How Canadian Am I?
Posted on July 10, 2010 - Filed Under Culture Clash, Travel | 2 Comments
I’ve been sifting through online photos of the island where my parents live, as well as Vancouver Island and Vancouver, lately. I show the photos to Irving, who can’t wait to see the locations for real. I feel the same way, but it’s a strange feeling.
I’ve lived in Guatemala, without returning to Canada, for nearly a decade now. Almost a third of my life has been spent in a foreign country and the vast majority of my adult life. Until now, I hadn’t thought a lot about it . . . but now it just seems weird!
Looking at the photos of Tofino, of the rocky beaches where I spent years rock climbing and camping with my sisters, the little islands and the rough patches of ocean where I used to sea kayak and hike . . . it all comes back in a rush of memories so vivid that I can smell the tang of the salt air and feel the sharp wind on my face, the way it makes your hair feel strangely gritty and hangs on your tongue.
For the first two years that I was in Guatemala, I missed the ocean terribly. I’d spent years on a tiny island where you saw water just about everywhere you went and suddenly I had no contact with the ocean. Over the years, that went away, along with the cravings for many Canadian foods and traditions. Until recently, I could honestly say that I didn’t miss anything about Canada, apart from my family.
Now that I’m going back for a couple of months, I’ve started looking at these pictures, dredging up memories of a country that has sunken pretty darn deep into my memories and it’s starting to come back. I miss the ocean again, the tall green trees, the smell of cedar and pine and that feeling you get only in your hometown.
I’m not sure how well I’ll fit back into that culture and quite frankly, I don’t think I really want to. I’m more accustomed to Guatemalan ways now, running on Guate time (far worse than Island time), content to have tortillas with my noon meal, eat black beans every night and to speak Spanish for long stretches at a time without hearing any English apart from that my children speak to me.
More than anything, I’m excited to show Irving my homeland and teach my children a little more about where they come from.
This is definitely going to be an interesting ride.
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2 Responses to “How Canadian Am I?”
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What a beautiful place where you grew up! Sounds awesome… I’m sure it’ll be pretty overwhelming to go back and actually smell it, too. Smell is so powerful.
I used to live in Western Canada as well with the gorgeous Rockies! I don’t know how you couldn’t miss our gorgeous Canada – but change of scenery and culture is always good too! I don’t know about Guatemala, but the cleanliness of Canada is what I miss the most when I am in El Salvador – it’s such a pet peeve of mine – I especially hate to seeing and smelling the villagers burning their garbage on the side of the roads. Anyway, your hubby and kids might just become so enthralled with Canada that they might want to move up here! Best of luck on the trip!