Class 6: English Program

Michael, 22 years old, from Quebec City
Michael has no usual group but he has many good friends. He thinks that he has improved his English. The funniest thing that happened to him in Vancouver was when he did his oral presentation. His favourite food in Vancouver was sushi.

Patience, 20 years old, from Africa (Congo)
Her group of friends is Rachel and Stephanie. She thinks that she has improved her English. Now, she thinks that her understanding is pretty good and that she can speak more than before. The funniest thing that happened to her is when she went to Whitespot and she ordered a sandwich with mushrooms. She doesn’t like mushrooms but didn’t know the meaning of the word! Her favourite food in Vancouver is Japadog.

Titana, 28 years old, from Montreal
She was kidding and said that she has no friends. Now, she pronounces her English words more correctly and perfectly uses the conjunctive verbs. The funniest thing that happened to in Vancouver is when she lost her shoes on the Locarno beach. Her favourite food in Vancouver is seafood.

Phonary, 20 years old, from Montreal
I have my group of Asian people. I think that I improved as much as I can in English.
The funniest thing that happened to me in Vancouver is when I had a really a bad dream and I went into my boyfriend's room crying in the middle of the night. My favourite food here is Japanese food.

Catherine, 25 years old, from Montreal
Her group of friends is Xaviera, Cynthia, Joannie. She doesn’t know if she has improved her English skills or not. Her favourite food here is seafood.

Charles, 19 years old, from Jonquière
He thinks that he has improved his English a lot. He thinks that who is in his posse is none of our business. The funniest thing that happened to him in Vancouver was when he took the wrong boat for Victoria. His favourite food here is sushi.

Tian, 20 years old, from Montreal
He has a lot of friend. He thinks that he has improved his English so much. The funniest thing that happened to him here is the fact that he made friends. His favourite food here is MacDonald's.

Gabriel, 19 years old, from Jonquière
He has only Charles as a friend. His English is way better. The funniest thing that happened to him is the fact that he met Marcel (a funny guy). His favourite food here is fish.

Class 4: English Program

Christophe, 20 years old, Quebec City

My group of friends is Sarah-Emilie, Tania, Rachel, Louis-Philippe, Virginie, Stephany, Steve, and others… I like eating at the UBC White Spot. The funniest thing that happened to me was when a girl came into my room and sat on my bed by mistake at 430 AM! It was very awkward. I improved my English by gaining more vocabulary.

Emily, 20 years old, Chambly (South Shore of Montreal)

My group of friends includes Veronique, Jean, Christina, Valerie, Keltie, Hudison, Stephanie, Tania, Charlene, Joanie, etc. My favourite restaurants are the UBC White Spot and Mahony’s on campus. The conversations I have with my friends are very comedic –they make us laugh so hard we sometimes cry. Thanks to the Explore Program I have more vocabulary and I feel more confident when I speak.

Tania, 20 years old, (North Shore of Montreal)

My friends are Stephany, Steve, Eric, Stephane, Emily, Veronique and many more!!! My favourite food is the AAA Rib burger at the Point Grill restaurant. The funniest thing that happened to me was when I was stuck on a boat in Penticton. Thanks to the Explore program, I am more confident when I talk in English and less shy. I can talk more.

Benoit, 28 years old, Notre-Dame-du-Nord, Temiscamingue

My friends are Pipe, Marie-Michelle, Latifa, Anne-Marie, Mathieu and Victor. I like to eat Asian food. I think it is funny meeting people who live in Vancouver. I have improved my English a little bit.

Louis-Philippe, Saguenay

My group of friends is Steve, Eric, Tania, Stephanie, Sarah-Emilie and Christophe. My favourite food here is eating pizza and sushi. The funniest thing is that I had to act Edward from Twilight in a skit in front of many people. I have improved my English a lot... I think.

Jessyka, 19 years old, Montreal

My group of friends is Julie, Jessica, Fillipe, Malissa, Molly, Adam and Hossein. I like to eat Mcdonald. And the funniest thing that happened to me was at Whistler. My English did not improve enough.

Sarah-Emilie, 23 years old, Quebec City

My friends are Shannel, Maimuna, Rachel, Chloe, Stephanie, Christophe, Jimmy… My favourite food here is the most not expensive one. I do not remember anything funny that happened to me. I think my English is a little better since I came here.

Lotfi, 20 years old, Montreal

favourite Vancouver food is pizza. My English has definitely improved because I am now able to have a conversation.

Amjed, 27 years old, Libya

My friends are Yassin, Anis and Lotfi. The funniest thing that happened to me is that I met some very weird people in the program. My favourite food here is spaghetti. I don't know how much my English has improved -I can't judge myself!

Marie-Eve, 23 years old, Laval

My friends are Audrey and Claudia. My favourite food here is Thai food. I think the funniest thing is when Christophe died at sock war. My English has improved a little bit.

Gloria, 19 years old, Montreal

My friends are Tian, Steffie, David, Phonary... My favourite food here is the sushi made by Japanese people. I cannot remember anything funny. My English speaking has improved really much since I came here. I have learnt new words and expressions and I am less shy when I speak.

Claudia, 19, Quebec City

My friends are Audrey and Marie-Eve. My favourite food here is sushi. I think the funniest thing that happened to me is the way Christophe died at the sock war. My English has improved a little bit.

Visual Arts Workshop Assignment: Isabelle D.

