I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be Canadian. I think that this book really explores the meaning of a Canadian identity.

I really enjoyed learning about the different immigration and cultural experiences of the three different women in “breaking the ice”. That these women came together and shared stories in a hockey arena (how very “Canadian”) at 6am was very nice. They really did create a true friendship and it seems that they are able to see how many people from all different places have similar immigration experiences.

I love that a lot of this book is based in Vancouver a lot in East Vancouver…Fraser and 49th, Britannia Community Centre, Commercial Drive etc.

I’m sure that if I’d ever been to Santiago or any other part of Chile I would feel even more connected to it. It’s funny that when you read something written about somewhere you don’t know, the names of streets and landmarks are just names, but if you’ve been there or lived there every place name and description of a familiar aspect of that landscape brings with it memories and personal experiences at that particular place. I often feel this way when reading Margaret Atwood books that are based in Toronto, everything she writes is exactly how I remember it growing up.

I’ll admit that I have never taken much time to learn a lot about Chile, but this book has definitely sparked my interest and given me a lot to think about. It always seems that Chile and Argentina are two South American countries that seem to be really proud of their history. I was really intrigued by Rodriguez’ descriptions of Chile during the dictatorship, how turned upside down it had become and that “these things only happened in the so-called ‘banana republics’, not in Chile.” (p.74)