Doors Open Winnipeg This Weekend

Doors Open Winnipeg is a free, annual event that opens almost 80 historic Winnipeg building to the public.  It will be held on May 26th and 27th in locations all over the city.   It's a great chance to explore some Winnipeg buildings and hear some of their history, and in some places see it acted out.  Some of the buildings opening their doors this year will be the Bank of Montreal (Portage & Main), the City of Winnipeg Archives, originally the city's first library building (downtown), Gabrielle Roy House (St. Boniface), and Government House, close to the Legislative Building and home to the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, who will be hosting a garden party on Saturday from 11:00 to 5:00, open to everyone.  Check the Doors Open Winnipeg website for a full list of buildings and the hours each will be open at http://www.doorsopenwinnipeg.ca/

Pancakes and Baseball

This Tuesday about 2 dozen students went to see a baseball game as the Winnipeg Goldeyes played an exhibition game.  We were a bit worried it would rain and be chilly, but it was a beautiful warm evening.  No one really knew what was going on in the game (other than homestay mother Christina, who tried to explain it to students without much luck) , but Goldie the mascot was very popular.



  On Saturday, we also went to have some pancakes at the Original Pancake House.  Students tried a lot of different types of pancakes, but I think the thing everyone liked most is how it is customary here to get free drink refills.



Our annual BBQ is coming up on May 22nd, and our Chilean students will be leaving us the following weekend.  Then we are into the last month of school!  We will have one activity in June; stay tuned for more details.

This Week Around the ISP

Soccer season has started!  Many of our students are playing on their school's soccer team, and here are some from a John Taylor Collegiate-Westwood Collegiate game this week.

Thanks to homestay dad Rob Bye for the action photo.

On Thursday a group of students went on a tour of the Manitoba Legislative Building.  We watched a loud question period of the government in session,  toured several parts of the building, and heard a lot about the building's history.  Thanks to our great tour guide for telling us some good stories and answering all of our questions.

NEXT WEEK:  We will be having a pancake lunch tomorrow (Saturday) at the Original Pancake House, going to see a Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball game, and then to see Stars on Ice.  We are going to have a busy week!

Poutine and the Manitoba Museum

There were no classes last Friday, so a number of us went to the Exchange District to try some poutine, a Quebec specialty, and then to the Mantioba Museum for the afternoon.

 Everyone tried a different type of poutine, and the people at Smoke's Poutinerie were great, and even had a draw for our students, with one lucky student winning a t-shirt and another one winning a baseball cap.  A big thanks to them for making our visit fun, and for serving all 25 of us so quickly!

After our poutine, we walked back to the Manitoba Museum to see some Manitoba history.  It was the first visit for everyone (except me!) and the students spent a long time going through all of the exhibits.  Several commented on what a big museum it is.  Seeing places around the city with people who have never seen them before helps you see them with new eyes as well. 

ISP at the Harlem Globetrotters

This past weekend a large group of us went to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the MTS Centre.  The Harlem Globetrotters are always fun to watch, and it was great to see a female Globetrotter!  She was amazing.  It was a good way to spend a chilly Sunday afternoon.

Canadian Cooking and Living Workshop

This week some of our new Chilean and German students came to a Canadian Cooking and Living workshop, and made spaghetti and chocolate chip cookies.  Here are some of the pictures.

Welcome to our new blog

Hi and welcome to our new blog.  We'll be using this blog to keep you up to date on what we are doing, activities we are planning, and share some pictures.