Montreal, as seen from the south shore of the St. Lawrence
Having lived in two European countries, I am always puzzled when I hear people — Americans, usually — say that my hometown is “so European.” That probably explains why I loved this article:
The truth is, Montreal isn’t like Europe at all. But don’t let that dissuade you — most of the other places you could go are also not in Europe! And while you may have hoped that visiting la belle ville would give you the chance to improve your French, you’ll probably have a hard time finding someone to humor you. And why should they, with that accent?
But you haven’t wasted your plane ticket yet. Montreal does have many lovely attractions — and I’m not just talking about those Alouettes cheerleaders (amiright!). What you need is a more authentic way to experience the city: gamboling with a friendly, English-speaking local who can show you her favorite places and tell you what sheloves about this town — and why she has found it so darn difficult to leave, come hell or near-complete lack of career opportunity.
Last week, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations released its much-ballyhooed State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011 (SOFI). If you don’t have time to read all 55 pages of the SOFI, you can find the executive summary here, but be forewarned that the link opens a .pdf document.
In honor of World Food Day 2011, and given my interest in food policy as it relates to developing countries, I wanted to spend some time discussing the SOFI’s conclusions.
This such a classic song that it might as well be a standard. It has been covered by musicians as diverse as John Scofield, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Mayer, etc.
Montreal Isn’t Like Europe, But Don’t Let That Dissuade You
Having lived in two European countries, I am always puzzled when I hear people — Americans, usually — say that my hometown is “so European.” That probably explains why I loved this article:
The truth is, Montreal isn’t like Europe at all. But don’t let that dissuade you — most of the other places you could go are also not in Europe! And while you may have hoped that visiting la belle ville would give you the chance to improve your French, you’ll probably have a hard time finding someone to humor you. And why should they, with that accent?
But you haven’t wasted your plane ticket yet. Montreal does have many lovely attractions — and I’m not just talking about those Alouettes cheerleaders (amiright!). What you need is a more authentic way to experience the city: gamboling with a friendly, English-speaking local who can show you her favorite places and tell you what she loves about this town — and why she has found it so darn difficult to leave, come hell or near-complete lack of career opportunity.
Here’s more, from Maisonneuve Magazine.