Canadian Crossing

Trying to speak French in Montréal and Quebec

In the PBS children's show, "Postcards from Buster," when Buster finds out his new adventure is in Montréal and finds out they speak French in Montréal, the rabbit freaks out and asks how he will get around when the only French word he knows is "Aloha."

Buster quickly learns that Aloha is not a French word and that people do speak English in Montréal.

In my trip to La Belle Province -- Montréal and Quebec City -- I knew I would have to speak some French. Unlike Buster, I've been to Montréal, one time in 2002. I did have nightmares before I left that I would have to eat jambon and fromage (ham and cheese) the entire time.

I did a week in Montréal in 2002, and didn't starve. And didn't eat tons of jambon and fromage. But it does affect what French words I try to learn since eating is important.

After doing a week in Paris in May, I got the ordering food thing down pretty well. So when this trip to Montréal and Quebec City came up, I was looking forward to being confident in ordering.

Yes, when you travel to these two cities, you will find enough English to help. In Montréal, most menus have an English translation. And in Vieux Quebec (Old Quebec), there was plenty of English to go around.

But I wanted to speak French in these two cities. And unlike Paris, it went a lot better. People really do appreciate when you try. Even when they switch to English, the general mood wasn't condescending.

Happy Thanksgiving; Election is next

Monday is a holiday: Canadian Thanksgiving. And as soon as the "thanks" is done, Canadians will give "thanks" that the election will be over with.

More on the election on Tuesday and a recap on Wednesday.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Cooked meat not allowed into the U.S. after all

I like to think I know what can (and can't) be brought back and forth from Canada to the United States. Firewood and guns -- can't bring into Canada. Fresh fruits and vegetables -- can't bring into the U.S.

But I thought one food category was safe: cooked meat.

The rules against bringing in raw food makes complete sense. But usually cooked meat is allowed, well, because it's cooked.

And I knew this first-hand. In 2003, I crossed with friends. We were searched on the U.S. side (nothing too serious). They asked us if we had any meat. One of my friends did have something, and pointed it out to the customs official. It was her leftovers from dinner. I laughed a little -- can't do too much laughing when customs is involved -- and told her they are looking for raw meat.

Turns out things have changed.

I was sitting in a diner in Windsor when the subject of crossing the border came up. A gentleman at the diner told a story he heard on the radio. In the story, a school bus of young athletes were crossing the border into the United States, and apparently had the cooked meat in their sandwiches confiscated. The kid with the peanut butter must have really popular that day.

Now I don't know if the story is true. It's a guy telling a story he heard on the radio and who knows if that person was telling the truth. But they are cracking down on the cooked meat.

Hillary Clinton drinks a Canadian whiskey

To "prove" that a presidential candidate can be "one of the people," sometimes they indulge in activities they otherwise might not do.

Pancake dinners, eating whatever is placed in front of them, even bowling. Well, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) was drinking a beer in a bar in Crown Point, Indiana when the bartender asked the presidential candidate if she wanted a shot.

Clinton asked that it not be something sweet. The bartender suggested a shot of Crown Royal whiskey. She took a couple of sips before then downing the rest of the shot.

What Sen. Clinton may not have realized is that Crown Royal is a Canadian whiskey. Crown Royal is apparently the number one selling Canadian whiskey in the U.S.

The faux pas is that Clinton probably should have picked an American whiskey. But it is magnified since Clinton is now not supporting NAFTA after she had supported it. Imports from Canada are a huge part of NAFTA.