Les sucettes pis les bédaines à l’air

Summer is at it’s fullest now… the temperatures are hovering over 30deg. Once in a while, there are summer storms with very, very loud thunder ~ really quite different from montreal. What I miss most at this time of year is a terrace to enjoy a summer evening dinner. They aren’t any here. The closest thing to it are the plastic tables that they throw in front of a small store and some guy is usually b-b-q-ing some brochette on coal bricks. The chairs are usually one foot off the floor and the beer is served warm. This is where the locals (usually men) gather during late hours and eat and gossip. The waitresses clean the dishes in a plastic bucket filled with tepid water. Actually, I don’t think there has been a dishwasher in any of the restaurants I have been to to-date. Thank god for my hepatitis shots!
Of course, the warm summer days brings with it it’s fashion requirements. For the ladies, it’s ankle-high nylons in sandals. To accompany this, some wear tight-fitting gloves that have an aluminum finish and cover hands and arms. The effect is quite alienesque. No shorts for the ladies though. The important is to prevent the skin from being exposed to the sun and look like a farmer lady. The men, on the other hand, wear white ankle high nylons in their dress shoes (casual wear is non-existing) For a real treat for the eyes, men will sometimes lift the bottom half of their t-shirt up their torso, thus cooling-off their bellybutton and lower back. When a dozen men walk around you like this, it does look a bit bizarre.
Then, the final fashion touch is the result of Chinese Medicine. Suction cups are applied to wherever the pain is and a magnet inside the cup is supposed to help alleviate the pain. Unfortunately, the suction also causes the equivalent of a hickie (une sucette). So if a man goes shirtless, you’ll often spot big, red dots covering his entire back. Now that looks like something from another planet.

So, I’m getting excited to go back to Tshanada(that’s how Can is pronounced in Chinese) for a couple of weeks. I’m leaving in a couple of days until the end of the month so I guess that that’s it for my blog for the month of July!
A bientot !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!