Bambi cannot go to sleep without saying “Bonne Saint-Jean” to the “Belle Province”!
Bonne Saint-Jean-Baptiste also to all the French-Canadians across Canada!
Of course, Happy name day too to Bambi’s second cousin in Beirut (Hello Jean… or Jeannotti :)!
All this being said, below you can find a song that Bambi would like to offer to Québec today. Of course, it is Mr. Gilles Vigneault’s eternal “Gens du pays“. This beautiful song celebrates love, as we do on our loved ones’ birthdays.
Related to the above, Bambi is thinking now of her friend Marie-Eve. Do you see the beautiful fleur-de-lys on the cheek of the little boy (in the YouTube link below)? Well, Marie-Eve drew a fleur-de-lys on Bambi’s face once 🙂 before they attended the celebrations of Saint-Jean-Baptiste on the streets of Montreal. Needless to say that if there is one day in the year that is meant to feel like an immigrant deer proudly in love/harmony with Québec, it is June 24 :).
To conclude this post, although Bambi left Québec over 17 years ago, la “Belle Province” remains in her (i.e., even Fred gave her the title of “Ambassador of Québec” on this blog :)). Indeed, Québec will forever remain in Bambi’s heart and… in her spouse’s (beautiful) French Canadian accent :). Bonne Saint-Jean to him and to all those of you who highlight this day!
Many thanks to Ms. Christine Van Geyn who interviewed Dr. Faisal Bhabha, Bambi/Rima, and Mr. Jonathan Kay.
Bambi was able to witness the talent of Ms. Van Geyn in action (thanks to her efficient team too)!
She was very touched by the sad/unfair story of Dr. Bhabha… She is eager to devote a post to Dr. Faisal Bhababa (talent, story, etc.).
As for Mr. Jonathan Kay, one words remains on her mind and in her heart: MERCI/THANK YOU.
“Christine welcomes Journalist Jon Kay to a discussion with University Professors Faisal Bhabha and Rima Azar who share what happened after their comments were deemed controversial for their respected Universities.“
Yesterday, Bambi discovered the inspiring talent of host and clinical Psychologist Zac Rhodenizer, the Director of the Lethbridge Institute of Family Therapy and LifeSTAR Alberta!
Indeed, what an honour and pleasure to be interviewed by Zac (Rhodenizer). During this chat, Zac and Bambi/Rima tried to explore the psychology of what we call “cancel culture”.
Before sharing the link to their conversation, which was enriching for Bambi (and hopefully helpful to his audience), here is what the “Psychology of… Podcast” is all about: “Psychology is at play all around us. With your host and clinical Psychologist Zac Rhodenizer and his guests, we dive into fascinating topics where psychology plays a major role but is often overlooked, such as mountain climbing, pro wrestling, politics, eating, and much more!”
MANY thanks for this invitation and for your KIND support! Long life to the much needed “Psychology of… Podcast“. Please keep up your smart and compassionate work Zac Rhodenizer. Bambi is grateful… and Canada/the world need you!
As reported by the National Post, “two-thirds of Canadians say they do not live in a racist country“. Interesting finding, which indicates that Bambi and the majority of her fellow citizens share the same opinion about Canada :).
This being said, Bambi is curious to know why one out of three Canadians think otherwise. It would be perhaps informative to explore this result in further surveys. Anyhow, Bambi finds it sad to read that as many Canadians seem to believe that their country is racist.
For fun, to conclude this post, here is a song that Bambi would like to offer to Canada. It is by Lebanese diva Fairouz, singing for her “little house in Canada” (in Arabic)… from as far as Beirut, Lebanon.
A beautiful, moving, and classical French song, to begin with. Thanks to Mr. Claude Barzotti!
Because the song above may have been too serious/emotional, let’s sing a lighter song now, just meant to wish you a Happy (and hopefully sunny) Father’s day from the bottom of our hearts with MUCH LOVE!!
A picture taken a few months ago by Bambi’s mother-in-law!
