Hello, Canada

After almost nine years of being in this country, I am now a Canadian citizen! You have only yourself to blame, Canada. P.S. I wore red specially for you. You may take a moment to don some shades.

I am legit now. Plus there’s a letter from PM Trudeau welcoming me to the fold. I repeat: only yourselves to blame.

Here are Ari and Corene right before they gave me a Hudson’s Bay CANADA hat and a Tim Horton’s travel mug. The true “Welcome to Canada” package.

(Also, this is how unused I am to selfies — Ari had to clue me in to the fact that I could take the picture myself instead of finding someone to do it.)

But you know the real fun part? After the ceremony was over and done with, and after we had partaken in tea and cakes, we got to explore the BC Sports Hall of Fame. Worth the price of admission-by-which-I-mean-citizenship, chilluns.

“I’d like to thank the Academy. . .”

The beloved Norwegian curling pants

Commemorating the events that truly define Canada

And then to battle stations. Game, set, match!

Fight fight fight!

Kill kill kill!

Corene and Ari also showed me how to shoot a hockey puck. Note that I said they showed me, not that I succeeded in any attempt whatsoever. You shall not have those pics. Instead, you can have these:

You also get to race along a track and whump against the end. The whump sound effect is a key aspect to this whole experience.

Whump

Whump

(I whumped in heels.)

As a final hurrah, we climbed aboard the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics winners’ podium. Because why wouldn’t we?

We are all winners at heart.
Some of us more than others.

Squee

Rawr!

Final notes:

1) The closest I will get to a golden moose:

2) The swag bag they gave each of us new citizens contained a flag, commemmorative pins and programs, and, of course, homework:

Hi there, Canada. We’re gonna get along just fine.