It is wonderful to feel the grandness of Canada in the raw, not because she is Canada but because she's something sublime that you were born into, some great rugged power that you are a part of.-Emily Carr (1871-1945)
Much to his annoyance, Moe is continually reminded of the virtues of my homeland. I don’t mean to compare everything to Canada or the Canadian way of doing things, it just sorta happens. I hear the words coming out of my mouth, and before I can even stop myself, I am once again starting a sentence with “In Canada…”, and ending with “Isn’t that the way it should be?” He often asks jokingly whether I am receiving a commission from the Canadian Tourism Board and now has taken to clutching his heart and singing the first verse of “Oh, Canada” at the top of his lungs when I start one of my so-called rants.
I am trying to work on this, to only point out the superiority of Canada when truly necessary (and quite frankly undeniably true).But is it my fault that there are so many opportunities to do so? I didn’t think so...
Truth be told, I wasn’t particularly patriotic until I moved abroad. Yes, I always thought Canada was a great to place to live, and yes from the time I could talk I could probably tell you why we are so completely different from our loud obnoxious neighbour, but the longer I live away, the more I realize it is a place I am very very proud to call home. (Mother, is this bringing a tear to your eye?).
Oddly enough, I have learnt more about Canada while living away from it. I have come to appreciate its diversity, openness, and above all tolerance.
Before getting too serious, and submitting you all to an "Oh, Canada" rant (I'll save those for Moe), I will leave you with some funny Canadian facts from the website An American’s Guide to Canada
1)“Cars, especially on the Prairies, have electrical plugs sticking out from under the hoods” (Don’t miss that)
2)“Restaurants serve vinegar with French fries” (god, I miss that)
3)“When you step on someone's foot, he apologizes. This really happened”(I miss this the most!)
And so boys and girls, the lesson of the day is: you can take the girl outta Canada, but you can’t take little old Canada outta the girl!
