L'Hello Version 3.0 from Montreal
Hello l'all encore fois! ...translating (Salut to tout one more time :)
So spring is in the air, winter seems all but finished: yes, even here! I can almost run naked outside...which reminds me of a little tale. My roommates' friend, lets call him Jan (pronounced yan), has this tradition, which was started a few years back, of running naked along with a lot of other people outside on the first day of spring. The tradition was started in coordination with a boxing club Jan was part of, one day they just decided to do it... and from what he tells me people love it, it cheers them up to see naked people running and puts them in the mood for spring. One year they were stopped during the run by a police man, who upon hearing their story ...NO, he did not join them :) ... but he did let them go and so the tradition lives on ever since.
On a sad note, it seems to me that all the Quebecers, as they like to be known, in this city woke up one day and decided..."Why don't I start eating PIZZA with a fork and a knife " - what a great Idea they thought to themselves and so sadly indeed every one I've met so far eats his pizza with a fork and a knife ;) Can you believe this nonsense; what's next, eating a chocolate bar with a fork and a knife?... Wait a minute, I think I've seen this somewhere :) Sad indeed. Somebody should put a stop to this craziness!
I've finally got a chance to hear my roommate play with one of his bands; they were playing a show in a bar. I got to say it was pretty good and he actually played 3 instruments during their set.
Finally I've decided to make a contribution to the culture here in Montreal! :) I did so in an unusual way, by exposing our fellow French Canadians, some English Canadians and an Oriental guy to the great heritage of the Russian movies...Yes, yes, it is true, I have made them watch a Russian movie and they made it through the entire thing and even liked it! The movie we saw was "Siberian Tsirulnik". A great film to say the least!
Some more friends came to visit me from Toronto not too long ago. I've enjoyed spending time with them and got a chance to try a few of the local food plates. There are two kinds of food items that they are proud of here: smoked meat and Putine -not the Russian president :) -, well actually there are 3 -Crepes is the other- but I can't find any non fruit Crepes here and believe me I've looked! I was lucky enough to try smoked meat in two places and I have to say it is really realy good...this one place called Shwarts is best know for it, it has been in the same location for 70 years and people here go nuts for it, the line up on the streets to get in, especially at lunch ... there were several articles written about this place, even National Geographic wrote about it. As for the Putine, well it was invented here and is pretty good, however it doest reach the heights of Everest as I was told it would .
What have I been up to?
I have started rock climbing again in their nice gym over here. It's really a lot of fun and I would recommend it to anyone. I have also improved my indoor soccer skills and skiing ability, with a tour of all big mountains over here including Tremblant, St. Anne, Sutton, Ortford and Jay Peak. Le Massif is the only one missing from the list.
There were a couple of Carnivals here - it almost seems like they always have something going on - that I've attended. Firstly, a few weeks ago I went to Quebec City for the Winter Carnaval over there... it was very nice with different Ice sculptures and various musical and fun activities -including tubing, snow cannoeing, snow rafting and a human sized Foosball :) Also there was a Festival of lights that just ended over here. This one was great as well; they had various colourful light projections, huge screen for musical videos and really great funky music w/ some djs playing and lots more.
Finally, let me tell you a little story about the cat I live with... once upon a time, on a day as nice as today, I came back from work, let the cat go outside at his request and started cooking some chicken. It wasn't long before the house started smelling like fried chicken ... just after I finished cooking and put the chicken on my plate I started hearing some "meow, meow ..." constantly coming from the outside -this indicates that the cat wanted to get back in... so I let him in and went to the living room towards my chicken. The cat ran past me, shuhhhh, and when I came in to the living room I saw him right near my plate smelling and getting ready to take a bite :), of course I pushed him away, but he kept on coming back until finally I pushed him away again, at which point he started watching me eat and kept watching for a bit and then disappointed left to lay on the chair...No, this story did not end well for the cat! ;) I decided the chicken was not good for him and that it was far better for me :)
That is it for this issue of l'Hello. All of you take care and have fun wherever you are.
