da gnome-mad in Canada

Ever since the beloved president talked about building beautiful walls in the southern border, I have often wondered if beautiful walls are also being built on the northern border. I have now come to think that the beloved president as a borderline character when it comes to borders.

The inscription on the Peace Arch Moniment says "children of a common mother". The monument stands on borderless borderline towns of Blaine, WA and Surrey, BC. The landmark reminds me of the Friendship Park at the southwestmost portion of Imperial Beach, CA against the fancy double steel fence that separates Baja California from the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve in San Diego county. What a contrast! What a double standard!

I tried hard to look for border fence or a border as the Amtrak Cascades went past the border checkpoint. I didn't find anything that resembled a wall or a fence  near Surrey and Blaine. I'm sorry to disappoint you, D.But I'm happy for the children of a common mother! 

The last time I visited, Vilma and I were referred to as Americans. Mo kept reminding us to give the correct answer to the common question:  Where are you from? Vilma was to answer Phoenix and I was to answer San Diego. Vilma and I would have readily answered Philippines!

Maybe I was just thinking of the beloved president so much that I found   the line of questioning by the Canadian Customs processing my entry to the country longer and less welcoming than it used to be. I was asked who I was visiting, how I was related to who I was visiting, how long was I staying or what I did for a living in the states. I was asked how much money I was carrying into the country, whether I had a credit card with me. I was asked to show my return ticket to the states and probably convinced the officer that I was not to make Canada a sanctuary when I finally retrieved the screenshot of my return e-ticket to the states from my phone.

I talked about "Hongcouver" to Mo and Thelma and learned about other the "Namers" alongside the Flips. Across the Pacific Central Depot was a group of protesters waving the Canadian flag. They were protesting against M-103, a motion initiated by the House of Commons against islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.