set of glasses
than yours.”
“Yes, yes, sure,” she mocked me. Then, with
sorrow in her voice, she
continued: “If only you’d have my life...”
“And if only you’d have mine,” I said gently,
giving her a pat on
her back, trying to shake off whatever burdens she was carrying.
“No, thank you.”
“You see? Your life is as bad as you think it
is, no more and no
less.”
“How can you still love
your life in Canada? I cannot understand. After all, it brought you
more tears than laughter, more
frustration than contentment, and more disappointment than fulfillment.
Nothing
to love, except for a guy or two.”
“True, but it gave me unfettered and sole
ownership over my
decisions. It gave me freedom. That’s not something one can easily
forget.”
And then, I told her, all the reasons for which
I loved Canada: the good, the bad, and yes, the ugly ones too.
“I love Canada for so many reasons. Some I will
remember, some I
will forget, while others I will never know. Because true love can
never be
explained and dissected, bit by bit. True love comes and goes as it
pleases.
You cannot hide its flame, same as you cannot hide its absence.
It taught me how to be a bitch by choice, not
by force; to forgive
others’ actions, but never forget their nature; to be
mentally resilient
and obstinately follow
my dreams; to believe in myself when no one else seems to be overly
excited to
do the job, to never let go of my cynical humor even when, or
especially when,
it is pointed out at myself; to take a back seat each time my life
spins off
into drama, enjoy the show and grab the leading role only when spring
is in the
air and love is all around.
I learned that, same as wisdom cannot be
bestowed upon me while comfortably
sitting in the middle of my own bed indulging myself in reading
philosophy
books or judging others, patience does not mean to sit around, decry
your fate,
and pray for a change to happen.
In the shadows of being no one, I found true
freedom and the courage
to spread my wings and make my own mistakes.
It cured one of my deepest fears, the fear of
being alone. In
solitude, I have learned to love my own company and turn to nature for
hope,
perspective, and strength.
Simply put, it taught me how to survive the
biggest roller coaster
ever: life.
Canada is the place where I learned everything I
know about myself: my limits, my shortcomings, my strengths. And I did
all that
by being open to everything people brought my way: disappointment or
gratitude,
laughter or sorrow, light or darkness.
And this is why,” I shouted, “I love Canada! J’aime
le Canada !
My training ground, my dream, my home away from home! But love and
belonging
are two different things. I owe it to myself to find the place where
they meet.”
----
Dora’s
Journal Notes
Stay put and you
will remain as such.
Jump in and you might get wet. Dive and you might find true happiness.
Don’t be afraid of
failures. They are
the scars of a champion!
Sometimes trying
is as important as
succeeding.
----
19
Why J’aime le Canada
Bonjour,
bien sûr, comment ça va?
Hello,
of course, ne touché me pas.
We
might enjoy the same country,
But
we’ll never be, comment tu sais, amis.
Oh,
mais pourquoi, maudits Anglais?
Or
better say, you, tête carrée.
We
share the skunks, the beavers too,
The
touques, the fever et ‘ils se foutent.’
And
so it goes, day after day,
Pleasantries
stand in the way
Quebec
serves snails, amour et vin
The
rest of it, just pays le prix.
When I
left Canada, Robert gave me three books:
one was How to Be
a Canadian , another one was Living Abroad in
Australia , and the last
one was Chicken Soup for the Cat and Dog Lover’s Soul .
He told me most
Canadians find the first
one funny, so I should take it as a test. The second one was just in
case I
ever get lost, while the third one had to replace an instant happy
phone call.
I never had the
time or the need to read
the last two, but to see how
than yours.”
“Yes, yes, sure,” she mocked me. Then, with
sorrow in her voice, she
continued: “If only you’d have my life...”
“And if only you’d have mine,” I said gently,
giving her a pat on
her back, trying to shake off whatever burdens she was carrying.
“No, thank you.”
“You see? Your life is as bad as you think it
is, no more and no
less.”
“How can you still love
your life in Canada? I cannot understand. After all, it brought you
more tears than laughter, more
frustration than contentment, and more disappointment than fulfillment.
Nothing
to love, except for a guy or two.”
“True, but it gave me unfettered and sole
ownership over my
decisions. It gave me freedom. That’s not something one can easily
forget.”
And then, I told her, all the reasons for which
I loved Canada: the good, the bad, and yes, the ugly ones too.
“I love Canada for so many reasons. Some I will
remember, some I
will forget, while others I will never know. Because true love can
never be
explained and dissected, bit by bit. True love comes and goes as it
pleases.
You cannot hide its flame, same as you cannot hide its absence.
It taught me how to be a bitch by choice, not
by force; to forgive
others’ actions, but never forget their nature; to be
mentally resilient
and obstinately follow
my dreams; to believe in myself when no one else seems to be overly
excited to
do the job, to never let go of my cynical humor even when, or
especially when,
it is pointed out at myself; to take a back seat each time my life
spins off
into drama, enjoy the show and grab the leading role only when spring
is in the
air and love is all around.
I learned that, same as wisdom cannot be
bestowed upon me while comfortably
sitting in the middle of my own bed indulging myself in reading
philosophy
books or judging others, patience does not mean to sit around, decry
your fate,
and pray for a change to happen.
In the shadows of being no one, I found true
freedom and the courage
to spread my wings and make my own mistakes.
It cured one of my deepest fears, the fear of
being alone. In
solitude, I have learned to love my own company and turn to nature for
hope,
perspective, and strength.
Simply put, it taught me how to survive the
biggest roller coaster
ever: life.
Canada is the place where I learned everything I
know about myself: my limits, my shortcomings, my strengths. And I did
all that
by being open to everything people brought my way: disappointment or
gratitude,
laughter or sorrow, light or darkness.
And this is why,” I shouted, “I love Canada! J’aime
le Canada !
My training ground, my dream, my home away from home! But love and
belonging
are two different things. I owe it to myself to find the place where
they meet.”
----
Dora’s
Journal Notes
Stay put and you
will remain as such.
Jump in and you might get wet. Dive and you might find true happiness.
Don’t be afraid of
failures. They are
the scars of a champion!
Sometimes trying
is as important as
succeeding.
----
19
Why J’aime le Canada
Bonjour,
bien sûr, comment ça va?
Hello,
of course, ne touché me pas.
We
might enjoy the same country,
But
we’ll never be, comment tu sais, amis.
Oh,
mais pourquoi, maudits Anglais?
Or
better say, you, tête carrée.
We
share the skunks, the beavers too,
The
touques, the fever et ‘ils se foutent.’
And
so it goes, day after day,
Pleasantries
stand in the way
Quebec
serves snails, amour et vin
The
rest of it, just pays le prix.
When I
left Canada, Robert gave me three books:
one was How to Be
a Canadian , another one was Living Abroad in
Australia , and the last
one was Chicken Soup for the Cat and Dog Lover’s Soul .
He told me most
Canadians find the first
one funny, so I should take it as a test. The second one was just in
case I
ever get lost, while the third one had to replace an instant happy
phone call.
I never had the
time or the need to read
the last two, but to see how
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