CultureWorks Voices---- Having Fun in Canada ----

Vol. 1 No. 1 September 2001

Check Out The Best Newsletter You Have Ever Read!!!

Having Fun in the FOREST CITY!!! Shopping in London Real Canadian music Skating? Try It!! Western campus recreation Western film Rush Hour II

Having Fun in HOGTOWN!!! Fun in Toronto The Toronto Raptors The Blue Jays

Having Fun in Other Cites in the GREAT WHITE NORTH!!!

Vancouver: A Resplendent Pearl Montreal: An Interesting Place Quebec City: The French Heart of

North America

Hi!After a whole month,

the best newsletter of both worlds now is in front of you. It is well written by CultureWorks Level 4

students. In this newsletter, you will find out where to have fun in London, which is your home city now; in Toronto, which is

the closest large city; and in other beautiful cities in Canada. Enjoy!

Jared & Jabby, editors

Shopping in

London

Downtown is the first choice for shopping. It has good transportation and all kinds of products, so we can go downtown from anywhere and buy anything we need. The only problem is the prices in the shops are usually high. If you want to save your money, you should try other places. Wal-Mart will give you good prices. They sell special kinds of products such as food, clothes and sports equipment. Sometimes they lower prices to attract customers, so you can save a lot of money. Wal-Mart is not a specialty shop. If you

want to get good custom service after you do your business, you should go to specialty shops. There are two big Malls in London, Masonville and White Oaks. They have lots of small shops, which specially sell one kind of product such as computers, clothes and books. The price and quality are medium. If you worry about your wallet, you can try some shops which sell used things. Goodwill will be the best choice to buy second hand things. Your payment will be spent to help poor people. It is a good way to save money and help others.

Xiao Long Yu

Real Canadian MusicIt is very pitiful that Canada bears many famous

musicians, but they are not well known as Canadian musicians. Most of them are known as American or European musicians. By this article, I am hoping that you can realize the Canadian music reality, and improve your knowledge about music. Moreover, I hope I can help you to find music entertainment in some parts of Canada.

Actually, Canada boasts many talented musicians. If you like oldies songs, you should know who Stan Rogers is. He is known as ”the legend of Canadian music”. Unfortunately, he died in an airplane disaster in 1983. In addition there is another Canadian singer, Anne Murray, who is said to be Elvis Presley’s favourite singer and comes from Nova Scotia, Canada. Moreover, there are also famous Jazz musicians in Canada. If you are jazz music fans, you should know who Oscar Peterson is. He is the person who helped Jazz keep alive in 1940’s.

Nowadays, Many famous Canadian solo singers are known not as Canadian, for example Bryan Adams, who is famous for the song “Everything I Do I Do It For You". Other figures are Celine Dion - Canada's Diva ballad singer, who is from Quebec, and Shania Twain, whose country songs are popular. All of them are very famous in the world but not as Canadian. Actually, there are still many other Canadian singers such as Alaniss Morisette with "You Oughta Know", Chantal Kreviazuk with her Original Sound Track for Armageddon movie "Leaving on the Jet Plane". Other singers are David Usher, Sarah McLachlan, Paul Anka, Deborah Cox, K.D Lang, Neil Young and the new young superstar, Nelly Furtado. Besides this row of solo singers, Canada has several famous music groups. For examples: there are the Barenaked Ladies, Our Lady Peace, Sugar Jones, The Guess Who. Hopefully, now you know and realize that Canada has many talented and famous singers.

Actually, it is pretty easy to spoil yourself with music in Canada because there are a thousand ways. If you are looking for CDs or cassettes, you can go to HMV or Music World stores because they will serve and offer you with a million kinds of music. Don’t worry; you just need to go to those stores. Moreover, if you have a TV, the only thing that you should do is turn your

channel and you can find three famous music channels. They are Much More Music, Much Music, and CMT. The easiest way to find music is from radio .The way to get music from radio is very simple because you just need to tune the radio until you find the taste of music that you are looking for. Honestly, there are a lot of radio stations in Canada and if you have trouble finding one maybe the list below can help you.

