Spin Dessert Cafe & Bistro

Last night a group of guides went to Spin in the Byward Market for dessert. Many of my friends had recommended this cafe and I had read some great reviews online so I was excited to try it out! When we got there we spent a good 20 minutes reading the menu because there were way too many delicious choices and no one could decide what they wanted to order. 

Essentially, they have all these different combinations of homemade ice cream and sweets and you choose if you want yours served on a waffle, in a crepe, in a waffle cone cup, or as a sundae. I finally decided to get something called "Sugar Sugar" on a waffle. This was Cake Batter Cookie Dough Ice Cream topped with brownie and cookie dough pieces- I know, it sounds crazy! My friends all got different things: Red Velvet Cheesecake, Molten Chocolate Chip Cookie, One Sweet Day on a waffle, and Black or White in a crepe, etc. I had never seen that much dessert on one table before! 

We spent the evening talking about our favourite guiding experiences so far and telling each other all the funny things that have happened to us on our tours already. It was a really fun night and I am really glad we tried this place, although I think everyone agrees that we had enough sugar for the entire summer!

http://www.spindessert.com/

Seniors' Tour

Yesterday I had the chance to give 15 seniors a tour of Parliament. When I first met the group outside I was a little bit unsure about how the visit would go because everyone was either in a wheelchair, walker or had a cane; our Parliament visits are about 45 minutes long and involve a fair amount of walking and standing. To be honest, I was dreading this visit because I was unsure how I would balance the needs of the group while delivering the appropriate content. 

After the group passed through security we were ready to begin. I did my introduction and started to get to know the group a little bit better, I was very happy to discover that they were all extremely interested in Parliament and were genuinely there to learn and appreciate what I had to share. It was easy to make jokes with them and to get them involved in the tour. I had to get four of my colleagues to help bring the group up to the second floor so we split up into five groups and each took a few seniors up in different elevators. Once we got to the second floor we began to visit the different stops on the tour. 

When we were in the House of Commons some of the seniors were tired so they went behind the ropes and sat on the benches reserved for MPs. Most tour groups are not allowed to sit on these benches, however, the constable happily made an exception and the seniors sat on the benches while I explained what happens in the House of Commons. They had some really great questions and were all very interested in parliamentary process. 

We then moved on to the Library of Parliament and I could tell that this was their favourite space; they really appreciated the art and architecture and were truly mesmerized by the room. We completed the rest of the visit and then I escorted the group up to visit the memorial chamber. I thanked the group for their visit and they told me that they loved the tour and that I was a great guide. After the tour was over, I realized that I was very thankful that I was assigned this group because they were such a great audience and they listened carefully to everything I said. I could tell that they were very grateful for the opportunity to visit Parliament.

On the way out they told me they were impressed with how much knowledge I had about parliament and one of the group members proudly told me that she was 93 years old and very happy that she came to visit Parliament. This was definitely one of my favourite groups so far!

Ottawa Bucket List

Here is a list of activities I would like to complete before returning to Vancouver in September!

1. Watch a case at the Supreme Court of Canada
2. Watch Question Period in the House of Commons and the Senate
3. Hike in Gatineau Park
4. Attend a concert at the National Art Centre
5. Visit the National Gallery of Canada
6. Spend a day at the Nordik Spa
7. Have a picnic at Major Hill Park with my colleagues
8. Explore the Glebe neighbourhood
9. Experience Canada Day on Parliament Hill
10. Visit Montreal
11. Visit Toronto
12. Try the following restaurants: Spin Dessert, Zach's Diner, and Cupcake Lounge
13. Go to the Italian Festival
14. Take a boat cruise on the Rideau Canal
15. Cycling tour of Ottawa

My First Guiding Experience

I have officially given three tours of Parliament in English and two in French! Yesterday was my first day guiding and I gave two English tours to two groups of thirty grade 8 students and their teachers. I was quite nervous because although I had spent a significant amount of time preparing I was unsure about what to expect from my first tours. I was pleasantly surprised to find both groups very engaged and interested by what I was sharing with them.