Bambi concluded her last post by calling Lebanon “tiny bankrupt yet always charming“. If you thought she was exaggerating, this post will hopefully convince you that her choice of the word “charming” was VERY accurate :)!
First, you may wonder. Why is Bambi talking about Ehden today? Well, her sister Roula, once again, enriched her blog with beautiful pictures (thanks also to her other sister, Rania, for her professional pictures in earlier posts)!
Before, showing you Roula’s pictures taken today, please let Bambi introduce you to Ehden. What and where is it? According to Wikipedia (Bambi double-checked its accuracy :), the term Ehden would be اٍهدن in Arabic and ܐܗܕ ܢ in Syriac-Aramaic; Aramaic was the language spoken by Jesus, which is another Semitic language. Ehden is “a mountainous town in the heart of the northern mountains of Lebanon and on the southwestern slopes of Mount Makmal in the Mount Lebanon Range. Its residents are the people of Zgharta, as it is within the Zgharta District”.
Bambi has fond memories from two of her trips back to Lebanon when her parents took her to visit Ehden and this region, namely Bcharreh, the forests of the Cedars of Lebanon, etc. They then drove through Tripoli and all the way back to Beirut. Anyhow, Ehden is the charm in itself. You are above the clouds literally (1500+ meters above sea level). You are instantly connected to nature and, through it, you feel the spirituality in the air… The smells of nature, the beautiful sound of birds breaking the charm of silence, etc. And of course, there is the smells and taste of food!! Lebanon is famous for its delicious food, as you can see in the video below by Mr. Anthony Rahael, sub-titled in English. Mmm!!!!
Now, whether you took the time to watch the video or not, here are Ms. Roula Douglas’ pictures, a highly recommended place to visit one day!
To conclude this post, if Fred happens to be reading this post, Bambi can assure him that she can be the Ambassador of several beautiful jurisdictions at the same time (this is not possible for diplomats!): Québec, as you honoured her with your title of “Ambassador” of it (even if you were teasing her about Bill 21 :), her whole Canada (including her New-Brunswick and the entire Maritimes), and Lebanon. She remains attached to the latter, especially that her immediate family moved back over twenty years ago. If you are wondering again if she is being paid by the Government of Lebanon to promote tourism, she is not either 🙂 (and no, not because they are sadly bankrupt)!
A picture taken by Ms. Roula Azar-DouglasA picture taken by Ms. Roula Azar-DouglasA picture taken by Ms. Roula Azar-DouglasA picture taken by Ms. Roula Azar-DouglasA picture taken by Ms. Roula Azar-Douglas
Bambi toured the news from Beirut today. She could not help not to cry at the sad (and worrisome) news about the Lebanese army.
She thought of her birth country and all its soldiers and their families. She particularly thought of her friend Adelle whose daughter and son are both in the army.
Because
of Lebanon’s financial crisis, among its additional multiple crises, the army
cannot feed its soldiers anymore, support them with medication, and even pay
their salaries. One must recall that it has been over a year that those soldiers
have not been served meat because it is too expensive:
Thanks to France, along with Italy and the United Nations forces in Lebanon, an international virtual conference was recently held to try to support the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).
As explained by the Chief of the LAF, if Lebanon’s army collapses, it is not just Lebanon that suffers… but also the entire region. Indeed, the army is the symbol of unity in the country of the Cedars. It is like the last red line to preserve in order to keep Lebanon united. It has the respect of all. There is a reason why people patriotically call a soldier “Watan” (= the country or homeland). In their mind, he/she represents the whole country.
Remember Lebanon has a powerful group within it that is like a state larger than the official state. There is also the ghost of civil war when the army was too weak, became divided and when communitarianism (or sectarianism) resulted in each group with its own security forces… and then all began fighting each other.
Below you can find the appeal of the Lebanon’s army Chief (starting at 15 seconds into this video and in English):
To conclude this post on a musical note meant to honour and thank the Lebanese soldiers for their service/sacrifices, here is a song that Bambi just found. It is by Ms. Hiba Tawaji. Bambi would like to dedicate it to each person serving in the army and contributing to the unity and stability of tiny bankrupt yet always charming Lebanon.
