Places we consider home & newcomers

[shootingstar]

"Home" is how completely one embraces time and place into your being and outlook at times.

My parents immigrated to Canada in their 20's. They are now 82 and 77. They have never been back to China since that time. I am certain during the first decade in Canada they wanted to return but there was no money and plane flights back in the 1950's and early 1960's used to be very expensive.

We offered as gift to buy my parents plane tickets to visit China. They have/continue to have no interest. They have not gone back to visit. China as they knew it best was BEFORE Mao /Communism took root in China. So much has changed. I know they didn't want to go back, because so much has changed it would be unrecognizable and would make them sad.

"Home" is Canada. It is where they have placed their roots for life, where all their children were born and were raised, as well as all their grandchildren. I respect people who come from culturally different countries into a new country and adopt their new home country in a way that it seeps into their being and outlook.

Because I have lived Kitchener-Waterloo, London (Ontario), Toronto, Vancouver and now Calgary, which are in geographically contrasting areas of Canada...I actually feel MORE Canadian as a result. Cycling as a tourist in Eastern Maritime provinces, Quebec and visiting the Arctic (for a short time), complements how I feel, appreciate and understand my home country.

Compared to 20 years ago, I feel as if I have a broader, more diverse understanding of Canada's identity, and key historic-cultural regional differences, as well as climatic differences which I took very much for granted.

My thoughts of Calgary now probably reflects my adjustment. I've been here only past 5 months. I sense the city overall as struggling to break free from its prairie paraochial conservatism and the grip of the oil-energy economic influences. It will never break free of the latter since the provinces economy depends on it (and it is Canada's energy producing engine like Texas is).

I personally find artisitic expression that is original in imagery lacking...beyond cowboy images and energy/oil stuff. There is no clear, dynamic artistic sensibility that one can identify..that ie. "yes, that comes from Alberta". The voices on issues of social justice are way more muted, here compared to Toronto and Vancouver. It's obvious what does not get reported in the local press or even how public consultation is conducted where certain groups of people are excluded by language, socio-economic class, etc.

It's not horrible, it's just people are focused on...earning a living, making money, etc.

Interestingly, alot of long-time Calgarians have visited Vancouver and many do enjoy the west coast. You find less people going over to visit Toronto..not just because it's just abit farther away (2 hr. extra plane flight), but psychologically many long-time folks see themselves as part of Western Canada....although Western Canada has different cultural identities. Northwest coast culture /life and politics is different than Alberta.