So what have I learned so far? Probably the most important thing I have learned so far is how much our surroundings and the people we interact with affect our intellectual growth.
Let me explain what I mean. I grew up in Ontario and moved to Edmonton when was 19 years old. Not that I had been an imbecile prior to coming to Edmonton and the U of A, but there were certain experiences I have had in Edmonton that are exclusive to this city. The most striking example is the multicultural nature of the city along with its extensive population of Aboriginal people.
Growing up in Ontario it was common to see visible minorities like it is in Edmonton, but I had seen no more than 5 Aboriginal 'Canadians' in my six or seven years in Ontario. Seeing them here, have experienced hateful comments expressed against them by many of my own acquaintances, has allowed me to appreciate the sufferings that have been meted out to our First Nations.
I want to refer here to Alice Major's reference to caragana as a "tough colonial." Would I have had the same appreciation of this line if I had lived in Ontario? I highly doubt it. It's impossible to appreciate the significance of this line until you have experienced the evidence of colonization. As far as I'm concerned, that evidence has ceased to exist or is very had to access in Ontario.
Despite the fact that I hate Edmonton's winter, I value the space--that I have referred to the 27th dimension--it has provided me and encouraged the kind of critical thinking backed by experience which would never have occurred elsewhere in my opinion.
Let me explain what I mean. I grew up in Ontario and moved to Edmonton when was 19 years old. Not that I had been an imbecile prior to coming to Edmonton and the U of A, but there were certain experiences I have had in Edmonton that are exclusive to this city. The most striking example is the multicultural nature of the city along with its extensive population of Aboriginal people.
Growing up in Ontario it was common to see visible minorities like it is in Edmonton, but I had seen no more than 5 Aboriginal 'Canadians' in my six or seven years in Ontario. Seeing them here, have experienced hateful comments expressed against them by many of my own acquaintances, has allowed me to appreciate the sufferings that have been meted out to our First Nations.
I want to refer here to Alice Major's reference to caragana as a "tough colonial." Would I have had the same appreciation of this line if I had lived in Ontario? I highly doubt it. It's impossible to appreciate the significance of this line until you have experienced the evidence of colonization. As far as I'm concerned, that evidence has ceased to exist or is very had to access in Ontario.
Despite the fact that I hate Edmonton's winter, I value the space--that I have referred to the 27th dimension--it has provided me and encouraged the kind of critical thinking backed by experience which would never have occurred elsewhere in my opinion.
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