Bambi is asking this question in
relation to the Green Party of Canada.
Although it is hard to understand
what is going on within this party, it is a sad to see internal divisions, particularly
when we know that it is related to the Middle East.
It must have been hard to be in the shoes of Green Party Leader, Ms. Anamie Paul, this week. She also saw one (out of three) of her members leaving to another party (the governing Liberals). However, she seemed to have managed the situation in a competent, and surely dignified, way. Plus, she is quite fluent in French. Good for her.
Anyhow, Bambi will stop her blahblahblah
to allow a beautiful song about love and peace to have the last word. This song
was written by Mr. Raymond Lévesque who sadly left our world in February (taken
by Covid-19). This song is entitled “Quand les hommes vivront d’amour”
[When men will live for love]. It is interpreted by Ms. Marie-Élaine Thibert.
When will men finally live for love in the Middle East? And when will they allow others to live in peace?
And when will we have the wisdom to prevent the Middle East issues from migrating to our institutions and political parties?
Don’t we have enough of issues to deal with and past errors to fix?
Like today but 31 years ago, in 1990, Bambi and her family arrived to Canada. First, they all arrived to the welcoming Québec. Then, she moved to the fascinating Ontario. From there, she arrived to her beautiful New Brunswick. See, all Canada is beautiful :)!
Every June 17 and every July 1st, Bambi thinks of her parents. She thanks them for having brought their family to Canada’s safety and welcoming arms.
Of course, the day before, June 16, she thinks of the start of her family’s long trip: Leaving Lebanon and all their loved ones behind where they escaped perhaps the ugliest round of the civil war (i.e., street war in addition to the usual shelling…). One song comes to her mind on that day. Of course, it is: “J’ai quitté mon pays” (“I left my homeland“). Some of Bambi’s childhood friends recall having listened to this song while their boat was taking them away from Lebanon’s shores toward the island of Cyprus (and from there to France). This must have been a very moving moment.
Well, to come back to June 17, the song that comes to Bambi’s mind to highlight this beautiful day is again by Mr. Enrico Macias. It is entitled: “Les gens du Nord” [“People of the North“] on how one’s host country (in his case, France; In Bambi’s, it is Canada) is welcoming to those who have suffered in other places of the world.
Time really flies in life. Already over three decades of discovery and enrichment in Canada . In addition, Bambi remains under the charm of our winter :)!
To conclude this post on both a musical and a funny note, here are the two songs mentioned above (the first sub-titled in English. The lyrics of the second are shared below). Following these songs, Bambi will share an older post featuring Mr. Gad El Maleh in his first one-man show, which was about Mirabel airport (closed now). It is there where the KLM airplane, transporting Bambi and her family from Amsterdam (as well as her new friend Carla and her family :)), landed on June 17, 1990. It is not surprising then that Mr. El Maleh’s jokes remain particularly meaningful to Bambi.
Anyhow, many thanks to Mr. Macias as well as Mr. El Maleh, for their inspiring talent… and thank you Canada!
“The people of the North
Have in their eyes the blue that is missing in their decor
The people of the North
Have in the heart the sun that they do not have outside
The people of the North
Always open their doors to those who have suffered
The people of the North
Don’t forget they’ve been through hell
If their houses are lined up
It is for the sake of equality
And the peniches
Poor or rich
Bear the fruit of their efforts
The people of the North
Bend your back when the wind blows too hard
The people of the North
Get up early because it depends on their fate
At the horizon of their campaign
It is the coal that makes mountains
The streets of the cities
Sleep well
Rain falling on the fields
The accordion makes them dance
And then the beer blackmails them
And when the party
Turn your head
We see two of them getting married
The people of the North
Have in their eyes the blue that is missing in their decor
The people of the North
Have in the heart the sun that they do not have outside“
