“The Philippines is, it was a Spanish colony for 300 years and then it became an American colony for 50 years after that. So, like the city, the capital and the country itself is very Americanized and a lot of people might not like that that I used that word, but it is what it is. Like they’re pretty familiar with the North American culture so moving here was not a problem. It wasn’t like a culture shock or anything like that.

So, when I talk about Montreal, I definitely talk about it being like America but also like Europe because people they value work but they also know how to enjoy life. Which I think is very European. And work ethic is also, I think, very associated with American culture, like being output focused. So I think that mix and also the fact that a lot of people actually come here to study or to work, is adding to that, you know, character of the city, which I really like.”