Vegetable Vocabulary.doc

i) So you probably all know that a tomato is pronounced 'Tom-OUGHT-0' over here. It's actually quite a nice change from the harshness of North American pronunciations - especially when the word drama is pronounced as 'DRAW-ma' instead of the cringe worthy 'Dr-AM-a'. What you may not know is that eggplant and zucchini are not merely pronounced differently, but referred to with alternate handles.  Zucchini is called courgette and eggplant is aubergine (like the colour). I stumbled upon this fact after a classmate was describing a stir fry with the above ingredients - "Courgette and aubergine...right?" It lead me to wonder if they make courgette bread and grilled aubergine. I must search out these delicacies.

ii) I have yet to encounter much rain. My small umbrella has dutifully held its place on the shelf for a good two weeks now without any action. I'm not complaining by any means but rather wondering whether it's all being saved up for a week long downpour or if I'm just getting completely lucky. We'd still had moderately chill mornings and evenings but the sun comes out every once in a while during the afternoon. It's not the Canadian fall I'm use to, but it could be much worst. The students in Finland have had subzero temperatures already! You must let me know when it first starts to snow in Canada - I won't see more than a handful of snowfalls over here, but I'll lament for you all.

iii) I've been asked to jump in and supervise/instruct some of the first year classes for a week! One of the professors is heading to Amsterdam as a guest lecturer and the director of the program thought I'd be a good candidate to oversee the first years while she is away. Much like the Drama 100 kids I worked with at Queen's, these groups are working toward final presentations. She figured that since I was a performer, and also since she said I possess a "direct and non-threatening manner", that I would be a suitable candidate. I think that might be a bit of the polite "Canadian-ness" shining through. I look forward to working with some of the Breens (British teens, thanks Hincks) if only for a week or so.

iv) I had a conversation with another student the other day about hockey in Canada. I assured him that even though it's the sport we're most known for, Lacrosse is technically our national sport (I don't even want to think where baseball falls on that list - poor Jays fans). My colleague was skeptical even though I'm the Canadian expert in the program, thank you very much. I checked online to be certain, I was sure I had heard about Lacrosse before, but was surprised by what I found. In 1994, the Federal Government introduced Bill C-212 making hockey Canada’s National winter sport and lacrosse Canada’s National summer sport. So the answer is apparently both. Canadian tax dollars hard at work; I'm surprised this never became a hot election issue. Politicans have an uncanny knack for making elections about issues that overshadow the real problems facing the country.

v) I'm heading to Oxford tomorrow. My friend Paul is going to show me around the campus, where he completed a MSc last year, and we are planning a day trip to Bath. This is yet another city with a variety of pronunciations - either like shower's opposite, or the more affected 'BAW-th'. Search me. We're also going to finalize plans for a trip to Stockholm, Sweden in November! Apparently flights are around 50£ return and they've got a great night life there. Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and boasts a very impressive group of alumni, such as:

Oscar Wilde

Percy Bysshe Shelley

 J.R.R. Tolkien

Kate Beckinsale

...and Mr. Bean.

I'm hoping the injection of visuals tides everyone over for the weekend - Have a good one! Oxford update upon return.

Doc's Prescription of the Day: An aubergine and courgette stir fry, naturally.