Monday, April 27, 2009
I'm a Hooker!!!
This June will mark my fifth year living on the Island. What happens when you pluck a city girl out of the city and drop her in the rural North? All sorts of interesting things can happen!
In my first year on the Island, no one knew me and I didn't know anyone. I remember going to the store and the cashier asked, "Can I have your band number?"
Me: Ummm...Sorry?
Cashier: What band do you belong to?
Me: Band? As in rock band? (puzzled)
Cashier: Do you have a band number?
Me: What's a band number?
Cashier: Oh! You're not Native?
Me: No (didn't go into the whole "My mother's Filipina with Spanish ancestry and my dad's Chinese but was born and raised in the Caribbean" bit).
The cashier apologized for mistaking me for someone "Native", but I had to smile. I don't know why she'd apologize. I have always been interested in the history and storytelling of the First Nations people. I remember taking a course in Creation Myths when I was in college. Anything with the words Ojibwa, Cree, Iroquois and Algonquin in the title was something I was interested in. Plus, there aren't tooooooooooo many Asian people on the Island. I guess the cashier figured that if I wasn't Caucasian, then I was "Native". Certainly an eye opening experience, since I came from a very multicultural and diverse city (Toronto). Now that I think of that exchange, it makes me think of how clueless and naive I was when I first moved here.
Other Island experiences that make me smile:
* Watching the new calves and their moms in the Spring. Calves are so adorable! I love watching them run and play in the fields.
* Watching the deer graze in the same field as the cattle. Amazing how they seem to not be paying attention and not be bothered at all, but you know how aware they really are.
* Having to stop my vehicle to let a family of ducks cross the road.
* Driving down the winding country roads...with no other vehicle in sight! It truly amazes me! I'm used to being in the city where it's bumper to bumper traffic and very rarely was I the only one on the road.
*Driving down the winding country roads and seeing the most beautiful sights. There's a certain spot you reach when driving on Rockville Road, where as soon as you reach the top of the hill, if you look straight ahead you'll see Treasure Island. The view is especially gorgeous on a misty day.
There are lots of experiences I can recant in my nearly five years on the Island. I'll have to think of more when I'm not so tired :) 9 PM and the baby's sleeping! That means I ought to get to bed too!
Every now and then, I'll start laughing to myself when I think of all the unusual (unusual for me!) things that I have experienced. For example:
* Going to teas and bazaars...and enjoying said teas and bazaars!
I remember my very first tea and bazaar clearly. I went with a few friends, and we sat at a table that had a few available seats. The lady I sat next to was eighty-nine years old and the loveliest, chattiest, friendliest person ever! She leaned over and immediately started to talk to me. This threw me aback, because in the city I often spoke to strangers and got strange glances from people. This adorable octogenarian looked at me and in between nibbles at her sandwich and squares, she said, "I'm a hooker!"
Me: (in shock) Oh! Ummm...Okay.
Adorable Lady: Yes! I'm a hooker! Been hookin' since I was twelve! And I'm eighty-nine now! That's a lot of years hookin'!
Me: Oh, yes! It certainly is a lot of years! (still in shock that she divulged such intimate details with me and she didn't even know me!)
AL: (smiles) I'm one of the best!
Me: (laughing) I'm sure you are! I...ummm...didn't know that people around here did that kind of stuff!
AL: Oh, sure! In my generation, we all did it! We learned as little girls! Our mothers and grandmothers taught us!
Me: WOW!
(Laughter ensued)
My friend: C, don't you have any hobbies?
Me: Ummm...yes! Of course! I like painting, taking photographs...and I can crochet. But...what do hobbies have to do with being a hooker!?!?
Friend: It's a type of craft! You know, latch hooking?
AL: (laughing) Oh, dear! You thought...(more laughter) No, it's closer to knitting that it is to the thing you were thinking! Well, it's not actually close to knitting at all, but...
Me: Yes, I get it. (laughing from embarrassment)
In my first year on the Island, no one knew me and I didn't know anyone. I remember going to the store and the cashier asked, "Can I have your band number?"
Me: Ummm...Sorry?
Cashier: What band do you belong to?
Me: Band? As in rock band? (puzzled)
Cashier: Do you have a band number?
Me: What's a band number?
Cashier: Oh! You're not Native?
Me: No (didn't go into the whole "My mother's Filipina with Spanish ancestry and my dad's Chinese but was born and raised in the Caribbean" bit).
The cashier apologized for mistaking me for someone "Native", but I had to smile. I don't know why she'd apologize. I have always been interested in the history and storytelling of the First Nations people. I remember taking a course in Creation Myths when I was in college. Anything with the words Ojibwa, Cree, Iroquois and Algonquin in the title was something I was interested in. Plus, there aren't tooooooooooo many Asian people on the Island. I guess the cashier figured that if I wasn't Caucasian, then I was "Native". Certainly an eye opening experience, since I came from a very multicultural and diverse city (Toronto). Now that I think of that exchange, it makes me think of how clueless and naive I was when I first moved here.
Other Island experiences that make me smile:
* Watching the new calves and their moms in the Spring. Calves are so adorable! I love watching them run and play in the fields.
* Watching the deer graze in the same field as the cattle. Amazing how they seem to not be paying attention and not be bothered at all, but you know how aware they really are.
* Having to stop my vehicle to let a family of ducks cross the road.
