Montreal - Catching up.
Posted by kanderson on May 14, 2008
So, while in Montreal, one of the places we went was the Biodome.
It’s a zoo. Gina was REALLY excited to go there because she had learnt about it (or seen a picture of it) in one of her textbooks.
Inside was a bit of a letdown. The first part was about like the area in the Wpg zoo, where the have all the snakes and monkeys. It’s hot, humid, and kinda dark. It’s also way more crowded than it should be.
My experience with Zoos is interesting. I’m really familiar with Seaworld Orlando. It’s easily the zoo I’ve seen the most, and it’s also one of my favorites. I’m also familiar and impressed with Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens. Even Discovery Cove or Gatorland. There’s a locational theme here, isn’t there.
Now, I know, the readers here are thinking “these are amusement parks, not zoos”. And they’re kind of right. They sell tickets to get in, and there are rides and stuff. But at the same time, they keep live animals, and have all the same concerns as a traditional zoo. Except one - Space.
I’ll pick just Seaworld as my example here.
So Seaworld is a zoo. It has Dolphins, Stingrays, Whales, Manitee, etc. They are often trained for performing in shows and exhibits. There’s certainly a component here that says it’s using the animal to make a profit, and that IS the case. No argument. On the other hand, it’s also really clear that the the animals enjoy being there. Perhaps that because they don’t know better, or perhaps it’s just a great place. Either way, they’re happy there, and enjoy their lives. They interact with each other, and with people on a daily basis, and generally (though not always) they also have “leave me alone” areas where they can just be alone and grumpy if they want. Tellingly, most don’t want to be alone.
But Zoos themselves are different.
In the biodome, most of the fish had rubbed their jaws away from rubbing on the aquarium glass. This can happen for two reasons. At the biodome, I believe it’s space. They’re simply too crowded to be able to “live” and they’re trying to find an escape. Which is a horrible way to live.
The other alternative is that they’re just looking for something else that’s new. An interaction, anything. But something that’s new and mentally stimulating. I know, they’re just fish, and fish are dumb, but I struggle with that idea. Partly because it’s clear fish “know” different people. The Stingrays in Texas loved playing with me, and were climbing the tank to follow me when I had to leave. But they had no escape from the little kids teasing them, even at the back of the aquarium. I can’t help but think zoos would be far more effective if the animals were more able to wander on their own. To pick and choose who they wanted to play with. Be that a human, or a bird that’s just there for a day during a southern migration. The more the zoo seems to limit that interaction, the worse the zoo. And the worse the animals.
I don’t think I really saw that prior to our trip here. I knew that people complained about zoos, I’ve heard all the controversy about the zoo in Calgary. I’d like to challenge zoos with this idea. There are lots of animals that can’t live n the wild. There are lots of reasons for that. Perhaps the Manitee in Seaworld most clearly showing it up. They all have missing limbs, or whatever, following a collision with a boat prop. THAT is who should be in a zoo. Same with the turtles. They have an operation (usually they’ve eaten fishing line, which they can’t digest, and they’ll die without having it removed surgically). These animals are brought to Seaworld. My admission pays for their care, usually, I’ll buy the fish that feed them, and then once they’ve healed, they are released. This is an awesome arrangement, and it’s REALLY hard to argue that it isn’t a great deal for the animals too.
But there are lots of places where the zoos just need to be closed outright. The biodome is one.
In addition to the fish, the Penguin had worn the paint off the wall trying to rub their way out with their beaks/faces. This isn’t a good thing. The fish they eat is thrown in as a clump of dead frozen scraps.
Contrasting this with say Parc Whatever where we were a few weeks back, where the coyotes occasionally did decide that they wanted live prey, and took down a deer or a pig. This is how it should be.
It’s just interesting to see that some zoos treat animals so well, and others are so much the opposite.
The biodome doesn’t have enough space for as many animals as they have. As such, it should choose to focus on one particular area or it should be shut down. Either way, there needs to be more space for the animals.
Over and out.
The calm before the storm…
Posted by kanderson on May 14, 2008
Well, Today was actually a fairly relaxing day for us.
We walked down the road a bit, and the kids fished. They didn’t really catch anything for a few hours, but then a little boy walked over. He didn’t speak english, and was likely about 10. He told them they should be using works, which we all knew, but the girls don’t like handling, so we didn’t.
Anyway, he hung out for a few mins and then he left. ABout 5 mins later, he came back with a tray full of worms for the girls. Gina was bored anyway, having caught nothing for hours, so she gave him the rod. 5 mins later he pulled one in. It was REALLY little, but the excitement was immediate.
The boy took the fish home to scare his sister (Boys rule!) And the girls forgot to be afraid of the worms.
5 mins later, Melanie had caught one, and the boy was coming back with a pail thing, his little bro, and his sister.
I broke some treebranches for the three of them, and took some of the girls line, and pretty soon everyone was catching fish. Fish might be a stretch, but it’s just fun to pull them out and that they did. Again and again.
Nobody in the family there spoke English, so it was a good way for the girls now to want to use their French. Which was great to see.
