My song for the three months I spent in Kenora.
I loved that town. It was way too small for me, but it was
Newfoundland Lite in so many ways, and rejuvenated me after my years in Halifax, Moncton, TO, etc.
The rocks of the shield were similar to ours, the cottage-dotted islands like our outports. Its main street was a proper one, and evoked a similar atmosphere as Water Street here.
It even had its own hushed political controversy (desire to leave ON and join MB) that reminded me of separatist talk at home.
It was a great three months. I'm sure I would have grown bored of it if I'd stayed too long, but I remember it fondly.
And it was still very Canadian as well. It introduced me (moreso than did anywhere east of it) to many things I now strongly associate with mainland Canada - the accent, relations with First Nations (and the visibility of the social issues they face in our society), the notion of travelling elsewhere for something (Furniture shopping, let's go to Winnipeg!) - that was completely foreign to me, even in HFX, Moncton, and TO you don't encounter that much.
And, especially, the friendliness. I was denied experiencing that in much of eastern Canada because of the reaction to where I was from (it wasn't usually negative, but it was
always something... I was never
just a guest). But, in Kenora, I was. They didn't know it from New Brunswick, didn't have many pre-conceptions about it. They treated me no differently than they would someone from TO, or Moncton, or Halifax.
It was just a great stop in my life all around.
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