Class 1: English Program

Stéphanie comes from Ste-Anne in Beauce, Québec. She’s a law student at Laval University. She likes to bike in the summer. She loves coffee and chocolate but hates sushi and seafood. She has three cats at home and used to want to become a vet but changed her mind.

Chloé was born in Valleyfield but has been living in Montréal for two years now. She is a very artistic person and has been practicing theater, her passion, for 11 years. She also makes jewelry. She loves traveling - she’s been to Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Lithuania and India - and wants to work with autistic children in elementary school.

Nabil has lived in five countries, has three degrees in three distinct fields and speaks two and a half languages. His favourite city is Paris and his favourite colours are green and blue. He is a smoker who works in the petroleum field.

Rafael lives and studies in Montréal. This was his first time in Vancouver and he really enjoyed it. He is very happy because walking in the parks and on the beach in Vancouver reminds him of is native country. Italian, Japanese, and Colombian food are his favorite.

Gabriel is 19 years old and lives in a small city in Quebec. He has a passion for sports in general but his favorite sport is hockey. He also loves to travel, mostly in South America because it’s warm and gives him a chance to relax.

Nicolas, 20 is from Metabetchouan in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. He specializes in metallurgy at college. He likes sports especially snowboarding and wakeboarding. He is the second-oldest of three brothers. This is his second time in Vancouver. His first trip was done two months ago.

Vanessa is 20, attends Collège Laflèche and studies Early Childhood Education, which she loves. She has four sisters and one brother, her family is very important to her. She enjoys playing badminton, hockey and volleyball. Vanessa likes pizza, pasta and clubs. She also enjoys shopping.

Sophie comes from Beloeil. She studies at Cégep de Sainte-Hyacinthe in administration. Next year she will attend UQAM in Accounting Science. She has plans to travel and loves airplanes, cats and baseball. Her dream is to have a pilot’s license.

Joannie loves Kayaks and Nature.

Thi Thanh really enjoyed the Explore program and Vancouver’s culture, this being her first time experiencing both. She feels five weeks is not enough to learn English but has had fun improving.

Wilmar “the man that is in him” is a shy guy who likes to think. He also enjoys horror movies.

Amina loves to travel and is inspired by landscapes. He favorite architect is Carlos Scarpa.

Sitech is a self-proclaimed fly guy who has recently graduated from business school. He is pursuing a Master’s degree next year. He has a conventional number of arms and legs, looks like MJ according to some people and relates to birdman, the rapper.

Melanie G., 21, was born in Rivière-Du-Loup, a small city near the St. Lawrence river. She moved to Montréal last year. Melanie will start her studies in tourism this fall and recognizes that fluency in English will be very important in that field.

Frédéric loves dolphins, who are warm, smart, friendly animals. He relates to the enthusiasm he perceives from their smile-shaped mouths and knows a whole lot of information about these fascinating mammals.

Marcel is originally from Haiti, where his family still lives. He loves his country and hopes that his background in Economic Science as well as his interest in international politics will make him very useful to improve Haiti’s situation. He is studying at Université de Sherbrooke.

Sonia was born in Issoudun, a small city of 800 people. She currently lives in Charny, in Québec City. After completing her studies circa 2015, Sonia would like to work in Child Services. She would also like to intern outside of Québec to gain more experience in her field of study.

Classe 3: Programme Francais

Roderick is 26 years old and he lives in Calgary and Montréal. He enrolled in the Explore program to learn french. In his five weeks of the program, Roderick saw someone walk into a lamppost. He made friend with Cora, Nicole, Kori, Elisabeth and Neda. His guilty pleasure is Sarah Palin and is favorite phrase in french is “Ben coudon!”.

Corazane is 22 years old and she lives in Ottawa. In her five weeks in the program and Vancouver the funniest thing that happened to her was sock wars. She was killed because she was drooling on a couch. She made friend with Teesha,Patricia, Chantal, Nicole and her guilty pleasure is shopping. Ohh, fresh salmon sashimi is her favourite Vancouver food.

Michael is 31 and he comes from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He feels that his grammatical French has improved. He also thinks that pizza is the best Vancouver food.

Aly was born in Vancouver but lives actually in Toronto. He’s 19 years old. The favorite food he experienced in Vancouver came from the SUB. He made a lot friends during the Explore program like Keltie, Anissa, Allisha, Hossein “Prince”, Adam, Abdul and Jessica. His guilty pleasure is Megan Fox and his favorite phrase in french is “ C’ta poile que je te veux”.

Melissa comes from Newfoundland she’s 24 years old. She feels that her French has really improved thanks to explore program. Her guilty pleasure his reading late at night with hot chocolate. The funniest thing that happened to her in Vancouver was when she got lost in East Hastings and ended up on the bus for 4.5 hours. The favorite food she experienced in Vancouver were the nachos at Foundation restaurant on Main street.

Kori comes from Calgary and he's 24 years old. He’s guilty pleasure is partying and champagne. In his five weeks of the program, Kori made a lot of friends but Roderick, Éli, Sitech, Corazane, Neda, Jean-Micheal and Pascale belong to his posse. He isn’t sure of his favorite food in Vancouver, but he loves Sushi and the food from Coast Restaurant.

