There are two words foreigners learn almost immediately upon setting foot in Italian territory: “c’è sciopero.” That means “there’s a strike” For most North Americans this phrase causes instant terror. It certainly makes me think of the two month transit strike of 2001 in Vancouver, or the summer long garbage strike in Toronto in 2009. ...read more

At some point in our lives we’ve all heard the saying, “We make plans and God laughs.” God has laughed at me a few times. He’s still laughing at me and my plans. As I’ve mentioned in some of my previous blogs, I grew up in Vancouver and lived in Rome for several years. For ...read more