A Question of Identity

I spied these two as they wandered along Princes Street. She had a backpack with a Canadian flag; he had the Maple Leaf baseball cap hooked on to his backpack. I have never understood why other Canadians sew the flag onto their backpacks so I decided to ask.

I introduced myself as a Canadian, to put them at their ease, and asked if they were Canadian. The woman said she was Scottish and then I noticed the Saltire necklace. The fellow said he was from Vancouver and that his wife lived with him there. I asked how long she had lived in Canada and she said 40 years. That's nearly my age and I'm starting to go grey! I then said "You've lived in Canada for 40 years and you still don't feel Canadian?" She replied, "I'm Scottish till I die!"

This got me thinking and wondering if I will still be introducing myself as a Canadian when I've been here 40 years. I've lived in Scotland for 14 years so far. My day job is with the Scottish Government. I'm happy to call this my home and yet my soft accent always tells people I don't come from here.

I ran into this couple again and asked if I could blip them. Please meet Hazel and Mike who are lovely. It turns out Hazel had her Saltire necklace made for her, alongside a bespoke Saltire ring. I said that I had been pondering nationality after we first spoke. It occurred to me that since Canada is a nation of immigrants (other than the First Nations peoples), I had the sense that once someone has chosen to live and work in Canada, people are happy to call them Canadians. Here I feel like my grandparents had to have been Scottish for me to be considered Scottish. Both Hazel and Mike agreed.

I love living in Scotland. When I come back from trips to Canada, I feel I've come home. I didn't have to apply for dual citizenship but I chose to (and it was expensive!). I wonder if I will ever be considered Scottish.

Identity. It's a funny thing.



Finally caught up with blip.