't be changed. Anyone can work on their clothes and hair, and women even get to paint their faces.

As I've said before on Facebook, dark hair with blonde highlights is such a turn-on.

is it just me zach, or do you and me look like the richest people in this thread? I think you, me, and Elucidate look like the richest people on these forums lol. I can't stop laughing out loud when I see my avatar ^ ^ like we're just so casual about being so rich! lol

[SireneB]

Steve, I was flying out of Montreal (back to L. A.) the day you flew in...

My daughter goes to school there (just finished her 3rd year). Although she studied the practical language in high school (Spanish) and barely managed to pass it, she's fluent in French now - all her classes are in French, so that's a good thing. She says that there is an English part of town and a French part of town, and she prefers the French areas. We went to a bilingual yoga class while I was there, that was fun!

Her boyfriend is working construction on renovating a raw food restaurant there - we drove by it but I can't remember the name, it was kind of at the foot of Mont-Royal. But sounds like you found one.

The nuts story was cute, but I can give you a tip about that ... I always check the "yes" box but next to it write "packaged snack nuts". Always get waved right through in both directions, even when they are raw nuts packaged in zip-lock bags by the vendor at the local farmer's market ... have never been asked to show them. You might want to try that next time - the purpose of that question is items that might be an agricultural risk, and nuts for snacking don't really fall in that category, anyway. Less of a story, but will save you a bit of time.

Have fun on the rest of your trip!

[geekmba360]

As much as I enjoyed reading the travel log, I have one question for Steve:

What about your kids? You're traveling internationally with a girlfriend. You mentioned that you planed to do extensive travel, and run your business virtually. These are all great ideas.

However, you're a dad and you have two kids. You rarely mention your kids in your blog. I understand sometime people get divorce, but kids suffer a lot from this process.

I'm from a good family (not a divorced family). But, as a dad and fan of your blog, I have to wonder whether you're being too selfish in pursuing your own goals.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by geekmba360

But, as a dad and fan of your blog, I have to wonder whether you're being too selfish in pursuing your own goals.

Not a question of selfishness -- that's too narrow a focus. It's a more general question of considering the consequences of possible choices. Every choice I make benefits some people more than others. No matter what path I choose, some people will love it, and some will object to it. This includes my family, friends, readers, etc.

Best I can do is take stock of the expected consequences of each potential path and make the choice I feel is best. For me that's the path that I feel has the best alignment with Truth, Love, and Power.

[Zach M]

Steve, did they ask you at customs why you were traveling? and did you mention a Canadian girlfriend? And did they ask you lots of questions about that?

Last time I went to Vancouver in December, they asked me a lot of stressful questions, and I'm hoping it was just a fluke because of tightened security in preparation for the Olympics.

[Zach M]

Originally Posted by roxyruby

@Zach, all of the above that I mention, how easy is it Really to change all of that?? It is such a struggle to simply overcome addictive eating and lose weight. Obese+Overweight people deserve to be thought of as highly & as physically worthy & desirable as anyone else, many are going through struggle they don't deserve. Therefore there is unfairness.

Yes I may presume what other people think without truly knowing sometimes. ^ ^ So If I make this mistake ^ ^

Yes, some things are harder to change than others. I already gave one example of something that is relatively easy to change.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Zach Matley

Steve, did they ask you at customs why you were traveling? and did you mention a Canadian girlfriend? And did they ask you lots of questions about that?

Last time I went to Vancouver in December, they asked me a lot of stressful questions, and I'm hoping it was just a fluke because of tightened security in preparation for the Olympics.

When they asked why I was here, I said that I was going to tour part of Canada for about 3 weeks and that I'd be traveling with my Canadian g/f. I was asked some clarification questions, mainly because the customs person understood French better than English, but in all it took less than a minute.