Wednesday, March 29, 2006
The way of the street
One of the most interesting parts of work at the shelter is when the youth forget I'm around and start talking like they would on the street. This mostly happens at reception, but it's also part of taking names at the door when the youth go into breakfast. Everyone will stand on the porch and have a smoke and forget about the clipboard-wielding staff member two feet away from them.
The other day a girl was talking about her ex-boyfriend. She'd only dumped him a couple of days previously and was telling her friends why. She didn't have to say anything - she just showed everyone the bruises, burns and bite marks all over her.
The general reaction showed some interesting things about street culture. Here are a few of them:
Vigilantism: No-one suggested going to the cops, and the girl would probably never consider it. Street youth do not trust the police, it’s as simple as that. There are various reasons for this: distrust of authority after parents and teachers have abused them or let them down; cynicism after cops have failed to protect them in the past; and hatred of policemen who have stopped them doing things they see as necessary to survive, like taking drugs, sleeping rough or stealing.
So street youth operate their own justice system, where groups of friends look out for each other. They will often wage ‘war’ on other groups when the conflict was initially just between two people. And some illegal acts are seen as more illegal than others.
Values: What acts would they be? It’s okay to do what you need to do to ‘get by’ (see above), although stealing from another street youth often causes trouble. But other things, like wife-beating in the example I used, are unacceptable. If the girl’s friends find her ex-boyfriend, they’ll beat the living daylights out of him. Other heinous crimes include rape and child molestation. One guy I knew had a rumour spread about him that he was a ‘diddler’ (child molester) and as a result a gang of youth were trying to find him to beat him up. Being a ‘diddler’ or ‘goof’ is the worst of the worst, much like it is in prison.
Drama: Pretty much everything that happens on the street is all about the drama. Conflicts escalate like wildfire because bored youth will take sides – so a one-on-one conflict will turn into gang warfare within ten minutes (see ‘vigilantism’). Gossip is rampant – a fight broke out near reception the other day and youth were still talking about it two days later. Even if nothing particularly dramatic is going on, street youth are still in drama mode because that’s all they’ve known in lives full of abuse and pain. So in order to stay in that mode, and keep things constant in their transitory lives, they’ll blow situations out of proportion. It also brings the attention many of them crave.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Death and taxes (I know which one I'd prefer!)
Having ranted about Canada in my last post, I think I should point out that there are some good things about living in England. A big one is the tax system. In England, if you work for someone, they do all your taxes for you! Whereas in Canada, you have to file taxes no matter who you are.
If you’re self-employed, you have triple the workload. The deadline for filing taxes in Canada is fast approaching, and everyone is showing the strain. Joe has it the worst – a business in the UK, a business in Canada, and additional income in both countries. And it all has to be declared on his Canadian taxes. I was up until past midnight last night helping him, and today he’s going to the accountant. With any luck, it’ll all be over soon.
So Canada isn’t quite as idyllic as I might have made it sound. People’s use of words and grammar sometimes annoys me too (although England is no different). Often they pose a downright communication barrier. For example, a ‘skank’ in Canada is a slut. But in England, ‘skanky’ just means generally gross or dirty. So when I said I was feeling skanky after cleaning at the Rock the other day, my co-worker gave me a very odd look.
Here’s another one. The same co-worker said the other day rubbed her stomach and said she felt ravished. I thought ‘Really?? How unfortunate for you.’ The word ‘ravish’ means ‘to rape’. I think she meant ravenous. So many people have made this mistake I’ve stopped correcting it.
But these are minor irritations in an otherwise perfect life. It’ll take a lot more than that to get me to move back to England!Tuesday, March 21, 2006
A spring in my step
My answer is always the same: I love it!
People are always slightly surprised by this. How could I not miss England, with its fabulous old buildings, historic monuments and green rolling hills? Where every comment is laced with intelligence and wit? Where culture-crammed Europe is only a short step away? 
Without being too negative, here’s how I don’t miss it: we have to live in those ‘fabulous’ old buildings, where you spend a fortune trying to heat the place and you’re still chilled to the bone. The green rolling hills are quickly being overtaken by housing estates. Yes, Oscar Wilde and John Cleese are hilarious, but they’re vastly outnumbered by the hordes of mumbling Neanderthals whose smartest comment is “whatchoo lookin’ at?” before beating you up because you don’t support their team. History and culture abound, and I do miss being able to take dirt cheap flights to Europe, but that stuff is nothing compared to life in Canada.
The lifestyle we have here would be just a dream in England. We have a beautiful house here, with a huge yard and a pool. We have two cars. I live about 30 kilometres (about 22 miles) from work and it only takes me 25 minutes to get there. The town where we live has the stunning Niagara Escarpment on one side and Lake Ontario on the other [pictured right], yet all the nightlife we need is within a 30 minute radius. My parents in law own a cottage on a lake, as do a lot of Canadians. A few hours’ drive takes us to the middle of absolutely nowhere with species of animal that some English people don’t even know exist. And the sun shines almost all the time. I can’t tell you how refreshing this is after years of living in endless drizzle.
Sure, Canada has its share of Neanderthals, and south-western Ontario is starting to resemble a giant parking lot. But when I drive to work through blazing sunshine and constantly encounter open, friendly and optimistic people (at least, more than I ever did in England), I can’t help feeling like I’ve won the lottery. So my answer will always be the same: I love it here.
Friday, March 03, 2006
As Seen on TV
A few weeks ago I sent my CV to this guy who has his own TV show - he replied saying they didn't need any researchers, but they did need guests. Did I want to go on the show?
So, buoyed up on tylenol (Canadian paracetamol), ginseng and caffeine, I made my first appearance on Canadian TV today! The show was called 'Behind the Story', on current affairs/faith and ethics in journalism: http://www.ctstv.com/behindthestory.shtml It's supposed to be an hour long but filming seemed to take five minutes and I hardly got a word in - but the words I did get in were fairly intelligent, and I looked great! Success!
Of course the whole point of going on the show was to network - but one person was from the Spectator (my foot's already in that door) and the other, from the Toronto Star, wasn't in the slightest bit interested in my work. Hm. Oh well, hopefully when I contact people now they'll remember me from TV. Today regional TV, tomorrow... um... a paid journalism job! It would be nice, anyway.
One last thing - I've updated my website for the first time in ages, so check it out: www.northernexposuremagazine.ca