Radio Station (City) Radio channel / tune Music StyleStarFM (London) 102.3 All New MusicCHUM (Toronto) 104.5 Pop and Easy RockCHQR (Montreal) 92.5 “Lite Rock”CJSF (Vancouver) 93.9 Hip-hop, Funk, Jazz

The Hawk (London) 103.9 Classic RockLondon’s EZ Rock

(London)97.5 Easy Rock

FM 96 (London) 95.9 New RockCBC1 (London) 93.5 News, Talk Shows,

Music...CBC2 (London) 100.5 Classical, Jazz, Folk...

For more information, please visit www.michiguide.com

Ivan Sunarto

Skating?

Try it!!“I would like to do something I always thought I could do” Joel Edwards

This is the chance for students who dream about ice-skating. Many people love ice hockey or figure

skating, but they don’t have the opportunity to taste the game because there isn’t any skating rink in their homeland. They can watch on television how their favorite team or skater moves on the ice. If you think that ice-skating is a simple matter, try it and see how good you are.

You can find lots of information at the following sites: General figure skating information in Canada http://www.skatecanada.ca Skating in London http://www.fyilondon.com/cgi-bin/ searchsite.cgi?b=1&n=10&goselect=& keyword=%22ice+skating+arena%22

Or try one of London’s ice skating clubs at http://www.londonskatingclub.com/

London Skating Club

The London Skating Club was founded in London, Ontario, Canada in 1907. The club was the fourth Figure Skating Club to join the CFSA (Canadian Figure Skating Association) and incorporated in 1927.Arena: Earl Nichols Arena

Homeview Road off Southdale Road (519) 649-2386  (519) 661-5575

Club highlights 1971 Sectional Championships 1972 Canadian Championships (first time held by the London Skating Club) 1973 First Great Lakes Winter Skating Festival 1997 90th Birthday of the London Skating Club 1998 25th Anniversary of Great Lakes Winter Skating Festival 1998 Senior Precision Team competes in first International Event in Milan - Schedule and timetable can be obtained in its web site -

By: Yosua Jabby Setyobudhi

Western Campus

Recreation

By Daniel Kaufmann

Are you looking for a hobby here in Canada or do you just want to do something healthy? Here’s the solution. Get a membership for the Western Campus Recreation, located in the UCC building. With this membership you have full access to the UCC gymnasia, the aerobics studio, the weight training room, the cardio room, squash, tennis and table tennis courts and the UCC pool.

You can use most of these facilities without reservation. However, for sports like tennis or aerobics you should contact registration and membership information because you either have to book classes or reserve a court. In the UCC gymnasia, you can play sports like basketball, volleyball, badminton or indoor soccer. You don’t have to call if you want to use these facilities. Nevertheless, you should

check out the schedule for these locations, since you can’t play all sports all the time.

However, the best thing about it is the price. You can use all the facilities for only $ 8.30 per month if you are studying at Culture Works.

To get your membership, just drop by the membership services office and take a letter that confirms that you’re a CultureWorks student with you. For questions or additional information check out the website or contact the membership services.

I hope that you will take advantage of this great opportunity and that you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.

Did You Know?

Membership ServicesRoom 67, Lower Level, UCC

Phone: (519) 661 30 90E-mail: campus.recreation@uwo.ca URL: www.uwo.ca/campusrec/

Hours of Operation:Mon-Thurs 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.Friday 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.Sat & Sun 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Rene Diaz

Would you like something amusing, funny, close, easy, and cheap to do? Wish you are in front of Bruce Willis, Al Pacino, Julia Roberts, etc, and you can always be the champion? Well, you don’t need to walk or spend a lot. I have an entertainment program for you: A movie is waiting for you at Western Film!

Western Film, part of the Century Theatres Group, shows all the latest releases, just a few weeks after they debut. For example, this week is playing Atlantis and America’s Sweethearts. Additionally, you can choose a large selection of the most recent movie posters that western Film has in stock by simply sending your request by e-mail to wfilm@uwo.ca or dialling 661-3616.

