50p
A Northern Perspective
When people at Brentwood ask me where I’m from, I find it rather difficult to answer the question. “I’m Nigerian,” I want to say, “but I was born in Britain.” Then I pause, falter, and blurt out: “But I’ve spent most of my growing up years in Canada!”
By this point, the inquirer is thoroughly regretting asking, but I plough on still, clarifying that I live in Northern BC. Dawson Creek, BC, to be exact. “It’s an hour away from Grande Prairie,” I say, despite knowing that the inquirer has long lost interest in my long-winded answer to their casual question. I just want them to know about the tiny, winterish place I call home. Is that such a crime?
When I consider my home, I think of cold and snow. And when I catch up with my family, they usually lament to me of the increasing pile of thick white stuff and the daily -15°C weather. To this I boast that I can still see the grass here (it’s even green!) and that there’s still daylight at four. In the words of Geraldine O ’14, from Grande Prairie, “It’s nice to come to the South and not feel my lungs freeze every time I walk outside.”
The differing climates of northern BC and Mill Bay make for a huge contrast. There are a lot more trees here, for one thing. Up north are endless miles of flat land, dotted with the occasional weak, bare-limbed tree. The mighty, towering evergreen trees were actually the first things I noticed when I came to Brentwood. Northern girls like me simply are not used to seeing so much flourishing flora.
The Cowichan Valley (Cowichan means ‘the warm land’) has beautiful trees and green all year round and no snow, but the Dawson Creek-Grande Prairie area still has its merits. We may have months of harsh winter, but unlike the South, our skies are rarely darkened with rain clouds. Powdery snow may fall for five hours straight but even when it’s a blistering -40, we can look out the window and see the sun shining.
Yukoners, like Sophia T (’13) would insist they are the “true northerners.” Grande Prairie, Sophia says, is NOT the North. “You have an East Side Mario’s AND a Michaels craft store and thus GP is a glittering metropolis” she states. When I asked her about the differences between going to school in the Yukon and Brentwood, she told me stories of cabin fever resulting from dark, icy winter months and experiencing culture shock at how Brentwood kids don’t use fire drills as a chance to skip class. “I expected Brentwood to be just like my alma mater, FH, except stricter, cleaner and more challenging,” She told me. “And while that is what I got, I got so much more as well.”
Sometimes, I wonder if the South is actually in another universe. Sometimes I still catch myself looking for snow-proof boots in the morning or reprimanding myself for stepping outside for class without my winter coat and when I go home for breaks, you can sometimes find me wearing my rain boots even though it hasn’t rained in weeks. I, along with any other Northerner, can say that we feel blessed to experience life in such a different and beautiful part of our country.
So thank you Brentwood for shielding us from months of snow, offering us a view of trees, green grass and a blue ocean and for giving us the southern experience!
Tokoni A, Hope, ‘13
By this point, the inquirer is thoroughly regretting asking, but I plough on still, clarifying that I live in Northern BC. Dawson Creek, BC, to be exact. “It’s an hour away from Grande Prairie,” I say, despite knowing that the inquirer has long lost interest in my long-winded answer to their casual question. I just want them to know about the tiny, winterish place I call home. Is that such a crime?
When I consider my home, I think of cold and snow. And when I catch up with my family, they usually lament to me of the increasing pile of thick white stuff and the daily -15°C weather. To this I boast that I can still see the grass here (it’s even green!) and that there’s still daylight at four. In the words of Geraldine O ’14, from Grande Prairie, “It’s nice to come to the South and not feel my lungs freeze every time I walk outside.”
The differing climates of northern BC and Mill Bay make for a huge contrast. There are a lot more trees here, for one thing. Up north are endless miles of flat land, dotted with the occasional weak, bare-limbed tree. The mighty, towering evergreen trees were actually the first things I noticed when I came to Brentwood. Northern girls like me simply are not used to seeing so much flourishing flora.
The Cowichan Valley (Cowichan means ‘the warm land’) has beautiful trees and green all year round and no snow, but the Dawson Creek-Grande Prairie area still has its merits. We may have months of harsh winter, but unlike the South, our skies are rarely darkened with rain clouds. Powdery snow may fall for five hours straight but even when it’s a blistering -40, we can look out the window and see the sun shining.
Yukoners, like Sophia T (’13) would insist they are the “true northerners.” Grande Prairie, Sophia says, is NOT the North. “You have an East Side Mario’s AND a Michaels craft store and thus GP is a glittering metropolis” she states. When I asked her about the differences between going to school in the Yukon and Brentwood, she told me stories of cabin fever resulting from dark, icy winter months and experiencing culture shock at how Brentwood kids don’t use fire drills as a chance to skip class. “I expected Brentwood to be just like my alma mater, FH, except stricter, cleaner and more challenging,” She told me. “And while that is what I got, I got so much more as well.”
Sometimes, I wonder if the South is actually in another universe. Sometimes I still catch myself looking for snow-proof boots in the morning or reprimanding myself for stepping outside for class without my winter coat and when I go home for breaks, you can sometimes find me wearing my rain boots even though it hasn’t rained in weeks. I, along with any other Northerner, can say that we feel blessed to experience life in such a different and beautiful part of our country.
So thank you Brentwood for shielding us from months of snow, offering us a view of trees, green grass and a blue ocean and for giving us the southern experience!
Tokoni A, Hope, ‘13
75p
