Valentine's Day

Tuesday, March 30, 6 pm:
If you're still in Wiesbaden this week, you should check out Valentine's Day at Thalia Hollywood.


It's an ensemble romantic comedy with an all-star cast - I think everyone famous is in this movie. The storyline intertwines several love stories, so there are sure to be some heartbreaks as well as some happy endings. You don't even have to get up early for school the next morning!

A Hard Question

One of the most frequent questions I (and other Canadians) get asked while traveling abroad is, "How does Canada feel about the United States?" As you can imagine, this is a very difficult question to answer. Our two countries are joined by over 300 years of history, as well as innumerable social and economic factors. But if I have to give a brief answer, I like to use a quote from Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Canada's prime minister from 1968-1984. In a 1969 speech to the Press Club in Washington D.C., Trudeau said:

Living next to [the United States] is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.

I like it because it's a great summary. For better or worse, Canada is affected by everything the United States does. It doesn't mean we can't be friendly and cooperative, it just means the relationship between our two countries is confusing, ambiguous, and sometimes tense.

The Blind Side

Tuesday, March 23, 6pm:
This week at Thalia Hollywood, you can see the award-winning movie The Blind Side, which is based on a heartwarming true story.


Quinton Aaron stars as Michael Oher, a talented young football player who has been in foster care for most of his life. Sandra Bullock, who won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her role, plays the woman who welcomes Michael into her family's home and helps him to achieve his full potential.

Capitals of Europe

If you ever have trouble remembering the English names of European countries and their capitals, this game can help you out. The game gives you the name of the country, and you have to identify its capital.

See if you can beat my score - it shouldn't be too hard. On my first try, I only scored 16/47. It looks like I still have a lot to learn about Europe!

Maple Taffy Recipe

If you read my last entry and though, "Wow, maple taffy sounds delicious," you're in luck! I found a super-simple maple taffy recipe online. But please be careful - maple taffy means very, VERY hot maple syrup and I do not want you to burn yourself.

It would be useful to have a candy thermometer for this recipe. Your parents probably have one if they make candy at Christmas!

Ingredients:

• 250 ml pure maple syrup
• 65 grams salted butter
• fresh snow, shaved ice, or vanilla ice cream
• dill pickles

1. Heat the syrup and the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir the mixture so that it doesn't boil over.
2. The mixture is ready 6 - 7 minutes after it begins to boil (105 - 112 degrees Celsius on your candy thermometer). It should stiffen when dripped onto a plate.
3. Remove from heat and cool for 2 minutes before pouring onto the snow, ice or ice cream.
4. Enjoy!
5. Finish by nibbling on a dill pickle. The salty taste will help your taste buds recover from the extreme sweetness of maple taffy!

(recipe from Nicole Blum at wondertime.go.com)

Sugar shack

In late March and early April, as the snow melts and spring begins, a uniquely Canadian event begins in eastern Canada.* It's called the cabane à sucre or the sugar shack, and it's the process of collecting the sap of the maple tree and turning it into many delicious treats - maple syrup, maple sugar, and maple taffy, to name just a few.


The sap is collected in buckets, which are transported to the sugar shack. The sap is then boiled until it thickens into maple syrup. It takes about 40 litres of maple sap to make just one litre of maple syrup!


The so-called "sugaring off" is also a great occasion to celebrate! While the sap boils, family and friends gather to enjoy a big meal. A highlight of the meal is dessert; the boiling sap is poured onto the cold snow, where it solidifies into maple taffy!


If you happen to be in eastern Canada during sugar shack season, there are many sugar shacks which offer tours to the public. You can enjoy traditional French-Canadian food and beverages while you wait to taste fresh, delicious maple syrup!


*Canada produces more than 80% of the world's maple syrup supply (26.5 million litres in 2005), but there are also maple syrup producers in the northeastern United States.

The Tooth Fairy

Tuesday, March 16, 6 pm:
This week's English movie at Thalia Hollywood is The Tooth Fairy. It looks a little silly, but fun!

Canadians really do love hockey

This article makes me laugh and proves that some stereotypes (in this case, "Canadians love hockey") are based in fact!

Air Canada learns that hockey trumps flying
Canada's largest airline has learned it sometimes has to take a back seat to the country's biggest sporting passion, ice hockey, the head of Air Canada said on Tuesday. The airline was forced to delay a flight from Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games because passengers watching the end of the gold medal final on airport televisions ignored repeated calls to board.

"We incurred a flight delay for a reason Air Canada had not yet encountered in over 72 years of existence," chief executive Calin Rovinescu told a business gathering.

The Canadian fans were rewarded for their delay, as the nail-biting end to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics saw Canada beat arch-rival United States 3-2 in overtime.

There are also a couple of good vocabulary words and an idiom, which are in bold type.

to trump: If you trump what someone has said or done, you beat it by saying or doing something else that seems better.

to take a back seat (figurative): to become less important than someone or something else.

nail-biting (adj): If you describe something such as a story or a sports match as nail-biting, you mean that it makes you feel very excited or nervous because you do not know how it is going to end.

Rural Alberta Advantage

Today I want to share one of my favourite Canadian bands with you! They're called the Rural Alberta Advantage and although they now live in Toronto (on the other side of Canada), they all grew up in Alberta, just like I did.


Their first album, Hometowns, is 13 tracks about all the little things that make Alberta such an interesting place.


You can listen to the song "Frank, AB" here. The song refers to a mining town called Frank, which lies at the base of Turtle Mountain. In 1903, 90 million tonnes of rock crashed off the mountain and onto the town below. Approximately 90 people died. Today, the highway winds between huge boulders and the site is a popular tourist attraction.

Invictus

Tuesday, March 9, 6 pm:
This week at Thalia Hollywood in Wiesbaden, you have a chance to see the original, English-language version of Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.


Invictus tells the true story of how South African President Nelson Mandela and rugby team captain François Pienaar used the 1995 world cup to bring the country together and begin the long journey towards abolishing apartheid.

I plan to attend this show, so I hope to see you there!
You can watch the trailer here.