EDITOR KEVIN HAMPSON THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012 5 brings unique challenges Mary Kate!Metcado and : her boyfriend Tim, who did not want his last name published, face some difficulties that other couples don’t. B sometimes the challe are amusing, Mercac says. , it, | iil Different values are an issue for mixed race couples, says counsellor \° 66 My parents are very tradtional. They ex- pect good manners from ev- eryone, especially boy- friends. MARY KATE MER- CADO By KELC] NICODEMUS very relationship has challenges, but the cultural differences be- tween interethnic couples can make for some funny moments. Until recently, Langara nursing stu- dent Mary Kate Mercado was slightly perplexed by a phrase that her boy- friend uses: “It’s as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.” “He gave me the weirdest look when I told him I thought [he] was talking about how easy it was to throw fish into a barrel,” said the Filipina native. “Tt’s hilarious really.” About 40 per cent of people in Van- couver are immigrants and increasing immigration is leading to more inter- cultural relationships, according to Faizal Sahukhan, relationship counsel- lor, sexologist, and author of Dating the Ethnic Man: Strategies for Success. Metro Vancouver, where more than eight per cent of couples are interra- cial, has a higher portion of mixed unions than any other Canadian city, according to Statistics Canada. Although the number of intercultur- al couples is rising, such relationships still bring unique challenges. For example, ethnicities don’t view relationships like Caucasians do, Sa- hukhan said. “Ethnic people, romantically, are very different,” he added. Caucasians tend to have a world view of “I over we,” while ethnicities tend to have a “we over I” mentality, meaning family and cultural tradition come before romance and couple inti- macy. Mercado says that her and her boy- friend’s family rules are pretty much the opposite. “His family seems to be a lot more slack than mine. I’m able to come over whenever I want, unannounced, through his back door. They are more open and talkative to guests,” says Mercado. Mercado’s family is quite strict, and they put family and work above any- thing else. “My parents are very traditional. They expect good manners from every- one, especially boyfriends,” she says. Mercado says she and her boyfriend are still quite shy around each other’s families. “We are not sure how to act around each other’s families because we don’t know what’s appropriate and what’s not, and we don’t want to make our- selves look bad, so we kind of stay qui- et,” she says. Baker serves up g| Lemonade Bakery offers Vancouverites alternatives for people who are allergic to wheat products By BRIAN HORSTEAD ery last year, Tracy Kadonoff has made it easier than ever to find delicious gluten-free alternatives in Vancouver. Kadonoff opened her gluten-free bakery after she found she had devel- oped a gluten sensitivity. “T worked in a bakery for 20 years and I was fine for the first 15 working there, and then I slowly developed an intolerance,” said Kadonoff. “When I got out of the wheat envi- ronment, it went away and when I went back into the wheat environment, it came back.” Celiac disease, one of North Ameri- ca’s most chronic diseases, affects about 300,000 Canadians, according to Health Canada. Its symptoms include nausea, skin rashes and fatigue. As a baker, Kadonoff wants to make high quality gluten-free products avail- able in Vancouver, something she feels the city is lacking. “T couldn’t find this anywhere. If I could have found a place like this I S::, opening the Lemonade Bak- en BRIAN HORSTEAD photo Lemonade Bakery owner Tracy Kadonoff. probably would have gone to work for them. Then I thought, ‘there isn’t any- thing out there like this for gluten- free,’ and I wondered why.” Kadonoff offers a wide range of products, including cakes, tarts, biscot- ti, bread and her own super-secret glu- ten-free flour blends, which can be used for a myriad baking projects. Despite the wide variety of alterna- tives, not everyone diagnosed with ce- liac disease finds the transition easy, as newly diagnosed Katherine Bochke- Schmidt can attest. “Tm not happy to have celiac disease because I really like flour... and I find that products I’m eating produced with gluten-free flours aren’t quite the same, but Ill have to get used to it,” uten-free goodies SUwNINEETEECECEET TTS S SO CSS BRIAN HORSTEA seeeewr ws D photo Yummy Gluten-free goodies at Lemonade Bakery. said Bochke-Schmidt. According to Kadonoff, the bakery attracts people of all dietary persua- sions, not just those with gluten sensi- tivity. “A lot of people love baked goods, so they’re here, they don’t care if it’s glu- ten-free or not. “T get all kinds of people, pretty much every group is represented,” said Kadonoff. Elita Silins, a customer of Lemonade Bakery, hasn’t been diagnosed with ce- liac disease but wants to find gluten- free alternatives in Vancouver. “Tt’s hard to find on the shelves and it’s not a ready option,” said Silins. The Lemonade Bakery is at 3385 Cambie St. OTHER places to go THE GLUTEN FREE EPICUREAN 633 East 15th Ave. at Kingsway PERCH 337 East Hastings St. LAZIZA RESTAURANT 1175 Davie St. Art of old- fashioned letter writing is far from forgotten Not everyone is a fan of the new “sexting” trend By WARREN JANE lar methods of communication, but many young people still em- brace old-fashioned letters. On the first Thursday of every month, in a little stationary shop on Main Street, people sit at their type- writers to write thoughtful letters to their loved ones. The Regional Assembly of Text has been hosting the club since 2005 and the number of those attending is proof that the art of letter writing is far from dead. “Tt’s a treasure that I want to come back [to], so here I am,” said Ivy Cheng, a business strategist who has been attending the club for several years. “The sentiment that [comes] across in a typewriter message is very different and I don’t think a text mes- sage or simple email can replace it.” At 7 p.m., about 30 people gather in the small shop. Some type franti- 4 cally while others BE: and text messages are popu- wait to write their People own personalized _ valentines. are hang “‘Ithink theresa ing onto resurgence in let- ter writing clubs,” the p ast said storeowner and want Rebecca Dolen. to com- “People are hang- . ing on to the past Mmunicate and want to com- in a more municate in a more . unique way.” unique As letter club co- founder, Dolen is way not a fan of the REBECCA DOLEN, new “sexting” store owner trend. “[Sexting] just sounds sleazy com- pared to the love letter [which is] clas- sic.” Not everyone feels that technology is killing the classic letter, however. “T don’t know if [letter writing] is completely a lost art. I think it’s a transformed art because now we write letters online,” said Langara journal- ism graduate Rebecca Saloustros. “Just because we’re using the online form doesn’t mean that we’ve lost the ability to write.” Those interested in attending the club can find more information at www.assemblyoftext.com. oo WARREN JANE photo Ivy Cheng types away in a letter- writing workshop at the Regional Assembly of text.