Cassandre was born in Surrey but now she lives in Montréal, she is 21 years old and loves to say: “Ça m’énerve”. She also thinks that her listening skills in French have improved, thanks to the explore program. Her guilty pleasure is junk food but sushi is her favorite Vancouver food. In her five weeks in Vancouver, Cassandre met a lot of people and did a lot of stuff. However, performing a rap in her work shop was the funniest thing that happened to her. Maya, Aly, Lydia, Anita, Anna and Anissa are the sickest people she met in the explore program.

Maya is 24 years old she comes from Winnipeg. Her guilty pleasure is coffee - she actually drinks coffee in the morning, evening and at night. Her favorite sentence in french is “J’aime tu, ma petite chou." She doesn’t know what it means but it’s cool. Nothing funny happened to her and sushi is her favorite Vancouver Food. To conclude, Cassandre, Mary Kate and Melissa are in her posse.

Anna K. is 20 years old she lives in Toronto. Her guilty pleasure is chocolate but her favorite Vancouver food is sushi. She thinks that the funniest thing that happened in Vancouver is went her friends locked themselves in their room. Finally “enchanté!” is her favorite word in French.

Nicole is 19, she lives in Leanington, Ontario and she have in her posse Scott- “A-Dubs”-MacDonald, Chris- “Kicker”- Thomas and Herself aka Nicole- “BMO”- Torres. Her guilty pleasure is to listen to ABBA. She thinks that the funniest thing that happened in Vancouver was the writing and the preforming in English by the francophones. Megabite was her favorite Vancouver Food. Finally, “Ma t’en calicer une!!” is Nicole’s favorite French sentence.

Wen Shuo currently lives in Montréal. She thinks that her French has improved a lot thanks to the program. She also made some new friend like Nancy but she considers everyone in the program to be her friend. Sock wars was the funniest thing that happen to her because she needed to "kill" her best friend, Nancy. To conclude, Shuo really enjoyed the pizza, sushi and the frozen yogurt from Vancouver.

Anita’s guilty pleasure is listening to Justin Bieber’s song “Baby”. The funniest thing that’s happened to her in Vancouver is having nudists cheer her on as she was jogging along Wreck Beach. Her best friend from the program is Jennifer Kogan and her favorite French expression is “Allons-y”!

Mary Kate is 24 years old and comes from Upper Randon, Nova Scotia. Her guilty pleasure is reality televison. Her best friends in the program are her fellow Nova Scotians, Hillary and Shauna. The funniest thing that happened to her in Vancouver was when she went hiking up the Grouse Grind and fell from a rock after taking of photo on it. To conclude, “donc” is her favorite world in french because of the way it sounds.

Exploring Explore

By Olivia K. and Simon P.

People in Europe are more likely to speak multiple languages compared to North Americans. Why is that?

“Languages are much more important in Europe because as soon as you cross a border, there’s another spoken language,” said Dr. Francis Andrew, the director of UBC’s Explore program.

Founded in 1971 and sponsored by Canada’s federal government, the Explore program has helped many Canadians learn one of Canada’s two official languages. The Explore program provides Canadian students with a chance to spend five weeks in another Canadian province and meet other people whose main language is different than their own.

Dr. Francis Andrew began his career with the Explore program in 1976. When he first arrived, Dr. Andrew noticed cultural conflict between English and French-speaking peoples in Canada. Over the years, he has noticed a significant decline in such cultural clashes. It appears these differences have become less important.

One reason for this may be that the political situation is not the same than it was back in the 1970s. Hard feelings between English and French-speaking peoples in Canada have waned and the Quebec sovereignty movement has stagnated since its two defeats in referendums in 1980 and 1995. Another cause may be that with globalization, as Dr. Andrew conjectured, “Quebecers realized that they need English’’ if they want an international career. In other words, they “gain much more from this program than the Anglophones.”

But does multiculturalism affect the future of bilingualism and, by the same token, the Explore program? In other words, would it be more culturally relevant to Canadians to offer government-sponsored courses in unofficial languages that are more important to specific regions, such as offering Mandarin and Punjabi in British Columbia? “The supply and the demand are still not present,” claimed Dr. Andrew, and there are historical and cultural reasons why the federal government does not and probably will not sponsor such a program, at least in the immediate future. Dr. Andrew added that the creation of such a program would likely be within the jurisdiction of a provincial government.

Nearly forty years after its creation, the Explore program is still evaluating its existence. “It’s not well-funded," stated Dr. Andrew. "It’s not a money-making program.” Indeed, many universities throughout Canada have cancelled the program because they were not financially able to sustain it. Despite all of that, many improvements have been made. For instance, Dr. Andrew puts English and French programs together so that students can now interact more often.

The Explore program is a great opportunity to learn one of Canada’s two official languages. Although it does not necessarily erase all the differences between English and French-speaking peoples in Canada, it does foster greater tolerance, more open-mindedness, and a better understanding of the other solitude.

Blog Survey Results

1. Most likely to have a liver failure by the end of the summer? Jonathan V. & Adam M.
2. Best dressed student? Valerie S.
3. Best dance moves? Philippe L.
4. Favourite teacher? Grant & Fréderick
5. Favourite monitor? Veronique & Andrea
6. Most likely to go nude at Wreck Beach? Nady E.
7. Most charming? Kori H.
8. Most likely to use their second language by the end of the program? Brady M.
9. Most improved in their second language? Kim S.
10. Class clown? Pascal L.
11. Best personality? Marc-André G.
12. Person with the best stories? Lisa M.
13. Most likely to stay best friends forever? Neda P. & Elisabeth G.
14. Most memorable event/trip/activity? WHISTLER
15. Best smile? Teesha P.
16. Most likely to take over the world? Ryan G.
17. Be an Explore monitor? Steve P.
18. Win Canadian Idol? Simon P.
19. Be Miss Canada? Jennifer I.
20. Be a professional athlete? Michael P.

