Strange Loyalties
Right now in my Spanish classes, I am teaching about nationality adjectives. Every year when we do this chapter, I always tell the students I am Canadian.
To me, this is not strange. In my mind, and in my heart, I truly am Canadian. It doesn't matter that I only "technically" became Canadian three years before I left the country. My only childhood memories are in Canada. Sure, I was BORN here in Washington state...but I don't remember living here before I turned 2.
Anyway, it has struck me quite a few times since moving here how strange this all is. I would never have considered myself "patriotic" before. Perhaps when I lived in Africa briefly, but not even then. However, now that I live here in the States, I feel so closely tied and pulled to the Canadian part of me.
Here I am, Wednesday evening, and what am I watching?? "The greatest Canadian..." Growing up in Canada, CBC wasn't even a "channel" in my opinion...there was NEVER anything I wanted to watch on that channel. But now, it is the ONLY Canadian channel I can get, and I must admit to watching some of these documentaries, the National, the jazz festival, juste pour rire, and of course, the Royal Canadian Air Farce. :)
To me, this is not strange. In my mind, and in my heart, I truly am Canadian. It doesn't matter that I only "technically" became Canadian three years before I left the country. My only childhood memories are in Canada. Sure, I was BORN here in Washington state...but I don't remember living here before I turned 2.
Anyway, it has struck me quite a few times since moving here how strange this all is. I would never have considered myself "patriotic" before. Perhaps when I lived in Africa briefly, but not even then. However, now that I live here in the States, I feel so closely tied and pulled to the Canadian part of me.
Here I am, Wednesday evening, and what am I watching?? "The greatest Canadian..." Growing up in Canada, CBC wasn't even a "channel" in my opinion...there was NEVER anything I wanted to watch on that channel. But now, it is the ONLY Canadian channel I can get, and I must admit to watching some of these documentaries, the National, the jazz festival, juste pour rire, and of course, the Royal Canadian Air Farce. :)
posted by Katrina | 11/10/2004 08:49:00 PM
7 Comments:
Katrina, this is not really related to your post, but I'm curious about something. I have some friends that live near Seattle -- Port Orchard. Are you anywhere near there? If you'd rather not post that, feel free to email me: cdmarcone@gmail.com
I'm wondering because we're going to try to visit them next year, and if you were close by, maybe we could grab a cup of coffee or something and I can practice my Spanish. :)
I don't know where Port Orchard is;) Let me look it up on Mapquest. :)
Katrina - its because being Canadian is the best thing to be ;). Tee hee! Seriously though I think that looking at where we come from and evaluating our childhood and growing up years is part of the process of becoming a mommy. It all starts to matter so much more when you're going to pass it on to a little one.
I love the idea of the show "The Greastest Canadian" although I haven't had as much time to watch it as I would have liked. They must be very close to stating the winner. I have been pulling for Terry Fox right from the get go - what a truly amazing human being. He is such a hero and the fact that his legacy has lived on and raised millions of dollars for cancer worldwide is also incredible. But there are some great people to contend with there. Discoving insulin and the telephone and bringin in universal healthcare are all such amazing things. Seeing how many people we have in this country who have made such amazing contributions to the world is wonderful! I was upset though that John Vanier didn't make the top 10 as I think he is also an amazing human being who has done so very much for the rights of people in the disabled community. He did come in around 11 or 12 though so I haven't lost complete faith - lol.
Monica
Katrina -- got your email. I'll keep you posted on our plans. Maybe by the time we're there, I'll be able to see your growing belly. Wink, wink. ;)
About watching Canadian TV, I agree with Monica. I think as you enter parenthood, it makes you look back at your roots. When I was pregnant, I really got into genealogy and researched my family tree back several generations. I hadn't been into that kind of thing before, but I felt compelled to do it. Like I needed to know where I had come from to have a grounding for where my own family would be going. Or it could have just been the hormones. :)
Monica - I don't know who I would vote for the "greatest Canadian". I only saw this one episode last night, about Lester B. Pearson. Have you been voting? I, too, think of Terry Fox as a great Canadian, I remember going out to the highway (I went to a rural school because my mom taught there even though we lived in the city) as a child to watch the run...obviously it wasn't him because he never finished his race past Ontario I believe, but someone must have finished it or something.
Carrie, oh how I hope you can see my growing belly! ahhaha Of course, due to baby, not just random weight gain. :) I was excited this morning (I weighed myself just because...Saturday is my official weigh in day). Last week I had gained two pounds:(, but this morning I was down 2.5, and finally made it into another "decade" :) If I hold on to this loss (which I might not be able to since I made yummmy muffins today...hahha), then I have only 1.5 to go to be down 25 pounds! :)
Katrina - wow on the almost 25 pounds - way to go girl. I need to take a lead from you and get going on the whole weight loss thing!
Perhaps you are thinking of seeing Rick Hansen when you went to see the "run"... he was in a wheel chair though. He did make it all the way across Canada quite a few years after Terry Fox attempted. I remember watching Terry Fox's progress on TV each night and I still get goosebumps and come close to tears when I think about the night when he had to stop the run and go home for treatments. At that point his cancer had spread all over his body but he still believed he would be back on the road shortly to finish his journey. I get choked up just thinking about him. I wish I had even 1/10th that he had in his little finger!
Monica
Monica - Rick Hansen, that could be it..that sounds familiar too...haha It was so long ago!:) As for the weight loss, thanks. I have been working at it since July, and wish it were more, but my RE is actually happy at the rate, and would like to see it even slow down some...My trick has been really to add more fruits and vegetables to my diet. I mean, I have watched why I eat a lot more too, with less fast food on my crazy Mondays (at school where I work 6-3, and class where I study 4-830) and I don't indulge my sweet tooth at home, only if I am out...but the main every day thing was the f/v. For me, that was the key I think since I really am not a huge fan of either, but I am making myself and learning to like them. :)
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