What do you miss most about Canada?
At the risk of sounding the same as most respondents, I miss my family and friends – truly, madly, deeply. Although our digital hangout sessions and video calls do help to reduce that sense of distance, they're no replacement for face-to-face hugs. More broadly, beyond family and friends, I have to say I miss Canada's long-standing embrace of multi-culturalism. True, multi-culturalism exists and flourishes here in Australia, but it still seems more confined and compartmentalized to self-contained pockets and neighbourhoods than in urban Canada.
What do you miss least?
Although I miss the extreme contrast of the Canadian seasons, especially our hot and humid summers versus our cold and biting winters, I don't miss the particular overhead and inconvenience of winter. I was truly taken aback when I first entered Australian apartments and houses with no closet by the front door. Where on earth do you put your jackets and toques? And then I realized they didn't need one.
What aspect of Canadian culture do you follow from down under? And why does it matter to you?
Even after 12 years here in Australia, I still routinely listen to CBC News and CBC Radio, particularly to CBC Radio 3 to catch my dose of Canadian indie music. Although I watch and listen to the Australian media more regularly, I clearly have a FOMO (fear of missing out) for all things Canadian. That said, the American-enriched Australian TV broadcasters and streaming services do sprinkle their airwaves with some healthy doses of Canadiana: Just for Laughs, Orphan Black, and Murdoch Mysteries feature very highly here, and not a newscast goes by without a good swooning for Justin Trudeau.
What are your thoughts about Canada’s 150th anniversary this year? What about UWaterloo’s 60th?
This year's birthdays of Canada and of UW are both important milestones indeed. They are both celebrations of age through a diverse history, and a poise of maturity amidst ever-changing and unpredictable times. They're also a reflection of carefully planned ideas and gutsy risk-taking, and an opportunity to ponder and predict future next steps. Whatever the angle, it's a time to be both thought-provoking and thankful.
What does Australia do well that Canada could learn from?
In all of my time in Canada, I seldom if ever experienced the indigenous "Welcome to Country" or "Acknowledgement of Country" introductions at public events and meetings.* At official events here in Sydney, they're a relatively common practice, where indigenous elders welcome all attendees to their land and people, and encourage them to be respectful custodians of the precious land they're on. Although some view it as tokenism, I embrace it and am always moved by it.
Patrick Hofmann, BA '94, English Rhetoric and Professional Writing is a User Experience Designer with Google in Sydney, Australia. Read his Arts alumni profile.
*Editor’s note: We are glad to share with alumni that the Faculty of Arts, and increasingly across UWaterloo campus, many events, first day of classes, websites, and syllabi begin with this statement: “We acknowledges that we live and work on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (Neutral), Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometers on each side of the Grand River.” Please read more about territorial acknowledgement.