Visual Arts Workshop Assignment

"Textured Ground"
For this piece we decided to take pictures of "things that you walk on."  Our group was sent out with no parameters other than to take three pictures at any angle under this bracket.  Despite the often photographed natural beauty of Vancouver, what we have here are a selection of nine rather monotonous representations of surfaces that could have been taken from any number of places across the globe.  The works are arranged from 'most natural' at the top left corner, to 'most un-natural' at the bottom right (although this is open to interpretation).  Mirroring that of Vancouver imagery where the natural beauty of the mountains is often pictured with that of the man-made downtown core, in these works too we have the natural (represented by grass and rock) and the man-made (represented by carpet and synthetic rubber floor).  What all these surfaces have in common is that rarely does the human skin come into direct contact with them; for the most part everything that we walk on does not force a sensation on the body, only indirectly via footwear."

Untitled (graffiti)
We chose a theme revolving around graffiti. The sheds located behind Ross have an array of artistic expression. While taking shots of the graffiti we began to notice a common theme portrayed in the graffiti. Themes of frustration, loneliness and solitude - evoked through emotional poetry, frantic spraypainting, and the ticking watch- were developed in the graffiti. For this project, we enjoyed taking pieces of the graffiti artists' expressions and arranging them into a piece of our own, combining the emotions of many individuals into a single piece of art work.

The Book of Knowledge
 We chose to focus our picture series on the various architectural aspects of the UBC Library.  The three pictures at the bottom of the series show structures made of concrete.  This represents a strong architectural base for the building which also portrays a strong base for education.  As we move up in the series, the centre pictures depict the access way into the library, where students can advance their studies.  The pictures at the top of the series are mainly structures made of glass.  The glass allows students to see the world of possibilities that are available outside; the sun is able to illuminate a pathway to our futures.

Waving Flag: Explore 2010

Class 5: English Program

Audrey L.’s favourite memory of the Explore program was when we went to All You Can Eat Sushi. Her guilty pleasure is dark chocolate :) Parting words: “Vancouver is the best city!”

Mathieu P.’s favourite memory at Explore was the weekend in Whistler. His favourite phrase in English is “Can I have a beer?” and drinking beer is his guilty pleasure. Parting words: “The end!”

Nady’s funniest memory at Explore was when he slept on a roof. His favourite phrase in English is “You’re drunk, aren’t you?” and his guilty pleasure would have to be eating pork sausage dipped in fishtail sauce. Parting words: “When I’m happy, I can run faster because I’m drunk and furious for liberty.”

Jean Claude’s favourite activity at Explore was the “Sock Wars” game and his favourite phrase in English is “I am the best, aren’t I?”

Jonathan V. says he doesn’t have a favourite memory at Explore because he was too drunk to remember anything. But, he wants to thank Steve for taking all the nice and interesting pictures for him. His favourite English phrase is: “It’s like having ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife,” which comes from the Alanis Morissette song, Ironic. His guilty pleasure is drinking alcohol.

Steffie T.’s favourite memory at Explore is spending time at the beach. She likes everything in Vancouver and her favourite phrase in English is “Wrap it up!” Her guilty pleasure has been censored.

Amine thought that the whole Explore Program was fun, but her favourite activity was Whistler. Her favourite English phrase is: “You took me by surprise!” Amine’s guilty pleasure is not going to class in the mornings and the Timbits from Tim Hortons. Parting words: “WASABI!!”

Frederic L.’s favorite activity in Explore is going to Whistler with everyone. His favourite English phrase is “Way to go, buddy!” and his guilty pleasure is drinking alcohol. Parting words: “Love you all!”

Liliana's funniest memory at Explore was when she went to Wreck Beach for the first time and saw naked people. It was an awkward moment. Her favourite phrase in English is “What the hell is that?!” and her guilty pleasure is talking with friends at night till 1AM. Parting words: “Vancouver! I love it!”

Monica loved it when she met people here at Explore and her guilty pleasure is going outside of UBC. Her favourite phrase in English is “I don’t care!”

Steve P.’s funnest memory at Explore was dancing in Salsa class and when we ate Korean BBQ at Shabusen. His guilty pleasure is dark chocolate and his favourite phrases in English are “What are you talking about?”, “Awesome!” and “Amazing!” Parting words: “I love Vancouver! I want to move in!”

Kim S.’s favourite memory at Explore was walking in the snow on top of Whistler. She loves to walk on the beach and watch the beautiful landscape of BC. Parting words: “I enjoyed my trip to Vancouver. It was one of the best experiences of my life.”

Isabelle D. loved both the trips to Victoria and Whistler and she loved living with all the funny people of the program. Her favourite English phrase is: “What’s up dude?” and her guilty pleasure is eating strawberries. Parting words: “The famous song... by Foreigner – I want to know what love is.”

Pascal L.’s funniest memory at Explore was when they gave their presentation at the weekly assembly. His guilty pleasure is chocolate, and his favourite English phrase is: “One beer please!”

