I recently left to go study abroad in the U.K., and this is the first significant time I’ve travelled internationally. While I always found my nationality important, I have never been so keenly aware of it. When you’re in another country, speaking with another accent, one of the first questions is where that accent is from, and that becomes a key identifier. I have become one of “The Canadians.”
There is a realization that, for many people I meet, I might be their first point of contact for my country, inadvertently making me a representative. I have become more aware of how Canada is perceived, and more thoughtful in how I discuss it.
In recent years, I’ve had a complicated relationship with what being Canadian means, but leaving taught me that whether I like it or not, Canada is my responsibility. So I better go to that political science class and get to work to make it something I can be proud of.
