The last mile

One of the things I am very thankful about in coming to Canada was the opportunity to see much of the whole wide world. I started about four years after living abroad. Every other year I visited my mother in the Philippines and in the alternate year I joined two week tours to different countries in the world. My two-month vacation when I was teaching gave me ample opportunity to travel.
When I was in the Philippines, I worked even during the summer months. Teaching in university took six days a week with piles of paperwork to correct on Sundays. I did not have much time to relax and do things outside my school work.
Traveling is like a drug to which one can be addicted. It is both a pleasure and education. One learns to appreciate the different cultures in various parts of the world as well as the awesome gifts of nature. In a way it also provides the opportunity to look into one’s own self and appreciate one’s own culture. The friendliness and hospitality of Filipinos are traits that stand out and are not always seen in other cultures. Our Mayon Volcano, sunset at Manila Bay, the hills and valleys of Mountain Province and the caves of Palawan are comparable to the more well-known sites in the Americas and in Europe.
We who live in Canada have so much to appreciate and be proud of in this country. Right here in Ontario, the awesome Niagara Falls and the Rainbow Route going north are a must for us to see. It does not need much money to join tours to these places. One can take either bus or train. In some areas the rich culture of First Nations people are displayed in their festivals, from the colourful costumes in their dances to the arts and crafts they have for sale, featuring their unique designs in blankets and footwear to colourful jewelry made out of semi-precious stones and beads. Their music played on their native musical instruments is unique and spiritual. Attending a pow-wow is an unforgettable experience.
In the Western part of Canada, a visit to Vancouver Island leaves one breathless. Right there, not very far from the center of the town is Stanley Park with its thick forests and a proliferation of species of birds including the bald eagle. In a day’s trip one can visit salmon fisheries, lush flower gardens and meet people of various races.
An overnight trip from British Columbia takes one to Alberta and to the Rockies, to beautiful bodies of water like Lake Louise.
If one goes East, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces must not be missed. Montreal and Quebec City are centers of arts and fashions. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Islands have retained much of their British legacy and are also well known for their seafood like lobsters, shrimps, oysters and fish.
Canada is such a vast land that has attracted people from all parts of the world, bringing their own cultures with them and giving the part they settled a unique mark of their own and intermixed with those of the original settlers.
Going to Europe gives us an insight of why this part of the planet is called the Old World. Taking a ride in a gondola in the river streets of Venice, walking the cobbled streets in Italy, climbing the ruins in Greece and visiting the pyramids of Egypt, are some of those romantic moments one would experience.
Having been to different parts of the world gives us a better understanding of people when we hear some news about them in everyday events. In the Middle East, for example, people stop working or whatever they are doing at certain times of the day and evening to pray, Loud speakers could be heard wherein people lead in prayer. Having experienced that, it did not surprise me at all, when an Islamic man who was the driver of a local school bus, brought a piece of cloth with him on which he knelt with head bowed to the floor at about three o’clock in the afternoon at an empty space by the stairs of the school, with children stopping to watch in curiosity. (The man was given a private place in the school to pray when he did this ritual several times by the stairs).
Now, let us go back to the subject of travel. Many Canadians travel every year during their holidays, Labour laws provide at least two weeks of holiday every year.
Some people look forward to their retirement as the time when they would travel. This is not a very sound idea. Traveling needs considerable energy in order to enjoy it. Walking, climbing, reading and listening are all parts of effective traveling. You will not enjoy traveling when your knees are already weak and you have back pain due to arthritis. Do your traveling when you are still in your prime. You would not want to be a nuisance to your companions when they have to wait for you in walking or in climbing.
With the speedy progress in medicine, science and technology, the human life span has considerably lengthened. In order to save money, the government has taken advantage of the lengthened life span by increasing the age of retirement and the age for receiving pension. With a longer life span, the number of seniors has been increasing every year. The need for more retirement and nursing homes has increased.
This is one travel that we cannot avoid, one that is often characterized with pain, loneliness, forgetfulness and lack of energy to do what one wants to do. This is the last mile in our travel in this world.
Among us Filipinos, this last mile is usually spent with family. Recently some Filipinos have also joined the group who spend this last trip in a nursing home. It is hoped that this tradition of taking care of our seniors be retained by us. It is sad to contemplate that this last mile in our lives be spent among strangers without a familiar hand to hold on when we cross the border. ****