sunny days in vancouver

I am in Vancouver today and the sun is shining.  There is no other place on earth that is as wonderful, in my humble opinion, than Vancouver in the sunshine.  I can see Mount Baker, False Creek and Vancouver Harbour from my balcony.  I can also see West Georgia Street where the crowds will gather tonight to watch the Canucks on the big screen tv.  There is so much energy in this city right now.  People coming together to support their sports teams is an interesting phenomenon.  Even on the street where there are tens of thousands of people, no one talks while the game is on. But even when I am away from my tv I can hear what is happening from the crowd and I know when to go to watch the replay.

I love the way Canadians get together over hockey.  There are no specific cultural groups of what I call Hypenated Canadians who are not represented in the crowds here in Vancouver.  It is a multicultural city and everyone is IN.  I am a European – Canadian.  My heritage includes Channel Islands, Scotland and Spain.  There are many people in the crowds who look like me but many more that don’t.   I think it is telling that it is not how you look in Vancouver that gives away your heritage so much as the way that you sound.  Language is the distinguisher here and in many multicultural countries.  Language will usually reveal the generation of Canadian someone is.  I like to listen and guess.  Accents, patterns, pace all provide more clues about who the person is.  All we have to do is listen.  Looking is not enough.