Catalogue of Canadian Cuisine

On March 23, 2024March 22, 2024 By Dani Francuz Rose1 Comment

The time has come, once again, for me to share what I know about the unique food scene of our new home. To be honest, this was a little easier to do in Poland, China, and Mexico, where the respective cuisines are a tad more well-defined, but Canada, too, has its fair share of fun foodie finds, not to mention a plethora of food fusions thanks to its mosaic of multiculturalism. So, without further ado, here is my catalogue of Canadian cuisine.

Savory Things:

Poutine – The first entry obviously has to be poutine. This Quebecois dish is probably the most well-known outside of Canada, which makes sense because it’s absolutely delicious (albeit rather unhealthy). French fries and cheese curds covered in a brown gravy – what’s not to love?

Tourtière – Pronounced “tor-tee-air”, this dish, somewhat unsurprisingly, also comes from Quebec. It’s a massive baked meat pie popular around the holidays in Quebec and New Brunswick, and it might just be one of the most comforting dishes you can have in winter!

Montreal Smoked Meat – Montreal has quite a few regional specialties, but one of the most famous has to be the Montreal smoked meat. It’s a kosher-style deli meat, similar to pastrami, that is most often eaten piled high on a rye-bread sandwich slathered with mustard.

Halifax Donair – One of only two things on this list that I, personally, haven’t tried yet, the Halifax Donair is a great example of the many food fusions that exist in Canada. A version of the more traditional Doner kebab, Nova Scotia’s variant is usually a spiced ground beef on Lebanese flatbread covered in a sweet “Donair” sauce, which is made of condensed milk, vinegar, sugar, and garlic.

Ginger Beef – An Alberta specialty this time, introduced to the country (and the world) by Chinese-Canadians, ginger beef is a hearty dish of deep-fried strips of beef coated in a sweet, sticky ginger sauce. Another fantastic fusion for the win!

Hawaiian Pizza – Yes, you read that right. Hawaiian pizza does in fact come from Canada. The name wasn’t really even a reference to the US state, it was just the brand of pineapple they used at the time. Fun facts!

Peameal Bacon – Sometimes erroneously thought to be the same as “Canadian” bacon, peameal bacon is actually so much better! It’s a very lean piece of cured pork that is then rolled in cornmeal (previously crushed yellow peas, thus the name) and is eaten much like bacon, either as a breakfast staple or on various sandwiches.

KD – If you know me, you know I love macaroni and cheese, so I couldn’t leave Kraft Dinner off the table. I mean list. KD looks a lot like Kraft Mac & Cheese, and it is from the same company, but the Canadian version definitely tastes and hits different, trust me.

Ketchup Chips – Canadians love their ketchup, so it’s no surprise that one of the most popular and abundant chip flavors here is ketchup. It makes sense, right? We eat French fries with ketchup. Why not potato chips? Do they really taste like ketchup though? Umm…kind of?

All-Dressed Chips – Usually one of the first signs we’re back in Canada is an all-dressed chips sighting. A bold favor combination of ketchup, BBQ, sour cream & onion, and salt & vinegar; you either love ‘em or hate ‘em, and I love ‘em!

Sweet Things:

Butter Tarts – Butter tarts are super Canadian, eh! I eat them, and I think Anne of Green Gables, a warm fireplace on a cold winter night, kids playing hockey on the lake out back, etc. They’re small, sweet, gooey pastries that are simply delicious.

Maple Taffy – If butter tarts represent classic Canadiana, maple taffy (or tire d’érable) is pure Quebecois bliss. In truth, there are several maple syrup items I could have put on this list, but I went with maple taffy because it’s both a food and an experience.

Beavertails – Easily my favorite sweet treat in Canada, a beavertail is a piece of fried dough (in the shape of a beavertail, obviously) that is covered in a variety of toppings. A classic option is cinnamon, sugar, and lemon juice, which is just perfection.

Timbits – Another sign you’re in Canada (or at least near some Canadians) is the presence of a Tim Horton’s. Colloquially know as Tim’s or Timmy’s, this is where you must go to get Timbits, which are famous Canadian donut holes that come in surprising flavors such as sour cream, honey dip, and apple fritter.

Nanaimo Bars – Coming all the way from British Columbia, the Nanaimo bar is another classic Canadian dessert. Traditionally three layers: a coconutty wafer on the bottom, a thick custard in the middle, and a chocolate ganache on top; it’s basically the perfect no-bake combination.

Pouding Chômeur – Or “Poor Man’s Pudding” is a dessert that came about during the Great Depression. It’s as simple as it is delicious: yellow cake or bread smothered in hot syrup or caramel.

Saskatoon Berries – The other item on this list that I have yet to try, Saskatoon berries are a locally grown and historically important ingredient in Canadian cuisine. In fact, I recently learned that the city Saskatoon actually got its name from the berry, not the other way around.

Coffee Crisp – Coming from the US, I’m spoiled for choice when it comes to candy bars, but we have nothing like the Coffee Crisp. I’m not even a coffee-drinker, and I love this candy bar!

Sippable Things:

Caesar – Canada’s version of the Bloody Mary, this cocktail contains vodka, Clamato juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, and various garnishes. When I first tried one, I had no idea what Clamato juice was…cue my complete surprise at tasting seafood in my drink!

Sortilège – Another surprise (of a much more pleasant variety), Sortilège is a maple liqueur made with Canadian whisky. So smooth, so tasty, and quite strong, this is peak Canadian alcohol, which is really saying something.

And that’s my list! At least for now, because I’m sure we’ll run into many more Canadian treats as we continue on in the Great White North. I do hope you enjoyed reading about some of Canada’s finest creations, and be sure to tell me which ones you want to try whenever you visit! Bon appétit !

Ice Ice Baby

On February 24, 2024February 23, 2024 By Dani Francuz Rose2 Comments

Well, we’re officially waist-deep into winter, and even though we’ve been ice skating, snowboarding, and snowduck making for months now, I still feel like I haven’t got my fill! So, in order to up our winter games even further, we spent last weekend in Québec City, a winter wonderland if ever there was one, and even more spectacularly wintery, we also spent a night at the Hôtel de Glace (aka the Ice Hotel).

This was definitely a once in a lifetime kind of experience, and I don’t want to forget any of the specifics, so this month, I’m sharing a detailed timeline of events as recorded by the many pictures I took throughout our stay. Bundle up and enjoy!

17:00 – Check in

Technically check-in started at 4pm, but we were a little late getting to the resort area for a few reasons. One, it was snowing, so everyone was driving slower than usual, and two, we totally forgot to bring our bathing suits and had to make a pitstop at Value Village. It happens. Luckily, the Hôtel de Glace and all of Village Vacances Valcartier is only 20-30 minutes outside of Québec City.

Once we arrived and found our way to the correct front desk (this place is massive, so it wasn’t as easy as you’d think), we got the usual check-in spiel plus a few irregularities. When you stay at the Ice Hotel you actually get two rooms: one outside made of ice and snow and one inside the Valcartier Hotel where you can put your bags, shower, brush your teeth, and at some point, finally take off your hat and gloves!

But before you can don your all-access pass of sorts, you have to watch a safety video and sign a waiver. The safety video talked a lot about what to wear and what not to wear overnight and expressed many times over that you must completely dry off after showering or hot tubbing before you go into your rooms at night. They also gave us maps of the premises and showed us where we could go if we needed help during the night.

17:45 – First look around

Needless to say, the excitement levels always increase when there’s a waiver to sign, so we quickly dropped off our stuff in our “dry room” and went to see what the Ice Hotel was all about. It’s divided into roughly three sections: the chapel, the communal rooms, and the individual rooms. The chapel was beautiful, but there wasn’t a wedding that day/night, so it was pretty empty. The communal rooms included several galleries, seating areas, the ice bar, and an ice slide. To say there was a lot to look at would be a gross understatement.