Stephanie G. liked spending time with good friends drinking in the afternoon in Victoria. The weather was good and the drinks were good too. Her guilty pleasure is eating cheese and her favourite phrase in English is: “Life is a state of mind.”

Pascale L.’s favourite memory at Explore was drinking and dancing in their own room at Whistler. A favourite phrase of his in English is: “Happiness is a state of mind” and his guilty pleasure is eating candy. They’re so good!

Jean-Michel’s funniest memory was meeting a bear on the Whistler trip. His guilty pleasure is eating McDonald’s and his favourite English phrase is: "I want to be drunk today." Parting words: "Hello, my name is Johnny Cash."

Group 1 and 2 presentation

Group 3: English Program

Catherine B., 19, Montréal, I have so many friends, and I call them my “whatever bananas.” I think my English is better than before. The funniest thing that happened to me is “y’a tu des p’tites ponottes dessus”. My favourite food is sushi with ginger cookies from Starbucks.

Pamela P., 19, Montréal. During the Explore Program, I met so many friends: Emmanuel, Pureale, Stephanie, Tina, Marie-Jocée, Sharlyne, Nady, Jonathan, Fred, Mohamed, Catherine. I understand English so much better since I first arrived in Vancouver. My favourite food in Vancouver is 'Sho-Sho.'

Eve Lortie F., 24, Montréal. I made a lot of friends here, but I don’t know if I will see them again since we live in different cities. I believe that my English has improved, especially in grammar. I can compose sentences more easily. I tried Malaysian food and I found it was awesome.

Lourdes R., 36, Montréal, I made some friends who are around the same age as me. My listening and speaking have improved a lot thanks to the Explore Program. My funniest experience would be when I forgot my key in my room. I tried the best Japanese food in Vancouver.

Emanuèle P., 21, Trois-Rivières. I have a lot of new friends like Pamela, Pascale, Tina...etc. I think I should stay in Vancouver longer in order to improve my English. The funniest experience was when I got lost on Hastings Street. My favorite food here is definitely Sushi!

Ivan C., 24, Mexico City and Montréal. Everyone in this program is my friend. My funniest experience is that I had to give food to a panhandler after I asked him some questions about Gastown. My favorite food is Japadogs.

Alexandre, 24, Quebec City, I made a lot of musical people and friendly people during this program. My English has improved a lot. My best experience would have to be the Whistler trip. I love sushi here.

Catherine B., 22, Laval. I have so many new friends like Mélanie Girard-Brisson, Marie- Andrée Parent, Teesha and Patricia. My English has improved, but not as much as I expected. The funniest thing happened on me would be that I saw a “Woooo girl”. My favourite restaurant is the Naam.

Stephane, 25, Montréal. I have a lot of friends here such as, Steve, Erik, Tania, Chloé, Stephanie… I took the best English course I have ever had. The funniest thing that happened to me would be when I went to cut my hair. The hairdresser couldn't understand me and cut my hair too short. I love sushi here!

Joannie C., 20, Quebec City. I have a lot of new friends, such as Marie-Claude Montminy-Parent, Anne-Marie Gignon, Audrey Casassie, Marie-Andrée Parent, Mathieu Perreault, Mathieu Denis. My English is a bit better than it was before. I really enjoyed Whistler and the funniest thing was when a bird did its business on Marc-André’s head in downtown. I love Sushi.

Mathieu D., 21, I like everyone in this program. I definitely improved my English. Whistler was the best trip I have ever had. I am a big fan of burgers!

Catherine M., 19, Quebec City. The Explore Program gave me chance to make more friends such as, Gabriel de Varennes, Vanessa Ross, Nicolas Simard, Francois Fournier, Nicolas de la Rue… etc. During the program, I lost my friends on the street several times. I heard that Pinky is one of the best restaurants in Vancouver. Unfortunately, it was closed when we went there.

Explore “I Saw You” ads

Have you ever seen a stranger you would have liked to talk to, but then something – a lack of time, the awkwardness of the moment, or simply your shy personality – prevented you from doing so? Apparently this happens to many people in Vancouver because there is an entire section in Vancouver’s famous Georgia Straight newspaper devoted to just that. It is called the “I Saw You,” and it helps people to say in an anonymous message that which they could not say in person. The messages can be love letters, thank you notes, or simply expressions of admiration! They always include a description of the target individual and the date on which they were spotted. The ultimate purpose of an “I Saw You” is to get the attention of the person described, in the hopes of meeting them once again!

In the Insider’s Guide to Vancouver workshop, the students wrote their own messages in the style of a Vancouver “I Saw You.” They were allowed to write one about anyone in the program. Up to you to guess who each message is talking about!

Yes, it could be YOU !
- Andréa

My strong viking
It wasn’t the first time that I had met you, but somehow I saw you in a different light that day. I had seen you in Victoria, a leader amongst your peers, improvising as a guide with your impressive historical knowledge. I know all about your love of Irish and Scottish pubs and how you like to taste all kinds of scotch and whiskey, as well as how it sometimes makes you do crazy things, such as locking yourself out of your room naked. But today, as you were doing your homework seated on the grass, you looked different. The sun was shining through your beard and you reminded me of a strong and fierce Viking. I hope that the sun made you see me in a different way too.

