Rock the House! Seismically Speaking

Holy earthquakes, Batman! Yup, we're living in a seismic zone. Sure, we don't get as many tremblers as California and it doesn't seem like anyone here is waiting on the BIG ONE, like they are in Vancouver, but the ground does move.

We've experienced this on a number of occasions, but chalked it up to our imaginations, but there was no imagining the shaking that woke us up at 5:06am on Thursday, the 15th of October. A painting fell off one wall and our heavy wooden Buddha clattered against another. By the time I'd done what you're supposed to (stand in a doorway, preferably away from windows) the tremor had already stopped.

It's all good. In the grand scheme of things it wasn't really that big of a deal. No damage was done, no lives lost and no injuries - at least that we've heard of - and the wine glasses are all safe and upright. (Phew!)

Lataguna releasing ash in February 2014

It was a good reminder that every place has it's little inconveniences: earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, drought, forest fires, flooding etc. It's also a good reminder that we need to have an emergency preparedness kit. (Even in Vancouver we were never really very good at that.)

Cotopaxi spewing early this month. Courtesy of MSN Photo of the day

If you're thinking about coming to Ecuador, you should know that there are also volcanoes - active volcanoes. Cotopaxi is actually one of the world's largest volcanoes and it's rumbling and spewing threateningly. (This might also account for the earthquake we had.) Closer by there's also Latacunga that has been spewing ash and generally being disruptive (excuse the slight pun) to the people who live nearby.  

PS We're up over 30,000 hits and 65 countries. So hello out there world, glad to meet you!

When is enough, enough? A Rant

I know, I know, I've been extra preachy lately, but what I see going on in my own country and around the world is so disheartening that I feel moved to comment, complain or even rant.

So what's my latest pet peeve? This gun thing. I don't get it. When will Americans (and I mean people from the USA) finally come to their senses about guns? Yes, I understand that the right to bear arms in written into the Constitution as an amendment, but other amendments have been changed, cancelled or re-amended. (Hello prohibition...I'm talking about you!)

I also realize that "people kill people", but dammit, it's a whole lot easier with a semi-automatic AR-15, if you know what I mean. Why for the love of God, would someone need an assault riffle except to go out and murder people?

Look, I'm from Canada.We have people there that own guns, too: the hunters, the farmers and of course a good selection of whack jobs that can't be trusted with a butter knife, let alone something that sends projectiles towards "targets" at around 1200 kmh (720 mph?). Of course, deaths in Canada by gun is a fifth of the United States, but we have this little thing called gun control.Sure, we're the sweet, polite neighbours to the North, but we (not I) do like our guns. We just don't go around shooting them at people with quite the same exuberance as our Southern neighbours do. 

You can say it's none of my business, that because I'm not from the US, I couldn't possibly understand the deeply ingrained desire to protect this "right", but it is my business. Your guns are finding their way up into Canada and killing my people. I also have loved ones in the US who could easily fall victim to some crazed lunatic wielding a gun, or worse...someone who feels it's their right to shoot someone on sight, because the gun owner "feels threatened". The Stand Fast rule is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard and we're in the middle of an election campaign, so that says a lot.

http://pandawhale.com/post/67753/gun-violence-in-america-in-17-maps-and-charts

The statistics support a more...shall we say...measured approach to firearms.  You are more likely to be shot by your own gun than you are by any other firearm. (Go ahead, search the net and find the stats.)

Why is it so acceptable to have (on average) 85 Americans shot PER DAY? Are their lives less valuable than an amendment that was written to overthrow  a government that imposed a law designed to bend the masses to the will of the crown? News Flash: There is no crown anymore in the US, you have a little something (you like to claim as inventing) called DEMOCRACY that protects you from the very thing the 2nd amendment was put in place for. You can amend the law, that's why it's called an AMENDMENT. 

When are you going to say "Enough"; enough deaths, mass shootings, enough money going to the NRA to fund their deadly agenda? How many toddlers have to shoot their parents (accidentally) or children kill their friends/siblings/gun instructors before you realize that it isn't worth it? That it doesn't work and that you are creating a state of terror that completely out does the reason for having the 2nd amendment. (Remember when people didn't feel safe because they were likely to get shot if they did something the autocrats didn't like...well guess what, that's exactly what's happening again, but it's a problem of your own making and can be easily solved...)