Between the ice sculptures, snow carvings, lights, and music, my senses were on overdrive. I think my favorite room was the “club room” with light-up instruments and DJ-ing composers on every wall. Tucker liked the “fire room”, which, although no warmer than anywhere else in the Ice Hotel, definitely felt cozier with the heatless fireplace, warm colors, and fur-lined benches. Of course, the ice slide was also super fun – it was in the “dinosaur room” and had us laughing hysterically as we scooted our way down the slide. You know what’s not very slippery? Jeans.

The individual rooms are also open for viewing during the day (of course, they did have ropes near the doors, so you couldn’t get on the beds or mess with any of the lights or anything). This year there were 30 guest rooms. The vast majority were single bed rooms, but there were a few doubles and even a triple as well. Every room had a theme and was designed by a different artist. My favorite was probably the exploration room with huge ships, maps, and a compass on the walls. Tucker liked the science-y ones, of which there were many.

It honestly took us quite a while to see all the rooms because this part of the hotel is very maze-like, and we weren’t always sure if we had been in any given hallway before or not. The walls of the hallways were also covered with art, and there was a workshop room off to one side, which housed photos taken and machines used during the building process. During this part of our initial walk around, we also noted the hot tubs and sauna (free for guests to use) and started thinking about how we were going to manage that in the heavy snow with only our thrifted bathing suits and big winter boots.

19:30 – Drinks at the Ice Bar

But before we dealt with being cold and wet, we decided to cash in our complimentary drink tickets. The ice bar was SO COOL! Yes, pun-intended. The bartender was all bundled up as she mixed our drinks, the “Lave-Glace” and the “Accident de Ski-doo” (clever because it had a splash of red Grenadine and a little sprig of juniper in it) and poured them into ice glasses. The drinks were beautiful and tasty, and the glasses, well, the glasses were challenging. They were obviously really cold, but also very heavy and had very thick edges – not the easiest thing to sip on. Despite the odd mouth positioning required, we still felt pretty amazing drinking our fancy cocktails in the très chic Hôtel de Glace.

In hindsight, I should have held on to my ice glass since we opted to bring our own beers into our room later, alas we were too excited to shatter them (prematurely) into the collection bins. We also debated getting another drink at the bar because they had a lot of interesting cocktails and were surprisingly not that overpriced. But after another short walk through, we opted to hit the hot tubs instead, hopefully while they were still empty and we had enough time to enjoy them and fully dry off before heading to our frozen beds.

20:45 – Hot tub and sauna in the snow

I really want to do a polar plunge before we leave Canada, and perhaps now I understand just how uncomfortable that will be when it happens. Running from our “dry room” to the hot tubs wasn’t so bad (I did wear my socks and boots with my bathing suit lol), but running to the sauna after the hot tub was painful, especially for my feet. From the crazy hot water to the crazy cold snow made my feet feel like they were burning! Stepping into the sauna was very welcome…that is until we had to get out and do it again.

Ultimately, lots of lessons were learned, like: the more towels you can take with you, the better; be sure to remember to take your shoes with you when you go back and forth, and also, just like we’re not really beach people, we’re not really hot tub or sauna people either, which is apparently a lesson we’re still in the process of learning.

22:50 – Final preparations

After we had our fair share of extreme temperature fun, it was time to prepare ourselves for sleeping overnight in a room that was approximately -5°C (23°F). First, as per the instructions, we had to be completely dry. Then, we had to decide what to wear and what to bring with us into the room. I don’t think I’ve ever planned my pajamas quite so carefully. In the end, we went for having as many options as we could – layers that we could take off or leave on depending on how warm we were in the sleeping bags they gave us. As for the snacks (much more important, obviously), we brought some local Québec beers, the rest of our Québec mix popcorn, and some chocolates from La Fudgerie. It was perfect!

23:30 – Bedtime snacks and hunkering down

Between 8-9pm the individual rooms portion of the hotel was closed off for the staff to clean and prepare the rooms for the overnight guests. When we pulled back the velvet curtain of our room, we were surprised to see they had raked the floors in addition to changing the sheets and leaving the sleeping bags. It felt very Zen and very cold. But we were ready! We rolled out our sleeping bags (rated for up to -30°C/-22°F), got into the liners as instructed, and put our outerwear away for the night. After enjoying our little picnic and watching a few videos, we zipped ourselves fully into the sleeping bags (well, mostly), and drifted to sleep.

4:17 – Slight panic

I say “mostly” because I actually struggled with zipping mine up over my head. I felt super claustrophobic and ended up choosing to be slightly colder than necessary just to keep my face from being covered. Unfortunately, in the middle of the night I woke up and the sleeping bag had fallen away from the top/back of my head a little, and I was very cold. That got my thoughts and heart racing as I wondered if I was doing irreparable damage to my system. You know, the normal things that keep a person up at night. Thankfully, I was able to calm myself down, readjust, and fall back asleep.

8:00 – Wake up call

As part of the check-in process, they informed us that someone would come to wake us up the next morning at 8am. This was in part to make sure that everyone would be up and out before they had to clean up and open for business again and also to make sure everyone was alive and well. Fortunately, we were! The sleeping bags, if anything, kept us too warm, and the main struggle we had was just getting comfortable enough to sleep through the night. Even without the claustrophobia issue, the sleeping bag was a bit like a strait jacket – not much movement possible, and if you’re not a back sleeper, good luck falling asleep as you lie there feeling like a mummy in a fluffy sarcophagus.

8:15 – Back to sleep

So, after not the best night’s sleep we’d ever gotten, we were very happy to return to our “dry room” once again and sleep in our nice, warm king size bed for a few more hours. Usually, we say there’s no place like your own bed, but honestly, this one was definitely a close second, especially in that moment!

11:00 – Check out

And just like that, our stay was at its end. We packed up our bags, scraped the snow and ice off the car, and headed back home to enjoy the rest of winter from our very own “dry room”.

Beautiful Banff

On October 21, 2023December 6, 2023 By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

Last month, Tucker and I continued our Canadian explorations with a trip to Banff, Alberta. Of course, Banff had been on our list long before we knew we’d be living in Canada, and we can now say with absolute certainty that it should be on everyone’s bucket list! We were truly blown away with the seemingly infinite number of stunning views, trails, waterfalls, glaciers, and all sorts of other incredible landscapes. In fact, I had trouble narrowing down our plans to fit neatly into a one-week trip (many people spend weeks or months trekking around Banff and Jasper National Parks, and I now know why). But since most of us can’t do that, I thought I’d share our experience, which could be useful to others in planning their own epic trip to Banff!

Calgary, Alberta

But before we get to the city of Banff, we have to get to the province of Alberta. The vast majority of visitors fly into Calgary, which is the nearest major city. This is what we did although we also considered flying into Edmonton and driving down through Jasper as an alternative. Ultimately, Calgary won out because it was closer and the flights were cheaper. I’m happy this was our choice though because it meant we got to spend several days in Calgary, which turned out to be a really fun city: two beautiful rivers running through it with gorgeous parks throughout, a very lively and impressive brewery scene, and several bar and restaurant streets where we were able to try the famous Albertan ginger beef. Seriously, don’t let the airport be the only thing you see in Calgary!

Of course, our main reason for being in Alberta wasn’t the cities, it was the beautiful Rocky Mountains, so how to get out there? Well, they’re really only about an hour drive from downtown Calgary, and you have several options. There are buses and shared cars aplenty, but we, like most people, ended up renting a car. The price was as expected: reasonable if you return it to the same place, outrageous if you don’t. In hindsight, having your own car is absolutely paramount if you want to see anything outside the teeming tourist bubble. One of the best parts about driving ourselves around Alberta was that we could (and did) stop at every possible turnoff for views, trails, signs, etc. not to mention the total freedom we had when driving the Icefields Pkwy. But if you’re sticking close to Banff (as in Banff City and the lakes) you really wouldn’t need a car at all if you didn’t want one.

