Monday, March 08, 2004

Happy International Women's Day to all the ladies and the gents who love 'em! By happy coincidence, I also received Ms. magazine's "Women of the Year" issue, courtesy of Payton. It's a pretty amazing read although, as is the case whenever I read about extraordinary women, I feel both deeply proud/hopeful and terribly insignificant...y'know, 'cause I didn't fight my way out of a war-torn country, earning a triple PhD in Law, International Development and epic love poems in Sanskrit. At least, not this year. Maybe soon!

I'm trying to think of funny stuff that has happened, but it's just been really quiet and I haven't travelled since Milan...hmmm, something funny, something funny...okay...A man walked into a bar - and it hurt! A HA HA HA HA Ha Ha ha ha...heh...ahem...Hmm, maybe not.

Ooh, how about this one - when M. F came in the other day, he helpfully informed us of facts that no Canadian could possibly know, such as the existence of provincial flags and mottos in Canada. Yes, I too was shocked to learn of this. Thanks again, Mr. F! Anyhoo, I was trying to relate this story to a fellow guide, but I was kinda tired and had just drank a fairly big glass of red-wine-from-a-box (courtesy of Avril Williams, a familiar figure to past guides) and had a bit of a Floydian slip when I got to the part where he starts going on about provincial sayings...well, colour me sheepish, but I accidentally said that Quebec's is "Je ne sais pas" (literally meaning "Laura is an idiot"), instead of "Je me souviens". Although - I kinda like my version:) I guess I'll leave that up to my Quebec friends for the final decision, though!

So, what's on the menu this week? Well, for starters, a packed day-trip to Juno beach and area. We had assigned reading for this trip, which was useful for learning such facts as during which war the D-Day landings took place (kidding! I already knew it was during the Crimean war...haha, little WWI tour guide humour for you...ha...heh...anyway). During the course of these readings, I also learned - as if I needed another reason to hate the American military-industrial-complex - that some of the US air support assigned to the Canadian and Polish troops kinda got a little confused (can ya guess where this is going?) and bombed them instead of the enemy. And then they bombed the Polish troops again in a latter assault. It makes me really afraid that the final scene in "Top Gun" when Maverick swoops in and saves the day, and Ice Man is all "You can be my wingman anytime!" and Maverick is all, "So that's what the kids are calling it these days!" is actually an alternate ending to the original one that had them taking their final class, "How to Bomb Canadian (and sometimes Polish or other allied) Troops".

Thanks for the e-mails (and wake-up calls) and everything else that helps me feel kinda sorta maybe not totally like a stranger in a strange land.

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