Hockey night in Ottawa

The CultureSavvy team enjoyed a live hockey game last week. Can't get much more Canadian than that!!  Some new vocabulary from that experience included "puck drop," "referee (ref)," "to check someone," "mascot," and "Zamboni."

Getting ready to watch some great hockey with the Ottawa 67s!

We had great seats--lots of fast action right in front of us!!

Here's the 67's mascot chatting with a fan in front of us.

Cleaning the ice with the Zamboni. Cool machine!

Top 5 Things International Students Should Know - Stress Management

It's exam time and students are starting to feel the pressure. International students have stress not only from school, but also from being in a different culture and language. We know. We've been there.

Watch our latest CultureSavvy video here for tips on how you can manage your stress:

TOP 5 Things International Students Should Know- Talking to Your Prof

Hey, Everyone! Our 2nd Tea Talks video for international students on "Talking to Your Prof" is up! 

Catch our tips on how and what to say to your profs. 
subscribe to our channel for more tips every other week!

TOP 5 Things International Students Should Know- Class Participation

Hey, Everyone! Our 1st Tea Talks video for international students on "Class Participation" is up! 

Catch our tips to improve your participation in class and subscribe to our channel for more tips every other week!

Fall Colours Tour

Fall in Canada means beautiful leaves of yellow, orange, and red. We headed out by shuttle to Gatineau Park for a hike (and picnic) to see the fall colours.

Pink Lake

CultureSavvy Team

View from the hike at Pink Lake

Yes, the water was this colour. So pretty!

Microbrewery Tour

Canada is proud of their beer and proud of their many awesome microbreweries. We went on a tour of a Cartwright Springs Brewery, a local, eco-friendly microbrewery in Pakenham, ON.

We learned about making beer from spring water and locally grown hops. We tried a flight of 4 delicious beers, ending with a stout made from maple sap.

Brewmaster, Andre, at the site of the spring that makes this beer great!

Getting a tour of the brewery and the equipment

Trying one of  the Cartwright Springs beers while taking the tour.

Summer Camping

A great way to experience the Canadian great outdoors is summer camping. We spent a weekend at beautiful Lac Phillipe campground in Gatineau Park, Quebec and had tons of fun!

Raccoons at night, thunder while canoeing, cooking over a campfire, making Smores, playing Bocci ball ,and torrential rain on our last day--all of this made up our memorable weekend!

Waterfront quiet campsite 

Here's the CultureSavvy team enjoying outdoor dining!

Zhenzhen looking out at beautiful Lac Phillipe

Getting ready for canoeing and SUP paddling

View of the lake from our tent

Cooking over a campfire

Bocci ball challenge is on

Vodka, Gin, Rum--Canadian Style

Canadian culture = beer, but we also wanted to check out other alcohol made locally. That's when we booked a tour of a local Ottawa distillery.

So maybe we're not all hard liquor drinkers, but it sure was a fun tour and we learned a lot!

Barrels of gin, rum, and vodka

Learning how rum is made.

Enjoying North of 7 gin back at home!

Canada Day 2016

Ottawa is the perfect place to celebrate Canada Day! 

We put on our red shirts, got our maple leaf flags and tattoos, and off we went to check out the activities in the nation's capital!

CultureSavvy Canada team getting ready to join the crowds!

We found a friend! 

Zhenzhen bought a bubble gun! Fun!!

Looking Canadian--gotta wear red on Canada Day!

Ziplining

One adrenaline-pumping way to enjoy Canada's great outdoors is ziplining! Our CultureSavvy team spent an afternoon checking out what this activity is all about. We can tell you for sure it's an experience you won't forget!!

Starting down the first zipline

What you do after a hot afternoon 50 feet above the ground.

Beer Tasting

Canada is known for 3 things: 

1. polite people
2. hockey, and 
3. BEER!! 

Beer tasting at a microbrewery patio

If you are in Canada for even a short time, you will need to know something about beer. We ordered a "flight" of beer to get a taste of each. 

Flights of beer--great for trying different beers

Many microbreweries have flights of beer on their menu. 

We started with light beers like wheat beer, blonde beer, an IPA (India Pale Ale), then moved on to a red beer and finished with dark beers like a brown ale and a stout.

I love stouts, but Wanqing prefers wheat beers, and Zhenzhen loves hoppy (kind of bitter) IPAs. While you are in Canada, you've got to try them for yourself and see what you like best! 

Snowshoeing with the Mad Trapper

Learning about the different kinds of snowshoes

What's winter in Canada without snowshoeing?! CultureSavvy teamed up with Mad Trapper Snowshoeing for some experiential learning about this aspect of Canadian culture. 

Showshoes buckled! Now we're ready to go!

Fyi- there are serious hills!

"If you can walk, you can snowshoe!" We're having a beautiful walk in the woods!

The ARK- showshoe races in winter, weddings & trail runs in summer!

Old school snowshoes--so glad they've changed!

