Yesterday was Canada’s 145th birthday.
While you’re away, I wonder what you will say when people
ask you about Canada. You sure know your
way around a map. You can pronounce Iqaluit
and name the provinces and their capitals in both languages. But, how will you define what it means to be
Canadian? Will you have the words (in any
language) to explain?
Canadian is hard to pin down. Often, “Canadian” is explained by what it is not (meaning – we are not American). When I ask a classroom full of college
students the question, “What is ‘Canadian’?” the answers flounder, presenting a
mixed collage. Multiculturalism, respect
for diversity. Distance, regionalism. Maple
Syrup. Hockey. Beer.
I became most aware of my own Canadian-ness when I was in
Australia. In that beautiful country,
the leaves on the trees were all the wrong shapes; the air was too hot, the
seasons too similar. The birds were too
brash, the insects too enormous. Don’t get me wrong, Oz is a fantastic place,
but I woke up every day feeling disoriented. (Or, if to orient is to find your
place in relation to the east, perhaps I was dis-northernated). It wasn’t
until I was sure that I would be able to return to Canada that I was able to
enjoy Australia.
Even now (after a Master’s Degree in literature and teaching
a course in Canadian writings) I have a hard time coming up with the exact words
to define Canada.
I hope you and I will always share one word for this place: Home.
No comments:
Post a Comment