C:\Marlow\

I’m writing this as I sit in the Charles de Gaulle airport terminal waiting for my flight to Nice. I’m pretty much just typing so that I can have my laptop on to charge my iPod and portable speakers without look TOO weird.

I’m pretty excited for Nice; the weather in Paris has been shit and I’ve caught a acold because it’s been raining on and off since I got here. That isn’t to say I’m not having the time of my life, I’m having a blast here and I’m so glad that I took the chance to go to France alone. I’ve been learning so much about my self and how to meet new people. I don’t think I’ll be able to go about living my life the same way as I was before now.

The main reason of my trip to France hasn’t worked out so well as most people that go to a hostel in France are not French. So most of the people I’ve met I’ve been speaking English with. I have had opportunities to speak French and I take those opportunities every chance I get, though it was a bit disconcerting that the first 3 people I spoke to in French near the hostel all tried to sell me weed But then again, I guess that’s what I get for living in the 20ieme.

On a happier note though I should be meeting up with these 2 really fun Icelandic girls that I met in Paris once I get to Nice and hopefully the warm weather and good company will banish this annoying runny nose that I’ve developped.

Well, I’m not going to pay 6 Euros for 30 minutes of internet so this post will inevitably be delayed and I will append anything of note after this

Bon Journee!

edit1: I think I’m sitting next to the japanese guy from “Don’t Laugh”. Whoever is on the other line can’t possibly know what the hell he is saying

edit2: I just realized that I have no hostel reservation or anything and I’m flying blind. So I’m starting to worry a little bit but hey life always works out, yea?

After thoughts:

Well, I couldn’t find a hostel so I wasn’t crazy to be worried about that. But I was lucky enough to find a hotel with a dormitory style room that was cheap enough. Once I headed out to the bars with 4 american girls 2 got their tits grabbed and a guy tried to fight me. That was 2 strikes for Nice but the next 2 days were so gorgeous that it didn’t strike out.

I’m now in Marseilles though and will write up later about the most recent crazy coincidence but till then stay tuned!

Just thought I’d throw these on my blog quick cause some people I know don’t have or use Flickr.com

It’s funny how every country has their own perceptions of others and their own way of telling you about theirs. I just met some Spaniards in my room in the hosteland their first thought is “You know the Raptors? They have 2 Spanish players”. I met some other Spanish bboys and their question was “Oh you know the Boogie Brats?”.A mexican that asks if our “soccer fields are really ALL grass” or a French girl that tells you she “likes Celine Dion”. An American that says “Toronto, that’s near Niagara falls, right?”.

You have to be ready to answer these questions constantly in a hostel because “where are you from” is the travel equivalent of frosh weeks “What’s your major?”. I’ve tried to spice things up with more open ended questions having been in the same hostel 10 days but I’ve received a few blank stares that change in to smiles once I readjust my line of questioning to a more geographic one.

But do you think it’s our nationality that defines us? It brings up that classic psychological debate of nature vs nurture and there’s tons of arguments for both sides. But it makes me wonder, what defines Canada? A country that struggles to find an identity when it’s just a big mixing pot of cultures. It’s like trying to pin a taste on trifle or budae chigae.

After travelling around a bit I’m intensely jealous of fall these other countries with Cultural identities and histories. The Koreans have their language and Kimchi, the Chinese have so much culture and history they could build 10 more great walls out of the books it filled. Walking around France I’m jealous all over again. There are apartment buildings here that are as old as our country and still have people living in them. I can’t even count the number of French restauraunts I’ve seen here.

It’s not that I begrudge the acceptance or diversity of our country. It’s one of the things I love most about Toronto. Korea-town, Little Italy, Greek-town, Little Portugal, China town, etc… but it leaves me wondering where is Little Canada?

I’ve felt for a long time that everyone in Canada is just a permanent visitor and find it kind of sad that we don’t really have a culture of our own to have in common with other Canadians. Maybe it’s partially my fault for not liking hockey or something. What do we do or have that no other country has in common with us? What makes Canadians unique? In what areas does Canada excel or is number one?