According to the daily news article on ENGOO issued on Nov 13 2023,

A restaurant in Blue Ridge, Georgia, called Toccoa Riverside Restaurant, gained attention on social media for implementing an "unable to parent" fee. The surcharge is aimed at parents whose children behave poorly in the restaurant, specifically those who allow their kids to run around disruptively. The owner, Tim Richter, clarified that the fee has been in place since the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite reports of parents being told they would be charged the fee, Richter stated that no one has actually been billed for it, and it serves as a warning. Some consider the fee discriminatory, while others support the concept. Additionally, the restaurant has faced criticism for other fees, such as an 18% tip for bill splitting and an extra $3 for sharing a dish from the main menu.

Please find the original article from the description.

https://engoo.com/app/daily-news/article/us-restaurant-charges-unable-to-parent-fee/lCKJVH8QEe6C1wOWybhNrg

The idea of "unable to parent" fee sounds very controvercial but intriguing.

From my perspective, before discussing about whether I agree with this fee itself or not, as a customer, I believe I should respect that each owner has their own rules or policy for the sake of qualified service and meals, rather, that makes each restaurant unique.

If there is something I don't agree with, I will no longer come there again. That's it. 

No rights to change their policy or regulations. I think that's more fair enough.

In Japan, this idea and my thoughts wouldn't be acceptable since many people still believe customers are the most superior in business.

Most likely, the restaurants with unable to parent charge will receive many critism and in the worst case senario, they will end up closing their business due to this.

For me, as a server working at the restaurant, since we need to pay special attention and extra services in case of family with children, honestly I kind of understand owner's feeling that they want to charge them. Especially we serve hot noodles which sometimes risky if children run around the restaurant, and tend to be extremely messy and take longer time to clean after services.

No complaints so far but possibly will happen sometime near future.

One good news for parents is, since there are many family-friendly or pet-friendly restaurants in Canada, they have options, although I am not sure for them it is enough or not.

Most importantly, as I have no children and never experienced parenting, no idea how difficult it would be. But for now, my opinion is, business is owner's. We as customer just better to enjoy their services with philosophy and just feel lucky to meet some my best restrants in my life.

How do you feel when you're at a restaurant and there are badly behaved children at nearby tables? What would you say is the hardest thing about parenting?

最近みんながかわいい赤いお花のバッジをつけてる

According to Wandsworth Times on Nov. 7 2023,

Remembrance Day: Why do we wear poppies and what they mark 

November is a month dedicated to remembering those who lost their lives in conflicts worldwide. Many people wear red poppies as a symbol of remembrance, and these poppies are sold as part of the Poppy Appeal, raising funds for the Royal British Legion, which supports those affected by conflicts and veterans. The tradition of wearing poppies dates back to World War One, with the famous poem 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae popularizing it. Red poppies honor all war casualties, while different colored poppies have distinct meanings: purple poppies for animals in war, black poppies for contributions from black, African, and Caribbean communities, and white poppies for those who died at the end of conflicts and advocate for peace. The recommended period to wear poppies is from the last Friday of October to November 11, but they can also be worn at veterans' funerals and commemorative events.

Would you want details? Go on to the desctiption and jump into the article.

https://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/national/uk-today/19688052.remembrance-day-wear-poppies-mark/

Currently we happened to find many people wearing the red-colored flower badges everywhere mentioned in article. At the same time, I have been aware of the bus I take everyday displaying "Lest we forget". These brought me wonder what this means as a new to Canada. At the end of the day, these two were all about Remembrance-day on Nov 11th every year, which is commemorating those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in the line of duty. It originated to commemorate the end of World War I on November 11, 1918.

By the way, "Lest we forget" means in order to prevent something from happening or, put simply, not to forget. 

What's interesting in this article is there are several types of poppies, each color has different meanings they can bring on.

Purple poppies for animals have been a victim of war. Such as the horses, dogs, and pigeons used during the war effort, in particular for World War One. The black poppy commemorates the black, African, and Caribbean communities' contributions to the war effort, as service people and civilians. 

Some people choose to wear the white poppy as they feel the red poppy glorifies conflict and wars. From my perspective, I actually want to wear white one, since I couldn't agree more that it seems too cute to regret their sacrifices.

One thing as an immigrant to Canada, sometimes I feel it is hard to capture how Canada or Canadian people feel these kind of regretable historical fact. I think Japanese are more simple, we kept seeing the memorial day of the world war 2, as a regrettable day, we definately swear to avoid  such a miserable war, and are all willing to eradicate any wars all over the world. However, I feel something different in Canada toward a war. I found out some reasons I feel so. One of them is they use the word "honor" for this kind of memorial day. For example, "We honor people who died at war." For Japanese as educated to avoid any war in the world, this sounds a little bit strange. Or me as an English leaner, I might be too straightforward to recognize the meaning of the word or possibly misunderstanding "Honor". Is this something literally honored or something else? I am still trying to figure out how Canada or Canadian deem the day itself. Maybe a good idea by stepping outside on the day to feel it. Any thoughts or opinions?

1週間くらい住んでみたいけどなあ！

According to the opinion article on news media Daily Hive posted on Oct 23 2023,

The opinion piece suggests a creative solution to the housing crisis in Vancouver, by repurposing retired cruise ships as affordable housing. In summary, the author points out the high cost of housing and the shortage of available options. They propose that these large cruise ships, with thousands of cabins and amenities, could be permanently docked to extend their lifespan and serve as housing units. The idea is not without challenges, such as cost and bureaucratic hurdles. The author mentions that a former city councillor had a similar idea, suggesting that a retired cruise ship could provide temporary housing for 1,000 people with single-occupancy rooms and essential services. The piece highlights the need for innovative solutions to address the housing crisis and suggests that government regulations may be a major obstacle to implementing such ideas. Ultimately, the author supports the idea of using cruise ships as a practical approach to tackle housing issues, given the increasing population in Canada.

Please find the article in the description.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-old-cruise-ships-affordable-housing

Do you love seeing or thinking of innovative or unconventional ideas? Personally, I do! I love both finding something interesting and thinking about it. Today's topic is regarding one of these hilarious and incredible ideas yet with some criticisms.

Personally, the idea of turning the retired cruise ship into affordable housing is stunning! There must be a plethora of people especially international students that would be happy to rent a room on a cruise since we are no longer able to find reasonable rooms even shared ones, considering that they are okay with tiny dens or solariums which is the space for only one bed and suitcase! 

There is one thing unfortunate... the opinion article concluded with a criticism of the government which is nonsense and, therefore poor. Rather I wanted to hear how to make it possible rather than the reason why Canada hasn't made it happen so far.

That's why the article itself is receiving criticism such as "Fun idea, but not rooted in economic reality." 

Considering how to make it happen in real, the biggest problem would be the cost of maintenance. Even though it doesn't have to have the crew for the kitchen, it needs to have someone play a role of Strata like building management. Additionally, given that the ship should be designed as a temporary residence, we might have to think about the time we will face the harsh weather or the disaster. Nevertheless, I still think we can somehow make it possible in the near future. Am I too optimistic? I am excited to have cruise residences in Vancouver. What do you see this idea? Let me know if any thoughts or opinions you have.

ブギウギのブギ

According to Daily hive posted on October 18, 2023,

Skyscanner's 2024 Travel Trends report suggests that Canadians are looking forward to more travel in the new year, with a focus on affordable options.

What's more, travellers want to enhance their vacations in a cost-effective way too with ‘luxe-for-less’ vacation experiences trending- “bougie on a budget.”

 Despite financial challenges, 35% of Canadians plan to increase their travel budget for 2024, while 37% will maintain their current spending levels, and only 14% intend to reduce their travel budget. Skyscanner also provides a list of destinations that offer significant savings on flights from Canada, including San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Huatulco, Mexico. For those flexible about their destination, Skyscanner recommends using their "Everywhere" search feature to find flights based on price rather than location.

You can jump into the article in the description.

https://dailyhive.com/canada/top-travel-destinations-cheap-flights

From Oct 6 to Oct 15, I had been in Japan on my vacation. It was actually my first time to come back to Japan since I came here 2 years ago, I had been really excited to visit my friends and my family. Overall the vacation was amazing, hilarious, and over the moon. People I met in Japan not only made me feel nostalgic but also motivated me a lot.

Aside from this aspect, in general, travel always requires us to pay bucks a lot. What's interesting in this article is, that despite the financial challenges we are facing these days, many Canadians still spend money on enjoying travels. Rather, it appears their travel budget for 2024 will increase. On top of that, the words "bougie on a budget" are intriguing. Boujee is hip-hop slang for something “luxurious in lifestyle yet humble in character,” influenced by and often interchanged with the slang bougie. The other thing, my friend taught me a secret key to a good-deal ticket.

Surprisingly enough, the price of a flight ticket fluctuates depending on what language search engine you use. That means, the cost will be likely different when we look for the ticket in Japanese or other languages as well as the departure country and date. This is a kind of rumour and never tried by myself. It would be tricky to see if the cost will change or not based on the language you use for the search.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys your vacation if you have it in the near future!

まじでおぞましかった

According to THE SUN TIMES posted on Sep 26, 2023.

On Saturday, Canada observes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, coinciding with Orange Shirt Day, to honor the legacy of residential schools. Several local events are planned, including the unveiling of the Kelso Beach at Nawash Park sign in Owen Sound, a National Day of Truth and Reconciliation Ceremony and Fire at the Gichi-Name Wiikwedong Reconciliation Garden, and various community-hosted events in Cape Croker Park and Saugeen First Nation. The M’Wikwedong Indigenous Friendship Centre is hosting a Full Moon Ceremony on Friday. These events aim to promote awareness, education, and reflection on the impact of residential schools and are part of Canada's response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action, which led to the establishment of this federal statutory holiday in July 2021.

You can jump into the article in the description.

https://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/news/local-news/truth-and-reconciliation-day-events-planned

Today I will talk about the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, coinciding with Orange Shirt Day on Sep 30th 2023.

I happened to know the day because my manager told me we will be off on next Monday because of the stat holiday. Since Canada set the day as stat holiday quite recently, so many of my coworkers didn't expect we will be off on October 2nd.

Since then I have checked up the detail of the day, I was shocked by what happened in Canadian history.

First of all, Let me introduce what Truth and Reconciliation means. 

It was established to recognize, reflect on, and commemorate the legacy of "residential schools" in Canada. Residential schools were institutions where Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families and communities and subjected to cultural assimilation and abuse for over a century.

Most importantly, to date, the centre has documented 4,118 children who died at residential schools. It sounds really tragic and terrible. I cannot stop thinking of how they had been feeling or living in that place. 

What's more, surprisingly enough, Residential schools in Canada were a system of institutions that were operated with the collaboration of the Canadian government and various religious organizations, primarily the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Church, United Church of Canada, and others. These schools were established in the 19th century and operated well into the 20th century, with the last one closing in 1996. The primary goal of these schools was to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture by forcibly removing them from their families, communities, and Indigenous cultural practices. 

That means there were Forced Removal from their family as youngh as 3 or 4 years old, Cultural Suppression such as not allowing to speak their indigenous languages, abuse and neglect and High Mortality Rates. For me as a Japanese, I haven't known such a horrible history and was really shocked to know what happened in Canada. 

As a result, in 2008, the Canadian government established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to investigate and document the history and lasting effects of residential schools. The TRC's final report, released in 2015, included 94 Calls to Action aimed at addressing the historical injustices and advancing reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. All we can do is to express our condolences, follow the 94 calls to action for better understanding and keep our eyes on this matter. 

ありがとうすぎる