Infrequent Nights

I was chatting with a Chinese friend here in Halifax today. He, like many of the Chinese students here, studies English with the ultimate goal of attending Canadian university. We started chatting about working in Canada. He painted a picture for me of the manipulation, discrimination, and profiteering that students like him are subject to.

First off, the legal entitlement of overseas students to work off-campus is sketchy. The situation is improving but there is still a lot of paper work to be processed and fees to be paid before one can obtain a work permit. He knew nothing about the official channels for a work permits. He just assumed that working in Canada is illegal for foreign students. Nonetheless, he admitted many students work. I asked him how much they get paid. He said about $5-7/hour. This is significantly less than the provincial minimum wage. Then, even more shocking to me, he mentioned what happens with tips. He says many students who work in the service industry are expected to give their tips to their employers. If they keep the tips they will be fired, and because they are for the most part working without permits and with little understanding of the system there is limited recourse available to them. When I tried to tell him how reprehensible this would be to most Canadians he didn't seem to understand. He just shrugged and said "Well what are we supposed to do?"

Were I not an overly busy history major I'd undertake an social-anthropological study of the situation of foreign students in Canada. If someone has time and does do some more general interviews and research I'd be interested to know the conclusions you come to.

Posted by Ryan at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Carnival Cruise Lines: the Wal-mart of the cruising world. They come to Halifax a few times a week, spewing forth droves of tourists with thick Jersey accents. I'm one of the few that actually likes Jersey, and appreciates the accent. But no amount of accent affection can help me get over the Carnies. Some of them have difficulty comprehending that Halifax is not in the same time zone as New York. Others seem to believe the magic of the cruise ship transports them to some alternate reality.

Last week a couple of Carnies walked past my house (I'm right in the touristy area of town) and one of the two pointed to my neighbour's door and said: "1348! That's sooooo old!"

The question I ask myself is: Is this an isolated case of peculiar ignorance, or a sign of the more generalized failure of an education system? I hope for the former, but fear the latter is more likely.

Posted by Ryan at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After about a week of website hell I'm back up and running. Don't expect posting habits to change much until November though. I'm working full time and am a full time student. I have very little free time. I do plan on posting a bit more regularly in the future though.

Halifax is nice. It is pleasant to be 'home' again. The weather thus far has been very agreeable. I'm not looking forward to the winter, but I have a nice spot downtown which is close to everything. Thus, I hope to avoid much being outside. I really dislike the cold.

I've been a bit news deprived recently. I used to be a media junky and now I have neither the time nor the easy access that I was accustomed too. The other day Telus (my mobile phone provider) sent me a coupon for a $35/year subscription to the National Post, which is one of two Canadian dailies. It leans to the right, but is a decent paper. I was excited thinking, finally I'll get my news-fix on a daily basis. Alas I was disappointed when I called the post and they informed me that they do not deliver news papers to individuals in Halifax. This seriously compromisese their claim to being a 'National Post.' Halifax is the major city East of Montreal, and the regional centre of the East cost. I guess this demonstrates the real rise of Western orientation that seems to have been accelerating recently.

Posted by Ryan at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)