Being Canadian ... and Thankful

Monday, October 18, 2010

As any ex-patriot well knows, there is nothing like being absent from one’s country during a festive season to prompt a longing for home and desire to return there. While it the harvest season for grapes and other fruit here, the leaves remain green and the day temperatures relatively warm; albeit the evenings and nights are getting longer and cooler. Over the past two weeks, those of us who are Canadian had lots to remind us of home, which we shared with others.   

October 6 is a marked by the annual Martyr’s Day Parade in Lanciano. On that day, the town honours their war dead and in particular, eleven young men from Lanciano who in 1945, led an unsuccessful revolt against the Nazis and were publicly executed. School children from the town were joined by our students and Faculty at the gathering point at the top of the Corso.

We then joined the march down the corso to the monument to the war dead adjacent to the Piazza Plebiscito. Our three Italian students carried and marched with their country’s flag beside those bearing our Canadian flag. It was a proud day for us and for our Italian hosts.

Thanksgiving Weekend was beautiful. Mt. Majella, which dominates Lanciano’s western horizon was magnificent on a bright Saturday morning and then equally so but more sombre at dawn on Sunday morning.

Our Sunday dinner was a traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner, prepared by our own Mr. C. Pumpkin pie and brownies were served for dessert and had been prepared by our own Mrs. C! As is the custom, everybody was stuffed. Unlike being in Canada though, it was back to the books and classes on Monday! 

Our third and final chapter in this Canadian experience, CCI faculty and students participated in the official open ceremony of a new student centre in L’Aquila. Readers may recall that this town was suddenly rocked by a devastating earthquake on April 6 last year. Of the 308 victims, 55 were university students. Their deaths were marked in the ceremony by the planting of a red maple tree for each student and the release of balloons by our students.

Two of our students agreed to participate in the flag raising ceremony.

When Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper attended last year’s G8 Conference he promised that the Canadian government would fund the construction  il Centro Polifunzionale per gli Studenti dell’Universita di L’Aquila. It is a new student centre located on the university campus. Our Canadian Ambassador to Italy, Mr. James A. Fox was in attendance. Minister Denis Lebel participated in the ceremony and was effusive in his thanks for CCI’s participation.

For our part, CCI had a more humble if not uplifting role in the ceremony as we performed ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’, a song that speaks of hope and dreams, which was a fitting end to the event.        

Following the ceremony and reception, we had a tour of the area affected by the earthquake. It was not possible to get into much of the town due to the inherent risk, but what we did see certainly caused us to remember just how powerful natural forces can be.

The buildings in the old town are now behind fences and reinforced with exterior braces and scaffolding.

Note the bar running through the window to either an interior wall or more often to the far exterior wall and another brace on the outside.

Along some of the fences were poignant reminders of lives and livelihoods lost – ribbons in L’Aquila’s colours, keys to doors of empty homes and businesses and signs reminding onlookers of what once was and may very well be restored in time.      

The military is a constant presence to ensure security.

Finally it was time to return to Lanciano.