wanderer at heart.

i’ve always found myself attracted to idea of simply taking my time and walking around everywhere (mother nature apparently does not agree; or at least, wanted it to be as difficult of a process as it could be). i’m an ETS person – not by personal choice, believe me – but after taking this course, the notion of walking around the city became more and more alluring.

i’ve always wondered how differently i would see the city if i were to walk a good portion of it rather than be stuck in a moving vehicle. so when it came down to map assignment, i was rather excited to get started. although the walk didn’t go as smoothly as i had wanted to be, i found myself enjoying being outside and not necessarily being confined to a particular space. i drifted off a bit from the original street i was intending to explore and found little shops and bistros, even art galleries, that i never even knew about. it was interesting as well, to notice the little shops that had either a distinct smell or feeling when you stepped inside. i actually overheard the FUNNIEST conversation between two people (and their stones!) when i walking behind them.

walking gave me time to not only observe my surroundings but gave me a new way think about how i move within the city. by walking around with a camera (and a friend to talk to about what we see) and snapping shots, i went home and saw different...characteristics of the points i visited. it made me realize that by taking a simple walk, i can get fresh perspective of the spaces i inhabit. maybe the mundane isn't as mundane as i thought it was.

giving edmonton a voice

“so quiet out, city lights sentinels and a chorus of stars above, yelling their whispers at us, talking up dreams we forgot we had.” – Page 47, The Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust.

yesterday, Malcolm Azania, or Minister Faust, spoke about his love for creating characters that have distinct voices. his novel, as i’ve quoted from above, is unique in having multi-narrators - 11 or so, if i’m not mistaken. even as he was reading excerpts from his novel, you could see how he created different voices for each of the characters he read out loud. this lead me to re-read most of the novel in order to characterize each character’s voice. however, as i was reading, i found that i was beginning to note more on how the setting of the story was becoming a character in itself.

maybe it’s because i’m from edmonton and every little reference mentioned about the city made me feel giddy inside that the city I grew up in was getting some exposure (at least in a way that didn’t mention how edmonton was going to be a “world class” city). faust anatomizes edmonton in a way that makes the city seem more...”exotic” – even to someone whose grown up there. he gave the city voice that i didn’t know it had – a place that’s not as completely dead as i think it is. and while i know that it is a work of fiction, it did make be re-look at edmonton in a different way – which is what english380 has done for me so far.

i’ve learned about local authors, about a growing “underground” culture, and most importantly, i’ve been given a new perspective on edmonton. that the city was more than just a place i grew up and live in. it has a character hidden within it – one that i need to find and discover for myself.

on the edge of the margin.

meeting Darrin Hagen and reading his novel, The Edmonton Queen, this past week has led to a lot of firsts for me. i got to learn about this whole piece of edmonton that i never even knew existed (at least, not in such a grand fashion) and i got to meet and speak to a person who not only uncovers queer history in edmonton, but was – and continues to be – at the forefront of the drag community in the city.

not to take any significance away from Darrin and his novel, but this whole experience has made me think about my own culture and where my community can be placed in edmonton. i too am a part of a minority – albeit one that is met with less resistance from society for its existence. interestingly enough, today is actually one of the most important days for my culture/minority: it’s lunar new year. being Buddhist, there were numerous traditions that needed to be carried out and of course, attending the new year’s ceremony last night at the local monastery was a must. during the entire ceremony, i couldn’t help but look around and see the large congregation that had come together in celebration.

it was then that i realized that i’ve never really thought of myself as a part of a “minority.” i mean, i obviously knew that i was, but i guess it’s never registered in my mind what being a “minority” actually entailed. does being a minority necessarily mean having a smaller sense of place within the city? while i don't think minorities "own" certain areas of the city, i do think that there are particular places where they conglomerate.