Canmore & Banff

Once you’re successfully into the mountains, you have another choice to make: where to stay. If you’re camping, the options are limitless, but if you’re afraid of bears and/or you’re not a millionaire, you basically have two choices: Banff City or Canmore. Canmore is a little further from the main attractions and isn’t quite as touristy; therefore, it’s slightly cheaper, but there’s much less to do, which means you’ll likely be driving (and having to find parking) more often, or so we heard from fellow hikers. We stopped in Canmore both on the way out of and back into Calgary, and we really enjoyed it. It’s basically a baby Banff, and I think it’s a solid option, especially if you prefer a more low-key home-base.

We ended up staying in Banff though since this was our first time, and we had no idea what to expect. Since we went at the end of September (right before a lot of attractions and roads are to be closed for the season), there was a plethora of visitors. Options for accommodations were somewhat limited either by availability or by price. Fair warning – Banff is beautiful, but it is not cheap. We chose to stay in a private room at a hostel about 1.5 miles (2kms) from the city center. It was an easy walk, but there is also an amazingly quick and efficient public bus that runs through town and out to many of the resorts as well. Several hotels/hostels give free passes for the duration of your stay, but you can also buy a day pass for $5CAD.

The city of Banff has much more to do than we originally thought. On our first evening, we climbed the nearby Tunnel Mountain, and there were countless other trails into the surrounding mountains and valleys. Evidently, there’s also a famous golf course there – who knew? And the town itself is well-worth a wander. Little shops selling everything from mountain gear to homemade fudge, lots of cozy cafés, and restaurants that run the gamut: we saw a McDonald’s right down the street from an extremely lavish steakhouse. We ended most of our days in Banff eating and drinking after spending the day outside hiking, and the choices were surprisingly diverse for such a small town.

Lake Louise & Moraine Lake

Likely two of the most famous views in all of Canada (maybe even North America) are those of Lake Louise and Moraine Lake. No matter how you feel about large-scale tourism or throngs of tourists, you can’t come all the way to Banff and NOT see these two icons. Somewhat recently, Parks Canada decided to close off the roads to the lakes for all private vehicles. The only way to visit them now is to take a shuttle (or a tour) from a parking lot/ski lodge just outside the park. This was very confusing to us when reading about it online, probably because it’s new, but it was actually really easy to do. You reserve a time slot and a direction (either LL->ML or ML->LL) and then present your digital “ticket” to the bus driver. The buses leave every 20 minutes, and as long as you get on within your window, you’re fine.

Lake Louise is huge. There are trails on either side of the lake and up the mountains on both sides with bird’s-eye views. You can also rent canoes and take to the water if you want ($145 for 30 minutes – yikes!) My advice for Lake Louise is to play it by ear depending on the time you’re there, what the weather is like, how many people you see going in either direction, etc. We were there in the afternoon, and it was quite crowded, so we took the path less traveled up to the Fairview Lookout on the lefthand side and found it absolutely perfect. There are signs everywhere showing the lengths and difficulty levels of all the trails, so you can pretty easily decide once you’re there. Just remember to bring water and snacks because there’s not a lot of options once you’re on the tourist circuit.

Moraine Lake is not as big, and because of how it sits, you’re sort of on top of everyone else trying to see/take pictures of the lake. There are several trails here too, but most of them take you away from the lake. We did the 4-mile (6-km) trail to the Consolation Lakes and felt that they lived up to their name lol. In hindsight, I’d have rather brought a picnic and found a nice place to sit and eat while looking over one of the lakes. All the hikes were lovely, of course, but the views of the lakes were better. Also, we did see signs about hiking/traveling in larger groups because of bears, which we didn’t take very seriously then. After recent events, we plan to be more aware and prepared next time, and I would urge anyone else to do the same.

Icefields Pkwy & Jasper National Park

Our last great adventure in the Canadian Rockies was a drive from Banff City up to Athabasca Falls in Jasper National Park and back. This stretch of road is known as the Icefields Parkway because there are over 100 glaciers along this path, which gave us some of the most incredible views we’ve ever seen from a car. It’s only about 3 hours up to Athabasca Falls, but it took us over 4 because of all the stops we made along the way: the Columbia Icefield, Sunwapta Falls, Mistaya Canyon, Peyto Lake, and dozens of other incredible stop-offs. This drive was easily my favorite part of the trip, especially in the fall. We didn’t see very many people along the way, but there were endless signs teaching us all about the region, the various landforms, flora, fauna, you name it. It was very much like a DIY field trip, which, of course, I loved!

Ugh! After writing this and reliving all these incredible moments, I’m ready to plan a trip back to Alberta. Somehow, I feel like this might be a Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) situation, in which you haven’t really seen it until you’ve seen it in all four seasons. I do hope I’ve inspired you to put your plans to visit Banff into action not only because it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world, but also because some of these places won’t always be there for us to see in the future. Time really is of the essence, so bon voyage!

Fun Facts: Canada Edition

On September 4, 2023September 4, 2023 By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

Less than 100 days in, and we’ve already had three guests come to see us in Ottawa, which means we’ve been learning (and sharing) A LOT about our new home. In fact, I’ve got so many fun facts swimming around in my head that I feel they deserve their own post! Who doesn’t love a little Canadian trivia, eh? So, without further ado, here are 20 interesting facts about our new home:

#1 Surely, we have to start with the name of the country, right? The word “Canada” actually comes from the Huron-Iroquois word “kanata”, meaning “village” or “settlement”. Its first usage was intended to specify one village in particular; however, early French explorers used it to describe not only the village, but also the surrounding area, which kept expanding, eventually giving name to the entire region.

#2 Interestingly, Ottawa (or Outaouais, as it’s called across the river) gets its name from a different indigenous language. “Ottawa” is derived from the Algonquin word “adawe”, which means “to trade”.

#3 Of course, everyone associates Canada with English and French, but I was delighted to read that there are over 70 distinct indigenous languages spoken here as well. Who’s up for learning a little Inuktitut with me?

#4 No matter how you get to Canada (by boat, by car, or by plane), you’ll likely notice there’s a lot of water here. Canada actually has the most lakes of any country in the world, about 880,000 in all.

#5 The crazy number of lakes should really be of no surprise given the fact that Canada is the second largest country in the world. Only Russia is larger.

#6 Canada does beat out Russia (and every other country in the world) for longest coastline though. There really is water everywhere here!

#7 Speaking of Canada’s coast, Canada is surrounded by oceans: the Atlantic to the east, the Arctic to the north, and the Pacific to the west, which is why you frequently hear Canadian announcers say “from coast to coast to coast”, which I think is brilliant!

#8 Their roadways are also pretty impressive. There’s one highway, the fittingly named Trans-Canada Highway, that traverses some 7,800km (4,800 miles) from one end of the country to the other.

#9 For such a large country, there really aren’t a lot of people living in Canada. With a little under 40 million people, Canada is one of the least densely populated countries in the world with about 4 people per square kilometer (or 10 per square mile). For reference, the US has about 37 per km² (96 per mi²).

#10 But there are still quite a few famous Canadians among us! Celebrities like Keanu Reeves, Ryan Reynolds, Rachel McAdams, William Shatner, Pamela Anderson, Nelly Furtado, Michael J Fox, Jim Carrey, Ryan Gosling, Celine Dion, Drake, Elliot Page, and so many more all hail from the Great White North.

#11 Other notable Canadians include two of the most famous dog breeds in the world: the Labrador Retriever and the Newfoundland, coming somewhat obviously from Newfoundland and Labrador.

#12 Canada has ties to many animals, such as the moose, the polar bear, the orca, the Canada goose, etc. but none of those are the national animal. The national animal of Canada is the humble beaver, which I recently learned is actually classified as a rodent.