Homework in the Sun
It was not the first time I’d seen you ... We actually share the same workshop! But last Thursday I felt that we really connected! You were sitting on a bench in Place Vanier’s courtyard, and I was sitting on the ground right on the other side of the tree. We were both doing our homework at the same time, in the same place and for the same reason: to fully enjoy the sun. Isn’t that a sign? You even smiled at me. Hoooo... you’re so beautiful with your long blonde hair. I hope that next week we will do our homework together again. I need to be close to you. I need you! I want you...
Your #1 fan, the bearded one.

Angelina Jolie
The first time I saw you, you were standing in front of me -- beautiful, with your long curly hair and your lips looking like those of Angelina Jolie! You were there with your three suitcases waiting to register them and obtain your ticket for Vancouver. You seemed so happy to travel and meet new people. Since I’ve known you, you’ve always smiled and talked with everybody around you!

Glass of wine?
I saw you on a cold, wet and damp day. I was nervous. However, the light of your energy filled my day with heat. Since the day that I first met you, you've made me laugh. I love your experience and your critical thinking. I know you are really good at speaking English and I am just learning, but can I still invite you over for a glass of red wine in a comfortable place ? It seems to me that you are the person that I want to know in Vancouver. Coffee, cigarette and a discussion?

Ike's Cafe friend
The first time I met you, I thought you seemed like a serious person, but my opinion changed rapidly when I heard you talking in our class. At this moment, I understood that you are actually a very funny individual. I really like your sense of humour. You are so open minded and I think you’ll make a great psychologist. Now, we always go for dinner together at Ike’s Café and I hope I’ll have the opportunity to discover the city of Vancouver with you.
- Your Explore friend with the brown jacket and the orange socks…

Flying to Vancouver
I first saw you in the airplane on the way to Vancouver, but I did not know that you were also coming to the Explore program because I had decided to come two days before the start of the program. You were in the seat beside the window and I was in the aisle seat in the same number line. Maybe we will be on the same flight home ?
- Your flight companion

Your Perfect Smile!
When I saw you with your perfect smile, your curly brown hair and your athletic body I wondered if we would become good friends. It was funny to see you with all your grocery bags and with your eyes asking for kind help. Sadly, no one came -- your smile disappeared suddenly and my heart fell. I ran to you to grab two big bags and it was like a rainbow in my day when our hands came close together. It was such an amazing feeling to know that we were in the same building.
- Your Mawdsley friend

Beach Babe!
I saw you Saturday at the beach. You have long blond hair, blue eyes, and you are very beautiful. You were wearing purple and playing beach volleyball with some friends.
- Your Explore admirer

Magical dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory
The first time I saw you we were sharing the same bus to go to the Old Spaghetti Factory. We talked for a long time. Your very curly hair and your smile charmed me within the first minutes of our conversation. Now, whenever I see you I am so happy! I hope it’s the same thing for you and I hope you want to be my friend! If you don’t want to become my friend, my heart will be broken!

I saw you in the lounge…
I saw you in the 4th floor lounge of Mawdsley on Saturday the 29th of May. We were playing cards and you were teaching us the 101 rules of the game called “Asshole.” You were funny because you were adding new rules every five minutes. When we played “Spoon” (with forks), you wanted to get one so badly that you accidentally made them all fly across the room. Good thing that they were made of plastic! I will see you at our next cards night on the 4th floor !

Want a hot chocolate?
I saw you for the first time at the airport and we ended up taking the same plane to Vancouver. That very day, we went to the grocery store and we got lost on the UBC campus on our way back to the residences. You like clubbing, children and everything that contains chocolate. You are very sociable and you live near Chicoutimi. Can you guess who I am?
-The man sitting at the back

Spectacled Stud
The first time I saw you was at the assembly for the Explore English Program, which was held in the Hennings building at 12h00. You were wearing glasses, blue jeans, a white shirt and you were sitting in the back of the room. It was my first day of the program. The second time I saw you was in the same building, but the event was different. The entire English program was attending an improvisation skit performed by group 7, but just prior to this event you had introduced us to a security man who spoke about safety on campus.

Cute Girl in the McDo
I met you at the McDonald's restaurant in the University Village. Your dark chocolate skin had blown me away. You looked as if you had high self-esteem, acting like a Queen Bee. Your confidence caught me off guard and I was too shy to come and talk to you. You’re the only “ghetto girl” I have met who doesn’t know how to rap, so if you need some private classes, feel free to let me know!

Groupe 1: Programme Francais

Kailey’s best friend in the program is William Burton. Her dream is to be able to speak French fluently. Her favourite word in French is étrange and her guilty pleasure is candy.

Jennifer's favourite word in French is "Bof!" Her dream is to live in Europe and her guilty pleasure is cheesecake.

Shira’s dream is to travel into space. Her favorite word in french is "turlatutu!" and her guilty pleasure is cheesecake.

Alisha's dream is to be an artist who speaks french very well. The funniest thing that happened to her is everything that has to do with Hossein. Her favourite word in French is "Étrange."

Malissa’s dream is to be able to spend time travelling and working all around the world. Her guilty pleasure is working with nature and her favourite phrase in French is "Comment dit-on?"

Group 6: English Program

Patricia's dream is to go to Africa for one or two months. Her funniest story happened while she was studying at Wreck beach when someone promptly asked her for a piece of paper to smoke something. After the program she hopes that she will still be in touch with Francesca because they’ve spent crazy moments together.

