Chinese Canadians Exploring Canada's North: Terrence Au 區宇航：竹昇闖加北

Chinese 中 : 區宇航 Terrence Au | English 英 : Denise Ng
Photography: Courtesy of Terrence Au

A s the old traditional Chinese expression goes, “Studying ten thousand books cannot compare to travelling ten thousand miles.” This common saying happens to also be the one philosophy that I live by. Though books and the advancement of modern technology have allowed us to "travel" easily from the comfort of our armchairs at home, I have always believed that we can only learn about other cultures through first-hand experience. It is only by immersing yourself fully in other people's worlds that you can begin to understand their ways of life.

Two years into the pandemic, I found myself itching to travel again. With many borders still closed, international travel was out of the question yet the wanderlust was strong. I didn’t see our new reality as a negative; it only inspired me to get out and explore more of Canada instead of going somewhere else. Admittedly, it also helped that my children are at an age where they have started to wonder about their own identities and what it means to be Chinese Canadian in such a multicultural country. To help them explore what this means to them, I asked my kids to research regions they might like to visit.

中國的一句古語：讀萬卷書不如行萬里路，可能大家都會耳熟能詳，這句看似簡單易明的語句，亦是我所奉行的其中一個人生哲學。我一直堅持要用第一身感受了解不同地方的風土人情，單靠書本甚至現代科技，始終都是經過單一角度，未必可以了解事實的全部。

疫情的兩年間，留在家中令我打消了出國旅遊的念頭，反而希望發掘更多加拿大境內地點去親身感受一下。再者孩子們開始詢問自身關於加拿大人和華人之間的身份認同問題。以往時常說別人是「竹昇」，現在居然在自己家裡就出了兩個！所以我自己也給了兩個孩子一些功課，叫他們自己研究一下最想去的地方。

最令我感到詫異的，是他們所選的其中一個目的地就是加拿大最北的Tim Hortons咖啡店。細問之下，原來他們沒有別的原因，純粹希望在平凡之中尋找不平凡，與此同時亦可在同學之間炫耀。就是這樣，我們開始尋找努拿烏特(Nunavut)的故事。

One of their first suggestions caught me completely by surprise: they wanted to go to ‘Canada’s Most Northern Tim Hortons’ location! After digging a little deeper, it wasn’t so much a love of coffee or the Great White North – they just wanted bragging rights for their classmates!  But it was a great idea nonetheless and, with that decided, we started looking into the territory of Nunavut.

We soon discovered that travelling to Nunavut is not for the faint-hearted or those with a light wallet. There are no direct roads and the only way to get there from Toronto, Montreal or other southern Canadian cities is to fly in. Each plane ticket can cost upwards of a few thousand Canadian dollars round-trip – yes, even more than flying to Asia! Other than the limited travelling options, there are also not many sightseeing locations or shopping destinations. Rather than being dissuaded by any of these discoveries, we only got more curious and excited: this was starting to feel like a real adventure ahead. Nothing cookie cutter or all-inclusive awaited us. 

Amazingly, we felt the pull of the north as soon as we stepped onto the plane. Inside the cabin was a very atypical bunch of travellers, including a group of European adventure seekers, an electrician flying to Nunavut to repair the local power generator with only his toolkit as luggage and an Inuit migrant worker travelling home for the weekend with his wife and their newborn baby. The infant was nestled comfortably in its mother's traditional baby carrier and parka, known as an amauti. As the plane was about to take off, the crew delivered the pre-flight instructions in French, English and Inuktitut, one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada.

As we flew to Pond Inlet to begin our journey to the northernmost Tim Hortons, we were waylaid by a snow storm. Yes, snow in June! We immediately changed our plans to accommodate the turn of weather; the happy outcome of this turn of events was that it allowed us more time to explore Iqaluit (the capital city of  Nunavut). Upon arrival at the local airport, it was apparent immediately that we were in a very different part of Canada. Not only were all the wall art and notice boards in three languages, the locals were dressed in traditional, indigenous clothing. 

去努拿烏特其實絕不便宜，由於沒有道路直通當地，所以飛機可以說是唯一選擇。由多倫多、滿地可等南方大城市北上來回起碼要過千加元，比前往亞洲更加昂貴，再加上沒有什麼觀光景點、購物熱點，所以也沒有太多人願意來旅行。但就是這種未被外界發掘的感覺，反而令我對這個地方更加有興趣。

由踏上飛機的那一刻開始，加拿大的北極風情已經開始呈現眼前。我們一家不是唯一的旅客，還有一個從歐洲過來的旅行團亦準備前往當地。機艙內所見，有一位旅客是前往當地準備修理發電機的技工，隨身行李就只得一個工具箱。另外有一名剛在渥太華誕下嬰兒的原住民，一身現代裝束配戴上原住民傳統「孭帶」背着小孩上機，也有不少是趁週末回家的「南漂」。機艙內的廣播除了指定的英法語外，亦有以原住民的因紐特語(Inuktitut)。

沒料到六月時份竟遇上雪暴，北上到Pond Inlet探訪全加拿大最北的Tim Hortons的計劃需要臨時取消，讓我們可以有更多時間去探索伊格魯特(Iqaluit) —— 這個加拿大最北面的地區首府。抵達後，身邊有很多東西已經示意着這裡跟我們平日所熟識的加拿大有點不同。機場內的大型壁畫、告示板上除了英法雙語更設有當地人主要使用的Inukitut文字，還有很多穿着傳統服飾的原住民。

You don’t just accidentally end up in Iqaluit. Located roughly 2300 km north of Markham, Ontario on Baffin Island in Frobisher Bay, it takes a lot of effort to get there. This explains why there are very few tourists and also how it has kept its traditions and unique culture intact. 