#13 Another symbol of Canada is the maple leaf, which has been associated with the region since the early 1800s. Surprisingly though, it only made it onto the flag in 1965, meaning the Toronto Maple Leafs logo is about 40 years older.

#14 Speaking of maple leaves, Canada produces about 80% of the world’s maple syrup.

#15 In addition to giving the world maple syrup (and poutine, of course), there is a huge number of other internationally famous Canadian inventions: basketball, lacrosse, insulin, peanut butter, IMAX, pagers, egg cartons, Hawaiian pizza, and the snowblower just to name a few.

#16 Canola oil happens to be another Canadian specialty. Canola was first bred (in Canada) as a healthier alternative to rapeseed and has become one of the most ubiquitous cooking oils in the world. The name “Canola” is actually a portmanteau of “Can”, as in Canada, and “OLA” meaning “oil, low acid”. Half a century later, and Canada is still the world’s largest producer of Canola oil.

#17 The US and Canada have a lot of historical similarities, so it’s not surprising that we both celebrate Thanksgiving. The two holidays have similar origin stories and similar commercial influence, but are ultimately celebrated in different months. Canada celebrates their Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October.

#18 Another somewhat random fact we recently learned about Canada is that the “Winnie” in Winnie the Pooh is actually short for Winnipeg (like the city). The stuffed bear was named after a real Canadian black bear that went by the name Winnipeg.

#19 Many of our fun facts stem from our observing differences between the US and Canada, and one of these interesting differences is the legal drinking age here. In three Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec) it’s 18, and in the other provinces and territories it’s 19.

#20 And finally a few cold facts for you! Canada is without a doubt one of the coldest countries on the planet. In fact, a city in Yukon once recorded -63°C (-81°F), which is about the average temperature on Mars. Ottawa is often listed as one of the top 10 coldest capitals in world, with an average high of -5°C (23°F) for the month of January. Winter is coming for us…

Well, there you have it, my first Canadian facts round-up! I hope you found these tidbits as interesting as we did, and I hope you make it up to Canada soon to learn a few more in-person! Thanks for reading!

So Canada, eh?

On July 8, 2023July 9, 2023 By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

And just like that, we’ve already been living full-time in Canada for over a month! It’s absolutely crazy how fast it goes! It’s also crazy just how quickly we can fall into a routine and feel extremely comfortable with so many new things, like seeing Canadian plates on our car, switching from “buenos días” to “hello, bonjour”, and/or re-adapting to hot, humid summers back down at sea level. As always, we’re so excited to be in a new place, learning new things about a country that we’re honestly a little surprised to find ourselves in! Actually, I think it has surprised a lot of people because some of the most common questions I get these days are: “Why Canada?”, “How did you choose Ottawa?”, “Why not somewhere in the States?”, and the ever-popular, “Where are you going next?” All great questions that I’m going to do my best to answer in this post!

Why Canada?

To answer the “why Canada” question, we’ll have to go back in time a little, back to when we made the decision about which country to move to after living in China for two years. Picture it: it was 2019; there was no hint of a pandemic, but after two years of studying Mandarin and struggling to find work squarely in his field, Tucker really wanted to go somewhere English-speaking. Of course, I wanted a country with any other language because that’s a huge reason I love living abroad: the constant language practice. So, we narrowed down our search to bilingual countries, and with the shorter flights for family visits and the possibility of driving our pup home with us, Canada jumped to the top of the list!

Even now, after so much time has passed and so many things have changed (pandemics, cars, jobs, etc.) Canada still offers the amazing opportunity for me to work with French-speakers and Tucker to work with English-speakers, with both of us able to diversify and grow our careers in our respective fields simultaneously. This is how we chose Ottawa. While there are a lot of truly amazing bilingual cities in Canada, Ottawa seems to be one of the most evenly split. It’s the nation’s capital, representing bilingualism both in practice and by law, and it’s also located right on the border of Ontario and Quebec, meaning that every time we cross the river (aka the provincial line) we’re guaranteed a language switch. It really is the best of both worlds! Not to mention, it’s an incredibly beautiful city surrounded by so much nature and history!

In addition to the languages/work prospects available here, we both just seriously missed winter. I know when I say things like this, a lot of people roll their eyes and think “just you wait”. But I really think everyone underestimates just how much we love the cold, and especially the snow. We’re so excited to get back into snowboarding regularly. We can’t wait to try snowshoeing, natural-rink ice-skating, curling, snowmobiling, and maybe even hockey at some point. Winter people are our people, and we are ecstatic to be back in a country full of them! It’s finally our chance to really test our love of winter! This time as adults with a car to scrape ice off of and a dog to walk in minus-20 degree weather – sounds like fun, no?

Things like this do give us pause though…

Why not the US?

But, of course, the US gets pretty cold too, and there are many places there with languages other than English spoken. So why not go somewhere in the US? Another good question that I’m asked pretty frequently. Along with “do you think you’ll ever live in the US again?” To these, my answer is always the same: I lived in the US for 25 years. I have visited all 50 states. My job for the last decade has been teaching people all about the language and culture of my home country. The reason I want to live abroad is the simple fact that I enjoy discovering what else is out there! I love being immersed in a culture different from the one I grew up in. I love learning about another country’s history, language, customs, etc. Of course, I love the US too, and I write about it often: like about our incredible national park system, the joys of eating in Chicago, and what exactly I think makes the US so unique. But I also know how much else there is to explore and how much easier it is to do so if you can live it and be immersed in it every single day.

So, would we ever move back to the US? Probably not. There are 195+ other countries for us to potentially call home! How could I go back when there’s so much out there still to discover! Of course, we are starting to think more about the challenges of moving every few years and how much paperwork that requires year after year, which is why we’re also starting to consider citizenship in other countries. We’d never revoke our US citizenship, but having duel or even triple citizenship would give us so many more options as time goes on – who knows, maybe we’ll have a three-country rotation in our retirement years! We’ve also discussed the possibility of buying a boat and becoming nomads of the sea! Haha! Ultimately, there are just so many options available to us, and it seems a shame not to take advantage of them while we can. So, as much as I love the US (flaws and all), for the foreseeable future, we’re definitely planning to continue our signature country-hopping.

So where else?

This constant state of unsettled-ness tends to beg a few more questions, like: where will we go after Canada? And how do we decide which countries we ultimately move to? Really, I’d love to say it’s all extremely well-thought-out and carefully planned and executed step by step, but in reality, we have several concurrent plans as to where we might go in the future, and no idea which ones will pan out in the end! At the moment, our short list of contenders would be: Argentina, Ireland, Romania, Turkey, Tunisia, Thailand, and/or a South Pacific Island. We generally choose based on things like residency requirements, airports/travel times to and from, quality of life, how similar or different our day-to-day lives would be there, etc. However, every one of these aspects (and so many others) are changing every day, so our list has to be pretty fluid. Ultimately, we try to have a variety of possibilities (with plenty of contingencies) sometimes years in advance (because immigration/residency paperwork is no joke), but we also happily embrace the ambiguity and flexibility that comes with being perpetual expats. C’est la vie, non ?

So, where does that leave us? Well, we’ve definitely settled on two years here in Ottawa, followed by potentially two in Montreal, but if we can’t hack the winters here or if I get tired of all the English, we might be off to a different continent. Isn’t the unknown exciting? We’ll just have to see where the wind takes us! In the meantime, I hope this answered some of the “why”s and “what next”s. And as always, I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated as everything unfolds – starting with our upcoming Canadian capers! Should be fun, eh?

We Have Arrived!

On June 17, 2023June 17, 2023 By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

We did it! We finally made it to Canada! We first applied for our residencies and came up to look for jobs/apartments way back in 2019, so to finally be here with any degree of longevity/stability feels so surreal! But how did we get here? What have we been doing these first few weeks? And what are we thinking for the future?