I'm not saying don't have guns at all (although it's not a terrible idea), I'm saying make sure that the people who have them aren't psychotic, depressed, manic, uneducated about their responsibilities of gun ownership and/or generally murderous. And for the love of God, nobody...and I mean absolutely not one single person, needs assault rifles, automatic weapons, grenade launchers etc. It's ridiculous. This should be an age of enlightenment and you're back in the wild west or the dark ages. Shake your heads, pull up your big boy/girl pants and do something about it! 

Another Year and Lessons Learned

I can't believe that another year "down South" has passed. Time is one of the things that made us take a huge leap of faith and follow what our guts told us was right. Life is remarkably short and we are happy that we're spending our days building experiences as opposed to putting it off until the "time was right".

A few posts ago, I pondered about being able to go home again. I mustn't really understand what home means, at least in the more traditional sense. What I do know, is that home isn't necessarily something I'm looking for or particularly attached to. My home is where we land and I don't specifically need to be surrounded with the familiar. That's not to say that I don't like to have my stuff. It's nice to have, but we've lived without it. I've learned that you don't have to be physically close to someone to love them, worry about them, support them or be useful to them. Love is a powerful and strange force that can reach over amazing distances.

The other thing that's become clear to me is that the world is an amazing place with so much to discover that it's hard to decide where to go next. I want to meet the people that inhabit this globe, experience their way of living, taste their food, find similarities and embrace the differences.

Our life certainly isn't for everyone, but if you are curious, there's really no harm in trying it. The worst thing that could happen (hopefully) is that you go back home, knowing it's not for you. Our attitude is that if all else fails, we can go home again - wherever that is! 

Please Vote

For all my Canadian readers, as all you know the federal election is just over two weeks away.

I'd like to remind all Canadians that our right to vote is a hard won and coveted  privilege. Many people have fought, gone to jail and died to be able to exercise this right, so PLEASE take the time to vote. It is your right and Canadian labour laws provide time for you to be able to go to the polls.

Don't delude yourself - your vote does matter. There is a huge amount of data supporting this. The last government was elected by 25% of the eligible voters. If you don't feel you have sufficient information to make a choice please take half an hour to educate yourself on the candidates in your riding. (Elections Canada Party and Candidate Information) There is a lot of information on http://www.elections.ca, so start there.

If you are in the 18-25 year old demographic, you are currently in a position to make a huge difference. The parties (for the most part) have neglected you, as they believe you don't care. I know this isn't true. Your demographic is actually in a position to decide the next government, if only you take the time to mark your ballots. Have a voting party and include your friends - tweet about, Instagram, or snapchat about it. Get involved in how your tax money is handled, who speaks for you and how our country grows and changes. That's what your vote can do.

I wish I could say that I don't care who you vote for - I actually do - but that isn't the point of the blog, so long as you vote. Whether you have an ingrained loyalty to a certain party (although I encourage strategic voting), or a disdain for them all, not choosing is still a choice and takes away your right to challenge, complain or object to the next government including your opinion on: taxation, legislation and representation etc.

So, on October 19th, head to the polls (or vote in the early ballots Oct. 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th,  if you have other stuff to do that day), and mark your 'X'. It's painless and it's something that millions of people around the world wish they could do.

Let's take back our country, so we can lift our heads proudly, both at home and away.

What is Canada?

I just read an online article about how Canada is perceived around the world, as experienced by longer term expats and their opinions didn't really surprise me. I've experienced the same thing. 

I think that Canadians as a whole might have a slightly different skew on what the world thinks of us, as a whole. Sometimes I feel like we sit in a bubble that was built in the last century and are so dazzled by the gleaming arc of it that we haven't realized that it isn't real. Sure, we're still seen, for the most part, as the polite, slightly goofy and definitely unimportant little sibling of the United States, especially those reliant on our tourist dollars.

The fact is that we aren't widely thought about at all, unless some news worthy tragedy happens, such as the attack on parliament hill or our curious absence from the Kyoto agreement. 

When we are thought of it isn't always the polite stereotype that come to mind. Our image is getting tarnished and that's the truth. To others in the know we are, at worst, US lap dogs and at our best still favoured above our neighbours to the south.We're no longer known for keeping the peace or solid ethics; a moral compass for the first world, and that, kids, is sad. We've locked down our borders to new comers, including tourists. Some people actually have to put up a bond to even visit Canada and the amount can be staggering. I've heard it can be over $20,000 per person - to visit. This to me is complete insanity.What has happened to our mosaic? Vancouver doesn't have some of the best food in the world because Canada was xenophobic - no. Where are we in Syria, where there's a humanitarian crisis? Why are we turning away people desperate for the very basics of human existence? Why are we ignoring the aboriginal population, some of whom live in third world style poverty?

