We spent a long week-end in Corner Brook with French friends, a guy from Hong-Kong and a Spanish girl.

Corner Brook is located at the top west of the island, 7 hours by car, but this is the only way to go. (A plane ticket is 400$). This is the biggest ski station of the Atlantic coast. But for people used to ski in Europe this is not so big. Approximately 30 tracks, 3 chair lifts, and one ski renter composed this place.

But skiing is not the only thing to do in Corner Brook and Snowmobiling is a huge activity to do. For 250$ you can rent a two seat sled with fuel and helmets for the afternoon. Then the instructor explains you in 5 minutes how the engine works and let you go with this powerful sled.

So we try this with a friend and despite some fears we enjoy this afternoon and establish a speed record of 120Km/H with our sled. I recorded it from the back of the sled but I almost fall from it so my buddy had to stop accelerating.

Another thing that happened is that snowmobile tracks cross roads and the highway, so we try to cross the highway to continue our way but as it was the first time we did it, we go to slow to drive on the road and we just stay blocked on the highway. So we try to made the sled turn to go back during cars and trucks continued to pass just next to us. It was very exciting but a bit unconscious. We finally succeed to go back after 10 minutes of maneuvers on the highway.

But this way of transportation is an easy way to discover the landscape. We really enjoy this experience and I recommend every people who go to Canada during the winter to try it. It is not so expensive compare to France and you can have so much fun and freedom feelings!

As my mentor invited me to have a supper in his house, I discovered the traditional Newfoundlander meal.

Newfoundlanders usually eat the supper together. Breakfast and lunch are meals they eat separately because of the different schedules but they still have the supper together so it is not an “open fridge” way of life.

Cooked in different pots, this meal is composed of vegetables, green peas, carrots, potatoes. Another preparation of apples and cinnamon is add next to the vegetables. Then you can have two different meats, a hot ham, or a beef piece. A special sauce with a meat taste is put on the top of the plat and you can add honey with your meat or vegetables.
To drink, you can have milk, wine or water.

Finally, for the dessert, I discovered the homemade Oreo cheesecake. A so sweet dessert composed of cheese, sugar and eggs on the top of an Oreo biscuit. You can add extra cream with this dessert and have a black tea with milk to drink with it.

Next week, in Montreal, I definitely have to try the Canadian “Poutine”, which is a more basic meal, but also very famous here. A plat of French fries with white cheese on it and a brown sauce. 

•             Presentation of country’s government

Canada is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. It is a federation of ten provinces and three territories which are Alberta, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador (provinces) and Yukon, Northwest territories and Nunavut (territories).

It means that Canada is a constitutional monarchy with different states with their own laws and based on a constitutional system characterized by the balance between the powers of the Cabinet and Parliament. Their king is the king of England (Elisabeth II) but they have a different politic than England.

•             Regional geopolitical political context

In Newfoundland and Labrador, where I study, the capital is Saint John’s, the Lieutenant-Governor is Frank Fagan and the prime minister was Kathy Dunderdale until January 22 when she resigned. She is member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador which is a centre-right political party in Newfoundland and Labrador. As the province is located at the east of Canada, the two majors industries are the cod fishing and the offshore oil industry. The province is not implicated in major external conflicts or tensions.

•             Internal conflicts or tensions

Since 2003, there is an internal conflict between Newfoundland and Labrador and the federal government. This year, the federal government imposed a complete moratorium on the cod fishing because of the low level of resources. Furthermore, other sources of tension are:

-          The fact that the hydropower resources of Labrador have mainly benefited to Quebec

-          The high rate of chronic unemployment

-          The lowest income per capita in Canada

-          A high tax level

-          The highest rates of emigration

But as international students on a campus, we can’t really feel these tensions. The only thing we can see is the high tax rate because of the groceries’ price before and after the cashier add the taxes.

On the picture you can see my hotel’s street where I stay from the 1^st to the 4^th of January. This is Gower street, downtown, 30 minute walk from the university

After now one month in St John’s, I will present you Memorial University, the welcoming, the class content and I will talk about some differences between French and Canadian in the classrooms.

First, international students had to go to a meeting to present the rules and how MUN works. It was called Orientation Session. But it was reported due to a big power outage on the all island after the cold wave that happened in the beginning of January. They also present us The Works, which is the sport club on the campus. It’s a huge building where you can do anything you want (run, weights, squash, swimming, football, badminton, yoga, kick boxing, steps…). After this session, we share pizzas and start to meet others internationals students.

Then, the semester starts and we had to choose four classes at least. I take Consumer behaviour, Organizational behaviour, Intro to entrepreneurship which are major business courses and also fitness which is a lecture course on what is a wellness life, how people are changing their sports and food habits, what are the consequences of all this habits modifications…

Finally, I will describe what the differences between French class and Canadian class are. In Canada, every students is quiet in the room, talking to your classmates is a bad point and lots of courses have participation mark. Teachers (it depends of the teachers) want you to call them by their first name as they call you by your first name. Group works are common but you have to work alone in your home cause most of the time you don’t have homework.
You can also do what you want but with the proviso that it does not disturb the course. If you are late, just come and have a seat, if you want to go to the washroom or just leave the course cause you have others things to do, just do it.

This system is similar to the north American way of thinking, you can do what you want but you have to work to succeed and nobody will told you what to do, you are responsible of your life and of your studies.

That’s all for the moment, I will tell you more about St John’s later.

Sport Canadian culture is principally based on ice, and mainly Ice Hockey. As we know, to do a good advert, you have to touch people; they should feel an emotion during watching your advert and then remember it. In this advert, Nike had just combined national sport and team spirit. The brand has managed to gather a country behind his favorite sport and to convey a message of union with relevant sentences while signing his name at the end of the pub. Up to the last image, you would think whether it is a government advertising or national ice hockey federation.

To me, this ad is a success and although I've only seen twice on television, it affected me even though I've never even played ice hockey. I now just let you watch it and form your own opinion.