After the chaos of a summer filled with travelling, working, family visits and July 1st “déménagement”, I was grateful to barbecue with good friends in my new backyard. We
reconnected over food, stories and laughter, updating each other on our summer adventures. The stories were told in a variety of languages too, showing off the multilingual competencies of my friends. English seemed to be the common language, but at a few different moments throughout the evening, some groups formed to share and laugh in Arabic or Spanish, neither of which I speak or understand. I observed these small groups admiringly…but with the distinct feeling that I was an observer, an outsider.
Author: April Passi
Cowboys & Indians at YYC (by April Passi)
This year, the annual conference for the Association canadienne de linquistique appliquée/ Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics (CALL/ACLA) was held in Calgary, Alberta. I participated in my capacity as an RA and a member of BILD. It was wonderful to support one another during our presentations and to debrief afterwards. After squeezing in a visit with my sister, I’m ready to head back to Montreal. As I wait for a green tea in the Calgary airport, feeling slightly grouchy due a half-hour delay before take off, my eyes wander up to a large and very colourful mural that covers the entire upper archway and wall. Continue reading