Normally we Canadians are so afraid of appearing narcissistic that we apologize even for our very existence. Pride in who we are and where we are from was an infectious maple leaf fallout from the Vancouver Games. So did our pride make us arrogant? Pompous? Obnoxious? No. Our newfound confidence spurred a tiny miracle… conversation.
I am back in Toronto after an Olympic month, shocked. I lived in Vancouver for six years and, after being raised in vibrant Montreal – a city that oozes passion from its sewers, I found British Columbians to be rather conservative. It was difficult to get to know people in Vancouver. If you randomly complimented a stranger on the street they would scurry away, afraid they might catch something.
No more.
They spoke. They spoke while on buses, on the streets, in restaurants… random conversations with grinning strangers, generously spreading the happiness they were feeling. I could not get away from all the chatter.
The Games freed this city, this province and this country from constraint. Nothing wrong with a little confidence. We have a lot to be proud of. So to the woman from Victoria at the Creperie, the elderly man on the 250 bus with his grandkids, and the lady on the seawall… thanks for asking. I truly had a wonderful time.
I hope we Canadians continue talking.