Looking out from our hotel, we saw similar sights to what you would see in any city: people on their way to the supermarket or rushing to get to work. But we also saw things that made us feel very far from home – in the best possible way. It made me realise that you don’t need a passport to travel to a faraway land. So much is here in our own backyard.  

Exploring the city's streets, we saw many Inuits dressed in traditional clothing; outside the city centre, we discovered teenage artists selling their beautiful creations to tourists. Our travel guide was a great source of information and after speaking to him, we became more mindful of the challenges many Inuits and Indigenous people face in the region. Despite its people having a high educational background, Iqaluit has not developed at the pace of other Canadian cities, resulting in the area having minimal economic activity and limited job opportunities. On a more positive front, Inuits have a strong respect for nature and tend to be easygoing; in the olden days, their ancestors would take time to rest after enjoying the ripe rewards from the hunt. Their ways and pace of life are so very different when compared to the capitalistic lifestyles in large cities. We learned that Indigenous people love to express themselves through their art, though it is difficult for one to rely on art alone to survive. To help boost the local economy, many arts organizations purchase local artists’ works to sell to tourists, so their artwork can be shared with the world and help promote the Inuit culture. Unfortunately, we also witnessed the sadder side of the region: life can be hard in the north and we saw several groups of Inuits wandering around, seemingly without purpose.

Every day we learned something fascinating about this place we knew so little about before going there. It made me reflect on how I can help support, promote and protect their vibrant culture and history, long after returning home. I hope that my children will remember this trip forever and go on to share what they learned about this rich place one day with their friends and eventual families.

這個尚未因為旅遊化而過度發展的城市，仍然保留着純樸的一面。由酒店向外望，除了普羅大眾、上班下班的市民，也有很多披上原住民傳統大布幅的媽媽背着孩子，另外一手又同時推着嬰兒車在街上行走，跟我們平常對加拿大的感覺截然不同。但回過神來，赫然醒起自己沒有帶護照出門，實情是依然在加拿大國境內感受另一種風光與文化。

走到城中大街、超級市場內，你會見到很多原住民在你身邊出現。在市內一些比較多外地遊客出現的餐廳和景點，也會見到一些年青人拿着自己的藝術作品向遊客兜售。好奇之下再問一下導遊，才知道原住民雖然有一定程度的教育，但始終城市發展不如多倫多等大城市，工作機會仍然有限，加上原住民的性格崇尚自然，比較隨遇而安，以往習慣打獵吃飽後待至需要糧食才再次出去獵食，一般城市的物質生活並不適合他們的個性。另外原住民生性比較熱情，擅於用不同藝術方式表達自己，奈何城市生活中難以靠藝術維生。所以你不時會發現一大班原住民既不是等車，也不是等人，更不是乞錢，只是漫無目的地站在商店門前。

當地亦有不少原住民團體，主動收購原住民手工藝品，透過當地導遊公司介紹及售予遊客，再由旅客將當地藝術文化向外宣揚。經過這次旅程，不單令我希望將加拿大原住民的生活、藝術和文化帶到大家面前，我的孩子們亦希望肩負起這個責任，把加拿大和而不同、多元文化分享給其他小朋友。相信這萬里路，比起孩子讀歷史教科更能體會原住民地區的歷史與文化。

One of our favourite memories of the trip happened when we found ourselves in a bar – not just any bar of course, but ‘Canada’s Northernmost Bar.’ One person was seemingly white, and another looked like he was from the Philippines; they asked us which Indigenous group we were from. I explained that we were Chinese Canadians from Toronto, which led me to ask them why they thought we were Indigenous? They laughed and said, "The history of Indigenous peoples in this country is much older than Canada's 155 years of confederation. Our ancestors forged many paths around Canada and have lived all around the country, yet we are gathered here today at this bar. So when we asked if you were of any Indigenous background, there is no need to be surprised as we are all on different journeys." After hearing their explanation, it made me realize just how big Canada is and what a diverse and vibrant place it is.

As an immigrant to Canada, I have slowly immersed myself in this multicultural country. I am proud to be a Chinese Canadian. Although there are still many things that Canada can improve on, we are taking steps to celebrate the diversity of our country and honouring different cultures. For example, May is earmarked as Asian Heritage Month, and most recently, September 30th has been declared the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

Alas, thanks to the uncooperative weather, we never did make it to Tim Hortons. I hope that, one day, my kids will travel back there so that they can finally brag about their Double-Double at the top of the world. And maybe they’ll bring their children next time…

最奇特的一個經歷，要數在全加拿大最北釀酒廠酒吧中被人搭訕的事件。一個貌似白人，跟另一個貌似菲律賓人的原住民，詢問我是哪族人。我向他們表明自己是從多倫多來旅遊的華裔加拿大人，並反問有哪處讓他們誤以為是原住民呢？他們笑說：「這裡的歷史太久遠了，比加拿大立國155年還要長，我們的祖先走過了不同的軌跡，還是聚在這個酒吧之中，所以說你是原住民又有什麼需要驚訝的嗎？」聽到這解釋，我再次意識到面前乍看似是異國的風采，但我真的仍然是身在加拿大！國境之大，各式人種文化之多元！

作為一個移民來到這裡的人，自覺漸漸融入這個多元文化的國家之中，亦以身為華裔加拿大人感到自豪。這個國家當然還有更多地方讓我們不斷發掘，聯邦政府每個月設有不同的文化慶祝或紀念活動，例如五月就是我們亞裔傳統文化月、每年的九月三十號是聯邦政府新設的真相及和解日。這些不只是放假、不用上班的日子，你又會否利用這些假日，或者其他空閒日子去更加了解同是加拿大人的原住民？

SPonsored by FERRIS WHEEL PRESS

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