Getting to Canada:

Where do I even begin with our journey to Canada?! I feel like I’ve relayed bits and pieces of our incredibly long and complicated paperwork journey in several posts throughout the last five years, so this time I’ll stick to describing our physical trip up to the Great White North.

For this particular move, we opted to split it into two rounds: one by air and one by car. I documented a few things about our initial fly-up on Facebook, but as a quick recap: back in early May, Tucker and I flew up to Ottawa with several suitcases in order to 1) get our apartment keys and 2) clean/set up a few things before the big drive up/move in. In theory, it was supposed to be a somewhat relaxed way of getting our feet wet in Canada, giving us more time to focus on apartment things, and also freeing up a little more space in the car for what was going to be a very long drive. Turns out, we didn’t get near enough done in that short amount of time, little issues kept turning into bigger issues, and in the end, the car was fuller this time than when we originally drove down to Mexico. Lots of lessons learned though, so at least there’s that.

The actual driving part of round two went beautifully! Guadalajara to Laredo, Laredo to Little Rock, Little Rock to Tucker’s Dad’s place in Kentucky, Tucker’s Dad’s place to Watertown, and Watertown to Ottawa. 48 hours in total, but pretty smooth, all things considered. The issues we encountered actually occurred at either end of the trip, with the first problem cropping up a few days before we even left GDL. We already knew that we were going to have to export and import our car when we crossed into Canada, and we had everything we needed to complete that process. However, at some point, we read that the export office is only open Monday through Friday 9 to 4, and we were planning on arriving around 6pm on a Saturday. Oops. And that’s why our drive ended up taking a few extra days, and we got an unexpected stop in Watertown, NY. Fun times!

The next problem (that we absolutely should have foreseen, but totally didn’t) was the fact that all of our stuff no longer fit in the car. We were so optimistic in thinking that by bringing 4 suitcases up to Canada pre-drive, we would free up plenty of space in the car…but no, over the years, we have acquired quite a few additional household things like a Roomba, an Instant pot, a laundry basket, small trash cans, a paper towel holder, a cooler, and other items that we’d never think of buying and/or keeping had we been flying to our new home. Alas, we fell into the trap of thinking, “oh, we’ll just toss that in the car at the end”. Well, I did my best Tetris-ing work, trying to fit everything into what I now realize is quite a small car, but in the end, there were still a few things we could have used in Canada that my friends are now enjoying in Mexico! More lessons learned…

Setting up shop:

So, aside from having a pile of immigration tasks to accomplish upon rolling up to our new home, we also had quite a few things we needed to buy for the apartment. But before we could get to all that fun, we first had to shelter in place. The week we were making our way to Ottawa, which lies on the border of Quebec and Ontario, an unusual number of forest fires broke out in both of these provinces. Extreme fires, it turns out, the smoke of which blew its way down to us and then into several NE states as well. This was an unexpected wrench in our first few days, but not too detrimental to our plans because I actually had a lot of work to catch up on, and staying home wasn’t a tough ask after a week on the road. Not to mention, we were categorically prepared with a plethora of masks and DIY air purifier skills!

After the smoke had cleared, we were able to successfully apply for and request all the documents we’ll be needing (and/or make appointments for them). In the next few weeks, we should be receiving our PR cards, ON driver’s licenses, Social Insurance Numbers, vehicle registration, and OHIP cards. Fingers crossed! We were also able to get the vast majority of our apartment set up (unfortunately, still waiting on a few things to make their way to us, but photos to come soon, I promise!). In the midst of all this running around, we also hosted our very first guest (who thankfully brought her own bed in the form of an air mattress), which means we’re now prepared for any/all future guests! Of course, we’ve also begun to dip our toes into what our new neighborhood has to offer by sampling a few of the many, many restaurants and pubs that surround us.

Looking ahead:

So, what’s next? Well, the usual, I suppose: trying all the delicious restaurants, walking the entirety of our neighborhood, getting familiar with our new grocery stores, and everything else that comes with finding our place in a new city. I’m super excited to report that we’ve already got library cards, a reservation for weekly trivia, and a growing list of observations to share about the differences we’re already experiencing between the US vs. Canada and Quebec vs. Ontario. As always, there’s so much to learn and explore, and for now, that’s exactly what we plan to do. At some point, we might even break out into something other than the five-block radius between us and the supermarket. Look out, Ottawa, we’re coming!

You might also be wondering just how long we have to explore here (aka how long we plan to stay this time). Good question, but I really never know. Our Canadian residency doesn’t have to be renewed until 2027, and if we stay in Canada for a total of 3 years, we can actually apply for citizenship and never worry about immigration paperwork here again, but honestly, we have no idea if we’ll stay that long. We do know that our current lease here in Ottawa is good until June 2024, so we’ll definitely be in this exact location for at least a year (and, honestly, after all this apartment set-up, we’re already leaning towards two lol). Ottawa is such a beautiful city with so many activities for us to enjoy; plus, Montreal is only an hour away, so I think we’ll definitely need at least two years to do the National Capital Region justice!

As for the more distant future, who knows? Two years in Ottawa could be followed by two in Quebec City (if we do end up loving the winters) or maybe we’ll head back to Guadalajara to thaw out? Or maybe onto Argentina, the Mediterranean, back to Poland or Asia, literally all of these options and more have been discussed, so place your bets! Either which way though, our time in Canada is likely going to fly by, so be sure to come up and visit us while you have the chance! We can definitely host you in Ottawa, or we can meet up somewhere else in this vast and beautiful country. I’m once again aiming to see as many provinces as we can, so you can bet there are already trips planned from coast to coast to coast! Hello, bonjour, Canada! We have arrived!

Things We’ll Miss About Mexico

On May 20, 2023May 20, 2023 By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

Another international move is on our horizon (and fast approaching), so, of course, I find myself reminiscing and thinking about what an amazing 2+ years we’ve had en México. As I did with both China and Poland, I felt the urge to record some of our favorite things about living here in the form of an A-Z list of what we think we’ll miss most when we leave. Things like:

Amigos – Without a doubt, the hardest part of any move is leaving behind our friends, and I don’t know if it’s because we were here longer or because we found our friendship medias naranjas (soulmates), but this time it’s even harder. 🥹

Bebidas – Where do I even begin with all the drinks we’ll miss! Cantaritos, cazuelas, carajillos…hey, maybe this should have been “c”! Pre-Mexico, I didn’t think I was a fan of fruity drinks or coffee, but I clearly had no idea what I was missing!

Comida – Fittingly, right after bebidas is another, equally important category: la comida or the food. Even before we stepped foot into Mexico, I knew this was my favorite cuisine. Tacos are life as far as I’m concerned, and it should be no surprise that by far the best tacos (and every other Mexican dish) I’ve had has been right here.

Day of the Dead – I’m not into creepy or scary things, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with Día de Muertos, but after celebrating it in both GDL and Oaxaca, I absolutely love it! I’m taking my Day of the Dead decorations with me to Canada, so let the celebrations continue!

Español – This is another big one. I put so much time and energy into learning Spanish over the past three years that it really pains me knowing it’s already starting to deteriorate. I also know I’m really going to miss all the friendly “buen día”s and general ease and openness that comes with español.

Futbol – Tucker loves his sports, particularly local sports, so we had amazing luck moving to GDL, choosing to support Atlas, and then watching them win back-to-back championships! But really, you don’t have to win or even like soccer to enjoy the excitement you can hear literally everywhere in the city when someone scores a ¡GOOOOLLLL!

Guadalajara – Of course, “g” is for the city itself. We chose Guadalajara specifically, which was new for us. I wasn’t assigned to a posting here, we personally decided that GDL had the vibes we wanted (and maybe needed) in the uncertain pandemic times. And honestly, I don’t think we could have possibly made a better choice. In another life, we were definitely Tapatíos.

Handicrafts – I thought China had the handicraft market cornered, but I was so wrong! Mexico also has an incredibly vibrant and varied collection of things ranging from jaguar whistles to braided bags. I will, of course, be bringing many things with me when I go, but I’ll also miss seeing what all is out there!

Ice cream – Or more specifically, nieves de garrafa, is one of the main sweet treats we know we’ll miss (especially Tucker). I mean, ice cream is always good, but when it’s tequila or Ferrero Rocher flavored, that’s really something special.

Jacarandas – I’ll likely never have my own garden (for so many reasons, worms being just one of them), and maybe this is why I was completely entranced by the flowers of Mexico. Even in the cities, there are tons and tons of flowers all year round, my favorite of which are undoubtedly the absolutely gorgeous jacarandas.

Knife sharpeners – This one really represents all the sounds we’ll miss when we leave Mexico. The pan flute whistle of the knife sharpeners, the garbagemen and their cow bells, and the daily shouts of “AGUA” just to name a few.

Limones – Tucker thinks I have a limón problem. If they’re offered as a food or drink accompaniment, I usually take several and douse whatever I have. I have absolutely become a limón convert during our time here, and I know I’ll miss having them as often as I’d like.

Molletes – A dish I had never heard of quickly became one of my favorites in Mexico, the humble mollete. Toasted bread covered in a variety of amazing combinations from the more traditional: melted cheese, refried beans, and salsa Mexicana (my favorite), to the more modern, eggs Benedict, not to mention all the dulce options like lechera or cajeta and fruit, all of which I miss already!

Nature – Stereotypes have a way of getting into your head without you even realizing it, and for me, one that I had prior to our time in Mexico was that it was all deserts down here, which is absolutely not the case. I rarely saw the deserts of the North, but I will certainly miss the agave fields, the waterfalls, the forests, the beaches, and really all the amazing nature Mexico has to offer.

Our neighborhood – As much as I love GDL, what I love most is probably our neighborhood: Colonia Americana. It was recently voted as one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world, and we couldn’t agree more.

Pueblos mágicos – Someone had an amazing idea to boost tourism in some of the random smaller towns across Mexico by creating a pueblos mágicos (or magic towns) list. Visiting these places felt a little like collecting Pokémon, but it also allowed us to see so many different sides to this beautiful country.

Queso fundido – Another pleasant surprise for us came in the form of queso fundido. We knew we loved the queso you get at Mexican restaurants in the US, but real queso is so much better. Thick and eaten with warm tortillas, why has this version not made it north of the border?!

Rainy season – I am so happy that we already got the first storm of rainy season 2023 (a bit early as they usually start in June) because I LOVE RAINY SEASON. The clouds rolling in, the smell of a storm coming, the ridiculous amounts of rain and lightning and thunder, and even the adrenaline-inducing inundaciones that follow.

Spontaneity – If China taught us to expect the unexpected, Mexico has taught us to stop planning ahead so much. It’s far more fun to just wing it, and trust me, that’s actually much easier to do when literally everyone else is doing it too.

Tacos y Tequila – I couldn’t pick just one! Tacos are my favorite food, and learning the true art of the taco has been a dream come true for me, but tasting the best tequilas in the world from the city where they originate is something I’ll also miss dearly.

Usar esto… and by “esto” I mean the Mexico-specific finger gestures used to indicate “sí” or “no”. After being confused by these finger nods for months, we finally asked what they meant, and then quickly adopted them ourselves. I can’t wait to attempt them in Quebec and see the reactions!

Viajar – Of course, one of the things I always miss when we leave a country is the easy access to domestic travel options. I LOVE seeing parts of a country that usually only locals see, and in Mexico, although it was a bit harder to accomplish, I felt equally if not more excited when I was successful.

Weather – Surprisingly, one of the things we’ll miss most is el clima de GDL. Even though it’s so far south, the high elevation means that it doesn’t get super hot, there’s minimal humidity, and the seasons are the most consistent I’ve ever experienced. We almost forgot that in most places (like Canada), you have to check the weather every day before going out – how weird!

Xolos – Seeing a xolo (or Xoloitzcuintle) in the wild, or you know, just walking down the street with its owner was something like a game for us. “Xolo spotting” we called it, and we’ll definitely miss it as well as the regal, hairless dogs themselves.

Yolo vibes – I didn’t know how else to put this, but one of the things I’ll miss most about our Mexico lives are the “yolo” vibes we’ve experienced. “Social Thursdays”, staying up late and eating tacos well into the madrugada, the calm, good-humored or tranquilo way of handling life’s problems; it felt mentally healthier and at the same time, so much fun!

Zócalos – or plazas, are a bit of a stand-in for all the incredible architecture and history that make up each of Mexico’s many beautiful city-centers. Being from a country that loves to knock things down and build anew, I’ll forever be enamored by pre-1700s buildings, of which Mexico has its fair share.

So that’s our list! As always, I’m excited to see which of these really end up being the things we crave in a year or two, but for the time being, I’m happy to spend our last week here relishing these and many more aspects of Mexican Life as we try to gather the courage to leave it all behind. Thanks again, Mexico, what an amazing experience it has been!

Our Latin American Travels (so far)

On April 18, 2023April 18, 2023 By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

Once again, the time has come for me to document our travels! This time, specifically in and around Latin America! We’ve been lucky enough to call Guadalajara, Mexico “home” for almost two and a half years now, and even with a global pandemic cramping our style in the beginning, we’ve made it a point to travel as much as possible throughout the region. Of course, we added a few new countries to our growing list over the past two years, but our main priority was definitely to explore the different regions of our home country. Therefore, in addition to the long list of names (and accompanying photos), I’ll also be highlighting our top 5 places to visit in Mexico! Hopefully this will help guide you on any future trips to Mexico because in our opinion, these are truly the best of the best!

Yucatán: Mérida, Chichen Itzá, Uxmal, & Progreso

Guadalajara, Jalisco – There is just no earthly way I could leave OUR city off this list! We have traveled to over half the states of Mexico, to some of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, and there is still nowhere else I’d rather be. Guadalajara has everything we could ever want in a city. Some of the best food in the world, the most friendly, progressive, helpful people, an incredible history, gorgeous architecture, the perfect, high-altitude climate, I really could go on! When I say “en mi corazón, soy una Tapatía”, I truly mean it. And if you ever want to visit GDL, please, please, please reach out! I have so much to share about one of, if not my absolute favorite, city in the world!

Chapala, Jalisco

CDMX & Teotihuacan, México

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato

Ajijic, Jalisco

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco

Teuchitlán, Jalisco

Aguascalientes & Boca de Túnel, Aguascalientes

Sayulita, Nayarit & Islas Marietas

Querétaro & Bernal, Querétaro – Interestingly, most of the places that made this highly exclusive list were places that we had never heard of prior to moving to Mexico. Places like Querétaro. Querétaro is both a city and a state in the very center of Mexico, and it has so much to offer! A historic, colonial city-center, a wine region, and the nearby pueblo mágico, Bernal, which has the third largest monolith in the world jutting out from behind one of the most picturesque towns I’ve ever had the pleasure of photographing. It is what I call “real Mexico”, outside all the tourist hubs, a little bit off the beaten track, thus much richer in charm and Mexican spirit.

Ecuador: Quito, Cotopaxi, & Quilotoa

Tlaquepaque, Tonalá, & Zapopan, Jalisco

Tapalpa, Jalisco

Monterrey, Nuevo León

Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas

Saltillo, Coahuila

Guanajuato, Guanajuato – Another ciudad full of Mexican spirit and history is Guanajuato. Also located in central Mexico, Guanajuato is a true mountain city and is just downright cool. With all its twisting tunnels and spectacular views of the peaks and valleys that make up this city, Guanajuato is such an amazing place to explore some of the lesser-known traditions, dishes, and other elements of Mexican culture. Tucker and I spent Birthdays Week here last year, and we’ve been besotted ever since. It might be one of the best walking cities in the world with the incredibly unique cafes, shops, and historical sites around just about every corner!

