"The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolution, spread, and demise of a particular urban legend about Toronto; namely, the notion that the United Nations had declared Toronto to be the world's most multicultural city ... Without question, Toronto is Canada's most cosmopolitan city, and certainly is one of the most diverse urban centres in the world, a place recently described as a 'City of Nations.' What is in dispute, then, is not the remarkable ethnic/racial/linguistic/religious diversity of Toronto, but whether or not the United Nations, or any of its agencies, ever officially commented on it in the fashion described so often in the media." I've been telling people about this for years, and it is with some sadness I must admit that the paper referenced above debunks this oft-cited statement. It was easy to believe.

Today Paul and I had dim sum at a Chinese bakery in Chinatown (Dundas and Spadina) for lunch, shopped at Mountain Equipment Co-op for gear for my trip, drove through Chinatown number two (Gerard and Pape) over to Little India (Gerard and Coxwell) to shop for food, and returned to my brother's house near the Danforth (which is very Greek). I love this city and have missed it so much ...

Sitting outside of Yung Sing (the Chinese bakery) I talked to a man who was wearing a shirt from Angkor Wat in Cambodia. As we discussed world-travelling adventures, a woman joined in talking about how I might get better airfares for my trip. I grew up in this city believing I should never talk to strangers: it's good to be proven wrong about things like this.