After a few hours, and 17 “fish” we came back as the campground was having a BBQ fundraiser thing to raise money to send kids to camp. So we went. Ate too many burgers.
Had a relaxing evening listening to a couple from Alberta who couldn’t stop talking.
I should mention, we took Jazzy to the vet this AM. She’s been sick lately, but is clearly on the mend now, but with poo, puke and blood on the floor this AM, we took her in. We all finally like her, it’d be a shame if she croaked.
The couple at the campground just gave us keys to their car to take her. They’ve been WAY beyond what could be expected. This was amazing. I’d highly recommend staying here. West Montreal KOA.
Tomorrow, I’ll be busy building a new network for a new client of ours. So I’ll be working like a dog for a few days. Hopefully it’ll be all good for Monday, we’ll see.
This is short, but it’s late. I ust wanted to post something at least.
Over and out.
Wow.
Posted by kanderson on May 11, 2008
So Today we went to the Insectarium, in Montreal. It’s near the Biodome, and we bought tickets for it at the same time as when we had gone to the biodome.
It was smaller and more focused that I had expected. The main floor was only bees, ants, and termites. This was a bit interesting because we were worried back in Alabama that we had termites in the RV. They weren’t termites… And they’re gone… And even if they were termites, the unexpected trip back to Canada will have frozen them to death easily.
In the lower level, there were scorpions, butterflies, moths, and beetles. Including some REALLY weird beetles.
Not particularly my thing, but I like learning, so what the heck. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to learn, even. Mostly, it was just displays. One display that was quite an interesting site was an arch of plants. Plants is a stretch, mostly it was like tree branches or vines. Anyway, they connected a food side with a home side. So there was a river of ants carrying food from the one sode to the other. It was quite interesting to see.
The gift shop didn’t have much. So Melanie bought some flavored honey, and we went to come home.
Here’s where the excitement today really began.
Our truck was gone.
Not kidding, no joke. We’re an hour from “home”, and we have no vehicle.
So we called onstar. We had been inside for less than an hour and a half. Onstar had already been disabled. Being a US company, they were unable to contact the police in Canada. 911 doesn’t work for them. *** Note to Onstar. You suck! This is what you brag about. You should at least be able to do it. *** So after watching this circus for a while, we ended that call, and I called 911. A car was being sent. So then we called our insurance people, family, had a few conversations around work. Nicole and the girls grabbed some food, we made more phone calls. It’s been 2 hours, still no cop. The girls found and teased and then hand fed a squirrel. More phone calls for work. Phone battery is almost dead. Finally, the cop shows up. We give him the story. He doesn’t really care, but is polite enough. Tells us that this type of vehicle will be torn apart into parts by now, and will not be found. We ask about getting home. He says we might be able to rent a car, but he can’t drive because he can’t seat us all and there aren’t enough officers on duty anyway. Then he leaves. After another hour or so of calling around, we finally get a cab to take us to a car rental place, we rent a car, and we make it home.
So here we are. We don’t know when or how we’ll get home. We ESPECIALLY don’t know when or how the Titanium will get home. I am REALLY glad to be here in an RV. We’ve had problems on the road before, blown clutches, blown wheel bearings, there’s always something. This was an unexpected event. But we’re fairly well equipped to deal with it here. We were hoping to be in the peg for Sunday, but that won’t happen now. Not sure what the plan will be. Nicole will be busy calling all over the place tomorrow while we work/study.
Nicole sent out an email, to lots of people, updating them on what was happening. One responded fairly quickly. Her email summed it up well. Just one word.
“Wow.”
What else can you say. These things just kinda always work out for me. Not sure why, but they do. So much so that I like when they happen. It’s more than I can handle personally, and I think they happen just so I’m reminded that God is paying attention and wants to show us again that we can rely on him. So we will. Not sure of his plan right now, but life’s an adventure, and he’s a good guide. I trust that through this he has a plan and is bringing it to fruition.
I’m excited to wake up tomorrow and see. For me, these times are the best. It’s clearly outside my control, so it’s much easier to just step back, and let God drive. Don’t know where he’s going, but he knows the best detours. I wonder if this one will be slow and scenic, or fast and exhilarating. Either way, I’m glad we’re taking it. Can’t wait for morning. For the first time in almost 6 months, I can honestly say I’m really glad to be on this trip again. It’s a good feeling.
We’ll keep you posted.
Over and out.
Beaucoup de comments.
Posted by kanderson on May 8, 2008
So, we spent Sunday in Montreal. We’ve been here for a few days already, but this was the first time “interacted” with the frenchies… 
About the first thing I noticed is that multiculteralism is a complete failure. Every restaurant, everyclerk, every person everywhere here basically speaks twice, “Bonjour, comment ca va? Hello, how are you?” Which is a stupid way of asking “French or English”. It effectively guarantees the loss of French over a fairly short period of time. Basically, because now, in order to be hired for a job, you need to speak both French and English. And since English is the lowest common denominator, French is a useless language here, and it will quickly be dropped. This is particularly obvious with the younger generation, where they can fluently speak French, but prefer to speak English amongst themselves. Combined with the innundation of English culture (the background music in the stores is English, the movies are mostly English, generally even the names of the stores) the need for French is simply dead. At the moment, there are enough people still speaking it that it might have some value in communicating with the older generation, but I suspect French will literally die with them, much as it has in the remainder of Canada. (Nicole’s parents spoke French, Nicole speaks both, Gina can kinda speak French, but certainly not enough that her children will be able to, and Melanie sees it as useless and frustrating, even though she can easily communicate in it.) I’m not completely sure how to feel about this.
