Canada Day!

In honour of Canada Day I thought I would right a blog about the top 7 reasons I love Canada!

7. The flag!! It is super simple, except for when trying to draw a maple leaf, and I love the red and white.  Our flag is recognized all over the world and in most countries it is a total bonus to be Canadian and I have no doubt that some people fake being Canadian to be treated better.  Great to be Canadian!

6. The stereotypes! I am not sure that anybody else finds it great but I think most stereotypes associated with Canadians are hysterical.  We totally live in igloos and ride our pet moose, polar bear or dog sled to school every single day in a snow storm and after our chores consist of hunting for beavers, skinning them for pelts and selling them to the Hudsons Bay Co. That might have been a bit of an exaggeration but you get the general idea.

5. Tim Hortons. I am not a coffee drinker (trying to avoid that as long as possible) but I love my hot chocolate and donut (usually maple dip).  Roll up the Rim, best time of the year!!! I always know spring should be on its way when Roll up the Rim starts and a stop at Timmies before school starts is often the best way to start the day.

4.  Wendy’s! Along with most Tim Hortons there is usually a Wendy’s and the best dring/shake thing ever, a Frosty.  By far my favourite fast food place to eat and currently I cannot think of anything else to say about it except that I might want a baconator. Also best memories at Wendy’s is going with my grandparents and cousins and I was super hungry and ate a number 3 combo (3 patty burger, chocolate frosty and fries) my older cousin was quite impressed, I got a shout out on his Facebook status.

3. Attitude! We are often thought of as super nice, humble (not always), easy to laugh at and along with and apologetic. We are constantly apologizing apparently, which does occur, not all the time though but in general polite.  The other day while driving on the highway in the left lane I noticed a car going faster than me coming from behind so I moved over and as he passed he waved at me, can’t say I would ever expect that in any other country.  Today, coming back from Centre Island in Toronto we had to take a ferry back and there was not that much pushing as tons of people tried to get on one ferry.  I did complain a lot about my brother but he was just being annoying, totally an exception though.  Side note on the ferry though, we had to book it back to where we parked our car because they closed at 6 and had our keys and if we didn’t get them we would have to stay overnight and we landed at 6.  So my sister and I pulled an Amazing Race job and booked it, ran through crowds, leapt over gardens, managed to grab a coupon for The Wizard of Oz on the way and got our keys in time much to the parking guys amusement.  We showed up totally out of breath asking for our keys and then waited for like 10 minutes while the rest of our vehicle load got there.  We probably made his day.

2 and 1. I can’t decide which goes first and second so they both tie, hockey and rowing. I will just go alphabetically so nobody’s feelings get hurt.

HOCKEY!! I honestly do not know what I would do on Saturday nights without it (other than work maybe).  I am a Leafs fan all the way, I have taken many jokes and insults but have survived, mainly by ignoring them, but it works.  My work schedule always seems to conflict with big games but after I got home and found out they had made the playoffs, I did quite the dance, best news! I really could go on for a long time but hockey would not be the same without Hockey Night in Canada hosted by Ron Maclean and Don Cherry, I have some great stories about them but will save that for a different blog, they are incredible though, waiting to see what Don Cherry’s suit will look like, always work the wait.  Oh and Olympic hockey, crazy stuff, totally had a blonde moment the other day when in my brother’s room looking at his 2010 Vancouver games hockey poster and could not for the life of me remember who won the game in 2012.  I knew there were Olympics every 2 years and honestly thought I had forgotten apart of my life because I couldn’t remember who had won the crucial gold medal match.  Thankfully when I ran downstairs in a panic I had memory loss my dad nicely reminded me that it was the summer Olympics and that I had not missed the game, which leads us to the summer, well all year sport, of rowing.

ROWING!! I have never watched a sport that looks more clean, graceful and elegant in my life, though honestly I think it is one of the most painful sports ever.  I could also write forever on rowing but I will try to keep it shorter, it is an incredibly tough sport physically and mentally, I will give you a race run through of what I think it is like, you might get a better idea.  It is a 2 kilometre race and marked by a pylon (not a road pylon, a lot bigger) every 500 metres and a red (or different coloured) buoy every 250 metres with the last 250 metres all red.  There are different boat sizes, 8 people rowing with one oar and a coxie (they make calls to the rowers and steer), 4 people with one oar sometimes with a coxie, 4 people with two oars, 2 people with one or two oars and no coxie and a single person with two oars.   It may seem very confusing but I am sure if you Google it you will understand. Back to the race though, at the start of the race it is incredibly nerve-wracking until the horn goes and the race starts.  At the beginning there are a few short strokes and then about 10-30 really fast and powerful strokes, the start can sometime win or lose a crew the race but with all the nervous energy out at around 300 – 500 metres the boat has gotten into a steady rhythm and is making the way down the course.  Throughout the entire race there is focus constantly being drawn to the form, driving with the legs (people think it is an arms sport, it is not, it is mostly legs), finish strong with the arms, don’t fly up the slide (yep there is a slide track in the boat, it really is not as fun as it sounds), stay in time with the rest of the people in the boat.  Strategy is a huge part of the race because depending on when or if crews you are racing make a move your boat has to react to it, example, if it is heard or seen that a boat is putting extra strength into some strokes, your boat does the same for longer to try and hold them off or pass them, being aware of your position is crucial.  Mentally just keeping your body going for 2 kilometres is hard enough, one of my coaches always said, “Your legs will never give out on you, they hold you up every day, if you think you can’t finish or win though, then you won’t.” Or it was something along those lines.  Also most crews like to practice at like 5 a.m. which gets exhausting and being able to function mentally at that time is difficult.  Basically it is a lot of time and effort all year round for about an 8 minute race but finishing that race and medalling is the best feeling ever. I realize that was super long and didn’t even really get into any detail but I tried.

These are 7, but just some of the reasons that Canada is an incredible country and I am so grateful and blessed to be able to live here, the true North, strong and free!