Also, Western Film has the high technology that you can see in the other major theatres. It means 35mm film projection, Dolby Stereo, and Digital Sound.

Western Film is located on the second level of the University Community Centre – UCC at the corner of Western Road and Elgin Drive. The bus routes # 2 Dundas, #6 Richmond, and # 10 Wonderland stop right in front of the UCC. If you had a private car, free parking is available at Huron College parking lot.

Furthermore, Western Film is open to the public every day during the following hours: Monday to Friday 7:00 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., and Matinees Saturday and Sunday 2:45 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.

Finally, the price of the ticket is great. It is only $4.25 for adults and $2.50 for kids. On Tuesdays it is only $2.50 per person. Also, you can enjoy an Ewok Combo with a drink, popcorn, and a candy for only $4.00

For more information just dial 661-3616 or visit the web site www.usc.uwo.ca/wfilm

The king of “Kung Fu”---- Jackie Chan, the biggest mouth ----Chris Tucker, they cooperate and appear in Rush Hour 2. The action-comedy has earned over $250 million worldwide. Rush hour 2 begins with chief inspector Lee of the Royal Hong Kong police (Jackey Chan) and LAPD detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) arriving in Hong Kong for a vacation. When they arrive, a bomb has exploded in the American Embassy, killing two US custom agents who had been investigating a money smuggling ring that is producing and shipping millions in “super bills”, high—grade counterfeit US $100 bills. Lee is assigned to crack the case, and the Hong Kong police think behind the blast is Ricky Tan. For Lee, Ricky Tan was once his father’s partner in the Hong Kong police force and played a direct role in his father’s death. When Lee and Tucker prepare to solve

this terrible crime, Isabella Molina(Roselyn Sanchez), who is a secret service agent, appears. Under her assistance, they destroy Ricky Tan’s plans and finish the mission. Rush Hour 2 is filled with high-flying action and outrageous comedy. Rush Hour 2 is directed by Brett Rather, he also directed Rush Hour 1 and the Family Man. Jackey Chan is a well-known superstar. His movies are loved by a lot of American teenagers. Rush Hour 2 shows more different cultures than funny details of the movie. People in North America want to know more about Chinese culture, so Hong Kong was chosen as the setting at the beginning of the movie. Jackie Chan has made a great contribution in both introducing Chinese culture and showing Chinese history. After people watch the movie, they may say that they know the most popular recreation is playing the traditional game

Mahjong. People also may find that KFC, Burger King and McDonalds are popular too in Hong Kong. In the movie, Carter (Chris Tucker) wears Chinese

traditional costumes----“Qi Pao”. It looks strange, but I think it is a highlight of the

movie. An American doesn’t mind that he is wearing a Chinese style costume. It shows the director’s ideas----respecting different cultures. Should we

approve the existence of different cultures or exclude these cultures from communities? In a word, Rush Hour 2 is more exceptional than Rush Hour. It is also the most

terrific movie I have ever seen.

Nick Gao

Fun in Toronto

Toronto is a clean, safe and cosmopolitan city with a wonderful network of recreational and cultural facilities. Also, Toronto is the third largest English-speaking theatre district in the world. One of the world’s most ethnically diverse cities, it is home to more than 80 ethnic communities from Africa, Asia and Europe. Because of these, Toronto is a good choice for international students to have fun and to learn about different cultures.

As we all know, the long lakeshore makes Toronto become a wonderful and lively city. Therefore, if you go to Toronto you have got to see the blue sky and the beautiful lake. Actually, you can enjoy the lake at several places, but “the Beaches” is always the best choice for you, because it is a relaxing oasis close to the downtown but a world away in small town atmosphere.

Moreover, it is a favourite place for you to roller blade, bike or just take a relaxing stroll along the boardwalk. You can also browse the many boutiques and eateries that are along Queen St. East. Don’t forget the Beaches are situated just east of downtown, so you can take the number 509 streetcar in Queen station to get there.

