I am Canadian... seriously

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This first half of the week are my last few days in Manila. It turns out that the conference being held in our compound, the conference that was initially going to lead to me being kicked out of my room 3 days early, is actually the National Conference on the Documentation of Indigenous Peoples' Human Rights. It turns out that I have been on the list of attendees for weeks. I am slated at the conference as an International Observer. Such a lofty title that really means the organizers couldn't find me a constant translator and so wanted me to know that I would be spending more time observing then participating. I'll still take it - a lot of street cred comes from having a title like International Observer on my resume in my field.

This evening was the conference's solidarity night. It was expected that a participant from every group would present something - preferable a song or dance from their indigenous community. ...yeah, about the indigenous community part. Yesterday I made a Canadian dinner for my program coordinator and his wife, which amounted to a meal rich in potatoes and dairy products. I realized explaining why my local delicacies involved poutin that white, english speaking Canadians don't have a lot of shar-able culture. So I initially decided to sit out this evenings festivities. I was pooked and proded though, "...come on, you must have a Canadian song for us, or a Canadian poem." Well I doubted that "The Night that Patti Murphy Died" would be appropriate. So I printed off I am Canadian instead. And you know, passing a beer commercial off as legitemate Canadian poetry wasn't too hard, especially since it had to be translated in Tagalog as I spoke. And really I think it is pretty representative of Canadian culture.

I have plans now to keep the print out around, and use it every time I am asked to present something Canadian to a group.

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Comments

[Lisa]

The reaction.....
I think it was a great idea. Let's face it there is a lot of Canadian literature and song out there but it is hard to find something that speaks to and of, the everyday Canadian on the street. We get mistaken for American so much especially because we are so close to them and are awash with elements of their culture. I think The I am Canadian commercial signifies Canada and Canadians very authentically. We are VERY proud of our country, we want other people/cultures/countries to distinguish us from our neighbors in the rest of North America, yet we don't tend to make a loud hubub about ourselves and we do get tired and annoyed by the "eh" "zee" and "a boot" jokes. I am curious at the reactions you have been getting from people though. Oh.... and if you get a chance... I went online and found an "I believe" ad for Foster's beer on Youtube.com. the premise is really similar to the "I am Canadian" beer commercial but of course with an Aussie twist to it. I really enjoyed it I think you would too! :)