What I Learned In Canada

It's been nine days since we left Morgantown for thirteen days in three of Canada's largest cities. Joe and I both needed to get away after a  busy year (so far), and we wanted to go someplace we didn't know much about, someplace different, and frankly, someplace  away from the trauma of living in the United States today. We decided on an ambitious trip to Montréal with side trips to Ottawa and Québec City. We knew that Montréal and Québec are in French-speaking Quebec Province, and that Ottawa, Canada's capital and fourth-largest city, is in English-speaking Ontario Province, but on the border of Quebec. We decided to be "green" this trip, and ride by train between the cities, and walk and use mass transit in the towns instead of having a car.

The weather ranged from the mid-fifties to upper seventies, averaging 65 to 75. There were periods of rain everywhere. I expected it to be cooler.

We visited all the tourist places. Quebec and Montreal (I'm not using accents from here on) are among the oldest cities in North America. Parts of Montreal could pass for Paris, and Quebec looks medieval in places. Ottawa is much newer with great piles of stone buildings and beautiful parks, as befits a national capital. Tourists came from all over to Montreal and Ottawa, women in Muslim or Indian garb, African families, busloads from Korea and Japan. I couldn't help feeling that many of these people were not comfortable with the idea of traveling in the United States this summer, and chose Canada instead.

It's Canada's 150th birthday, and there were celebrations, festivals and parades everywhere. It seemed welcoming to everyone. I saw no one treated rudely or excluded by race or religion. We were early for Gay Pride celebrations in Ottawa and Montreal. We heard that there was a history of anti-gay actions by the government in Montreal at the time of the World's Fair in 1967 and the Olympics in 1976, but now there is a gay neighborhood with decorations and street signs. At the synagogue in Quebec,  people told us that many in the community had left because of virulent anti-Semitism. They are starting over with a new rabbi and are themselves taking on a more welcoming stance.We saw a festival of First-People's culture, and a parade with indigenous people of other countries, to say the Canadian First People welcomed them. In Quebec, there were signs about celebrating "our common heritage as Canadians," I'm guessing to put aside the rancor  from the Quebec separatists.

In Quebec City, few people speak English at all. We were fine in the tourist areas, and Joe and I, having both studied French in high school and college, and priding ourselves on our linguistic abilities, did our best to get by speaking French. I think people appreciated our attempts.

What I learned in Canada is how a country can try to be welcoming and open, understand that the future is multi-cultural, make amends and include its First Nations people, accept French culture as equal to English, and try to forge a real national identity across a vast amount of miles.

I learned that the United States could use Canada, at least what I saw, as an example. We could be less afraid and more embracing of change, of other races and cultures. We could protect the environment from further degradation, and make amends to our Native population for the horrors our government has inflicted on them.

The United States could have a brighter future than we are heading for. Canada has that future. I'll write more and put up some pictures...soon.