Happy Victoria Day! No Classes Today--So Enjoy Your Day Off

This being a statutory holiday, please enjoy the day off and let's talk again next Monday.

But what about Victoria Day?

Well, Canadians love their queens, and Canadians love long weekends and fireworks.

So what a better way to get it all than to celebrate the birthday of the queen who ruled over one of the most significant periods of modern history, the Victorian Era.

Today, Victoria Day is well-known as the day for many Torontonians to drive up north to open and fix up their cottages, which have been winterized and unused over the winter months. And the Ontario Provincial Police are happy to hand out fines on those highways leading out to the cottages on this particular weekend. But that's for people in Ontario.

How is Victoria Day celebrated in your city? How did you celebrate it this year? Click on Comments below to tell your story!

Congratulations to Our NewsLINC-Published Classmates!

Hearty congratulations to Loralei, Boris, Shohreh (twice!), and Emad for not only contributing but also getting published in our latest spring edition of NewsLINC!

Great work! Keep it up!

Everybody's got until this Friday to update your blogs with your new stories, and I wish you all the best for the summer edition.

Your Next NewsLINC Submission

It's that time of the year again when you think of Mother's Day, Father's Day, Victoria Day, and Canada Day. You think of summer vacation coming right up and all the opportunities to go camping. Or you may be itching to wiggle your green thumb. At the very least, it's the season to get published in our LINC Home Study student magazine, NewsLINC!

This season's submissions are due on May 17, when you should have posted your first draft to your blog. I will be checking. We will then begin a correction/editing process that will complete when your writing is submitted to the LINC Home Study office.

Please check out the following topics for this season's NewsLINC:

Category	Description / Idea Prompts
Activity	Submissions reflecting sports and leisure activities.
Arts	Submissions related to the arts (visual arts, crafts, design, dance, film, literature, music, theatre). ·         Write a short story or poem. ·         Share your artistic talent/hobby. ·         Provide a review of your favourite book / movie / artist / etc.
Bio	Student profiles that exclude information about birth date or age.
Canada	Submissions which highlight Canada. ·         How do you describe Canada to your friends or family living abroad? ·         What do you like about living in Canada? ·         Write about a famous Canadian personality, landmark, historical event, etc. ·         Recommend places to visit or day trips in Ontario / Canada
Celebration	Student success stories or special life events. ·         Share a personal success story (big or small) ·         Write about a special life event (wedding, birth, anniversary, etc.) ·         Write about a traditional celebration
General	If the submission does not fit with any of the other categories.
Heritage	Student reflections about their homeland or ethnic origins. ·         What do you miss the most about your homeland? ·         Describe a custom from your homeland ·         Write about where you came from
Recipe	Special recipes that have not been reproduced from the web or a book.
Seasonal	Submissions related to seasonal themes. Some ideas for the summer: ·         Mother’s Day ·         Father’s Day ·         Canada Day ·         What are your summer vacation plans? ·         Share your favourite summer destination ·         What does “having a green thumb” mean? ·         Write about your favourite summer sport or activity ·         Describe your first fishing or camping trip in Canada
Settlement	Student settlement stories. ·         Share a funny story about settling in Canada ·         What has surprised you the most? ·         What are some of the challenges you have faced? ·         What or who has helped you to adjust?
Skills	Tips, challenges and experiences related to finding work, working or learning in Canada. ·         Workplace culture ·         Looking for work / networking / volunteering ·         Studying / learning new skills

Canadian Cuisine--Really Good? Or Really Gross?

What do beaver stew, beaver tail, poutine, lièvre à la royale, and tourtière have in common?



They're all recognized as "Canadian food," but I'm staying with maple snow taffee and Coffee Crisps! Or going entirely mutlicultural and "ethnic" after reading this article.

Animal blood? Trans fat and saturated fat? Meh, I don't know. I think I'll stick to Scarborough, with its dimsum, Indian buffets, Korean/Japanese AYCEs, and stuff. And I'll go a bit Canadian for dessert--besides the maple-syrup and candy stuff already mentioned, perhaps a Nanaimo bar or two?

Ah, can't wait for the return of Toronto's Tasty Thursdays!

Where the Jobs Are

Interesting information this morning in the Toronto Star:

The unemployment rate in Saskatchewan is 3.9 per cent, in Alberta it is 4.8 per cent and in Manitoba, 4.9 per cent, but there are pockets in the two westernmost provinces where unemployment approaches zero.

The article discusses the controversial issue of temporary foreign workers and notes that:

In Ontario, where the unemployment rate sits at 7.7 per cent, there is not a single temporary foreign worker in the food services industry, according to Reynolds.

What are your feeling, thoughts, and ideas about the employment situation in your province? Do you have any specific advice for newcomers in Toronto? Please click on the Comment button below to share.