tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293628932011-04-22T00:34:09.101-04:00This blog is about facts, opinions, humors, personal observations and impressions relevant to Emigration, Immigration, Cultural diversity & similarity, Food, Travel and Photography.Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-74234662638738781322007-02-20T15:18:00.000-05:002007-02-20T15:33:24.442-05:00

When are you going to update your blog? Those were very familiar words I am hearing and reading from emails. There are some readers who never stopped asking me when I will update my blog again. Since I run out of excuses I reckon I have two choices – to kill the blog or to update it at least once a week.Since everything, well almost everything, in the house is in place since we moved in and after

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1166747730053980732006-12-21T19:30:00.000-05:002006-12-22T21:13:33.450-05:00

Today, December 21st is Winter Solstice and is the official start of Winter. It is also the day of the year with the shortest daylight. The picture on the left was taken from our backyard at 7:00 in the morning (left) and 5:00 in the afternoon (right).It has been a while since I updated my blog. Ten postings ago I was talking about Summer Solstice - I'm so ashamed! Why the absence? Busy seemed

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1156467569369040952006-08-24T20:37:00.000-04:002006-08-24T20:59:29.383-04:00

It’s been a long time since I post something in my blog. I’ve been very busy! I started my new project in Chicago and have been going through the regular consultant’s Monday morning and Thursday night commute from Toronto to Chicago and vice-versa. So, what happened so far? Two major events happened worthy to share and catch up with current events:First, there was this deadly heat-wave on the

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1153277877361160322006-07-18T22:17:00.000-04:002006-07-19T10:03:42.463-04:00

Attracting approximately one million visitors annually, The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is the fifth largest museum in North America, according to Wikipedia. Located in downtown Toronto almost within the compound of The University of Toronto, it is said to be walking distance from the CN tower but I will definitely not do that – not even on spring time. It is about a 3 to 4 kilometers walk if you

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1153254124431665882006-07-18T16:19:00.000-04:002006-07-18T16:22:04.440-04:00

Addendum:I forgot to write that the Toronto CN Tower was honored as on one of the 7 wonders of the modern world by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as a tribute to 20th Century greatest civil engineering achievements. Other who made it on the list includes:Channel Tunnel (England & France)Empire State Building (New York)Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco)Itaipu Dam (Brazil / Paraguay

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1152747366149675442006-07-12T19:17:00.000-04:002006-07-12T22:01:50.353-04:00

The last time we went to Toronto to go to the top of the CN tower we found out that there is CityPass ticket that we can buy that include admission to 6 Toronto attractions - Art Gallery of Ontario, CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario Science Centre, Casa Loma and The Toronto Zoo. The ticket is valid for 9 days from first use. For two weekends, it’s manageable. This post is about Toronto's

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1152412515439981632006-07-08T22:16:00.000-04:002006-07-08T22:35:15.446-04:00

For two years now I have always wanted to go to this place every time my GO Train will pass by the Waterfront. There was no doubt in my mind that this is a nice place to visit, bring my camera, relax and enjoy Lake Ontario waterfront. But for so many reasons I just kept on delaying that visit until this long weekend when we finally decided to drive around Toronto from Port Credit Lakeshore Drive

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1152039304340619392006-07-04T14:36:00.000-04:002006-07-04T14:55:04.346-04:00

July 1, 2006 – Last Saturday was Canada Day. Since the temperature outside is downright summer we were so lazy to go out and check the festivities. Instead we waited after dinner to drive around Mississauga area and find out what’s cooking. Last year’s Port Credit celebration was a success so we decided to go there first. Since we were late for the Paint the Town Red activities we decided to stop

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1151795575275974192006-07-01T18:46:00.000-04:002006-07-01T20:10:10.986-04:00

St. Jacobs is a quaint village near Waterloo, Ontario here in Canada, about an hour drive from Toronto, and is well known for its Farmers’ Market and its big Old Order Mennonite community. We come here every Spring and Fall to buy the family’s favorite home made apple pies and marmalade – the Black Currant and Blueberry comes highly recommended. The organic fruits and vegetables you can find here

