Waterfalls

So this is Canadian Nature, Nothing special. For me!! Biggest waterfalls ever!! I was super phyched!! This country truely is beautifull. Still nothing compared to the extremen nature of Holland though :p......

 Quebec City at Night: really pretty

 Quebec City daytime: pretty

 The traveling crew

 Ferrytale snowland

 Coolest Hotel ever!!

 National parliament 2

 surreal

 

 Nature

 Skyline!!

 Road Trippin uno

Et due, that is actually ice on that road, yes, i was shitting myself

We were doing 80km/h on a icy road,

nothing a two wheel drive suzuki swif cant handle though

hoorays for that car, we are still alive

News: Finally!!

Hey everyone,

It has been a while sinds I last posted to this blog. I am very sorry for leaving all of you in dispair and total boredom (I my perception, all anybody ever does is read my blog and make fun of it). But don't worry I am back, and I am planning to try to keep on you updated from now on.

first, why havent I published in a while:

1. work
2. work
3. more work
4. I spend a couple of days dog sitting. I have made some friends in and around Ottawa, two of them, a couple, own a big white pyrenees, and a super nice house. So I agreed to take care of their dog while they went of on holiday, in exchange I got to stay in a really sweet house in a super nice neighbourhood for a couple of days. 
5. Rebecca has come to Canada, Finally! So there are no more lonely nights in my little room in which there is nothing else to do than blogging.
6. We ve spent the last weekend in Quebec city, where I had no computer, nor internet, hence no possibility of blog writing
7. I am a little bit lazy

Last weekend, Two of our friends invited us to join them on their trip, and we were delighted to do so. We went with Astrid (Swiss) and Jonathan (Canada), it was a small, small roadtrip. As Canada is a very tiny country and Quebec, for its standards is really close to Ottawa. So the drive was only 600km!! Childsplay of course when you have experienced Middelburg - anywhere else. 

The town of Quebec city, was as you know, the early capital of New France, when large parts of Canada where still French Colonies (although no-one appears to be speaking French, but something that resembles an ancient Viking Dialect, or my French is just really really bad). But somewhere in the 17th century the English conquered the place in 15 minutes despite the well known French toughness and bravery in battle (this one is for Mike). more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City

All this resulted in one of the only European-style towns in North America, and the only city with fortifications in the US and Canada. So everything was really old, and well maintained. In many ways I think that Quebec City is prettier than many European cities. We took a nighttime city tour, and all the lights and old streets made for an amazing experience. but during the daytime the city is really nice too!! The second day we decided to next to culture also take in some nature, so we went to visit some waterfalls, which were also super impressive!! I will upload some pictures ASAP.

Cheers!!!

The Joint report acknowledges...

that in many primary sectors, an EU-Canada free trade agreement will have no discernable impact???

discernable - perceptible by the senses or intellect; "things happen in the earth and sky with no discernible cause"; "the newspaper reports no discernible progress in the negotiations"; "the skyline is easily discernible even at a distance of several miles" http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

not unless you have a money sense no!!
how does the word changes spelling when you use it in a sentence? plse elaborate...!

The Germans already knew it!

So it has begon!

Last weekend was not just Halloween (sorry no pictures of that), but also the first official weekend of snow. And although by now, most of it has molten, it was still quite magical. 

Apparently on average every winter Ottawa gets 400cm of snow!! although, last year it was only 200 (thank you global warming) this year the specialists are expecting more snow again. This might sound very exciting, but one of my ''buddies'' (seriously, thats how people call eachother in Canada) told me that the temperatures can be as low as -20C on average, which is a little bit on the cold side for me. Combined with some snow, I dont think that I will do much biking this winter. 


Biking, by the way, is something that I have doing a lot here in Canada, as the Embassy (being Dutch of course) has provided me with a bike (and 20kg of cheese) so that I can bike to work every day (and enjoy a healty breakfast). So far it has been really nice, and I have done some nice biking tours. So, generally speaking life in Canada is pretty good.