Other than the beautiful scenery, you also can enjoy Toronto by walking around the city. Bloor St. W & Yorkville and Queen St. are the best places that must be introduced. At first, located in the heart of Toronto, Bloor St. W and adjacent Yorkville offer some of the best upscale fashion shopping experiences, such as Tiffany, Armani, Prada and Versace. To make your heart race, this is the place to go. However, if you can’t feel enough by window-shopping, there are also some gift shops. The most interesting one is “ The Guild Shop”, the retail outlet for Ontario crafts, one of a kind crafts in leather, grass, pottery, wood and textiles. Unfortunately, they are quite expensive. Other than different shops, you can also go to a strange museum called “The Bata Shoe Museum”. It is North America’s first shoe museum. Over 10,000 shoes are housed in the building.

If you want to buy something or find some interesting things, Queen St. will be the right place. When you walk along the street, you can easily smell the air of the latest urban design and fashion. This is because City TV and Much More Music are just right there. Along the street, you can find a lot of lovely shops for clothing, gifts and shoes.

After walking around the city, you may feel hungry. Fortunately, there are some different places you can choose. First, you can go to College St. and Little Italy. A lot of trattorias, coffeehouses and fine restaurants are located in this area. Second, if you are a fan of Greek food, you can go to the Danforth, which is the centre of Toronto’s Greek community.

Actually, nighttime in Toronto is more fantastic than daytime because there are a lot of Bars and clubs in the city. For example, along Queen St. there are also some interesting places you can spend your nighttime. Actually, “ Guverment” (132 Queen’s Quay East) is the most famous in Toronto. You can have a wonderful night there.

Anyway, whatever your pleasure is, staying in Toronto, you don’t have to worry about how you spend your lonely time because it is Toronto, a modern, exciting and young city.

Sam Liu

f you are a person who loves basketball, I am

sure that watching NBA games in person is your dream. Surely, it is exciting to watch live NBA games. However, to a foreigner, seeing NBA games with one’s own eyes was difficult to realize. Right now, Canada’s immigration policy is becoming more and more beneficial for people who would like to live and visit Canada. If you are interested in coming to Canada, your dream, which is watching NBA games with your own eyes, will become reality soon.

I

Basketball is very popular in Canada. Not only youth love this sport, but also old people and kids like playing basketball. Furthermore, wherever you are in Canada, you can see lots of people who are playing basketball. In such a country where basketball is very popular, there are two NBA clubs. One of the teams is named the Toronto Raptors, which is one of strongest teams in NBA league. Its home is

Toronto, which is one of largest cities in the world, and its home field is named Air Canada Centre, which is a great building. Following, there are a group of introductions for you to know this team well. I believe that you will love this team after seeing them.1995-1996 Record: 21-61 The Raptors officially became an NBA franchise on May 16, 1995. As one of the newest teams, the first win in the Raptor’s history was at the expense of the New Jersey Nets. Following, they defeated the Vancouver Grizzlies in the first regular-season. However, the most shocking and satisfying victory was defeating the Chicago Bulls, which was considered a champion team. 1996-1997 Record: 30-52 At this time, people thought that the Raptors didn’t have enough experience. However, Toronto was one of only 11 teams to topple the Chicago Bulls. Moreover,

the Raptors defeated other strong teams like Houston, Utah and Miami.1997-1998 Record: 16-66 In the season, the Raptors were still the youngest team in the NBA. With such a young team, growing pains must be expected. Nevertheless, the Raptors did show heart and determination throughout the season. They notched a 102-93 win at Cleveland and came away with a 97-94 victory over New York. In addition, Toronto beat Sacramento, Minnesota and Philadelphia in succession.1998-1999 Record: 23-27 This season was the Raptors’ best season. They defeated New York Knicks, the San Antonio Spurs and Vancouver Grizzlies. In the process the Raptors became the most improved team in the

NBA. In addition, they fortunately got a super-guard named Vince Carter who was considered one of the best players. Carter led the team to a 5-0 record during that time and got 18.3 points per game.

