Maquetación 1 - Escuela Oficial de Idiomas

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LA ESCUELA �
� LA ESCUELA
GLIMPSES OF CANADA
Eugenia Duma Giuglea. Profesora de Inglés
Capital: Ottawa
45°24’N 75°40’W / 45.4°N 75.667°W
Largest city: Toronto
Official languages: English and French Recognised
regional languages: Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, Cree, Dëne
Sųłiné, Gwich’in, Inuvialuktun, Slavey and Tłicho Yatiì
Ethnic groups
80.0% White/European (English, French, Scottish, Irish,
German, others)
4.0% South Asian
3.9% Chinese
3.8% Aboriginal
3.3% Other Asian
2.5% Black
2.5% Others
Demonym: Canadian
Government: Federal parliamentary democracy and
constitutional monarchy - Monarch HM Queen
Elizabeth II - Governor General: Michaëlle Jean -
Prime Minister: Stephen Harper
Legislature Parliament | Upper House Senate |
Lower House
House of Commons Establishment - British North
America Acts July 1, 1867 | Statute of Westminster
December 11, 1931 | Canada Act April 17, 1982
Area - Total 9,984,670 km2 (2nd) 3,854,085 sq mi
Water (%) 8.92 (891,163 km²/344,080 m²)
Population- 2009 estimate 33,563,000 (36th)
2006 census 31,612,897 | Density: 3.2/km2 (219th)
8.3/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2007 estimate | Total $1.269
trillion (13th) - Per capita $38,613 (12th)
GDP (nominal) 2007 estimate | Total $1.436 trillion
(9th) | Per capita $43,674 (14th) | 0.967 (high) (3rd)
Currency Dollar ($) (CAD)
Time zone (UTC−3.5 to −8)-Summer (DST) (UTC−2.5 to
−7) Drives on the Right Date formats dd-mm-yyyy, mmdd-yyyy,
and yyyy-mm-dd Internet TLD .ca
Well, these are some of the facts and figures anyone would like
to learn about Canada on a first contact with what the country
represents in the present-day world.
Still, they seem to lack that human touch cast by someone
who has come to know the reality of the country’s landscapes,
the industriousness of her population, and the day-to-day
bustle of life in its complexity.
And so it goes that, on accepting the invitation to speak about
Canada to the students at our school, Cristina Sánchez Soto, a
teacher at EOI Embajadores, brought us glimpses of the
country and her people, which engaged the audience in a
fruitful discussion on a Friday evening. It was November 29th
and the lecture was supposed to last half an hour: it lasted two
full, rewarding hours!
So, what does “Canadian” – the in the
factfile above – mean for Cristina? The question gave
rise to an interesting discussion about stereotypes
around the idea of being Canadian and also about the
solution found by Canadian political groups along the
years: you could not understand the place Sųłiné ,
Gwich’in, or Inuvialuktun occupy as recognised regional
languages if you did not acknowledge the idea of the
mosaic as a different reality from the US melting-pot.
Accompanied by Cristina’s presentation of the different
regions of Canada and their breathtaking landscapes,
of samples of advertisements, humour and song, we
somehow were there, partaking of the people’s creative
dimension while being reminded of writers like
Margaret Atwood, and singers and song-writers like
Leonard Cohen and Alanis Morissette who, along many
others, have long since placed Canada in the collective
awareness of our globalized knowledge.
With no real purpose in mind, I glance again at the date
formats and try to reorder my knowledge of the British
“09/03/09” (the ninth of March, 2009) and the American
“09/03/09” (September the third, 2009) – only to make
place for the Canadian reality 09/03/09, meaning 2009,
March the ninth…What a wonderful token of flexibility!
It sure has been enough to whet a student’s appetite
for more; there’s the Internet .ca to satisfy your curiosity.
Or, why not make a visit, for that matter?
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