Francheszca's dream is to go to Australia and go scuba diving. The funniest thing that happened to her during the program is when she entered a shop at the Granville Island market. While she was walking around, she realized that the shop was actually a sex shop.

Marie has the "Whatever bananas mates" in her posse. Her favourite world in English is: I don’t know and her dream is world peace. Her craziest story? She got a free 25-minute bike lesson from a total stranger! Lucky her!

Veronique’s dream is to live in Vancouver. One of her good friend in the Explore program is Jennifer Ignacio and her favourite phrase in English is "Shut your front door."

Melanie's favourite phrase in English is "Ok, cool." The funniest thing that happened to her during the explore program is her dinner at the Naam with Catherine, Valérie and Jonathan the monitor.

Élisabeth’s best friends in the program are Neda, Pascal, Kori, Jean-Michel and Francesco. Her favourite word in English is "Frankly" and the craziest thing that happened to her is the "mushpit" with Neda on the bar at Whistler on Saturday night. Her dream is to become trilingual at 24 years old.

Mario-Pierre "M.P"’s best friends are the "Whatever Bananas." The craziest thing that happened to him is during the dinner at the Naam when a waitress accidentally spilled water all over him. M.P received a cake as an apology. His dream is to come live and work in Vancouver and to travel all around the world.

Najat’s dream is to establish the peace all around the world. One of her good friend in the program is Maï and her favourite phrase in English is: The need is the matter of invention. Her craziest story that happened to her in the program is when a junkie tried to help her find the bus stop to go back to UBC! I guess that not every junkie are bad people in Vancouver!

Yassine’s good friend in the program is Bamba! His dream is to live in a peaceful world and his favourite word in English is "sweetie." The craziest thing that happened to him is Sock wars.

Jonathan’s dream is to be bilingual or to become a good salsa dancer. His best friend of the program is Michael Pronovost and the funniest thing that happened to him is him trying to dance salsa.

Yassine’s best friend in the program is Hillary Reid (really she’s in the program?? Lol). The craziest thing that happened to Yassine is when the doctor gave him hydrogen in the ambulance when he dislocated his knee. According to him, he was really high!!

Jennifer’s best friend of the program is Vero Ko. The funniest thing that happened to her during the program is when she went to the beach to have a sunbathe. She took a look around and she realized there were a lot of naked people! Her dream is to live in a world where everyone cares about others and about our next generation.

Anne Marie’s favourite word in English is "zip it." Her best friends is Joannie Caron, Mathieu D. Perreault, Marie –Claude, Audrey Lacasse and Marie-Andrée Parent. Her craziest story is when a bird spilled on her friend's head downtown. Her dream is to do a road trip in the United States.

Anissa’s posse is Anna and Roxana. The funniest thing that happened is meeting Hossein. Her favourite word in English is "Yo Dude!"

Tinas’s craziest story is when she got lost in the downtown eastside on Hastings Street. Her dream is to have a big family with 4 children and her favourite English phrase is "Oh my god."

Hugo’s favourite word in English is "Goddamn." And his best friends of the program are the "Whatever Bananas" crew.

Joanna’s best friends of the program are the "Whatever Bananas" crew. The craziest thing that happened to her is dancing tectonic with some random guy. Her dream is to work as a freelance geographer/photographer. Her favourite phrases in English are: "Sure! You like bananas? Ya man!"

Classe 2: Programme Francais

Azmina: Ma boisson préférée est le thé glacé. Ma couleur préférée est le bleu parce que c'est la couleur du ciel, l'océan, et ma paire de chaussettes préférée. Mon meilleur souvenir d'Explore sera le beau campus et la ville qui est vivante, animée, et le vert! Mes meilleures expériences ont été les randonnées et les promenades et toujours avoir une activité amusante à faire. Les moniteurs amicaux, les professeurs, et ses collègues se souviendront à jamais, et je remercie tous ceux qui ont rendu ce voyage le plus incroyable de ma vie.

Hossein: I like eagles! Je préfère thé parce que je suis accro à lui. Yes, I listen to French music, like Alizée. La beauté de Vancouver est mon meilleur souvenir d'Explore. I will do my best to improve my French by going to the French classes that are available at Montréal and also by talking to francophones.

Olivia: Je suis comme un ours parce que j'aime a dormir et a manger. J'aime un câlin aussi. Si j'étais un ours, je serais un ours brun parce que je veux habiter dans BC et les ours bruns habitent dans BC. J'aime la bière Corona parce qu'elle me rappelle mes vacances au Mexique et les iles Caraïbes. Je préfère la couleur bleu parce qu'il me rappelle mes vacances aussi et la plongée dans la mer. J'écoute Nolwenn Leroy, Mylene Farmer, Emilie Simon et Alizée. Mon meilleur souvenir d'Explore est un pull de Whistler. Merci beaucoup à tous les professeurs Frederic, Stephanie et Andrew. J'ai appris le français très bien parce que vous êtes de bons professeurs. Merci!!

Lisa: J'aime le thé parce qu'il est très bon pour la santé. J'aime la couleur bleue. I was introduced to Cœur de pirate recently, and I like her. :) I love French films as well. Bonjour to all of the wonderful people I met here! You guys are great and I'll miss you all. Next time you're in Vancouver, let me know. :) I'm thinking of taking a more in depth French course afterwards because I think French is a super useful language to know.