Since the Toronto Raptors have been a team of the NBA, we can see them becoming stronger and stronger. In 1999-2000 seasons, they even entered the play-off. First of all, they defeated New York, which was a second in last season. Following, they entered semi-finals and were defeated 3-4 by the Philadelphia 76ers, which finished second in this season. Right now it is reported that the Raptors have imported a super-centre, who is one of best NBA athletes, [Hakeem Olajuwon]. We can say that the Toronto Raptors have become a team of champion level worthy of the name.

Tim Duan

In Canada, most Canadian baseball fans, whose favourite baseball team is the Toronto Blue Jays, are crazy for the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays are one of the Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, and they play a lot of professional baseball games each year. The Blue Jays have a resplendent success since they joined MLB. They won the 1997 Men’s Adult Baseball League (MABL) National Division World Series Championship!! During 1998-2000, they remained San Francisco Bay Area MABL champions, and 2 Bay Area Baseball Association (BABA) champions. All of these successes show us that the Blue Jays are a famous team in MLB, and theses brilliant successes attract many supporters. Every fan believes that they will support the Blue Jays forever! [sic] The Blue Jays' home city is Toronto, and its home stadium is the Sky Dome. The Sky Dome became the new home of the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, June 5, 1989. The retractable roof stadium is the world's most advanced and luxurious ballpark. There are five levels in Sky Dome: Esplanade, Club, Luxury Sky Dome on 2 levels, and Sky Deck. If there is a baseball match in Sky Dome, it can supply 50,516 seats for the audience. Thus, the Blue Jays can get a super power support in their home stadium. In this team, there are 35 players. The most famous player is the NO. 32: Roy Halladay. He is a pitcher on this team, and he is a leader on the Blue Jays. Although Roy Halladay is a spirited leader on this team, winning depends on each member of the team, not just one person. So I think that nobody can be ignored on the Blue Jays. In addition, Jose Mendez is the coach of the Blue Jays, and the pitching coach is Jim Rooney. Fortunately, the Blue Jays are a united team. Everyone tries their best to help their team win honour. Anyway, welcome to Sky Dome! Welcome to the Blue Jays' world! Come on, let's applaud the Blue Jays, and we will support our Blue Jays forever!!

Peng Hu

A Resplendent Pearl: Vancouver

On June 28th, my friends and I were on the airplane to

Vancouver for an 8-day retreat. Sitting on the plane for 5 hours is unbelievable for me; boredom and tiredness caused me to fall asleep. “ Ladies and gentlemen…” suddenly a loud announcement woke me up. By looking through the window at the beautiful blue Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, I knew I had finally reached my destination: Vancouver.

Vancouver is a major city that is located at the southwest of Canada in the province of British Columbia. According to history, Indians had settled in the Vancouver area by 500 B.C. In the year of 1870, the area around Vancouver, known as the lower mainland, was found by a British naval officer, George Vancouver.

Today’s Vancouver is a major city that leads the commercial trade of western Canada. It is famous for wood industry, paper products and fishing. On the other hand, it is also a nice place for tourism. The Rocky Mountains, beautiful beaches, various gardens and the combination of forest and parks would take you on an enjoyable tour of the greatest city.

Some Vancouverites told me if you were in Vancouver, Stanley Park and the Vancouver aquarium are the places that you have to go. It is the biggest park I have ever seen; the park was 1000 acres wide and looks like a wonderful creation surrounded by the beach and forest. In the park, there were many attractions to see, such as Second Beach, totem poles and the aquarium. I was most interested in the aquarium because I am from a city that is close to the sea in China. At the entrance of the aquarium, there is a statue of a salmon jumping up a pool. By looking from far away, it looks like a thumb and seems to show you how incredible it is. Inside of the aquarium, the variety of tropical fish and fierce sharks will bring you into the undersea life of BC. It was a very impressive place for me.

