Insite

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that Vancouver has a seedier side - the city has problems with homelessness, gangs, and drug use. A neighbourhood called the Downtown Eastside is particularly hard hit by these social problems. This neighbourhood is home to North America's first and only legal supervised injection site: Insite. At this facility, drug users can get clean needles and inject their drugs under medical supervision. The clinic, unsurprisingly, is extremely controversial.


Proponents of Insite say that access to clean needles helps reduce the transmission of HIV and hepatitis, which are often transmitted when drug users share needles. The clinic also saves lives; almost 500 drug users overdosed at Insite last year, but thanks to the Insite nurses, not a single one died. When addicts decide they are ready to "go clean" (stop using drugs), Insite connects them to rehabilitation programs and support organizations.

Opponents of Insite believe that helping addicts use drugs is morally and legally wrong, regardless of the reasons. The Conservative Party of Canada has been fighting to make Insite illegal for several years. At present, Insite operates under a "legal exemption" from Canadian drug laws. If the Conservative Party succeeds, this exemption will be repealed, and Insite will be forced to close.

What do you think? Does Insite condone drug use, and is that morally wrong, despite the many safety and health benefits for addicts?

You can find a short article discussing the advantages of Insite here. If you are up for a challenge, there is a much longer article here. Matthew Power, the reporter, spent time at Insite, speaking to nurses and drug addicts to learn their perspectives on the clinic.

Canadian Geography Games

By now you should know that Vancouver is on Canada's west coast, but how much do you know about the rest of Canada?


The links below are to a couple of geography games.

This one is a puzzle - it's fun, but the music is really annoying! Sorry about that :p.
And in this one, you can see how many Canadian provinces and territories you can identify on a map. Good luck!

Olympic Vocabulary

Today, I thought you might be interested in learning some Olympics vocabulary!

medal (noun): at the Olympics, medals are awarded for first, second, and third place. An athlete who wins a medal is called a gold, silver, or bronze medallist.


podium (noun): this word has several meanings, but during the Olympics, the podium is where the athletes stand to receive their medals. The gold medallist stands on the highest level, in the centre.


favourite (noun): in sports, the favourite (or favourites, in team sports) is the athlete (or team) expected to win. Example: "Canada's hockey players are gold-medal favourites at the 2010 Olympics."

long shot (noun): in sports, long shot describes an athlete who is unlikely to win. Example: "Sarah James is a long shot, but she has a chance if she plays well."

National Flag of Canada Day

If Fassnacht isn't enough for you and you need something else to celebrate, why not celebrate National Flag of Canada Day? February 15th commemorates the day, in 1965, that the Canadian maple leaf flag first flew over Parliament Hill in Ottawa (the capital of Canada).


Until 1965, Canada's official flag was the Union Jack (the flag of the United Kingdom), although the Canadian Red Ensign (see below) was sometimes used as a more uniquely Canadian flag. The decision to change the flag was extremely controversial, but today most Canadians are fond of our flag and proud of what it represents!


I have taught a couple of classes on Canada's changing flag, but if you want to know more, you can read about the "Great Canadian Flag Debate" here.

Up in the Air

Tuesday, February 16, 6 pm:
Thalia Hollywood in Wiesbaden is showing the original English version of Up in the Air, starring George Clooney!


Up in the Air tells the story of Ryan Bingham, a businessman who lives a life without connections - to people, places, or things. When his job is threatened, he starts to wonder if he is missing out on all these things. The movie has been well reviewed and has been nominated for six Academy Awards, so check it out!

You can watch the trailer here.

Whistler

125 km north of Vancouver lies Whistler, where many of the Olympic skiing events will take place. Whistler is a small, picturesque resort town known for some of the best ski slopes in North America.


Until a few years ago, the road from Vancouver to Whistler was a scenic (but terrifying) stretch of highway known as the "Sea to Sky Highway", but nicknamed the "Highway of Death." Drivers enjoyed beautiful views of British Columbia and the Pacific Ocean, but the narrow road ran along a steep cliff with no guardrail, and there were many fatalities. Fortunately, the road has been upgraded for the Olympics and it is now much safer!

Many young people (particularly from Europe and Australia) live and work in Whistler temporarily. If you love to ski or snowboard and would like to live in Canada for a few months or years, you could be one of them! All those young people and the 2 million tourists who visit Whistler every year give the town a fun, relaxed atmosphere, and there's always a party somewhere!

Vancouver

Let's talk about the city where it's all going to happen!


Vancouver is a beautiful coastal city with a population of about 600,000 (2 million in the metropolitan area). Other Canadians like to joke about how much it rains in Vancouver (it rains a lot in Vancouver), but the truth is we're just jealous that Vancouver has a more temperate climate than the rest of Canada :p.

Q: What do you call two straight days of rain in Vancouver?
A: A weekend.

Q: What does Daylight Saving Time mean in Vancouver?
A: An extra hour of rain.

Vancouver is a liberal city with a thriving arts scene. It's also a very multicultural city - 51% of Vancouverites belong to a visible minority group, and 52% of Vancouverites speak a first language other than English!

But Vancouver is not perfect, and the city has significant problems with homelessness, gangs, and drug use. In the years leading up to the Olympics, Vancouver officials worried about how these social problems would affect visitors' perceptions of the city.

Olympic Mascots

The three official mascots of the Vancouver Olympics are based on characters from Native American mythology.


Sumi is an animal-guardian spirit, Quatchi is a sasquatch, and Miga is a sea bear - part killer whale, part spirit bear.

Which mascot are you like? Post your quiz result in the comments section!

The Olympics Return to Canada!

For the first time since the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary (my hometown!), the Olympic Games are returning to Canada! On Friday, February 12, the 21st Winter Olympics will begin in Vancouver, and I, for one, can't wait!