Deers, Farms, and More!!

 Picture taken by me

Introduction of the Area, Geography and History

Fondly known as "flower city" Brampton is a beautiful and vibrant town thriving on multiculturalism and expansion. My neighborhood is located between Queen Street, Gore Road, and McVean. Some may not consider it "Brampton" because it is so close to Toronto, but its definitely a large chunk of suburbia surrounded by a plethora of banquet halls, farms, large areas of wildlife, and industrial buildings. 90% of my hometown is made up family's. My area is fairly new, and did not really expand until about 6 years ago when the price of housing was so low that literally everyone I knew moved from Toronto to Gore Road and McVean area. Today, with the increase of transit, schools, and many popular amenities, the area has become the fastest growing ward in all of Brampton. One of the best parts of my area is that it is surrounded by lots of wildlife. In the early morning a drive south on Gore Road can give you a beautiful view of deer grazing in the surrounding fields. The lakes in my area a popular place for geese, but best of all, every winter a pregnant bunny likes to make a home in my backyard. By early spring, usually in June, she comes out and gives birth to about 5 - 8 bunnies. We would never shoo her away, even though she gets in my mother's tomatoe patch, we consider it a blessing for the house.

http://www.brampton.ca/en/pages/welcome.aspx

B-Town Throw Down: Local Attractions and Play ! !

On of Brampton's most popular attractions is the Rose Theater which opened in 2006. It was built as a major tourist attraction for theater goers and new comers alike. The theater offers live concert and dramatic

http://www.myrosetheatre.ca/Content.aspx?id=86

 Click the Link for a recipe! :)

 http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/demo/article-443.html

performances for plays such as Beauty and the Beast, The Nutcracker, and Scrooge! a Christmas Musical. The theatre caters to all people young and old as it offers workshops for school aged children in drama, as well as Salsa dancing lessons and performances by Humber College vocal Jazz Combo, as well as spoken word performances by groups such as the Mayham Poets.

My hometown has a large Indian community. As a result, some of the most popular places to eat are at the local Indian Restaurants and diners. My personal favorite is Johal Sweets restaurant. They make the best Gulab jamun and samosas!! If you love coconut as much as I do, Gulab jamuns dipped in cocanut are definitely something

to try. Timbits have nothing on these!

Vegetarian Hakka noodles. Click the link for a recipe!

 Have you ever wondered what the combination of Indian and Cinese food tastes like? A walk over to Mirch Masala Indian Restaurant restaurant will leave you with no questions, and desiring more. A word of caution though, the Hakka noodles are very spicy!!

                                                                                       http://chatseva.com/blog/?p=266

Local Profile: Josephine Asante Norbert

Introducing one of the most funniest, strangest, and intelligent people in my world, my younger sister Josephine, or as I fondly call her "José Rosalina". I call her that for no particular reason other than the fact that it just suits her. She is actually named after my grandmother. José is a tenth grader at Cardinal Ambrozic Catholic school. She is religious, and well rounded, and most definitely, one of my ultimate BFF's. Although, she is my polar opposite in personality, one thing that I admire most about her is that she is more outgoing than I am, and never afraid to speak her mind. Josephine hobbies include reading books, hanging out with her friends and family, and educating me on the most current hip-hop songs, trends, and school yard slang. Josephine enjoys helping people, especially taking care of young children, so her mentor is Craig Kielberger. One day she aspires to create her own organization to raise money for underdeveloped countries all across the world, especially in Africa, her home. On other days she apires to start her own record label and music career with the stage name "Jo-Jo licious". She also thinks that Michael Jackson is the King of Pop. She is quite possibly one of the most entertaining people I know :)

Brampton News

25th Annual Brampton Board of Trade's Santa Claus Parade

 

My sister and her friends pose in their school colors at an event to jump start this years parade.
(Picture taken by me)

Unlike Toronto, our Santa Claus Parade was greatly enjoyed by participants and spectators. This years parade drew a crowd of 155, 000 people, making it the most popular single event in the region. Brampton's Santa Claus Parade ran from 5 p.m - 7 p.m, on Saturday November 15. The annual nightly parade route goes south on Main Street in Brampton's downtown core, and ends at  Elgin Street. There were 40 floats with popular characters such as Sponge Bob Square Pants, Mickey Mouse, and members of Brampton's academy of Martial Arts. Although the procession of floats was slow, there was plenty to do as the 200 costumed characters such as the Brampton Guardian's "Dear Santa" letter carriers walked in between the floats enchanting children with the hope that their letters, and wish lists would be safely received by Santa. The atmosphere was lively as the parade progressed into the night with sounds from the marching bands, and Drums bands.

http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news/article/903037--santa-parade-saturday

http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news/article/905965--santa-claus-parade-marks-25th-anniversary

The Ongoing Problem of Brampton Transit

Brampton, like most cities is constantly tackling transit issues. My area in particular has one of the most aggravating bus schedules in the region. One major reason for this is because of the poor synchronization of bus schedules. Since the area directly connects to Toronto, there is one bus (the #50) that takes you from Brampton, to Toronto at Gore Road, and another (#23), that will take you from my neighborhood to Gore Road in order to catch the #50. The problem is, often, one bus will arrive too early, or too late. So then you are stuck waiting long periods of time to catch the next bus, or you just flat out miss it and are left wondering why your parents ever decided to move up here!! Fortunately, after speaking to my Regional council, he assured me that as more and more people continue to move into the community, the bus schedule will increase and run more reliably. Right now there is just not enough funding to put on more buses, and improve the schedule. This is reassuring for about a minute, then I remember that both buses run every half hour ! Compared to other Brampton buses that run every 15 minutes (#11, and the new Rapid transit line "Zum"), that travel between the two city's its just unfortunate. Altogether, the trip can last about 40 minutes by bus, and only lasts about 10 minutes by car. The only benefit of living in a small city when it comes to transit is that on Brampton day every one rides for free all day long. Please move to my area, and take the bus.....PLEASE.

http://www.brampton.ca/en/residents/transit/Pages/Welcome.aspx