Blog? Yep, that rings a bell!

Blame it on the summer, my increasing lazyness , the stars, or just me (!!) for not updating this blog so often. Anyway, here are some interesting developments:

Last Sunday I went on my second small excursion while being in this country (Yes, I do need to get out more often!). It was nothing planned, really. I went to the church for Sunday liturgy (mass) and there some friends asked me if I had anything planned for the afternoon. My negative response was followed by an invitation to Lac des Deux Montagnes situated near (or at) Oka national park.
The place was just wonderful! We arrived there at around 16.00 (although we left at 14.00, we got a bit lost on the way),just about the time most people were leaving. Still, it was great!
Spoiler: I did not go for a swim!
For the record:this was not a planned thing, so I didn't have a swimming suit with me. Off the record: I could always buy a swimming suit. The truth is that there is something about swimming in a lake I do not find very appealing. I guess, if sea is not involved, it just does not sound right.
But still, walking barefoot on the water was equally great and relaxing. So here are some pictures from the place. (The pictures hardly do it justice, just pick a sunny warm day and get there!)

This is the parking lot near the lake. As many people were leaving at that time, we did not have a problem finding a spot.

This is an overview of the lake as seen from the tourist establishment near by. Souvenirs, refreshments and ...toilets are there. There are also some chairs and tables where you can relax, but honestly it is better near the water!


Some fellow enjoyers of the sun and the beach. They are all enjoying themselves and so am I!













Now, what is a life guard doing at a lake? Well, the same job they would do by the sea I guess. Although the lake gets deep far away from the beach (so it is almost impossible to get drowned), still they have to make sure that no crafts will enter the designated area for swimming and that swimmers will not get in that area. So, if you hear the life-guard whistling at your direction, remain calm; it is not a shark!

A closer look at the beach. With all that sun, the water the sand castles and other art masterpieces I started to feel like home (almost!)

Honestly, there is no greater pleasure (except from swimming of course) than walking barefoot in the water.

The lake is virtually in the forest. If you are not the swimming type, I strongly recommend you to explore that forest. (I believe camping is also available). This is what I am going to do in the future....

...But you will not miss the lake. Seagulls (I know, s e a gulls!) are everywhere

O.K. It is 19.50 and it is time to hit the road. After all, the place closes at 20.00 (Dommage!). In fact, although the picture is not very revealing, there are more seagulls now than people! Anyway, it was good while it lasted.

The area between the parking lot and the tourist establishment. Don't get fooled; there are approximately 10 cars left, the three you see in this picture included.

As we were driving through the trees, I took this picture. I could not tell if that was a pond or a river but.. who cares? It is just such a beautiful place!

And that is all from my little Sunday excursion.

In other news, I am leaving for Greece next Wednesday. Details of the trip will follow on a later post. However, I would really like to see you guys before I leave. Yes, I will be back (probably the last week of August) and yes, I know that tomorrow is Canada day, but we could still arrange something before I leave. So, what do you say?

Une joyeuse fête nationale du Québec

à tous (ou un joyeux jour du St. Jean Baptiste, si vous préférez)
...and a Happy Birthday to my brother!

Leisure and a damn good movie

An expected boring Sunday turned out to be very pleasant instead.
Although this was a Formula 1 weekend, I was destined not to watch the Grand Prix (yes, I am a devoted fan of the Scuderia (aka Ferrari) and Mikael Schumacher). You see the tickets were really very expensive and as for the cheap ones ($60, General admission),well...they just suck!. So, the plan was to go to church and then spend a rather boring afternoon.
Fortunately, things did not develop as planned. After the service, a friend of mine suggested me to go grab a bite since his wife went out shopping with a friend of hers who was to leave for Saskatchewan today. Having nothing to do, I joined him, and later on his wife and her friend joined us as well. After lunch, we walked a bit downtown, and his wife escorted her friend to the airport.
When she returned, some relatives of her suggested watching a movie and to make a long story short, we ended up watching The Syrian Bride.
The story focuses on a wedding. But not just any type of wedding. The bride comes from a Druze village in the Golan Heights (a disputed area between the states of Israel and Syria). The groom is a famous actor from Syria. When they get married and the bride enters Syria she will never be able to return back to Israel, to see her family.
Don't take me wrong, this is NOT a love story, but it is not a political propaganda flick either. There are no Romeo and Juliet, nor good or bad Arabs or Jews. That wedding is a converging point of different lives and expectations;the bride's family, the bureaucrats from BOTH sides of the border, the UN personnel, the groom's friends, they are all there, and for that single moment they all have a key part to play. It is not necessarily a part they choose to play, but perhaps a part they just have to. And what about the wedding you might ask...Well, I guess that was one of the messages of that movie: "what about that wedding after all?"
This is definitely a movie worth seeing....

Convocation Pictures

After some futile attempts to post some pictures of my convocation (as previously promised ), here is a link to the relevant slide show. There are only 9 of them, all post-ceremonial. Hope you will enjoy watching pictures about... um, me!

Convocation pictures

Convocation...

It is official:
In "Datae die II mensis Iunii Anni Domini MMV" I was granted a M.A. in Linguistics! (Oh, Latin, it is just so cool; My B.A. diploma was in Ancient Greek, so now I have diplomas in both classical languages! )
O.K., O.K., back to Earth now. I know it is not a PhD, but it is definitely a good start.
The ceremony was just great. (It was the first time I attended a typical North-American convocation ceremony, you know, where people are dressed in gowns, there is a band playing etc. (In Greece, we generally keep it simpler).

So, details:
I woke up in time (yes, that was 7.30 for me!!), put on some decent clothes and my gown (I needed the safety of my mirror at home) and headed to the campus. I actually managed to get there really early. (I was the first to arrive). The people there were very friendly and helpful; they even helped me with the hood and (I have to admit) with the hat also; I was a first-timer, remember?
The weather was just wonderful! A beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky and relatively warm. I am accustomed to higher temperatures, but to be honest, going out with a a formal pair of trousers, shirt, a tie AND the gown under 28° C, it is not a great idea. But, there were a lot of people waiting for a beautiful spring/summer day (including me), and today our common wish had come true. So, no complaints there.
The ceremony itself was a bit long and at sometimes boring, although Jack Rabinowitch (who was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters) gave a truly wonderful speech.
So, I got on the stage, shook hands with the chancellor and got my diploma.
Now, there was a moment at the stage when I really had a very weird look on my face (pictures were taken at a rate of 10/minute (pictures will be posted as soon as I get them), and the ceremony was recorded on video (oh, oh!!) but it was just a reflex when my name was completely altered by the reader who presented me as "Anastasios Tisamis".
Could somebody explain to me, why people call me like that (Anastasios vs. Athanasios) , as prof. B.G., used to? I mean [n] and [θ] are hardly related in articulation. As for the alternation of my last name, what can I say? Apparently the reader had a problem with affricates and/or complex onsets.
Anyway,I had a great time. I also want to congratulate all the graduates in Linguistics especially, awesome oh (who was not there) and Meg and Jill (who were there) and wish them all the best.
Finally, my gratitude to all my friends that were with me corporeally or in spirit today and generally this last year. The last months had been very difficult for me and I just want to thank you all for being truly my family here. Love you all...

What I hold from this day, is the nice ceremony, the presence of good friends, and of course, this cool Diploma in Latin....
And BTW, there were a lot of people of the opposite sex (who I didn't know) that were very friendly with me. Either it is the AXE effect or just the gown (after all, it is a kind of a uniform!!)