Chatterbox
Tips on studying abroad by Rita D’Amico
Feb 28th
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Rita is back! We previously interviewed Rita at Culips but decided to do it again because it was a popular episode, and because Rita has started her own business helping out international students who are interested in coming to Montreal. In this episode Rita gives lots of advice for people moving to another country to study a language. You can find out more at www.onyourmarkmontreal.com.
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 What is a Member? |
Rita: Sure, I’d be happy to do that. First thing is to find the city that you want to live in. In order to do that, well, you need to do some research. There are three major cities in Canada. We have Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. And each of them has their unique personality…
Harp: OK, so it’s important for students to kind of decide their priorities when choosing the city.
Rita: Absolutely, you should definitely do some research about cost of living in each of the cities. You can find all of this information online as well. So look at things like taxes and accommodation, rent, you know how much does the average rent cost, as well. And of course you should always check out safety. How safe is the city you want to live in? And check out the different neighbourhoods as well.
Harp: So Rita, can you give us some advice on choosing a language school?
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Rita D’Amico
Alethe, the Aussie!
Feb 21st
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Have you ever wanted to travel around the world? Well, that is just what Alethe is doing! We met with Alethe while she was in Canada on her trip around the world.
Originally from Australia, Alethe tells us about the places she has visited, her impressions of Canada and where she is headed next. If you are thinking about travelling or just dream of doing it, listen to Alethe’s stories.
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What is a Member? |
Alethe: Yes, I am Australian however my name is French. My mum’s sister was living in Switzerland when I was born so my name is Swiss French.
Maura: Oh, OK. Yeah, that’s an interesting point because our accents are a little bit different. If you listen to this podcast regularly you usually hear Canadian, North American accents but you do not have a Canadian accent.
Alethe: No, I have no Canadian in me. I was born in Australia, and have always lived in Australia. However I like to take little side kicks everywhere I go.
Maura: So you’re from Australia but you are in Canada. So, how did you end up here?
Alethe: Well, I had a mid-life crisis at 25 and decided I wanted to go and travel the world.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Alethe West
Canadian Food, Comfort Food and Potlucks
Jan 17th
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Everyone eats, but we all have different habits and favorite foods. The food you eat is often cultural. In this episode Harp and Maura try to explain what Canadian food is. They also talk about comfort food and what typical North American comfort food is. Potlucks are also a popular way to have a meal in a group. Harp and Maura love potlucks so they share their experiences with you. Are you feeling hungry yet?
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Maura: Yeah, so potlucks and comfort food, but first we’re going to talk about Canadian food.
Harp: Exactly, but that’s kind of weird because what kind of food is Canadian food?
Maura: Yeah, it’s a really hard topic actually. I remember I was in France, maybe five years ago, and someone there asked me “what is a typical Canadian dish?” And honestly Harp, I couldn’t think of anything.
Harp: Yeah, I’ve been in the exact same situation. The answer that I would give would be poutine…
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: meddygarnet / Morgan
Pet Peeves
Jan 10th
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Everyone has personal pet peeves that bother you. Someone’s pet peeves are usually cultural. Pet peeves are usually small, day-to-day things. Are you curious about what pet peeves are now? Listen to this episode to find out what they are. All of the Culips members share their personal pet peeves too!
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Maura: Well, a friend of mine really hates when people chew and eat with their mouth open.
Robin: OK.
Maura: …when they are eating but their mouth is open and you can hear what is going on in there and maybe they are talking at the same time.
Robin: That’s definitely one of my pet peeves too.
Maura: Yeah, so some pet peeves are really common and they bother or annoy a lot of people but pet peeves are kind of individual, like some thing that is my pet peeve that really bothers me, maybe is something that doesn’t bother you Robin, right?
Robin: Absolutely, it all depends on the person.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Rennett Stowe
Travel: Vancouver
Oct 11th
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Are you one of the lucky people who has been to Vancouver? Do you know much about Vancouver? We have been getting emails from YOU asking us to tell you more about Canada. Harp and Maura both visited Vancouver this year and are really happy to tell you about it. It is a very beautiful city!