* Driving down the winding country roads...with no other vehicle in sight! It truly amazes me! I'm used to being in the city where it's bumper to bumper traffic and very rarely was I the only one on the road.
*Driving down the winding country roads and seeing the most beautiful sights. There's a certain spot you reach when driving on Rockville Road, where as soon as you reach the top of the hill, if you look straight ahead you'll see Treasure Island. The view is especially gorgeous on a misty day.
There are lots of experiences I can recant in my nearly five years on the Island. I'll have to think of more when I'm not so tired :) 9 PM and the baby's sleeping! That means I ought to get to bed too!
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City girl moves to the country, falls in love, and marries a farmer. She tries to incorporate her city ways with her new country lifestyle and blogs to keep in touch with friends, family & students who live far, far away :) Can this city girl go country? Watch as she learns all sorts of exciting things about life on the farm and in a small rural community. *UPDATE* We are now parents! Our baby girl was born on Nov. 11, 2008 (at 28 weeks gestation- 12 weeks premature, but she's quite the trooper)!!!
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14 comments:
Oh, she looks like she is about to pass out into sleepy-bye land. LOVE IT!
My great grandma was a hooker as well. ;) I never saw the real art in it, but I'm sure many, many people find much beauty there.
I always thought big city and country were the ways to go, with the only kinda creepy way being suburbs. Guess where I live?
I laughed at your Hooker story.
For many years we lived next to a family of Hookers - that was their surname. No one seemed to find it at all funny - except me.
How did you and hubby meet - you were many miles away from the country?
Our Maori people would be highly offended if we referred to them as 'native'.
They are called either Maori or 'tangata whenua' which means 'the people of the land' or the 'first people'.
That reminds me of a time I moved to a new town and the faculty of the college where I would be working told me about a colleague who was a hooker. They let me think the worst about her for two days.
You've got some funny / memorable experiences there C! =)
and some people thought your Island living wouldn't last!! Good for you for making a go of it, and actually making a life of it! You seem so happy and content on the Island-it is lovely to see and hear all about!
Of course some of us City Girls still miss you and our crazy adventures of times past!
XOXO
D
Sounds like a beautiful place, you're a very lucky girl.ewit
Weird, the computer added that .ewit address to the word "girl" and I didn't catch it until I hit publish.
J:
Little One got weighed at the doc's today and she is now 8 lbs, 5 oz!!! I know it may still seem small to some, but having jumped from 2 lbs, 3 oz to 8 lbs, 5 oz is awesome!! :)
Yeah, my mom used to 'hook' (LOL! I don't know why I can't say that without laughing!) in the 70s. She's got all these brown and orange rugs that she made.
Merinz:
You lived next to a family of Hookers!
How I met Hubby...
Whew! That would be a long story, but I'll give you the Readers' Digest version. I fell in love with the Island and decided to move up here. After spending a few months here, though I loved the Island, I realized that it may not be a place for young, single people to live. Perhaps if I were married, or raising a family, or even retired...but not a young, single girl. I didn't know anyone my age. The people I did know who were my age were already raising young children and didn't really have time to socialize. I also started to miss the city, my friends, and my family.
I decided that I was going to move back to Toronto, but my friend and her husband didn't want me to go. I used to go to their place and hang out with them all the time. They decided that the way they'd keep me on the Island was to introduce me to someone. One night, we were looking through my friend's scrapbooks and there was a newspaper article of Hubby as the fire chief of the local fire department. I don't really recall the details of the article, other than a lot of kids (I think they were boy scouts or something) were saved during some kind of storm (I think?!). There was a photo of Hubby and I just mentioned that I thought he was cute.
My friend's husband heard this and picked up the phone and called Hubby. He told him about me and gave him my phone number.
Over a week passed and Hubby didn't call, so I thought he wasn't interested. When I finally did get a phone call, we ended up talking for FIVE hours on the phone! We then started talking on the phone EVERY night for almost a week. The phone calls got longer. I think 8 hrs was our longest phone call. I don't know what two people can talk about for 8 hrs, but we somehow managed. We went to bed at 5AM. Crazy!
Our friends arranged a meeting at their place. We had a BBQ and that was when Hubby and I first met. After that, we were instantly joined at the hip. We went on dates 6 out of 7 days. They were mostly dates that involved touring the Island, going for hikes and walks. Our favourite place was the beach with sand dunes, the white sand and turquoise water. That was the beach we decided to get married on.
Okay, so my Readers' Digest version wasn't so condensed after all! LOL!
Jan:
Tee hee! That is really funny! They let you think that for two days? ;p
Louann:
Ohhhh...There are more! I'll have to write another post about them sometime! :)
Dina:
Yes, I know! One of our friends (as in someone you and I are friends with) told me that I would only last three months MAX up here. Well, those three months are coming up to five years as of June 25th!
I do miss some aspects of city living. I think what I miss the most is you and the rest of my friends in TO. I really, REALLY miss you!!! However, thanks to the internet, e-mail, FB, our blogs, and the telephone, we can keep in touch. Plus, when we do have visits, they are really special :)
Jeanna:
LOL! That was too funny! I wasn't sure what "You're a very lucky girl.ewit" meant! You had me laughing! :)
Yes, I do think I'm a lucky girl.
Hilarious! I love the hooker story.
I remember when I first moved out here I would get lost simply because the distances between things were so long that I thought I'd missed a turn or something. Then I'd turn around and go the other way for a mile or two before I realized I'd been going the right direction in the first place. Very annoying!