The semi-stress free week continues. Wed and Thursday were spent in Brussels at a corporate team building/bonding thing. It was typical work enforced fun: power point presentations, conference room food, drinks with coworkers and more precious power point.
The company is quite international, and lately i’ve started to really enjoy being the only Canadian. I’ve been with this Aussie company for 5 months now and being surrounded by Australians, Kiwis, English, Belgians, French, … German … it gives me plenty of opportunities to reflect on what it means to be Canadian.
The politics, health care, accents from tv? Mike Myers has said: “Canada is the essence of not being. Not English, not American, it is the mathematic of not being. And a subtle flavour – we’re more like celery as a flavour.”
Flavour or not, things the Aussies and Kiwis don’t have a clue about: double-doubles, what it means to jersey someone, how warming poutine is on an icy cold -25C winter day, the ache of shoveling snow. By the way, expressions that only work in Canada: “Have you seen so and so today? No, we’ve been playing Polkaroo” (lots of strange looks when i said that the other week.
As the lone Canadian in the company of several hundred my pride and love for Canada has grown. Even if I can’t pin point “canadian”. But I have caught myself picking up Australian phrases. Today, I actually used “reckon” and “mates” in the same sentence. The antidote? playing You Tube Tragically Hip videos on full volume. Is the Canadian back in me? Not fully, completely, but almost.