The Christmas light display is about to start in the 2020 show at the Old Post Office IdeaExchange Digital Library in Downtown Cambridge, Ontario. Photo by Kevin Swayze
Throughout the year, animated light shows are projected on the historic Old Post Office IdeaExchange in Downtown Cambridge. Christmas-themed shows continue on the half hour between 8-10 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays until Jan. 5, 2023.
You can drive and park in the parking lot across the street and watch the show from the warmth of your car. Tune your car radio to FM 92.5 to listen to music choreographed with the show.
Taking the bus from Kitchener, use the Route 57, Route 206 or Route 302 (with onboard Wi-Fi) directly to Ainslie Street terminal. The Old Post Office library is one block west, at 12 Water St. S. Look for the clock tower.
If you’re taking the bus or planning to watch the light show on foot, I suggest dressing warmly and bring along hot drinks.
Every semester I teach at Conestoga College, I use food to get the attention of my business communication students. There are always foodies in my classes of international students.
The Cambridge Farmer’s Market is one of the oldest in Canada. Photo by Kevin Swayze
That means I’m always planning how to share recipes, restaurant recommendations and places to visit and experience food in the Waterloo Region area. In each class, I create an online discussion forum in the eConestoga online learning platform, provided by D2L.
I think of it as an applied business communication exercise. The students are my customers for the information and local expertise I share. I see plenty of evidence about how food builds trust with students facing a new culture, climate, and educational environment.
At the start of a class in January 2020 – before my teaching moved online – I ordered in an urn of coffee to share with my students before we started talking about communication theory.
I’m now teaching students living in Brantford, along with Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo. Brantford is the latest addition to by geographic teaching roster. Now I’m learning what food information I can share in that city, too
I always start by sharing videos about the local farmer’s market.
The St. Jacob’s Farmer’s Market, on the northwest edge of the City of Waterloo, also gets students’ attention. It’s Canada’s largest farmer’s market and a busy place with lots of local fresh farm food and prepared food on open days. There are also lots of vendors with a range of clothing and household goods.
Here’s info about the smaller Cambridge Farmer’s Market, which runs every Saturday morning near my home. It’s the closest farmer’s market to the Doon and Cambridge campuses.
And the downtown Kitchener Market. That’s just around the corner from the new Downtown Kitchener campus of Conestoga.
What other food information do you suggest I share with the students new to the Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo and Brantford areas?
Problem solving. Crafting business reports. Working with people who are difficult to get along with. Intercultural communications. EI is a skill to employ every day, anywhere.
It’s all about knowing yourself first well so you are better able to connect well with others. In business and personal situations, I have learned the same basic empathy tactics can help us all grow into better humans.
After 30 years as a newspaper journalist, I now realize that listening attentively is my best tactic, even though it remains a challenge for me to realize when it’s time to stop talking.
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