Quintana Roo: Cancún, Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Tulum, & Bacalar

Argentina: Buenos Aires & Ushuaia

Uruguay: Montevideo

San Luis Potosí: Ciudad Valles, Tamasopo, Tamul & San Luis Potosí

El Meco, Tamaulipas

Tequila, Jalisco – Ah, Tequila. The word probably brings up fond memories for us all (well, and maybe a few not-so-fond memories too), but the town of Tequila, aka the birthplace of the drink, is good vibes only. It’s one of 40 pueblos mágicos that we happened to visit during our time here, and it’s by far my favorite. Distillery tours, agave fields, markets, cantaritos, shows, and so much more with the absolute BEST atmosphere and a scenic train to boot. This is the side of Mexico that I love. It’s fun, and it’s a party, but it’s also so much more than that. And the best thing is, it’s only 45 minutes from Guadalajara – an easy and obvious day-trip for any future visitors!

Oaxaca: Oaxaca, Monte Albán, Mitla, Tlacolula, & Hierve de Agua

León, Guanajuato

Chihuahua: Chihuahua, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Creel, & Las Barrancas del Cobre

Baja California Sur: San José del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas, Todos Santos, La Paz, & Isla Espíritu Santo – And last, but certainly not least, is La Paz, Baja California Sur. Honestly, we weren’t expecting to be impressed with this one as beaches (especially with loads of tourists) aren’t really our thing, but the pure beauty of La Paz absolutely blew us away! If you read all the names on this list, you’ve seen that we’ve been to all the big-hitters: Cancún, Tulum, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, etc. but let me tell you, none of those compare to the beaches and nature surrounding La Paz! Sea lions, whale sharks, crystal clear water, white sandy beaches, and if you ask me, a slightly more respectful collection of tourists. Other than Guadalajara, La Paz is the only other place in Mexico we’d consider living, and given our love of GDL, that really is saying something!

Michoacán: Morelia & El Rosario

Bogotá, Colombia

And that’s the list! So many incredible places that we’ve had the privilege to see in person! I know some people wonder why we do it; why we uproot our lives and leave our families and friends behind every few years, well, this is it. Because every section of the world has so much to offer, and as long as I’m able to, I will do everything in my power to continue exploring it and learning everything I can along the way! Gracias, México, for one heck of a good journey!

Cosas que amo del español

On March 30, 2023March 30, 2023 By Dani Francuz Rose1 Comment

For over two and a half years now, I’ve been learning (and using) Spanish on a daily basis, and I think it’s safe to say that it’s officially one of my favorite languages in the world. Beautiful and expressive, but also pretty straightforward and más o menos consistent, there’s really a lot to love (especially from a student’s perspective)! So, this month, I’d like to honor español and share some of my favorite things about este idioma super chido. ¡Disfruta! Enjoy!

#1 The ability to make things cuter with “-ito”

English occasionally has this ability with things like “duck” and “ducking”, but en español you can add “-ito” or “-ita” to any noun if you want to make it smaller and, therefore, cuter. For example, “engrapadora” means “stapler”, and “engrapadorita” means “tiny, adorable, little stapler”. See how fun?! Of course, it can also be used to differentiate meaning, which is just as cool! For example, “golf” and “golfito”, which would be “golf” and “putt-putt” respectively. Animals also get the “-ito” treatment when they’re babies, as with “gato” and “gatito” (“cat” and “kitten”). However, my all-time favorite will always be “caballito de mar” (“little horse of the sea”) – so cute!

# 2 The super fun pronunciations

I could talk about Spanish pronunciation and why I love it for much longer than most people would care to listen; however, I added this to my list not to discuss how amazingly consistent the pronunciation is, but, instead, just how fun it can be! The high tendency of consonant, vowel, consonant patterns means you get a lot of syllables that (usually) roll pretty effortlessly off the tongue. Sometimes these are just Spanish-ified English cognates, like “panqueuques”, which is just so much more fun than “pancakes”. Sometimes they have a Nahuatl flare like Tucker’s favorite: “cacahuate” (or “peanut”). And sometimes they just end up sounding a little bit dangerous, like “murciélago” (or “bat”). All of which make them great candidates for pet names, passwords, and/or expletive alternatives! And since you pretty much have to say these out loud, here are some English-y phonetics: “panqueques” = pan-kay-kays… “cacahuate” = ka-ka-wah-tay… and “murciélago” = moo-er-see-el-ah-go

#3 The usefulness of the accent marks

Lots of languages use diacritic marks. Even English will still throw in a few just for good measure (think café, façade, and piñata), but Spanish uses its accent marks way more often and way more efficiently. Rather than indicating something like foreignness, history, or even a sound change, Spanish accents will either tell you where the stress of a given word falls (super helpful) or if it’s actually a different word entirely. It’s like a little code within the code that language already is! So cool! Here are a few of my favorite examples: with the accent, “inglés” means “English”, but without it, “ingles” means “groins”. While that one can be quite jarring, others are super common like “sí” (“yes”) and “si” (“if”). Somewhat like seeing someone in English write “no” when they mean “know”, you can learn a lot from whether or not someone “nose” when to use accent marks. ;)

I still think about this particular error years later…apostrophes are important too!

#4 Seeing K-words written with Cs

Another thing I love about Spanish is its commitment to consistency. Many languages have both the letters C and K, and very often they sound the same. But somewhere along the line, Spanish was like, “no thanks, you can keep your redundant K”; therefore, there are a lot of quasi-universal K-words that always give me pause in Spanish, no matter how well I know the rules. Those jumpy animals in Australia: “canguros”. The Asian peninsula known for Gangnam Style and Samsung: “Corea”. And the super boring, beige material that a lot of 90s office workers wore, you guessed it: “caqui” (which is really minus K x2). I absolutely love it, but I have to be completely honest and admit that learning Spanish has severely decreased my confidence in English spelling…and that’s probably already saying something.

#5 Things that just make sense

While I’m sometimes confused when I see a random C where a K should totally be, I’ve definitely encountered more things in Spanish that just plain make sense. It happens quite frequently that I come across a new word or phrase, and although I’d never seen it before, I have no difficultly in deciphering its meaning. For example, I once read the phrase “caja torácica” or “thoracic box”- what else could that be besides “rib cage”? Or “telaraña” which is literally “fabric” + “spider”, obviously “spider web”. And finally, there’s the fact that Spanish loves to simply call a spade a spade: “goths” = “darks”, people who love to snack = “gordos”, and elderly people = “ancianos” – simultaneously extremely helpful in building my vocabulary and lessening my fears of offending someone en español, y por eso, ¡gracias!

#6 Things that make me laugh

But perhaps my favorite thing about learning any language is just how much it shows you the depth of which your own language shapes the way you think. I absolutely cannot get over the fact that there is no word for “toes” in Spanish. They are referred to as “dedos de los pies” (or “fingers of the feet”), and no matter how hard I try, I can’t accept that fingers = toes. They just don’t! Another one that never fails to make me laugh is the fact that peacocks are “pavos reales” or “regal turkeys”. This one is easier to understand, but I can’t help but feel like it paints peacocks in a slightly different light…then again, they do have “cock” in their English name, so who am I to judge? Finally, the last word that I can never use with a straight face is “molestar”. Coming from the same root, the English version isn’t that far off, but in Spanish it only means “to bother”, and it is used ALL THE TIME. Hotels even give you “no molestar” signs for the doors, which Tucker and I always make a point to snicker at. Ah, the joys of learning a new language!

