For
those of you who either don’t know me or didn’t read the side bar, my name is
Dan and I’m working with a microfinance institution in La Paz, Bolivia. Before
I get too much into that, I thought I’d start the blog off with a few pre-departure
stories.
I
applied for this position while I was working for a little tourist publicationin Oaxaca, Mexico (I made their website and wrote some articles about food). As an
unabashed junky for Canadian politics, spending the last federal election in Mexico
was a bit of a painful experience. When the bad guys won, I would often hear
about the reluctance of my travel partner to return home until the country had
come to its senses. I was/still am less pessimistic.
It wasn’t until a few weeks later that I would be kept up at night
by thoughts of self-imposed exile. If the Canucks had won the Stanley Cup, I
simply could not have beared returning to Canada until a different champion had
been crowned.
A
few weeks later, I was hired for my current position and it was time for me to
come home to do some training (thank you Bruins for making it easier on me). I took this opportunity to also see some
friends and family from across the country. I hadn’t originally planned to do
as much as I did, but in the end I can safely say that I had a great Canadian
summer adventure.
In
six weeks, I managed to visit six cities in four provinces: Vancouver, Victoria,
Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Add to that one gulf island and two
Ontario cottages. It was quite a trip, and I thought I’d share some of the
experiences that really cemented my affection for my country.
*
* *
Let’s
get the obvious out of the way: natural beauty, I saw a lot if it. Sunny days
on Kits beach in Vancouver, sunsets on Gabriola Island and driving through
Algonquin Park, the sandy beaches of Georgian Bay and mid afternoon drifts down
the river in Bayseville, ON. Canada is beautiful. Duh.
***
When
I go home to Edmonton I can count on two things: beef ribs and dim sum.
Satisfying the latter, my dad brought me to a restaurant which, to me, stands
as stunning example of multiculturalism in Canada. Located next to the lobby of
a Howard Johnson Hotel, half the space is dedicated to an Albert’s Family
Restaurant and half is dedicated to the dim sum joint.
Late
on this Wednesday afternoon, while enjoying our pork buns and steamed tripe
with ginger and green onion, I tried to imagine what the place would look like
on a Sunday:
One
side is filled with large round tables, each seating four generations of a
Chinese family who chat and slowly pick at variety of steamed and fried dishes
from a lazy Susan. The other side is occupied by long rows of tables filled
with noisy, sweaty children, fresh from their novice hockey game. Coaches and
parents at the end of the table watch the kids demolish their eggs and bacon
quickly so as to try their luck winning a plush toy from the claw machine.
I
also imagine there is at least one child who is conflicted about the table at
which he should sit.
*
* *
Montreal
a.k.a. Canadian food Mecca. Over the course of three separate trips to
Montreal, I managed to eat four Schwartz’s sandwiches (one of which was my last
Canadian meal) and three poutines - each delicious. One poutine, from La
Banquiste, had steak and onions. It was awesome. The other two were from my
favourite place in Montreal: PatatiPatata. If you only eat poutine once in your
life, make sure it’s from here.
While
the smoked meat and poutine are Montreal favourites, my most memorable meal was
eaten at La Khaima. In town for a seminar, our group of 12 was seated at a low,
long table. Pillows were substituted for chairs and shoes were verboten.
Our
lack of familiarity with Mauritanian food was no problem, as we only had to
identify how many vegetarians were among us and our friendly, exuberant host
took care of the rest. We started with a spicy dip made from onions, carrots
and tomatoes accompanied by warm pitas. For a main course, the vegetarians were
served a chickpea, potato, onion and tomato stew. Non-veggies were treated to a
spicy chicken tajin as well as lamb sausages. Each dish was served on giant
communal platters with copious amounts of delicious couscous. We washed down
each delicious bite with cold, sweetened hibiscus tea with mint.
For
dessert, we were treated to a sorbet, flavoured with a specially-imported
fruit, the name of which escapes me (I had never seen it before). It was
similar to tamarind, but less sour, delicious. The meal wrapped up with hot
sweet tea which fortified us for the rainy journey back to our hotels.
Mauritanian
food…. Who woulda thunk it?
*
* *
Honourable
mention (from west to east): Well-appointed caesars in Victoria, tongue tacos
in Vancouver, “Yummy Pork” (Korean) in Toronto and pho in Ottawa (Saigon Boy is
my new fav). Oh, and I also got to see some pretty awesome live music, too.
I
guess this is a good first post because it mentions the things I’m most
interested in: politics, hockey and food.
But
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the great family and friends I have
from coast to the middlish of the country (I’ll get to the East Coast someday).
You were the real highlights of my trip. While I may be gone a fair bit, I’m
always cognizant of how lucky I am to have what I have in Canada.
***
Now
I am in Bolivia. The rest of my posts will be about Bolivia. I swear.
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