Adam: I am an animal, similar to a bear because I'm big and cuddly. J'aime beaucoup la bière, parce qu'elle goûte bon. Je n'écoute pas de musique française. My favourite experience was Whistler and the friends that I met.

Nancy: J'écoute de la musique francophone, comme JUSTICE, Mr. Oizo, Oliver Messiaen, Erik Satie, Claude Debussy et Maurice Ravel. Mon expérience préférée à Vancouver est quand nous sommes allés le bateau. J'espère que je vais parler en français après le programme.

Neda: Je viens de Toronto en Ontario. Mon animal préférée est le chinchilla. Ma boisson préférée est la bière et mes couleurs préférées sont le rouge, le blanc et le jaune. J'écoute seulement quelques artistes français. Mon expérience la plus mémorable est le saut à l'élastique à Whistler.

Teesha: J'aime les pingouins – I'm kind of ridiculously obsessed with them actually! J'aime les Long Island Iced Tea.. I can drink it when I’m just relaxing or going out for a night in town. J'adore la musique française!! But I haven't seen any Francophone films. So many good memories, but bungee jumping in Whistler was definitely the highlight. Shoutouts to PP,CH, CB -mes filles ♥ never a dull moment!!

Shauna: I'm most like a squirrel because I change my mind quickly, I'm random, I'm a vegetarian and I love nuts. :) Ma boisson préférée est l'eau parce que c'est essentiel pour la vie. J'aime la vodka et le citron aussi. ;) Mon expérience préférée d'Explore était d'aller à Whistler. I plan to hopefully continue learning French when I return home by watching French movies and reading children/ adolescent stories (for the simple things). I also plan to take a course in French and hopefully go to Quebec next summer to once again do the Explore program. After experiencing this program, I would like to teach English as a second language in France someday (j'espère). Thank-you to all of the monitors and teachers for 1) Putting up with all of us, and 2) Being supportive of different learning abilities and qualities. To all of my new friends, the best of luck and stay in touch! "C'est la vie!"

Meighen: I would have to say that, on a good day, I am most like a homo sapien, probably because I technically am one. A close second has to go to the opossum, though, as our names both have ridiculous spellings. Ma boisson préférée est le cappuccino traditionnel italien avec sucre parce que c'est délicieux. Ma couleur préférée est le beige, parce qu'elle est la couleur que l'univers aurait si elle était visible de loin et aussi parce que c'est la couleur d'un cappuccino. Je plaisante. Je n'aime pas le beige. Je n'ai pas de couleur préférée. Unfortunately, no, I don't listen to a lot of Francophone music. I have one Emilie Simon song, and that's about it! Mon meilleur souvenir d'Explore est le de faire du saut à l'élastique de un pont de 160 pieds! I've lived in 10 cities on 4 continents and dream of owning a houseboat. Favorite childhood game: cops and robbers. Pet peeve: Aero bars.

Jordynn: Je viens de Tompkins en Saskatchewan. Ma couleur préférée est le vert, parce que c'est la couleur des Roughriders de la Saskatchewan. J'écoute un petit peu de musique francophone, comme Yelle, Jean Leloup, Céline (bien sûr!), MC Solaar et Pheonix (est-ce qu'il compte?).

Emily: J'habite à Winnipeg, malgré moi. Je suis une tigresse de Bengale, parce que je suis féroce et rare. Mes couleurs préférées sont le rouge et le violet. Je préfère la bière en fût. J'écoute beaucoup de musique francophone comme Jorane, Mathieu Chedid, Yelle, Ariane Moffatt, Air, Carla Bruni, Olivia Ruiz Manu Chao et ainsi de suite! Enfin et surtout, j'aime les coucher de soleil et les longues promenades sur la plage. Merci beaucoup à tous les professeurs et les moniteurs!

Wei: Monkeys are my most favourite animals because they are intelligent and I was born on year of monkey based on Chinese calendar. Je pense que l'eau est la meilleure boisson au monde parce qu'elle est pure. Le bleu est ma couleur préférée parce qu'il représente le professionnel. I do not listen to any Francophone music. Mon meilleure souvenir d'Explore est notre présentation. Mon expérience préférée est Ziptrek à Whistler. J'habite à Montréal. J'essayerai d'utiliser mon français dans ma vie et d'écouter la radio française.

Wen Bo: J'aime beaucoup les dauphins et les pandas parce qu'ils sont amicaux. Aussi, j'aime la peau du dauphin. Elle est lisse. Je préfère l'eau. J'aime toutes les couleurs. J'aime beaucoup le brun, le gris et le rose... Tout le monde sont amicaux dans la classe. J'adore "sock war" et "cheese party". J'aime mes camarades de classe comme Emily, Nancy, Wei, Asmina, Shauna, Adam, Hossein, etc.. Ils vont me manquer. Je vais parler français tous les jours avec mes amis après le programme. Je veux continuer pour mon français!

Brent: Salut! Je viens de Lethbridge, en Alberta. Je suis venu à Vancouver pour apprendre le français et visiter la ville et les deux ont été chouette! I came here knowing zero français, so I definitely learned a ton and met a lot of cool people. Dorm life was fun, but I can't wait to go home and eat something that is not deep-fried!

par Emily W.

Comic Book by Louis-Philippe

ADAM - by Christina V.

Adam M.

Rachelle

The Dragon Dilmena - by Nabil

Graphic Novel by Philippe