Another interesting place is Grouse Mountain. Grouse Mountain is about 4000 feet high; it is the peak of Vancouver. The mountain can give you a unique experience. After riding on a sky ride and reaching the top of the mountain, you are able to see snow. We were pretty excited about the snow in summer time. We enjoyed playing on the snow even forgetting the coldness of standing on the snow. The mountain is the peak of Vancouver, so you can get a good view of the city of Vancouver. That is amazing!The great view of the skyline of Vancouver and the natural scene gives you a feeling of being in a magic theatre in the sky---it is the real heaven of the world.

The time had gone really fast. When our trip was almost finished, I was sitting on a bench beside the harbour relaxing and enjoying the night of Vancouver. I was recalling the past few days I had spent in Vancouver and the happiness I shared with friends, as a feeling of unwillingness to leave

was felt at the bottom of my heart. Accompanied by the wonderful rhythm of the waves, I finally felt a little bit tired and fell asleep in the calm and peaceful night of Vancouver…

Peter Kun

Montreal- An Interesting

Place

Are you going to visit some beautiful and interesting place? And now if you have no idea about which place is the best for visiting, I am going to introduce you to some information about Montreal. After reading it, you may know where you can go.

Montreal, the second largest French-speaking city in the world, is located in the south of Quebec. There is lots of beautiful natural scenery and history. The first place you shouldn’t miss is Downtown. Downtown is both the heart and one of the most cosmopolitan areas of the city. It’s located at the foot of postmodern towers with their special contours that reflect the accents of the surrounding gracious Victorian architecture.

Many art and theme museums and charming green spaces dot the area. Shopping is only footsteps away from the museum.

The second beautiful place is the old Montreal and old Port area. It’s located between the river and the city-center. They will take you on a historic tour of a great North American metropolis. Something quite unique is that so many signs of the past of all periods still exist, such as the French colony’s winding paths, remarkable 18th

and 19th century architecture and the first Canadian skyscrapers. Its museums, sidewalk cafes and public places are alive with activities all year long. Last time when I visited, I saw lots of street performances in such places. By

watching, you can know local culture.

Other places you should see are Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and The Eastern sector. These places have a rich past. They once were the home of the Olympic Park. Now it’s the Botanical Garden. One more place you mustn’t miss is Chinatown. This is a window of Chinese culture. You can see

some Chinese traditional things here. If you are someone who is interested in China and likes to eat Chinese food, you must go there.

Montreal has more beautiful places than I have mentioned. These are some of them. Every one also has its feature. After reading it, you may have some ideas of where to go.

Katherine

Tour in Quebec City

Quebec City is the heart of French Canada, the center of French-Canadian awareness. Nowhere else in North America is the appearance and atmosphere of an old-world city so complete. Quebec city looks and feels very European; it has many interesting places and you can see different styles there.

Quebec City is the only walled city in North America, north of Mexico. The Old City consists of many beautiful old buildings that are a major part of the charm of Old Quebec City. There are many churches, museum, shops, galleries and restaurants, all possessing the special atmosphere that is Quebec City.

The climate of Quebec City is very important for the visitor, as this defines many of the city's attractions. You will find much fun in different seasons. There are two festivals in Quebec City that should be experienced. The Quebec Summer Festival is considered a very well kept secret. The Quebec Winter Carnival is held for about two weeks from the end of January. There are parades and ice sculpting, and a lot of music and

dancing. If you go there, I believe you will find a lot of fun and enjoy it very much.

Next, I want to introduce some interesting places in Quebec City. Notre-Dame is the first Catholic parish church in Canada. It has been engulfed by fire on three separate occasions and has

been rebuilt each time according to original design. Another place is Centre de la Vie Urbane de la Ville de Quebec is the Interpretive Center for Urban life in Quebec City. Coming here you will experience and understand the history and dynamics of the people of Quebec City. In Quebec City, there is a beautiful river, the St Lawrence River. It has always played an important role in Quebec City. To really appreciate the beauty of Quebec City it should be seen from the river.

This is the beautiful Quebec City that I know. If you are planning a trip now, don’t hesitate to choose Quebec as your destination. I am sure you will have a lot of fun there!

Yi Feng

Old Quebec from the St. Lawrence River