I am from wheat
from the softly draping Laurentides
and the Nation River
I am from lavender—
sweet, soothing.
Intoxicating.
From learning a cow’s daily routine.
From Marcel
and Sylvie.
From Sleepytime
and corn.
I am from the butter churner
whipping,
pâté chinois,
lilac,
and late family dinners.
My name is Geneviève and I am in my fourth year of Environment and Sustainability under the Geography department. I took this class because I have been wanting to take LAST100 for awhile (I saw Roma in the syllabus and thought it’d be a good excuse to watch that masterpiece again!) but this class works better with my schedule. I was also looking for another food course, as I did one in Anthropology last year and really enjoyed it! This is one of my last two electives so I’m really happy I found one that fits so well with my interests.
I am originally from a farm in rural Ontario, have lived in Whistler on-and-off for a few years, but now live in Vancouver. I have travelled a lot through Latin/South-Central America, and have returned to Ecuador a few times because of family living there. Two of my favourite spots are Mindo and Puerto Lopez. I was lucky enough to experience an intensive 5-week course in Quito to perfect my Spanish a few years ago, but besides watching Elite (honestly one of my favourite shows) and Jane the Virgin (but it’s over now…), I have no real opportunity to practice it. The next time I get to travel down South (?????) I would love to go to Argentina and Chile and experience skiing Patagonia – it’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid.
Stoked to get started with this class and get to know everyone!
🙂
Your description of lilac is spot on… I’ve been missing the smell of my lilac plant since we can’t go outside due to the smoke from the wildfires 🙁 En fin, welcome to the class, Geneviève! It will be great to have the perspective of an Environment and Sustainability major in our course.
P.S. Jane the Virgin is one of my favorite guilty pleasure shows! Have you seen La casa de papel on Netflix? It has some of the same actors as Elite, if I’m not mistaken.
Hi Tamara! My mom planted a lilac tree in our yard the year I was born, so I grew up with it and the mariposas that would flock to it in the spring. Unfortunately, we moved away from my childhood home when I was in high school and I miss it a lot, but I would like to go back and see how big it’s gotten!
I haven’t yet seen la casa del papel! My boyfriend keeps telling me to watch it though, he loves it. I will definitely watch it, I just hate starting series during the school year, it’s too dangerous!!
Hi Geneviève!
It’s so nice to make your acquaintance. Your poem really resonated with me and when I got to the introduction portion of your post I realized why! We both come from the prairies! I lived in Manitoba for the first 18 years of my life, in a small town that was surrounded by farmlands. I remember taking several school trips to visit the cows, as well as one particularly interesting trip where we got to learn how to churn butter!
It’s cool to hear how much you’ve traveled through Latin America! It’s easily my favourite region to travel around, and I’m actually in Honduras right now! I was wondering, what makes Mindo and Puerto Lopez your favourite spots?
Tambien, si algun dia quieres practicar tu español con alguien, yo puedo practicar contigo!
Hola Coral! Nice to e-meet you too 🙂 Oh man, I think I remember churning butter at Upper Canada Village once actually. Brutal work. I’ve never been to Honduras, what’s it like?? And how is it being there right now? My friend was stuck in Colombia for a bit but she managed to get a repatriation flight after a lot of back and forth with the embassy.
From what I remember, Mindo is one of the most bio-dense areas in Ecuador, and it’s incredible. I went on a solo trip during a weekend whilst I was doing school in Quito, and did a 4am birding tour (where I saw an apparently rare bird to spot), then went to a hummingbird sanctuary (soo cool, there were dozens on dozens of species), hiked up a mountain and spotted a family of monkeys, etc etc. It’s an awesome place. Puerto Lopez is one of the first spots I went to in Ecuador with my family when I was about 16. I don’t know what it is about it (because a lot of people dislike it – it’s a tiny fishing village and Montañita is relatively nearby and more popular), but my family fell in love with it. We went on a horseback tour and ate at the guide’s house, where his mom made such a great meal.
Si!! Tambien deberiamos hacer Netflix Parties de peliculas o programas de television cuando nuestras zonas horarias sean mas similares! 🙂
Hi Genevieve!
I took the Anthropology of Food Course last year as well! That class was a blast. What food did you pick to write about? I wrote about kefir, a fermented milk product. One of the themes that course talked about was how food can be viewed as an adaptation. In my essay about kefir, I wrote about how kefir was actually the first dairy product, and the human cultivation of bacteria (and fungi) within kefir allowed us to consume a food source (milk) which normal adult humans were not able to digest on its own until later in human history. What theme did you find interesting about that course? I look forward to being able to apply the ideas from that course into this one, and maybe even call some into question. Nice to connect and I look forward to hearing from you!
Hey Jeremiah! That’s funny, I think I remember seeing kefir up on the board the day in class that prof. Barker put up peoples’ ideas! I love kefir, but I never would’ve thought to do the paper on that! I don’t know if you’re still located in Vancouver, but if you are, you should look out for a company called Squamish Water Kefir Co. It’s owned by two Squamish women that make this sparkling kombucha-type kefir water. It’s crazy good, especially the hibiscus one. A bit expensive but a good occasional treat nonetheless.
http://squamishwaterkefir.com/
I actually really enjoyed that class and his research. I’ve actually thought a lot about Prof. Barker during the pandemic – he must be sooo happy he retired when he did. My recollection of the overall themes and messages is a bit blurry but I found it interesting to see how people interact with and approach food customs so differently. The thing I most remember from the class is watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi – I really liked that documentary. He actually had a Michelin star removed lately for some lame reason (“not accessible enough” – as if any other Michelin restaurants are accessible to everyone?!?!?) I agree, I hope to find connections between the two classes!
I did my paper on uhhhh… Kraft Dinner LOOL but it was really interesting! It’s really deeply ingrained in Canadian culture, so much so that Food Banks never have a shortage of it, and it’s even found its way into Indigenous cuisine. Benefits/Cons of that are lengthy for sure.
Nice to chat!
Hi Geneviève Lalonde,
I really liked your poem. Family dinners were also part of my poem. I haven’t lived with my family for over five years now so that it is something I really miss.
If you ever want to practice your Spanish or if you want to visit or revisit Mexico (I am not sure if you have been there), please let me know. I will be happy to hablar español or offer some travel suggestions.
Hey Fernanda! It’s hard to be away from family – my family has always had sit-down dinners without any exception and I find it hard to live with roommates where everyone generally eats separately and wherever. I actually haven’t been to Mexico but I want to go so badly! I might ask for those travel suggestions. 🙂