This is not my Canada; at least the one that defined me as I grew to adulthood. (Which might explain why I'm currently elsewhere.)

My Canada is a country of opportunity. We're all immigrants to this land, excluding, of course, our indigenous nations. We are a nation of peace keepers, of rational and compassionate voices; we allow for differences and that allowance is what binds us together and makes us one people. (Ironic, right?) We are the model of how to get along and play nicely. That is how I see us in my heart.

I really believe that we can be that again, but we have to put away the fear that has been carefully and purposefully cultivated in us. We all know that there is bad in the world, but there is much more goodness and that's the side we want to be on. We don't want to be the scary old man barred up in his house that mutters to himself and threatens people who knock on his door. We want to be that sunny neighbour that brings over cookies when someone new moves in next door; that is there, helping shovel the sidewalk or lending a cup of sugar. Those three things requires us to open our doors and be proactive about what is going on around us. Of course it might entail a call to the police because something creepy is going next door with the little kids or about the mysterious digging in the backyard in the middle of the night. My point is that we can choose to do the right thing; not the easy thing or the thing that makes us feel less scared.  

We can be Canadian again.

What do you miss?

This is probably the most frequent question we get asked after the standard ones like "where?", "is it safe?", "don't you miss your family?" and "what made you chose there?" (Side note: why would anyone move somewhere that they thought they might not be safe?) The next question is invariably "what do you miss the most?" Of course we miss people and things, despite the fact that we go about our daily lives mostly content and unobsessed with what we don't have.

Sushi in West Vancouver

Duck breast and yam fries in North Vancouver

We missed it while we were in Freetown, Prince Edward Island as well, but international food wasn't that far away that a weekend getaway or a drive to Charlottetown couldn't quell the desire. With planning and an extra suitcase, we can have a lot of the food we miss, but I have to make it. There is a general shortage of world cuisine in Ecuador that isn't missing in the neighbouring countries. (We can't quite figure that one out, but are tempted to chalking it up to the concept of being happy with what you have.) 
 

Korean chili chicken downtown

Unquestionably the thing we miss is FOOD. Vancouver enjoys an unending variety of tastes, flavours and dining experiences that is lacking in Cuenca. To be sure, Quito has a wider variety of restaurants, but it still has a long way to go the match that of our home town.

Japadog on Robson

Fish tacos from a food truck

All this and I've been too lazy to take pictures of the Peruvian food we had last night, the classic Triple O burger from White Spot or the Pho we had at a restaurant with some of our kids. Missing too are the cheddar cheese smokies I cooked on the barbecue and the baked trout I had at my sister's house. I never thought to take a shot of the sockeye salmon I made either. And we're only half way through our trip! We haven't hit any Indian restaurants, Thai places, Mongolian, French...I can't even cover it all. But that is what we miss: the food and the memories that come with it.

Can You Really Go Home Again?

As I've said ad nauseum, we move a lot. This creates an interesting perspective on the definition of home. My sisters call the east coast of Canada "back home", even though they've lived for decades on the opposite side of the country. Even I call the East coast "back home" occasionally, though I spent the majority of my life in the west.

We're back in Vancouver and it's the city that I truly think of as "home". When asked where I'm from, it's my answer. It's my home town, despite my birth certificate; it's the place that I know and understand - even after I've been away for a while. No matter the changes or time away, it feels familiar. It's so easy to slip in to old routines...following the same routes on the streets, favourite stores...you get where I'm going with this right? It's almost like we never left.

So what do you call home? Is it where you're living currently? Is it where you grew up? Is it where the happiest memories live? I don't know. For me, maybe the world is "home". There may not be one pat place that keeps me forever, but wherever I am usually feels like home. I've used the word for hotel rooms, houses, apartments, residences of my family, and even an entire area can be considered home.

I find myself asking is THIS my home. I don't know. Maybe I have more than one home - maybe I have hundreds. I know that, for many people, this concept seems strange. The thought of leaving a place where they've lived most of their life is unimaginable. But for the wanderers out there, they know the feeling.Whatever I think of as home is ethereal and ever changing, but I know it when I feel it. I hope that your home is comfortable and happy and I welcome your thoughts on what truly makes a house a home.