Alienation @ hartelinie.mil

Preface: this Newsletter comes in English. For some to make it understandable - for the others to learn a little more very best Englisch. For myself because the "z" doesnt work on my keyboard (as well as the "," and the "6") and English hasnt got that many "z", "," and "6".

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Well ... what would you expect me to comment on first. Right. The smokers situation in Canada. Sad, my friends, very sad. The first Canadian sentence I ran into, was: Would you please not smoke on your balkony down there as we are just having breakfast up here! So I know where I stand now: on the street. The law even prohibits smoking any closer than 10 meters from any house, inside anyway. A pack of cigarettes costs you 11 Canadian dollar (more than seven Euro). So you end up spending all your money to hide behind a bush to have a regular coffee and a cigarette in the morning.
dont even think about having a cigarette with a beer at the same time as beer is not allowed in public - i guess not even in a paperbag.

The rest is pretty much like in the States: Saveway and Sears, Starbucks and Subway. SUVs and Pickup-Trucks. At least people are not as tense, so you dont get shot asking for the time or directions. Still it's hard to get simple answers for simple questions. Asking if the Dunbar Line Nr7 gets me to Dunbar and 1st Street I got the answer: I am not sure. Right answer would have been: I dont know. Asking whether it's not dangerous to go with a bike with no breaks, the answer was: Are you his mother, being scared?! Seems like people over here don't question things. They want simple answers with no questions attached. So, no wonder that Southpark propagates the picture of farting Canadians as farts are simple answers.

I must confess that the Second-nation people over here (which are the ones that took the country from the Indians=first Nation) are not as fat as one country further down south. They look quite normal eventhough you see lots of them work-out. At least over here in Vancouver food is good. Eventhough they cut Italian ham as if it were a slice of bread they do offer a variety of Asian dishes unknown to the simple European. The dress-code is horrible. They would have the bodies to put on nice cloth - but they strictly refuse.

Public transport is quite astonishing and it's bike-friendly. I read some complaints on the traffic in the local paper. It said that drivers bikers and pedestrians dont stick to the rules. That person has never seen Naples. When you step off the sidewalk or just hold a little kid-monster on your hands ... most cars just stop with a friendly smile and let you pass.

I have very little to complain ... so I dont really feel well and my newsletter flattens out - it's got no grip. (may be it's the language).

Tomorrow off to Whistler. Now the nature trip starts. And may be it will change my theoretical view of Canada of being just one large forest - Monoton Gruen !