Tuesday, 16 November 2010

I love to travel but whenever I go abroad I am faced with the inevitable question--where are you from? Canada. Oh, where? Winnipeg. Where's that? The middle. Is it the French part? No. 
Yes, it seems that the only fact people know about Canada is that there is a 'French part'.  Which, let's face it, is fine. There are a lot of countries I not only don't know anything about, but also couldn't point to on a map. (Sorry Uzbekistan) And normally I don't mind at all, but after a recent trip where a customs agent gave me a hard time for not speaking French, I'm just getting a bit annoyed. The fact is that while I am proud of my country and would love to learn French someday, it hasn't been on my agenda because in my town and in my life there has been more necessity and desire to learn other languages. Furthermore, am I less cultured or less interesting, because I am from the 'English part'? I don't think so. Canada is a bilingual country and I am a bilingual person, and that's the whole story. Canada is a country of immigrants from countries all over the world and we have many, many languages and cultures represented. So, guess what? I'm not French, I don't speak French, but I am completely Canadian. 

On another note-first magazine experiment, expert advice on a manicure? Will it last a week, let's see. 

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