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1151634880814871852006-06-29T22:22:00.000-04:002006-06-29T22:34:40.823-04:00

When we first came here in Canada two years ago, I was a little worried that my two kids will have difficulty adjusting to schooling. I could imagine the stress they will face being the new kid in class: no friends, new school, new system, new climate (coming from tropical Philippines), new teacher, girls classmates (coming from an all-boys school), new language (they can speak English but they

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1151357118519313492006-06-26T17:14:00.000-04:002006-06-26T17:38:32.616-04:00

Last Friday, June 23, 2006 was the IKEA, Etobicoke, 2006 Moonlight Madness sale and we went there to check some sofa options for our loft. To my surprised I saw Claire, a friend from the Philippines, who recently landed here in Canada with her husband Joel as an immigrant. It really is a small world!The IKEA sale was celebrated with the appearance of the Toronto Swedish Folkdancers & Singers who

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1150935134446496732006-06-21T20:08:00.000-04:002006-06-21T22:13:45.803-04:00

Today, June 21st is Summer Solstice and is the longest day of the year. It is the time of the year when one side of the earth is most tilted relevant to the the sun and so we have the most daylight and the least nighttime. It is also the official date of the beginning of Summer.Do you know that Summer solstice is the time when the rising sun is in perfect alignment with the Stonehenge? This

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1150328732714689222006-06-14T19:00:00.000-04:002006-06-14T21:48:34.686-04:00

May 26, 2006 - My flight back to Toronto is not until noon and I have the whole morning to spare. I have arranged with Martin (my Guide) to take me to our Lady of Guadalupe shrine. So little I knew of the shrine, the image and the story. In most typical traditional Mexican homes, that I have seen in the movies, I noticed there will always be a replica of the image in the house. It reminds me of

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1150248050367055872006-06-13T21:13:00.000-04:002006-06-13T21:20:50.376-04:00

Soap operas, also know as “telenovelas” in Latin America and in the Philippines, are very popular in Latin America. Mexico is the biggest producer of them all. While working in my hotel in Mexico one night, and scanning through the channels hoping to chance some NBA playoffs games, I chanced upon a replay of a familiar telenovela Marimar. This soap opera was dubbed in Tagalog and aired in the

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1150077386915625482006-06-11T21:48:00.000-04:002006-06-11T21:56:26.923-04:00

It’s World Cup time again and 32 countries will compete in one of the world’s most popular sport soccer. Soccer (I use the name Soccer to distinguish from Rugby Football and American “Super Bowl” Football) is very popular in Europe and in Latin America and Asia, except in the Philippines (more on this later) and is a reminder to me that 2 more years will be the next Olympic. I never really

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1149902930835122672006-06-09T21:13:00.000-04:002006-06-09T21:28:50.846-04:00

I was watching the NBA Finals game 1 between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks when I saw the new TV ad of Corona (the one with the crescent moon mimicking a lemon) and I remember my recent trip to Mexico City. Perhaps, many will read the commercial to mean that the lemon twist on the lip of the bottle is the most common way to serve and enjoy a Corona. However, for people who have been to

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1149727132182464672006-06-07T20:35:00.000-04:002006-06-07T20:38:52.190-04:00

The header image was taken last 2001 in Wellington, New Zealand. It was dusk. I was driving home to my apartment in The Terrace after visiting friends near Johnsonville and I happen to see this amazing red sky along the highway. Without thinking, I pulled over on a safe curb, aimed and took the shot. It isn’t the best unedited red sky photo I have seen but the silhouette of the trees and rolling

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29362893.post-1149724964322711712006-06-07T20:00:00.000-04:002006-06-07T20:02:44.330-04:00

My work have continuously accord me to live in different countries on a short, medium and long term basis. I have long wanted to create a website to share photos and commentaries to friends around the globe and I thought (and still do) that it is a good and fun idea. That yearning was further exacerbated after the family migrated to Canada, and now, I also have to share with my family and

Williamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05304631165437205830noreply@blogger.com0