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[Photos By: KPA]
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Whole Foods Market has a pleasant cafe, where I go to work on my computer. Each time I'm there, I am stunned by the multi-culti clientele, speaking a myriad of languages, not French, or German, or Dutch, but Arabic, the various Chinese languages, a selection from the Indian sub-continent, and so on.
Recently, Whole Foods put up a row of Canadian flags, and advertised an evening of hot dogs and other foods, to celebrate Canada Day.
I took the top photograph a couple of days ago, as the preparations were underway, to show the flags contrasting with the clientele.
Canada Day is just another day off, a paid day off, a statutory holiday. What better way to spend a summer's day than with picnics, barbecues, and a day in the park?
The photo below shows the usual clientele in Whole Foods (I took this photograph about three weeks ago, forgot about it, then found it in my files today).
- There is the now common sight of Muslim women with the headscarves. There is one woman in a white hijab in the foreground.
- A group of young men (or women) who are often of similar ethnic background, be it Indian, Chinese, or black, congregate together and tour the malls and streets. These are men, in their teens or early twenties.
- White groups are increasingly rare, and often come in pairs or in threes rather than the six or seven of the other groups
- Indian or Chinese (East Asian) businessmen on cell phones speaking languages other than English are now a regular occurrence.
As all this happens, no-one says anything, no-one tells them to quiet down (their interactions are often loud), no-one finds it strange that we have to sit quietly and listen, except me, where I have now taken to confronting such behavior.
Happy Canada Day!