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Apr. 24th, 2006 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hel_ana1. How do you know Arnora and Nita?
Lo these many years ago (91, I believe, for those keeping score at home), I was a student at Center Wellington District High School. A friend of mine said "so there's this club called the SCA. My brother's a member. They have meetings over at the University of Waterloo. We should go to one."
So I went to a meeting. That night, after the meeting, I started talking to a lady who kindly answered all of my questions, and told me everything I would need to know about the group. I suspect if she hadn't stepped forward to talk to me, I might not have gone back. That lady was the_nita.
A few weeks later, the group was doing a demo at the UW Canada Day thing over at Columbia Lake. I arrived, and another lady came up to me and said (paraphrased) "thank goodness you're here". And I thought to myself "arrroooo? me? does she think I'm someone else?" And that lady was arnora.
2. What's it really like living in the US, being the Canadian that you are?
Depends on the day, really. (Of course, this is also very much "Living in Tampa Bay FL", not "Living in America")
woodarp once told me that, in its own way, immigrating between Canada and the US is almost as difficult as immigrating to NA from a completely other culture. Because an immigrant from Guyana expects that things will be different, where going back and forth between Canada and the US, mostly everything is the same so you get lulled into a false sense of familiarity, so when the differences slap you, they really slap you.
Living in Tampa Bay, for the most part, is not terribly different from living in small-town Ontario. It's all spread out, public transportation sucks, and you have to drive everywhere, there's a certain distance between ethnic groups, it's generally conservative, and many people (transplanted northerners) are fascinated by hockey.
OTOH, Living in Tampa Bay is quite different from living in toronto: TB's all spread out, public transportation sucks, and you have to drive places, there's a certain distance between ethnic groups, it's generally conservative, and many people are fascinated by hockey.
There's a certain underlying rugged individualism that I find slightly alien -- the idea that we really are all in it for ourselves, and that it's somehow immoral to help those less fortunate (because then they can't help themselves). It's not all pervasive, but it's much more present than I experienced anywhere in Canada. I hear stuff about "the nanny state" a lot more here. And invariably anyone who's either conservative or in the medical field will confront me saying "hey, isn't it better now that you're in the states and don't have to deal with that horrible socialized medicine?". To which I always reply "well, I've had cancer treatment in Canada, and cancer followup in the States, and if I ever get the disease again, you won't see anything but my dust trail as I go back to Canada for treatment." Which, of course, they're always stunned by.
3. Why can't you make it to The Wedding of the Year?
Bring me a Strongbow at the Reception of the Year, and I'll tell you all about it.
4. What is your happiest memory so far in this life?
Probably the day I got my visa in Montreal.
5. Are you a religious or spiritial person? If so, how so?
Yes, to both. I grew up Catholic, left the Church, and self-identified as pagan or Taoist/pagan for many years. I went back to the Anglican Church of Canada 3 or 4 years ago, and we go to the Episcopalian Church (my husband's cradle Episcopalian), at least when we can find a parish that isn't batshit insane about the right of gay people to be full members of the church, should they want to.
Lo these many years ago (91, I believe, for those keeping score at home), I was a student at Center Wellington District High School. A friend of mine said "so there's this club called the SCA. My brother's a member. They have meetings over at the University of Waterloo. We should go to one."
So I went to a meeting. That night, after the meeting, I started talking to a lady who kindly answered all of my questions, and told me everything I would need to know about the group. I suspect if she hadn't stepped forward to talk to me, I might not have gone back. That lady was the_nita.
A few weeks later, the group was doing a demo at the UW Canada Day thing over at Columbia Lake. I arrived, and another lady came up to me and said (paraphrased) "thank goodness you're here". And I thought to myself "arrroooo? me? does she think I'm someone else?" And that lady was arnora.
2. What's it really like living in the US, being the Canadian that you are?
Depends on the day, really. (Of course, this is also very much "Living in Tampa Bay FL", not "Living in America")
woodarp once told me that, in its own way, immigrating between Canada and the US is almost as difficult as immigrating to NA from a completely other culture. Because an immigrant from Guyana expects that things will be different, where going back and forth between Canada and the US, mostly everything is the same so you get lulled into a false sense of familiarity, so when the differences slap you, they really slap you.
Living in Tampa Bay, for the most part, is not terribly different from living in small-town Ontario. It's all spread out, public transportation sucks, and you have to drive everywhere, there's a certain distance between ethnic groups, it's generally conservative, and many people (transplanted northerners) are fascinated by hockey.
OTOH, Living in Tampa Bay is quite different from living in toronto: TB's all spread out, public transportation sucks, and you have to drive places, there's a certain distance between ethnic groups, it's generally conservative, and many people are fascinated by hockey.
There's a certain underlying rugged individualism that I find slightly alien -- the idea that we really are all in it for ourselves, and that it's somehow immoral to help those less fortunate (because then they can't help themselves). It's not all pervasive, but it's much more present than I experienced anywhere in Canada. I hear stuff about "the nanny state" a lot more here. And invariably anyone who's either conservative or in the medical field will confront me saying "hey, isn't it better now that you're in the states and don't have to deal with that horrible socialized medicine?". To which I always reply "well, I've had cancer treatment in Canada, and cancer followup in the States, and if I ever get the disease again, you won't see anything but my dust trail as I go back to Canada for treatment." Which, of course, they're always stunned by.
3. Why can't you make it to The Wedding of the Year?
Bring me a Strongbow at the Reception of the Year, and I'll tell you all about it.
4. What is your happiest memory so far in this life?
Probably the day I got my visa in Montreal.
5. Are you a religious or spiritial person? If so, how so?
Yes, to both. I grew up Catholic, left the Church, and self-identified as pagan or Taoist/pagan for many years. I went back to the Anglican Church of Canada 3 or 4 years ago, and we go to the Episcopalian Church (my husband's cradle Episcopalian), at least when we can find a parish that isn't batshit insane about the right of gay people to be full members of the church, should they want to.