On one hand, Canadian Culture hasn’t really existed very long, maybe a couple of hundred years, so it’s quite different from most European or Asian cultures. But on the other hand, and perhaps my main concern, is that ALL other cultures are being completely eradicated by globalization. As one “culture” is simply forced on others. One of the struggles of this trip is that everything seems to be a carbon copy of the previous and the next place. That’s the case here. Nothing makes this “French”, except maybe the nifty looking churches, but even there, that’s not so much French as old period. The Parlament buildings in Ottawa are about the same. Same neo-gothic look, Same copper roof, Same same.
This is a big world, and I’d like to think that going to Montreal can be different than going to Winnipeg. But I’m not sure that’s true, and in this case, I feel like I’m seeing it mid-change.
Today has been a really long work day. I started at 9am, and it’s 1140 here now. I have lots more to blog about, but I’m tired and frustrated, and going to bed.
Over and out.
Not gonna make the East Coast.
Posted by kanderson on May 2, 2008
Well, We left Montreal on Monday intending to land in Quebec City. The campground in Montreal was ok, but really expensive, and we had decided to move so that we could be in a less expensive campground, and spend the week there. Then one week in the Maritimes, and them homeward bound.
In Quebec City, the snow was (literally) 8 feet tall in much of the campground. There were a few open spots for us, but the more important thing was that they had no Internet. At that moment, we were about 45 mins away from Gina’s eLive session. This is a daily “tutoring” program aimed at assisting struggling kids. It’s good for Gina. She’ll argue and goof off with us all day, but ask her to work in front of a computer and she’s all over it. So she’s loving it, and it’s CLEARLY benefiting her in terms of her marks. So it’s good all around. But it’s every day, and it happens over the Internet, and Gina needs it, and Gina, Mom, and Dad are in a “contract” that says that Gina will NOT miss it, ever. Period.
So we dropped the camper at Walmart, and took the truck to a hotel, and ripped off their Internet so Gina could go to her class. During that time, Nicole and I called every campground, basically all the way out to the coast. We did find a few that were open, but none had Internet, and that’s really a deciding factor for us now. So we made a really hard trip back to the Flying J about an hour east of Montreal, thinking we’d use their Internet. They had none. After a few hours of being frustrated, and taking it out on each other (not really fighting, just basically having a long non-productive conversation) We spent the night at the Flying J, and now we’re back in the overpriced Montreal campground now. That will prove to be the most eastern stop on the Canadian portion of our adventure. From here, it’s all homeward bound. So although we all know it, I don’t think anyone has really verbalized that our trip is winding down now. We’re heading home. Kind of sad to see it end. At least I am. I know that’s more than a month away, and it sounds like our tenants might need longer in our house (which we’re OK with), but still kind of sad to know that yesterday we decided that we’re done, and we’re heading home.
We’re going to hang out in Montreal for a while now. I’m sort of starting to feel more comfortable with French. I certainly couldn’t have a “good” conversation, but I bought gas today, and even Gina said that the lady at the till didn’t know that I didn’t speak french until she asked me about windshield wiper fluid, and I had no idea what she was talking about. That was a bit of a give away, I guess. Actually, Nicole was even questioned too. She had asked a guy where is the Flying J. When she asked, she said pronounced it Flying Jay. In French, J is pronounced more like Gee, and the guy kinda called her on it. She laughed when she got back into the truck.
I will say, Nicole keeps shaking her head at me, and laughing, and giving me the “what?!!!” type looks when I speak in French. I actually see it as a good thing. I can understand more words now natively, meaning I don’t need to translate them in my head to understand them. This is good, because I can use French way better. The problem is, I’ll try to make sentences now that I wouldn’t have tried before, and I just don’t really have the grammer for it, so I really, REALLY , ***REALLY*** sound like a 2 year old. But clearly, I could learn this pretty easily now. I just need to be surrounded by it more. Another thing I’ve learned is that I can’t read it as well as I can understand it spoken, and I especially can’t write it.
As long as we’re in Quebec, we’re all French all the time in here. The kids hate it. Actually, I think everyone hates it except me. But whatever. Gina needs the practice, and it’s beneficial for Melanie too. So too bad for them. I think it just makes Nicole cringe when Gina or I speak. Oh, well, she’ll get over it or I’ll get better. Either way works for me…
Tomorrow we’re moving again, still in Montreal, but somewhere about $20 a day cheaper. Which is a lot.
So that’s the status update for us. No Tours for the past while, other than a drive to Quebec City, and a sad, disheartening drive back again…
Over and out.