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Harp: Yup, the next Olympics are in Vancouver. And we just want to say hi to everyone who is listening to us in Vancouver.
Maura: Yeah, cause we know we have some listeners in Vancouver so we are saying hi from Montreal.
Harp: So if you don’t know, Vancouver is on the west coast of Canada and it’s basically right on the ocean.
Maura: And because it’s on the west coast it has a very different climate to the rest of Canada.
Harp: Yes, it’s one of the few places that isn’t cold.
Maura: And Harp and I like that a lot.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Culips
Labour Day
Sep 5th
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Labour Day is the last holiday of summer in Canada and the US. Jessie and Maura talk about Labour Day and its origins, as well as what we now do on this holiday. Other topics in this episode include the rule of not wearing white after Labour Day, summer memories and Back to school. Help us celebrate the summer by listening to this episode!
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Jessie: Right! That makes sense because it is almost the end of summer.
Maura: Right! So, what is Labour Day?
Jessie: Well, Labour Day is a holiday in Canada and the US. It happens on the first Monday of September.
Maura: Exactly! So, it is a holiday in Canada and the US. And what do people normally do on Labour Day?
Jessie: Well, despite the name Labour Day—people actually do not do labour, they relax. They have a break from labour, or work.
Maura: Right, so they treat Labour Day as a regular holiday: people relax, they go to the beach, travel with family.
Jessie: Lots of people barbecue, eat outside.
Maura: Yeah, sometimes they have fireworks. So, the Labour Day is a fun day.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo credit: Mel
Introducing Moheb Soliman to you!
Aug 16th
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Moheb is joining the Culips team and helping us create an online writing course (We will let you know as soon as we start taking students!), so we wanted to introduce him to you. We talk a bit about his interesting experiences in Egypt, the U.S. and Canada. Can anyone hear a difference between the Canadian and American accents?
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Maura: Yeah, for sure. So how old were you when you came to the U.S.?
Moheb: I was just 6 years old.
Maura: Ok, so do you remember it at all?
Moheb: You know, being 6 years old, I knew how to speak Arabic…
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Culips
White lies vs. brutal honesty
Jun 21st
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Sometimes we don’t want to be rude and so we need to tell a little white lie. Other times it may be important to be completely honest, and this is called brutal honesty. When is it OK to tell a white lie and when is it necessary to be brutally honest? Harp and Maura discuss this, and talk about honesty in relationships and with kids. How important is it to be honest your culture?
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Harp: Yeah, exactly, that’s a little white lie. So a little white lie is usually to protect someone’s feelings, I would say.
Maura: Right, you want to be polite, you don’t want to be rude. So what is the other one? Brutal honesty. So brutal honesty is when you tell the complete truth and it can be rude or impolite.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Kevin Labianco
Culture: Harp’s trip to India
May 24th
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Harp recently went on a trip to India with her family. Have you ever been to India? Harp tells us about the weather and the food. She also tells us about shopping in India, because this was a shopping trip with Harp’s two sisters and mom!
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Harp: Oh it is fantastic. It is completely different from North America.
Maura: Oh really?
Harp: Yeah. So I guess if you go to a shopping mall in India or in Delhi or in one of the big cities it’s the same, but we were looking for Indian clothes so we were trying to buy the lenga, the saris, the suit. And I’ll put pictures on the website so you can understand what that means. OK, so you go into a store and first thing you… sit down, right away. There is no walking around.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Harp
Interview: Jewelry Designer Sheena Purcell
Apr 4th
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We’d like to introduce Sheena Purcell to you. She is a new friend of ours at Culips and she is super talented. In this Chatterbox episode, Sheena tells us a little bit about her experience as a jewelry designer and how she decided to start making jewelry. We also find out what inspires her beautiful creations! Check out her designs on her website.
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Harp: Wow, OK! So, I went to your website today and your jewelry designs are amazing. So tell me, you went to school for jewelry design or how did you get started?
Sheena: Yes. Well, actually my mother was a jeweler when I was a child, and she stopped when I was about eight years old …
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Sheena Purcell,
Sheena’s web site: http://sheenajewellery.etsy.com
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