Dec 22 2008
Another big fire 2 blocks from here. Co-incidentily a few of the same appartments that burned down two and a half years ago were damaged this time as well. But the fire started a few buildings to the North.
It’s -17 outside, with a strong wind. I don’t envy those firemen that have to work in a mist of water that freezes when it hits something solid. Like this tree, or their helmet.
Now I stink of smoke.
Dec 11 2008
— Hello?
— Yes.
— Is this the complaints department?
— It is.
— I want to file a complaint.
— You’re at the right address.
— I have a very bad day. It’s the aniversary of my mother’s death today.
— I’m sorry to hear that.
— I was going to go cross country skiing with a friend.
— …
— But first I had to dig out the car from under the pack of snow and the thick layer of frozen snow, soaked with freezing rain. Then I found out that the second-hand snow blower we bought this fall —together with our neighbour— doesn’t want to start. It worked fine last fall, but now it doesn’t want to budge.
— I’m sorry to hear that.
— The I started to remove the snow by hand, hit a large plaque of frozen snow and then the handle of the snow shovel broke off.
— Sheesh.
— I removed the handle, re-attached it —it’s 15 cm shorter now— and went on removing the snow off the car. The car is covered in a thick layer of ice. I have to run the engine and the heater for a while to be able to remove it.
— Yeah.
— But first I have to defrost the doors because they are frozen shut. And then I found that Alison had left her door open the last time we used the car (2 weeks ago). So the battery is completely dead and possibly really dead. And I had just bought a new one a month ago.
— O my.
— So now I have to defrost the door, get into the car, try to open the hood, remove and try to charge the battery and then start the engine, defrost the windows and hope for the best. O, and I still have to dig out the car as well.
— Wow, that’s a genuine complaint. I’ll pass you on to my superior.
— I don’t think we’re going to ski today.
Dec 9 2008
Today was the day of the Citizenship test. I had myself reasonably well prepared but as I wrote before I’m not very good at studying dry facts. So I was a little bit nervous. The invitation mentioned I should take 3 hours for the test and you can ask a lot of questions in 3 hours.
First I had to wait in a waiting room with about 50 other people. Sitting there I noticed my nickname on the wall, right under the Coat of Arms of Canada. I had seen the Coat of Arms before, but had never read the Latin motto underneath it. It says “a mari usque ad mare”. It means “From sea to sea” and I interpreted it as a good sign.
We were then led into the test room, with rows of desks, all with a freshly sharpened pencil on top. One side for people that took the test in French and the other side for us English speakers. The test consisted of 20 questions of which I needed only 12 answer correctly. They were all really simple questions, and just reading the booklet would have been enough to answer them. One of them for example was: “What are the two official languages of Canada?”. On top of that they were multiple choice so I was finished in 5 minutes. For good times I went over all questions again but then I really had to hand in my answer paper. I would be surprised if I didn’t score 100%. I was the first to finish and then had to go to another room where after a short wait I was interviewed to see if my understanding of at least one of Canada’s official languages was sufficient. I started in Mandarin but then switched to Spanish.
The women checked if all the stamps in my passport matched the dates that I had indicated on my application form as dates I was outside Canada. They matched. Subsequently she asked some questions about my housing situation, sources of income, and if I had a partner and what his/her profession was. And then it was over and just 25 minutes after I had entered I was outside again, where it was still snowing.
In about 2 months I’ll have my swearing-in ceremony where I have to sing “O, Canada” and swear allegiance to the Queen. Better start practising:
Dec 3 2008
Returning from the US I found an unexpected surprise on the doormat. A letter from Citizenship and Immigration Canada inviting me to do my citizenship test.
I hadn’t expected to receive this so soon, since the waiting time they indicate on their website is much longer. And a friend, who is also applying for citizenship, got his letter last week, but he started his application 3 months before me.
When I told the good news to friends one asked if I would lose my Dutch citizenship. “No, I won’t,” I replied but then he came back to me with a link to the website of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization department, the Dutch version of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The question is about dual citizenship and the last paragraph reads:
But what happens if Dutch citizens go to live abroad? In principle, they can renew their Dutch passport every ten years without difficulty. But when they adopt another nationality, they automatically lose their Dutch nationality.
That was quite alarming so I emailed the friend who’s also applying for citizenship the link. His wife replied quite soon with a link to another webpage, this one from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It says that Netherlands doesn’t allow dual citizenship but mentions 3 exceptions:
You will not lose your Dutch nationality:
a) if you were born in the country of your other nationality and have your principal residence there when you acquire the nationality of that country;
b) if, before you turned 18, you had your principal residence in the country of your other nationality for an uninterrupted period of five years;
c) if you are married to a person who possesses the nationality you wish to acquire.
Exception c) is clearly applicable in my case so I have nothing to worry about. However a bit later the article mentions this:
You have acquired another nationality and qualify as an exception. How can you prove this?
If you reapply for a Dutch passport at the Dutch embassy or consulate, you must state on the application form that you possess another nationality in addition to Dutch nationality. You must demonstrate when you acquired this nationality by submitting your naturalization certificate.
[…]
If you qualify under c. (you are married to someone with the nationality you have acquired), you will need your naturalization certificate, your marriage certificate and evidence that your spouse possesses the nationality you have acquired.
So it looks like I have to keep Alison alive until I die and we really have to stay married. My friend contacted the Dutch consulate and they told him this only applies for the first time you apply for a new passport. So I only have to keep Alison alive and/or keep our marriage afloat for the next couple of months. Then I just have to fill out a form and bring that in person to the Dutch consulate or embassy. I’ll make sure to do that.
But first I have to learn everything about Canada from the nice little booklet pictured above, A Look at Canada. It has been 25 years ago since the last time I did a test, and that was my Driving Test. I’m not very good at test taking (and especially not in learning ‘dry’ facts) so I hope I won’t fail. They will ask me questions like:
Which party is the official opposition at the federal level?
What is the name of your representative in your provincial Parliament?
Since my test will take place next Tuesday, the day after the announced non-confidence vote that will bring down our gouvernment and the day after our provincial elections that might bring a new representative, next wee’s answers to those questions might be different from now. We’ll see.
Now back to studying.
Dec 30 2008
Cold
Poupoune likes walks, but when they involve doggy boots, windproof capes, a biting cold and blowing snow? Not so much.
By mare • dogs, english, montréal, weather •