Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Ottawa Celebrations, Day 2 (cont.) and Day 3

So last night I ate at the Green Papaya, which was lovely. I was joined by four friends including AE, who I haven't seen for at least a year - so that was pretty awesome. Also awesome: Thai food. Yes.

LC and C came back to my hotel room to have a few drinks and chat - we ended up talking for a couple hours about Latin America and my various adventures on the farm in Costa Rica, until it seemed clear that LC was fading and maybe I could let them escape from my clutches, mwahaha. As always, good to catch up with friends. I now have more beer and rum than I can possibly drink in the next two days...so here's hoping I'll have some helpers on that issue.

This morning I slept in, which was glorious. When I got out of the shower I had a message from a woman from the CBC in Fredericton, so I called her back and we had what she referred to as a "pre-interview". Apparently the host of the show (Shift) is calling me back soon for the actual interview. We'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, I decided to venture outside of the room for food and laundry detergent. I ended up going to the Rideau Centre, since it is practically in my hotel, it's so close. I had never been before. I was expecting a big mall, and thus was not disappointed. I did have a delicious vegetarian panini sandwich and freshly squeezed lemonade for lunch, which was awesome.

It's kind of funny, when I leave Fredericton I always have these weird little moments where I realize how small and homogenous it (Fredericton) is. I was in Shoppers Drug Mart looking for detergent and I passed an aisle whose heading was "Ethnic hair products". I had no idea what that would even consist of, so I had a look. There were a lot of products specifically for "ethnic" hair, which makes sense, since most "ethnic" people have different hair than white people and would thus need different products. Logical. It made me wonder what the black (sorry, "ethnic") people who do live in Fredericton do without all these products.

I had a stroll through the mall just to kill some time, but malls really do depress me so I didn't stay for long. I think I will have to check out the Byward Market before I leave.

Today (after my interview), my plan consists of bothering JD at her work, spending some time with RM, and letting LC take me shopping somewhere interesting. And meeting her dog. I think JD wants to take me to some reggae thing tonight too, so that should be interesting. So far Ottawa is working out pretty well.

No comments: