edmonton, ab. the city of champions. oil country. these are all terms that attempt to describe the city i inhabit and yet my identifier for the city, as you may have surmised from my blog title, is deadmonton.
i can’t exactly remember when i was first introduced to the term deadmonton (or even the first time it slipped across my lips in conversation) but for some reason, it has always stuck. why? i’m not exactly sure myself. maybe it’s because i’ve grown up in this city that i find it uninteresting; the ritualistic routes i take every day that have exhausted any and all enthusiasm i once had for the city. home. school. home. work. home. occasionally, the mall if i’m up to it. i used to blame my disinterest on a lack of variety in the city but sitting here, munching on a cheese croissant and sipping my peppermint tea, i can’t help but overhear people telling one another about the great time they had at this place and did they know about this part of the city. it makes me wish that i knew something more about the city, that i was somehow more invested in this surrounding space.
this reminds me of a discussion in my english class the other day where we attempted to differentiate betweenspace and place. we all agreed that place was something more subjective; that we develop a sense of place from our experiences within a particular space. therefore, maybe my detachment from the city can be rectified by me simply exploring the different crevices of the city that i don’t see every day. maybe, in order to take ownership and call it “my edmonton,” i need to experience more of the city for myself.
I can completely relate to the "deadmonton" feeling. For me, I find that if you can't relate to Edmonton's identity, it's hard to see Edmonton as alive and vibrant, so instead "Deadmonton" seems to be the identity with which I'm most familiar.
ReplyDeleteFor example, I don't follow sports at all, so the whole "City of Champions" identity does nothing for me. It makes me feel cut-off from a large part of Edmonton's identity, making it hard to relate to the city, or feel a connection to it. I'd love to feel more emotionally invested in the city, but I don't feel like the city provides the opportunity.
I totally feel what you're saying about the ritualistic life that it's all too easy to fall into in Edmonton. I too spend the majority of time at home, school and work, with only the occasional deviation to go out on the town, to friends, etc. The worst part is that these three nuclei are just far enough apart that I'm forced to use the bus/LRT to go between rather than my own two feet. Being on public transit is handy, but it sometimes gives me the feeling that I'm missing out on everything in between as it speeds by me on the other side of the bus window, almost as if it's completely inaccessible.
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that winter shrouds the almost the entire school year, and I can't even ride a bike to school.