So, there are just a handful of the things that I absolutely love about español. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I do! And personally, I can’t wait to revisit this list in a few years just to see if a) I’ve remembered all these details and b) if there’s anything I’d add to the list in hindsight. So stay tuned! Y por último, I just want to say that Spanish really is un idoma divertidísimo, so buena suerte to all those who are learning it and remember that tener otro idioma es posear otra alma. To have another language is to possess another soul. <3

Our Mexico Bucket List

On February 4, 2023January 25, 2023 By Dani Francuz RoseLeave a comment

As of this month, we’ve officially been residents de México for over two years! I honestly can’t believe how fast our time here has gone by, but I’m very happy to say that despite the short timeframe (and the global pandemic), Tucker and I were actually able to check loads of things off our Mexico Bucket List. Here are some of my favorite things we’ve done en México, plus a few more to come before we leave:

✓ Listen to Mariachi

Jalisco, the state we live in, is the birthplace of mariachi, so I’d say we’ve checked this one off and then some. We’ve listened to many a mariachi band at restaurants, at hotels, in the main plaza, and even at a mariachi festival. Although still not my favorite style of música (brass instruments can be a little jarring), I will always be transported back to Guadalajara when I hear mariachi, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

✓ Walk the Ruins of Chitchen Itza

Something that should be on everyone’s bucket list is to walk among the many ancient ruins of Mesoamerica, perhaps the most famous being Chitchen Itza. Prior to living in Mexico, this was the only archaeological site on our radar, but we’ve now also seen Uxmal, Tulum, Monte Albán, Teotihuacán, El Cerrito, and los Guachimontones, each one as incredible as the last.

✓ Cheer and Jeer at a Lucha Libre Event

Another event that we just couldn’t miss out on while in Mexico was Lucha Libre. Although I’m not a fan of fighting, even when I know it’s pretend, even I couldn’t help but be entertained by the cheers, the jeers, the theatrics, and the outfits of the luchadores. The crowd also taught me quite a few useful words and phrases for…expressing emotion en español.

✓ Admire Frida Kahlo’s Work

Mexico has so many symbols, but perhaps none will ever be as famous and beloved as Frida Kahlo. Over the years, we’ve learned so much about this incredible artist and have been lucky enough to see her work in person a few times. We even have our very own copy of Las Dos Fridas, so she will likely be accompanying us on our journey post-Mexico.

✓ Drink Tequila in Tequila

By far one of my favorite experiences we’ve had in Mexico was the Tequila train tour. Tequila is the town where the drink originates, and we happen to live about 45 minutes away from it. The town, the agave fields, and the distilleries are all equally amazing, but taking it all in via scenic train with all-you-care-to-enjoy Tequila drinks is pure perfection.

✓ See Axolotls in the Flesh

Some animals are just cooler than others, and the axolotl (or ajolote) has to be one of the coolest. However, they are also, unfortunately, critically endangered. Therefore, we were extremely lucky to get the chance to not only see them in person, but to learn more about their continued struggle and even be a part of the conservation effort.

✓ Yell “Gol” at a Fútbol Match

Tucker loves sports of all kinds, so, of course, we had to attend a football match in Mexico. And while I have no idea who we played or whether or not we won, I’ll never forget the Atlas chants and the whimsical red and black stadium snacks we enjoyed. Not to mention the sheer mania that ensues when there’s a “GOOOOOOOOOL”!

✓ Swim in a Cenote

Visiting a cenote is absolutely another thing that should be on everyone’s bucket list. They’re incredibly cool, natural swimming holes that are all extremely unique and beautiful. Whether you want to float through an ancient cave system, splash around in crystal clear waters, or listen to stories of Mayan sacrifice, there is literally a cenote for everyone.

✓ Share Roscas de Reyes and the Subsequent Tamales

Some of the most important items on our list had more to do with customs than tourism, for example, the sharing of a Rosca de Reyes on Three Kings’ Day and tamales on Candelaria. It was so fun to see who got the baby (spoiler: it was me), and to then shoulder the responsibility of sourcing tamales on the hottest tamale day of the year – something I’ll never forget.

✓ Revel in the Rainy Season

Then there are things on the list that we had no idea would or should be on a Mexico bucket list, such as experiencing the rainy season. When we first read about Guadalajara’s climate, we learned that it would rain basically every day for three months during the summer, but we had no idea how much that would change our daily routines. From the most hail we’ve ever seen to crazy flash floods, we have realized that rainy season is truly something to behold.

✓ Celebrate Día de Muertos

Another celebration that I would definitely recommend to anyone interested in Mexican culture, is Día de Muertos. There’s really nothing like it anywhere else in the world, and it’s just such a great window into what makes Mexico Mexico. It’s colorful, energetic, and happy – just an incredibly fun celebration of life that anyone would be lucky to experience firsthand.

✓ Shop at a Tianguis

A tianguis is a local, generally weekly pop-up market that is absolutely an experience in and of itself. They can be quite sprawling as they take up alleyway after alleyway, and it seems there is something new to discover around every corner: snacks, clothing, home décor; basically, if you can name it, you can find it in a tianguis.

✓ Find the Hidden Beach

One of the most Instagram-worthy places we were able to visit during the last two years was definitely the Hidden Beach in the Islas Mariettas, about 36 kms (22 miles) off the coast of Puerto Vallarta. It’s essentially a beach surrounded by land on all sides that can only be accessed by swimming through a cave. And as if the beach wasn’t amazing enough, seeing all the blue-footed boobies on the island really made the excursion unforgettable.

✓ Cross the Border on Foot

Another experience that I count among one of my favorites in Mexico was crossing the border by foot. Before moving to Mexico, the border was a shadowy, mysterious place, but now we’ve been back and forth in a variety of manners, and I have to say walking across the Rio Grande (or Río Bravo as it’s known en México) was superbly cool.

✓ Perfect our Taco Order

You will never truly know tacos until you have them from a taco stand at 3am in Mexico. Over the last couple of years, we’ve done this more times than I can count, thus we each now have our perfect late-night taco order. But more than that, we are also now experts in differentiating tacos, gringas, quesadillas, gorditas, huaraches, and all the other taco/taco-like options, which I think will serve us very well for years to come.

✓ Survive some Earthquakes

Sometimes you just have to wait for a bucket list item to unexpectedly hit, as was the case for our first earthquake in Mexico. For much of Mexico it’s such a common occurrence that there are regular safety drills and a plethora of memes; however, it’s not so common in Guadalajara. Nevertheless, we were lucky enough to experience and survive a series of moderate quakes that shook western Mexico in 2022.

✓ Try Grasshoppers

Mexican food is one of, if not my absolute favorite of all the world’s cuisines; however, there are still a few delicacies that I thought I’d try to avoid entirely. One of such delicacies are the infamous chapulines (or grasshoppers). But as it turns out, I actually did try a roasted and seasoned chapulín while in Oaxaca, and I’m happy to report that it wasn’t that bad! Seriously, try them!

Now onto the last few things on our list that we haven’t quite done yet, but have plans to do in the next few months!

☐ Snorkel in the Sea of Cortez

Jacques Cousteau once called the Sea of Cortez the “Aquarium of the World”, and that sounds like something I have to see for myself. Dolphins, whales, sea lions, and an incredible array of tropical fish and coral all wait for us in one of the most beautiful regions of Mexico. Stay tuned because depending on when you’re reading this, we might even already be there.

☐ See Masses of Monarchs

The monarch butterfly migration is another amazing feat of nature that happens to take place right on our Mexican doorstep, and it is something that I will be doing everything I can to make happen before we leave! Millions of butterflies in a magical Michoacán forest, yes please.

☐ Make Tortillas from Scratch

Everyone knows I hate cooking, but one of my fondest memories of China was learning how to make handmade dumplings, which is what prompted me to add this particular item to our list. It’s not exactly surprising that this should be the last thing I hope to do before we leave, but no matter where it falls on the list, I know it’ll be a worthwhile experience!

So that’s my round-up of just some of the incredible things we’ve been able to do and see over these last two amazing years in Mexico. Whenever I take a look back like this, I can’t help but feel incredibly grateful and insanely lucky. ¡Gracias, México, por todo!

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