Fil-Can random thoughts

A Filipino is said to be a product of early globalization, a race with a global entity, long before the word "global" was fashionably coined to describe people who are "citizens of the world".

It is a fact that the Philippines has always been a crossroad to many colonizers, exploiters and travelers. And Filipinos have always been adventurous to travel and then later create a wave of immigrants to inhabit different parts of the world. Many believe that Filipinos have a global mind, vision and soul.

Countless Filipinos have found happiness in their new homes abroad but never forgetting their roots. There are also countless sad stories of Filipinos who did not adjust, learn, embrace, appreciate, absorb, adapt to what their new homes offered to them. These are the Filipinos who detest change and simply retreated to their ethnic enclaves. This is the comfort zone where people expect the world to adjust to them instead of the other way around. One wonders why they bothered to uproot themselves if they refuse to innovate their lives.

As immigrants to Canada, we have to continue to know more about the country and its people. Personally, I am at home in Canada. This is now home but I still have a strong link with the Philippines. Through the years I have collected facts and trivia of "things Canadian". It is a great pleasure to share them with you.

• In an international poll testing national pride, Canadians are among the most proud people in the world (not the boisterous American way) on a broad range of achievements they attribute to their country. Canadians rated high on questions designed to test civic pride in areas such as the economy, culture, military and sports.

• Canada is a country with a character and beauty that inspired a quiet, assured pride among its people. The history of Canada is to a large extent one of tensions, conflicts and compromises. The unique spirit of Canada is to agree to disagree, to harness in diversity, to respect dissent. Canada has never been a melting pot as often described, but more like a tossed salad.

• "One of the many wonderful things about living in Canada is the respect for privacy by Canadians. Majority of Canadians believe and think that a person’s private life should not be fueled for public consumption. Canadians are generally a socially tolerant people who are willing to accept behavior in others they may find unacceptable in themselves. The general consensus is that no one the right to impose their morality and ways of doing things on other people. Fellow Filipinos, please take note. Respect for individual privacy paints a picture of a fundamentally liberal and tolerant society. In comparison, the Philippines still suffers from fanaticism, illiteracy, double standards and ignorance.

• Demographers predict that by year 2026, Surrey, where many Filipinos reside, will be almost as large as Vancouver. It was predicted that nine of 10 immigrants to British Columbia will settle in the Lower Mainland. The other growth concentration areas where Filipinos congregate include Burnaby, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, North Surrey and North Delta.

• Vancouver has still the healthiest people in Canada. It has been cited for their higher levels of education, income, employment, commendable environment, physical activity immigration. B.C. men posted the highest life expectancy rate in the country.

• Canada is haven for fans of foreign and sub-titled films. For those who detest American shopping mall movies, it is a marvelous country for cineastes, cinephiles and festivaliers. There are art houses for alternative cinema and the country has three very prestigious international film festivals in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and mini-fests in Whistler, Banff and Victoria.

• Canadians are less judgemental and believe in fair play, justice and freedom about lifestyle and choices. They are spiritual people, not the church-going crowd. And they believe in playing an active role in the lives of citizens and the community in general.

• Blond is the most popular hair color in Canada. In British Columbia they prefer blond but red hair is most popular in Alberta and brunettes are quite fashionable in Atlantic Canada.