Ottawa: Reflection on a Week

Canada’s role in WW1 started out by serving under Britain, and ended by serving as Canadians

This is the First World War Book of Remembrance

Canadian identity has grown since World War 1 from the millions of Canadians who became a nation on the battlefield. The sacrifices that these soldiers made show just how devoted to their nation they were. After they were finished fighting on the battlefield, they came home as Canadians.

We went to see a Vimy Ridge Memorial Ceremony

Celebration dance after winning foosball 

The Terry Fox Centre was founded in 1982 to let teens learn more about their country

Melika got her finger stuck in the plane seat 

Every morning we were woken up by a loud voice telling use to get up, followed by what felt like an hour of bad hold music

Here’s a drawing of the lockers next to our beds

I interviewed Jacques today at the Canadian War Museum. Jacques is a museum employee who helped guide a tour for our group. He told me about how the First World War shaped Canadian identity today.

Luca practising for the talent show while Daniel sings off key 

This is a photo of Adlih admiring a large gold vault in an abandoned military bunker. This room would be used to store currency in the event of a nuclear attack on the area. This was located underground in the Diefenbunker museum. This base is located about 45 minutes away from downtown Ottawa, in Carp, Ontario. This base is focused on the Cold War and it’s history.

Here is the entrance to the House of Commons in the Parliament Building!

This is a photo of Lauren and the Encounters with Canada mascot, Foxy. Foxy would come to the centre every day or so. She had her own little seat that she would sit in while people pet her. Lauren and I visited her many times throughout the week, and each time we saw her she was surrounded by people.

I would not have been willing to go to war if I was eligible. War does not sound like something I would feel passionate enough about to take part in. I would be constantly worried about my friends and family who I might never see again. The war would be cold, difficult, and painful. I would not risk everything I’ve ever had to serve our country. If a war happened today, I would try very hard to avoid going to fight in it.

This is a photo from one of  the first days we were in Ottawa. We had free time all day, and so we all ended up hanging out on one of the bunk beds and playing on our iPads. It was a nice way to start off our week in Ottawa. This was one of the few times that we had lots of time to do whatever we want. That morning was spent down in the cafeteria, and we were able to play cards with most of our class. This was a very fun day.

This is a photo of the National War Memorial in front of the Parliament Buildings. This memorial represents Canada’s role in World War 1 because it shows the efforts that Canada took in wars over the years in a public memorial.

Here are some War tombstones and monuments

Here is a ship of passengers that was rejected from coming into North America

According to David, life in Newfoundland is much different than in Vancouver. They don’t have the same environment of tall buildings and restaurants on every corner, and they grew up in a completely different manner than us. There isn’t much to do in his neighbourhood other than going to school and going to sleep. The scenery is mostly made up of grassland and fields, and the province isn’t nearly as populated as British Columbia is.

This WWI weapon, called a bayonet, was a sharp blade used in the trenches. It was attached to the front of soldier’s guns to use in case the enemy was at close range. The bayonet was useful in situations where a soldier was unable to shoot properly when an enemy soldier crawled into their trench.

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