Cheers,
Alex
So spring is in the air, winter seems all but finished: yes, even here! I can almost run naked outside...which reminds me of a little tale. My roommates' friend, lets call him Jan (pronounced yan), has this tradition, which was started a few years back, of running naked along with a lot of other people outside on the first day of spring. The tradition was started in coordination with a boxing club Jan was part of, one day they just decided to do it... and from what he tells me people love it, it cheers them up to see naked people running and puts them in the mood for spring. One year they were stopped during the run by a police man, who upon hearing their story ...NO, he did not join them :) ... but he did let them go and so the tradition lives on ever since.
On a sad note, it seems to me that all the Quebecers, as they like to be known, in this city woke up one day and decided..."Why don't I start eating PIZZA with a fork and a knife " - what a great Idea they thought to themselves and so sadly indeed every one I've met so far eats his pizza with a fork and a knife ;) Can you believe this nonsense; what's next, eating a chocolate bar with a fork and a knife?... Wait a minute, I think I've seen this somewhere :) Sad indeed. Somebody should put a stop to this craziness!
I've finally got a chance to hear my roommate play with one of his bands; they were playing a show in a bar. I got to say it was pretty good and he actually played 3 instruments during their set.
Finally I've decided to make a contribution to the culture here in Montreal! :) I did so in an unusual way, by exposing our fellow French Canadians, some English Canadians and an Oriental guy to the great heritage of the Russian movies...Yes, yes, it is true, I have made them watch a Russian movie and they made it through the entire thing and even liked it! The movie we saw was "Siberian Tsirulnik". A great film to say the least!
Some more friends came to visit me from Toronto not too long ago. I've enjoyed spending time with them and got a chance to try a few of the local food plates. There are two kinds of food items that they are proud of here: smoked meat and Putine -not the Russian president :) -, well actually there are 3 -Crepes is the other- but I can't find any non fruit Crepes here and believe me I've looked! I was lucky enough to try smoked meat in two places and I have to say it is really realy good...this one place called Shwarts is best know for it, it has been in the same location for 70 years and people here go nuts for it, the line up on the streets to get in, especially at lunch ... there were several articles written about this place, even National Geographic wrote about it. As for the Putine, well it was invented here and is pretty good, however it doest reach the heights of Everest as I was told it would .
What have I been up to?
I have started rock climbing again in their nice gym over here. It's really a lot of fun and I would recommend it to anyone. I have also improved my indoor soccer skills and skiing ability, with a tour of all big mountains over here including Tremblant, St. Anne, Sutton, Ortford and Jay Peak. Le Massif is the only one missing from the list.
There were a couple of Carnivals here - it almost seems like they always have something going on - that I've attended. Firstly, a few weeks ago I went to Quebec City for the Winter Carnaval over there... it was very nice with different Ice sculptures and various musical and fun activities -including tubing, snow cannoeing, snow rafting and a human sized Foosball :) Also there was a Festival of lights that just ended over here. This one was great as well; they had various colourful light projections, huge screen for musical videos and really great funky music w/ some djs playing and lots more.
Finally, let me tell you a little story about the cat I live with... once upon a time, on a day as nice as today, I came back from work, let the cat go outside at his request and started cooking some chicken. It wasn't long before the house started smelling like fried chicken ... just after I finished cooking and put the chicken on my plate I started hearing some "meow, meow ..." constantly coming from the outside -this indicates that the cat wanted to get back in... so I let him in and went to the living room towards my chicken. The cat ran past me, shuhhhh, and when I came in to the living room I saw him right near my plate smelling and getting ready to take a bite :), of course I pushed him away, but he kept on coming back until finally I pushed him away again, at which point he started watching me eat and kept watching for a bit and then disappointed left to lay on the chair...No, this story did not end well for the cat! ;) I decided the chicken was not good for him and that it was far better for me :)
That is it for this issue of l'Hello. All of you take care and have fun wherever you are.
Cheers,
Alex
posted by Alex Pilchin at 10:46 PM
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