Oh Canada, indeed
Posted Jul 8, 2010 By Sheena Bolton
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Tweet ThisEMC Editorial - My parental units officially abandoned me to face the wiles of adulthood on my lonesome. They now live in sunny southern California.
The next questions that come from anybody who hears this information are usually: Don't you like California? Why are you still here? Did you not want to go?
Now, these are all valid questions but there's not really an easy answer to any of them. Of course I like California, as you'd have to be a crazy person (or just not me) to not prefer the warmer temperatures and the laidback attitudes that seem to be synonymous with west coast living. But it's not home.
Since my parents' relocation, I've visited them in their Los Angeles County suburb seven times, the most recent being a week-long stay mid-June. As usual, I enjoyed myself immensely - branching away from Disneyland and Universal Studios to try a day at Knott's Berry Farm and lounging poolside in the backyard.
I no longer feel like a tourist while I'm there, so I stay away from the slightly cheesy and always crowded stretch of Hollywood Blvd. in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre and avoid the ritzy window shoppers of Rodeo Dr. in favour of my favourite not-as-famous stretch of Melrose Ave. But no matter how comfortable I've become with the area, it's not enough to turn my head from my homeland.
No matter which way you look at it, the United States is not Canada. No matter how freethinking or progressive a state may be, it's not a province. It's not that I'm anti-American, I'm just strongly pro-Canadian.
I still get a thrill of excitement when I hear that original Molson's "I am Canadian" advertisement.
I got all choked up during the Olympics when Canadian athletes won gold medals. I take great pride in pointing out my maple leaf when I'm travelling in a different country. I have a lot of red and white in my wardrobe as well as specialty items that I haul out specifically for wear on Canada Day.
As a first-generation Canadian, I feel pretty strongly about Canada. It was the place that my parents met and decided to make their home. If it was good enough for them to want to become citizens, then that tells me something. It tells me that it was a place where they felt comfortable enough to live and a place they felt comfortable enough to raise a family in.
And I know that just because they no longer live above the 49th parallel doesn't mean that their hearts aren't still here.
As much as I love this place that gets mocked for overwrought politeness and accents that don't exist, I intend to expand my horizons someday and try to live elsewhere in the world for a little while. But I know that no matter where I go, I'll definitely be coming back home.
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