So, Today Is Canada’s Birthday?

So, Today Is Canada’s Birthday?

“So, today is Canada Day?” my daughter asked. “Um hum,” I said, looking and the clock and calculating. It’s July 1st here, but ten p.m., on June 30th in Ontario. “And Canada is 150 years old?” Excitement built with each word. “Yeah.” I wanted to join in her excitement...
Longing for Home

Longing for Home

Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests. I have said a tearful good-bye to our families and a nostalgic good-bye to my country. The airplane that I am seated on is filled with people, each with black hair and almond eyes. Canada is behind me, I am once again...
Overflowing Memories

Overflowing Memories

My kids counted down the days for months. It had been two years since they had seen their cousins, which felt like eternity. It’s more than just a trip for them, it is a connection with their family, their home country, their roots. When we finally arrived they were...
Passing on the Good

Passing on the Good

With two months of our trip behind us it feels like we will soon be on the other side of the world, and Canada, the storehouse of my childhood memories, will once again be far away; nearly forgotten. One of the hardest things about living abroad is that I can’t...

On Acceptance

I never imagined I would be asked to leave the country only days after arriving, even if it was just for a short time. We were driving from Abbotsford, British Columbia to White Rock when we missed a turn. Brian decided to head toward Zero Avenue, not knowing it had...
Nature In, Crowds Out

Nature In, Crowds Out

If you can open your front door and step directly outside, you are more blessed than the millions of people that surround us in China. We step out into a tiny hallway that is shared with our neighbours, then into a crowded elevator, down to a maze of roads and narrow...