Although this day isn't part of our exchange trip to Hong Kong, I thought it would still be proper to include it here. After all, our exchange blog is about our travels to different countries in the world and once upon a time, I was a traveler to Canada :) This country is such a special place to me and I'd like to wish her a happy birthday while writing a bit of my own reflections!
My family and I immigrated to Canada in 1993; I was a wee three year old kid, unaware of the giant life change ahead of me. Due to his business, my father had to say back in Asia while my mom supported us here in Canada. It was difficult; although I couldn't comprehend it then, I now know the struggles my mother had to go through to raise 3 young toddlers while holding a job on the side. The three of us were lucky in that our mother is a strong and intelligent woman and gave up very much to provide us with the best childhood possible. We were also lucky that we were able to see family, such as our grandparents and father, every so often so we weren't completely apart from our dear ones.
We settled first in Vancouver but eventually made our way more south to South Surrey, B.C. This part I can recall. These were some of the best memories I have made in my life - being an elementary school student, making lifelong friends and continuing on to high school. As a selfish youngster, I was unaware of how big the world is yet and was caught up in my own world of friends, family, food, and fun. I met many different people from various cultures throughout my school years and many were even from Taiwan! This is one of the things that I, and many many others, love about Canada. Even if we are in a different country, we can continue to keep ties with our home country and spend time with people who are from the same place we are. It is really a home away from home and soon enough, it become my only and most prized home.
During my later years of high school, when the pressure of deciding your next step was upon us, I was asked many questions about my future. Where do you want to go? What do you want to study? I remember hearing about some fellow classmates' plans to venture into the US and hopefully get into one of the Ivy League schools. Although it may be because of self preservation and protection (my grades were not high enough lol), but I was not at all attracted by this idea. Why would they want to leave Canada? We have plenty of great universities. Some family members also asked if I plan to perhaps, go to Asia. I love Taiwan and the culture but I know that after growing up in Canada, I am truly Canadian. As much as I want to connect with Taiwanese people, there was the language barrier (my Chinese is not great), the upbringing, the socialization and many other factors that would make it hard for me to live there for an extended period of time. Yes, I would love to visit again and again and again but to live there? I don't think I could. Plus it's terrifyingly HOT. And there are monsoons. Aiya. So with that in mind, I choose to apply to Canadian universities and University of Waterloo it was!
In high school, I stuck together with a group of friends. Many were Caucasian and native English speakers and everyone's English was good, so we spoke English. When I went off to university, it was not only a change in environment, but a change in demographics. Well, there were MANY more people at our school for one, but there were also many more...Chinese people! I hung out with a group of people in my first year who would speak English, Cantonese as well as Mandarin (occasionally all in one sentence haha). I remember being asked once...how much do you consider yourself Taiwanese? And how much Canadian? Now that I think of it, it is really hard to differentiate. Each part of me has a different proportion of being Taiwanese or Canadian. Sometimes in my head, I think in English. Sometimes in Mandarin. Sometimes (more often), I would have a hard time finding the phrase in Mandarin to describe an English word and sometimes (less often) I would find a hard time finding the word in English to describe a Mandarin character or phrase. And I found it is variant on the stage of my life I am at - when I was younger, I loved to watch Taiwanese and Japanese dramas. Now, I like to watch superhero and action movies and play zombie killing games.
Fast forward 5 years...and now I'm continuing on to Masters degree at U of T! As always, I come back to Vancouver for the summer to visit family and friends. Two great cities; both have its beauty, pride and unique characteristics. I look upon the glorious mountains in the North here in Vancouver and feel serene and in awe at the same time. In both cities, I hang out with my friends who have come from different cultures and backgrounds and we can talk ages about philosophy, movies, culture, dance, traveling, and so much more. We can do different activities such as celebrate Canada day (yay), celebrate Chinese New Year; we can eat so many great foods such as Chinese, Thai, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Lebanese, Portuguese and many more. In Canada, I feel I can really continue to appreciate my Chinese culture, learn about other cultures and continue to enjoy Canada and be proud to be Canadian.
All in all, I'd like to wish Canada a happy birthday - I am one of the millions of people who are grateful that on July 1, 1867, we were united into a single country. And apologies for the belated post...yesterday I was, of course, enjoying the great festivities that were offered in Vancouver to celebrate the birth of a great country!
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