It is sometimes easier to define Canadians as "not being Americans". However,we are more than that, although, we would humbly keep that to ourselves. As I was surfing the net for visual inspiration, my daughter asked me to describe the taste of an oyster. I paused, looked at her blankly, stumbled for words to describe the experience. I connected the difficulty with describing the taste of an oyster with the difficulty of articulating the feeling of being Canadian. I googled and found:
The Oysters of Locmariaquer by Eleanor Clark:
For me, describing the taste of an oyster is as challenging as explaining how lucky we are to live in this great country. We are honoured to live in a country that is as connected with the flavor of life. Canada is inspiring, fresh, open like an oyster to the experience of being Canadian. We have freedom; we have peace; we have purity.“It is briny first of all, and not in the sense of brine in a barrel, for the preservation of something; there is a shock of refreshment to it.” … “You are eating the sea, that’s it, only the sensation of a gulp of sea water has been wafted out of it by some sorcery, and are on the verge of remembering you don’t know what, mermaids or the sudden smell of kelp on the ebb tide or a poem you read once, something connected with the flavor of life itself…”
Being Canadian is a feeling and although this youtube link is from the Winter Olympics; it captures a vital preservation of something as to what it is to be Canadian-proud, connected, unified.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cowe84zw32c&feature=fvsr
So, like the taste of an oyster, describing Canada and what it is to be Canadian is somewhat indescribable. Being Canadian is an experience; it is a feeling that swells from deep within the heart.
Could someone out there in this great country help articulate the feeling?
Canadianly yours,
Tara
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