Drifting on through...

I move through this grand city of ours in two ways: I bus down Whyte Ave and then I walk through campus. I've never really thought much about how I move through the city or how I impact the space I'm in. When I do reflect on this, I don't really feel like I affect Edmonton in any matter. I think my movements within the city match most of the people around me; I move in groups, trying to keep pace so no one runs into me. I walk from building to building, pedway to pedway, just trying to stay out of the way. I drift in between people as I move from one space to the next trying to stay outside as little as possible.

I kind of realize that I make no real attempts to exist in these spaces, I'm really kind of a ghost. There's been many a time when I've actually startled people around me because I've "snuck up" on them. I never intended to and I think that's silly when people tell me that. I don't burst into a room, exclaiming my arrival and nor does anyone else. I think this a very Canadian behaviour actually. I'm sure that the fear of inconveniencing others consumes most of us. Think of how many times someone has run into you and you've both apologized.

On the first day of class I made the (hilarious) joke about the Sherwood Park transit system. To most of us, Sherwood park is known as the "bubble" and it really is. The transit system is something I utilize quite regularly because of my need to get to school. Fortunately, my bus route takes me down Whyte Ave, so I have tons to see each time I get to go to school or home. The other day I was on my way home after class and I started thinking about how I view the city and how I affect this space. I began noticing new parts of the buildings I see at least twice a day, I think I even started seeing the city as a living thing. I've never noticed the movements of the city; all the different types of cars, all the different people walking in different directions, going to completely different places. This is significant to me because almost everyone and everything in Sherwood park looks so alike. No offense to my home town which I love, but it definitely does not offer the same type of diversity the Edmonton does. I really want to see the different ways I can affect the space I'm in and different ways I can move through the city. Maybe I will start bursting into rooms and exclaim that I've arrived. Next time someone runs into me I wont play polite Canadian and apologize profusely. I might just start dancing instead of walking. Why not waltz into Rutherford?

What's Surprising

I've definitely improved my knowledge of Edmonton in the month I've been enrolled in this class. There seems to be a whole lot more now that I'm even aware of and curious about happening in the city. The only thing about this class that I remain apprehensive about is the mapping assignment. I don't feel like I know enough of the city to map out a walk of interest. I've tossed some ideas around but I can't seem to pin down a map that I would like to do.
 I've found the concept of creative cartography to be the most interesting technique of examining the physical and sensory elements of the city. I stated in an earlier post that I never thought much of mapping because I only considered them to be a visual tool meant for one purpose; to instruct a traveler where to go. I never considered them to be tools of discovery even if the traveler is familiar with the area in one sense or the other.
Sound maps are especially fascinating to me because it was a completely foreign idea to me. Developing any sense of a city through means other than sight is something I'd definitely like to pursue further.
I think the most surprising thing to be has simply been discovering different elements and cultures within Edmonton. I've always felt that Edmonton was this unloved city and I'm not sure why. I think that going through all of the literature about it, all of the different maps, looking at it's points of interests (both literal and figurative), has really changed my understanding and view of E-town.

Applause for Hagen

I have to say that I absolutely loved Hagen's book "The Edmonton Queen". When I went through the U of A bookstore to pick up my outrageously expensive text books, I paused when I grabbed this one. I remained completely speechless as I read the back, looked at the cover and flipped through it. I had no idea how this book would fit into any class, even one exclusively about Edmonton literature. I had never known that Edmonton had this underground scene that was so colourful and explosive. Then again, if you look through the rest of my posts, I seem to have no idea about most of the going-ons in Edmonton... it's becoming a reoccurring theme.

Reading the book was really quite jarring. Some parts were hysterically funny, while other parts were painfully sad. The experiences that Hagen describes are far and away something I would have never pictured happening in Edmonton. The city to me seems kind of vanilla, so it was amazing to hear that there is real sense of diversity. I read books all the time, both fiction and non-fiction, but reading a book that's then expanded on  by the author who lived through the experiences and knows everyone else in the book is almost surreal. When I read biographies or "true stories", they still have a sense of fiction about them because there's no personal attachment to the story. So, having Darrin come in was a really neat experience. He should be honored to know that he is the most famous person I've ever met. This experience just trumps the time when Josh Classen went shopping where I work and I was the lucky cashier that got to ring him through. He was really polite.

When Darrin came in and spoke to the class to expand on his book as well as offer more insight to the gay community, I was once again surprised. Hearing about the bus tours, and his many plays made that part of the city really stand out and seem closer. I've never experienced anything in these communites first hand in Edmonton, but simply knowing that there are diverse communities scattered around really changes my view of the city. I've been guilty of simplifying the city and not giving it enough credit for being something close to an actual metropolis. I guess this goes to show to not judge a book by its cover (cliche!), because this book really made a change in the way I see Edmonton.