Can't get much more peaceful than this snowy walk in the woods!

Even dogs love snowshoeing!

Couldn't resist this face! Mike owns alpacas!

Cafés, Coffee, and Canadian Brunch

CultureSavvy Canada set out this week to find some great Canadian coffee shops and brunch spots in Ottawa so you can really enjoy your "cup of Joe" (and "eggs benny") this weekend in a relaxed, chill Canadian atmosphere.

First recommendation for a coffee shop in Ottawa that knows their stuff and has that artistic café vibe going on: The Ministry of Coffee on Wellington in Westboro.  Cool features: in the morning, enjoy a Nutella latte and in the afternoon you can try some local craft beers! 

Nutella latte with love and a cranberry/lemon scone.

Morning,afternoon,evening--Ministry of Coffee is a great spot!

Hint: Ministry of Coffee on Wellington = good place to take your sweetie! If you arrive after 6:00 p.m., candles are lit on each table and you can order a selection of delicious, creative tapas (try the kimchee fries) along with wine or craft beer, and voilà--a wonderful evening out!

Next up for cool coffee shops in the Ottawa area: the Bridgehead Roastery on 130 Anderson in Little Italy. Our team decided to experiment a bit with some Breaking Bad Style Coffee (siphon coffee). Watching the whole production of siphon coffee being made is an experience in itself! For about $2.55, you get great coffee and a fun 15 minutes feeling like you're part of something vaguely illegal, but not.

Canadian BRUNCH!

Low leather couch corner and rock n roll vinyl album selection

Getting ready to chow down.

Steak  and eggs...and home fries,and fruit, and salad,and toast.

You need to eat brunch this weekend! To help you find a really great place for this cultural experience, the CultureSavvy team scouted out the lastest rage in Ottawa brunch places and we are here to tell you that the rave reviews are all true--for an awesome brunch spot with a warm, Canadian atmosphere (and spinning classic rock on vinyl), get yourself over to Baker St Cafe at 385 Richmond Road. The food is a.maz.ing! If you eat there for brunch, you will only need half an orange for the rest of the day! So put on your toque and boots (and $45 in your wallet for 2--including tax and tip) and make your way to 385 Richmond Road this weekend! Worth any trudge through the snow!

A "simple" 2 eggs, bacon and toast brekkie. Bacon was YUM!!

Le Nordik and Chelsea Pub

The charming town of Chelsea, Quebec is only a 15 minute drive from Ottawa so a few days after Christmas we headed up to Le Nordik, the largest spa in North America located in Chelsea, to soak up the zen atmosphere of saunas, steamrooms, waterfalls, whirlpools, and a beautiful infinity pool. Everything at Le Nordik is designed to make you leave your cares behind as you relax, unwind and float in dream-like calm. It's a beautiful mental and spiritual getaway!


We each had our own favourite spa experience. The top 3 were: 

• the dry sauna,
• the steam room, and
• the aromatic sauna. 

We learned about spa etiquette of silent vs. whisper areas, when to leave your towel or bring it in, and the importance of staying hydrated. 

Afterwards, we followed up our spa experience with appetizers and a pint of craft beer at the rustic and cozy Chelsea Pub.  We tried an IPA, a Scotch ale, and a pilsner along with pork dumplings, "bang bang" shrimps, baked Brie, and traditional poutine. We learned about "hoppy" vs. "malty" or "heavy" beers. More good adjectives for craft beer here.

Overall, we had a great day!! We welcome immigrants and international students wanting to learn more about Canadian culture to join us for more CultureSavvy Canada events and activities in 2016! We'll keep you posted!

CHECK OUT OUR XMAS EVENT MONTAGE:

Christmas Day 2015

CultureSavvy Christmas Day started off with a visit to our afternoon Canadian host family. We met Cathy, her husband, daughter, parents and their two friendly dogs. Cathy offered us delicious homemade Christmas cookies and we chatted with everyone while making Christmas ornaments--one of their family's traditions. 

Pumpkin pie artists at work!

After visiting Cathy and her family, we walked down the street to our evening host family. There, we watched the movie, Frozen, and helped make Christmas dinner--Christmas punch, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, mashed potatoes, green beans with red pepper, stuffing, turkey, and pumpkin pie. We prepared a wonderful celebration feast, carved the turkey, and did the chefs (us!) proud by eating our fabulous meal! After dinner, we sang a few Christmas carols along with the piano (and played Quebecois wooden spoons!) then headed home with full bellies and lots of great Christmas memories!

Carving the turkey.

Time to check the pumpkin pie and the sweet potatoes.

Good friends, great memories!

Cooking up a storm!

Chefs 1, 2, 3.

Finally, we are ready to say, "Bon appetit!"

After all the hard work, we have a lovely table laid out.

A nice bottle of red and there's our sweet potato dish.

Christmas carrolling after dinner

Playing the Quebecois wooden spoons.