Canadian Girl

Spring is upon us full-on in Los Angeles, which means it’s about 80 degrees Fahrenheit outside, flowers have been budding on trees since mid February and pollen in the air is making us all sneeze.

Growing up in Canada, Spring was something different.  If you follow the ‘gopher seeing his shadow’ theory, it should happen towards mid-April this year.  (My mother actually has pictures of my older sister and I, dressed in full snowsuit regalia, deep in the snowy backyard of our home holding signs that said something like: “May 10^th 1970!”)  Spring was always exciting to us because it meant we could pull out our bikes and have a bit of our freedom back.  (It’s hard to get around in puffy snowsuits in the Winter!) The change of seasons (or lack thereof) is still one of the hardest things about being a transplanted California Girl.

The one thing that still rings true though is how proud Canadians are about…well…being Canadian!  It’s a simple pride that’s easy to hold on to because the reputation for most Canadians is usually a favorable one.  We are represented well in many arenas…besides just Hockey!  If you are with a Canadian when watching a movie, talking about music or other cultural exploits, you are most likely to hear a: “…did you know so-and-so is Canadian?!”  Often times my friends will call me out on that comment.  It’s almost as though we’re wishing everyone was Canadian except, in all honesty, the people we are calling out as Canadian are usually just assumed to be American.  Sure, you know Michael J Fox, Mike Meyers & Catherine O’Hara are Canadian but did you know Seth Rogen, Ryan Gosling, Michael Cera and Victor Garber are all Canadian as well?

There are many more Canadian’s that I can spend a page and a half mentioning but really, I’ll just tell you next time I see you!  But for now, I’ll finish my cup of Tim Horton’s Coffee, pack up my Roots backpack, slip on my Lululemon bathing suit and head to the beach with my bag of Old Dutch Rippled Potato Chips…if only!

Vive Le Canada!