I AM CANADIAN!

Today I became a Canadian citizen. Obviously a great day!

Good enough of an excuse to not go to work, but not good enough an excuse to bail on the planned workouts. As this is a recovery week, this was not too much of a problem.

I went to the Y for a short and easy weight training session shortly after 7:00 AM. This is kinda late for a normal day and so I was not too surprised that my training buddy Gen was not there anymore. Just as I got started I see her coming in tho. Strangely not in gym attire... well, she was done already. Gen just came back upstairs to give me a can of Pure Maple Syrup from her home town in Quebec. OMG YUM! Thanks Gen!

I am so going to enjoy this.

After the gym I stopped by Tim Hortons for breakfast. Can't get much more Canadian than that :-)
Of course I Rrrolled up the Rrrim to Win but, alas, was not a winner. Oh well, in my books I am a winner today either way I slice it.

Quick shower and before I could head out I had a quick call from Garmin regarding my last blog post. I'll update that later but it is super good news!

Off I was to the Italian Cultural Centre where the Citizenship Ceremony was held. I got there about 15 minutes before my scheduled 10:30 AM appointment. There were 400 people in this ceremony alone! And they are holding 6 ceremonies over two days. After today we have 2,400 new Canadians from this region alone.

The ceremony started just before 11:00 AM with the assistant (I am sure she had a different title but I cannot recall) telling us how this is all going to go down. Here is the short version:

• Stand as the judges and the Mountie walk in and take the stage
• The Citizenship Judge addresses the audience and gives a somewhat not-so-short speech
• We all stand and recite the Citizenship Oath bit-by-bit after the judge in both English and French

I affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen.

J'affirme solennellement que je serai fidèle et porterai sincère allégeance à Sa Majesté la Reine Elizabeth Deux, Reine du Canada, à ses héritiers et successeurs, que j’observerai fidèlement les lois du Canada et que je remplirai loyalement mes obligations de citoyen canadien.

• We are now officially Canadians! 
• Some more words from the judge
• We stand as we sing Oh Canada

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

• Row-by-row comes up and gets their Citizenship Certificate and Citizenship Card from a judge. 

• We get our picture taken with the judges and the Mountie

Then it was time for lunch and so went to a little Quebec diner near our place and had a smoked meat sandwich and poutine.

I still have some training to do: 1 hour easy spinning on the trainer.

Not sure yet what we are going to have for dinner but they have pints of Canadian on special at Jimmy's. We'll, if that is not a sign...

Thanks for stopping by!

I AM CANADIAN!