Finally, getting down to the nitty gritty: Halloween! Yes I survived. Halloween over here is something completely different from anything in Holland. except maybe Carnaval, only with the same amount of alcohol stuffed into two nights of partying. I went together with some interns of the French embassy, who I hang out with most, to a halloween party hosted by some interns at the Danish embassy. We, not understanding the true Canadian way of halloween did not resort to binge drinking till we dropped, but the Frenchies did managed to get thrown out by the Danish for some reason. In what can only be described as a great deal of diplomacy, and as a unique moment in Danish national history. 


Me, being the neutral party in this conflict was meanwhile sitting in the kitchen having drinks with the first other Dutchman, that i have met in the wild (outside of the embassy). However, I chose to join the French in going home (as they were going my way anyways). All together it was a pretty fun night, and another succesful weekend. Looking forward to the next one. 


Oh and I will try to upload some pictures with actual people on them, because so far you must think that no-one actually lives in Canada.

What to make of this??

I guess it would be healthiest to ban alcohol and tabacco legalize xtc and canabis for example. Imagine how christmas, birthdayparties new years eve,  would then look like. Hilarious, half of the table would have the munchies and eat christmas dinner, whereas the other half of the table would just be tripping out, drinking water only...



Alcohol does more harm than crack: study

LONDON - Alcohol is a more dangerous drug than crack and heroin when the combined harms to the user and others are assessed, British scientists said yesterday.

Presenting a new scale of drug harm, the scientists rated alcohol the most harmful overall and almost three times as harmful as cocaine or tobacco.

According to the scale, devised by a group of scientists including Britain's Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD) and an expert advisor to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs & Drug Addiction, heroin and crack cocaine rank as the second-and third-most harmful drugs.

Ecstasy is only an eighth as harmful as alcohol, according to their analysis.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/Alcohol+does+more+harm+than+crack+study/3761613/story.html#ixzz1485iaM1m

So Long, and thanks for all the fish

Even In Canada, This news has made Front Pages. I can now safely say that our chances to win the next World Cup have significantly improved :D...



Paul, the oracular octopus, tips his last match
The scourge of the world’s bookmakers is no more.
Paul the Octopus, the tentacled tipster who cost the betting industry more than $1.5-million last summer with his unerringly accurate FIFA World Cup predictions, passed away in his tank in the Oberhausen Sea Life Centre in Germany early Tuesday morning.

Despite rumours that he may well have predicted his own death – “If he did, he kept it to himself,” an aquarium spokesperson said – Paul’s prognostications during the month-long soccer showpiece in South Africa ensured his two and half years on this planet will not soon be forgotten.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/world-cup-prognosticator-paul-the-octopus-dies/article1772959/

WTO Consultations

OK, finally I am settled enough to come to terms with a very busy life. I work pretty long but fun hours, e.g. last friday I spend some time in a conference room with some Dutch honorary consuls, only to be followed up by a debriefing at the European delegation about that weeks trade negotiations with Canada. I learn an incredible deal  here, but it takes up a lot of time.

TODAY though was already the highlight of my week. I got to represent the Netherlands in the European delegation to the WTO consultation meeting between Canada and Japan, to which the EU commission and the USA are observers. In other words I got to sit behind the Dutch flag! The meetings concerned the recent Ontario Green Energy act, which has left the EU, US, and especially Japan pretty pissed off. More information regarding the exact contents of the meetings can be found in the cited articles below. I of course cannot disclose the nature and specifics of the consultations, which for me makes it so much cooler.

And I walked home from the Ministery of Foreign Affairs and International Trade with a big smile on my face. :D



Ontario's FIT plan sends Japan to WTO
Japan has launched a World Trade Organization dispute against Canada, claiming made-in-Ontario requirements of that province's feed-in-tariff (FIT) program are a violation of international trade law.
Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/Ontario+plan+sends+Japan/3520194/story.html

Solar rules will hurt Ontario, group warns
Ontario’s domestic-content rules could cost the province $2-billion in lost investment next year and threaten its ambitious targets for adding renewable power to the grid, says a coalition of foreign and Canadian solar-power manufacturers.
Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/solar-rules-will-hurt-ontario-group-warns/article1766007/

new article

hey all,

still pretty busy at work so no time to tell about long and adventurous endeavors, but I do keep on reading the news:

KANGAROO LET LOOSE ON DANCE FLOOR: REPORT

Police in Ireland are investigating after reports that a baby kangaroo or wallaby was released onto the dance floor during a party at a Dublin hotel. The animal was let loose among 150 revellers dancing to the theme tune of the Australian television show Skippy the Bush Kangaroo at the Clarion hotel, in Liffey Valley. Part of the incident was captured on security cameras, but staff at the hotel said when they got to the private function room, the animal had gone. "We had no idea where it came in or how it got out of the hotel. The whole thing was all a bit upsetting, to be honest with you," the hotel's manager, Garret Marrinan, was quoted as saying. Rumours then spread that the animal had died and was buried in the mountains near Dublin. However, police said there was no evidence so far that the animal had died.

National Post

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/zoomanity/3709431/story.html#ixzz137YUMBAL

My Work

Hey again,

Just to keep you posted and updated about the life in Canada and the Jobs at the Dutch embassy, I have decided to share some of my daily rituals with you. One of them is that, in order to write weekly newsletters on economic matters in Canada, I am slaved into reading the newspaper and drinking coffee every morning at work. Horrible practice of course. However, I learn a lot about Canada and its culture, something that I plan on sharing with you through this blog anyway. So I tought I'd provide some links to cool articles that I come across.


Having moved into my new appartment (more about that later), and having discussed the rise of Canadian DJ's with my new roommate and the fact that they are (except Deadmau5) are not really known in Europe, I found out that their target is right here in Canada. Because aparently most under fifteens suffer from ADHD (see article).


Canada the drug paradise of the world?






Are we medicating a disorder or treating boyhood as a disease?


Last year, more than two million prescriptions for Ritalin and other ADHD drugs were written specifically for children under 17, and at least 75 per cent of them were for young males. Part 3 of a 6-part series.


For school children across the country – most of them boys – taking a drug for attention deficit disorder each morning has become as commonplace as downing a vitamin. But the daily ritual has been quietly growing in Canada, year after year – a trend that's dwarfing rates in other countries and raising disturbing questions about the forces driving it.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/failing-boys/are-we-medicating-a-disorder-or-treating-boyhood-as-a-disease/article1762859/

Joel Armstrong - Fireplace (Original Mix)

First Pictures

These are the pictures I took when I got my new Camera

I only took it with me on two random walks

I will try to use it more often

The Canadian Parliament and Library 

Freedom tower (bell tower on the left)

Main library hall (on the right)

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_Hill

Picture Taken from the Parliament Park

Nothing New Here

Frontside view of the Parliament

This is what it looks like on a less sunny day

The Locks of the Rideau Canal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rideau_Canal

The Dutch Embassy

This is where I work, On the 20th floor 

In the Constitution Building

Because the Embassy is in an office building there is no Dutch flag

But dont worry, plenty of Dutch stuff can be found around town

This is near Parliament Hill, 

A part of the embassy is occupied with this kind of stuff

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Tulip_Festival

The view from my office,

Not too bad

And I am only the intern.

My Office,

No, just kidding,

The office of the Leader of the Liberal party

My Couch Surfing Host gave me a tour of parliament

If you want to visit Ottawa

I recommend this Hotel (and start saving up)

It is a modern Castle, so nice, warm comfy and wireless contected.

First Post

Hi Folks!


It has taken me quite some time, but I have finally found some time and space to start working on this blog. I hope to keep all of you updated on my adventures in the Canada!!!


A lot has happened in the past three weeks and over the next week, I will try to catch up on all these stories.  Moreover, I am going to try and upload some pictures, however, since I only bought a camera three days ago, providing a credible visual overview of three weeks in Canada might be tricky.


For now you will all have to do with a real quick interview of me with myselve. What you all would probably like to know is; how am I experiencing Canada? How am I doing in General? and How is Canada experiencing you?
I can answer all three in one word: good! Although I must remark that I am not speaking for all Canadians.


More to follow soon!


Cheers!


Jonne