This morning I arrived at Parliament to find out I was giving a French public tour to a group of fifty visitors. I was even more nervous for this tour because I knew there would be many francophone visitors; mostly from France, Quebec and Montreal. Although I was in French Immersion throughout elementary school and studied French in high school it has been a while since I have been completely immersed in the language. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised! The visitors were very friendly and made me feel comfortable speaking in French. After giving a tour in French the English tours felt much easier.

A lot of my colleagues were sharing some of their first guiding experiences today and I have to admit that some of their stories were pretty hilarious. It's reassuring to hear about their experiences because it reminds me that we are all in this together and everyone is learning. 

This afternoon I had my first "challenging" tour. It was one of the last French tours of the day, yet since we ran out of English tour tickets around 11am many of the visitors on my tour did not speak French. This happens sometimes on very busy days, some tourists who are only in Ottawa for one day will take tickets for French tours even if they don't understand the language because they want a chance to see our Parliament building. This meant that I had to give a French tour to a group of 50 people of which maybe 8 spoke French and the rest could not understand what I was saying. However, as a Parliamentary guide I represent the Canadian Parliament to our visitors so I try to ensure that everyone has a positive experience. 

After two days of guiding I have learned to communicate assertively and to speak confidently, because if some visitors sense that you are nervous or unsure they try to take advantage of that. My first five tours have gone well so far, however, I am still adapting the material and deciding what I would like to share with visitors. My goal is to make the information I share meaningful to visitors; I don't want to tell them facts they are going to forget, rather, I would like their visit to actually make an impact on their lives.

Mini Trip to Montreal

After two weeks of training I had three days off! On my first day off my dad came to visit me after his business trip to Montreal. We had a great day exploring the city together. We went to Parliament Hill, the Supreme Court of Canada, the National Gallery, and the Delegation of Ismaili Imamat to listen to journalist Mellissa Fung speak about her experiences in Afghanistan. She offered a refreshing take on the entire topic and shared that her goal as a journalist is to focus on all the progress that has been made in Afghanistan.

The next morning I left for Montreal because a few of my friends from Vancouver study at McGill and are staying there for the summer. I stayed with my friend Lindsey and we had a great time! She showed me around the city and we spent time catching up; it was really nice to see a friend from home. Yesterday we explored McGill and then met up with my other friend, Soraiya, for dinner at a great Italian restaurant called l'Academie. After dinner we went to this adorable dessert place called Juliette et Chocolat. I wish we had something like this in Vancouver. It had such a great ambience and was packed on a Tuesday night! Today we explored Saint-Catherine Street and Old Montreal. It was a great mini-trip before I start my first day of work tomorrow.

My First Two Weeks in Ottawa

I am excited to be in Ottawa from May - September as a Parliamentary Guide! My job entails helping Canadians and international visitors better understand Canada's political system and history.

I moved here two weeks ago and just finished the extensive Guide Training Program yesterday. The training was bilingual and included all the content we need to know about the Parliament of Canada, team building, public speaking, and handling difficult situations. The topics we focused on were: people (important individuals in Canadian government), place (architecture and design), process (creation of legislation) and past (Canadian history). Some of the highlights of training included meeting the Governor General David Johnston at Rideau Hall and meeting the Speaker of the Senate, Noel Kinsella.

I will be working with a group of 39 other guides; we are all bilingual students from Canadian universities. As Parliamentary Guides, we are not given a script, rather, we design our own tours by combining the content we learned with our own passions. I will be spending some time this week creating my personalized tour and deciding what I would like to share with visitors. We offer public tours in both English and French (for up to 50 people) as well as reserved tours for smaller groups. I will be giving tours of the Centre Block of Parliament starting on Friday, it still feels surreal! The full tour route includes: the House of Commons Foyer, the House of Commons Chamber, the Library of Parliament, the Senate Foyer, and the Senate Chamber.

I have made a lot of new friends and am starting to get settled into my apartment. I love the location because it is central and I can walk to Parliament in 15 minutes. Now that training is over I will have some more time to explore Ottawa. This summer I am looking forward to watching Question Period in the House of Commons and the Senate, watching cases at the Supreme Court of Canada, visiting museums, hiking in Gatineau Park, going to the Nordik Spa, and visiting friends in Montreal and Toronto. 

Isabelle and I outside the Peace Tower on our day off!