Less city savvy than his sister

The kids and I ate grilled cheese at a little diner on Fraser Street in Vancouver the other day. If you've never eaten out with a one- and three-year-old, the view from across the table looks something like this:

I think that was a five-second sequence.

At one point Leif looked up from his lunch to comment on a passerby: "What kind of man is that?" It was a Sikh, wearing a turban.

I was surprised that he had to ask. It made me wonder if we're limiting the diversity of the kids' cultural experiences by moving them out of the city.

Saskia, who spent her first five years in Vancouver, could identify the smell of marijuana by the age of three.

Comments

[Chandra]

Well, I'm 34, and although I could identify a Sihk, I don't think I could identify the smell of marijauna. Don't feel "limited" or "isolated" or any of those things either... :o)

Do you carry your camera in your purse or diaper bag or something?

[nic]

first time commenter; really enjoy your blog.

just wanted to say: I grew up in the Dutch countryside, went to school with exactly 1 dark-skinned classmate, and ended up studying anthropology and am now living in Beirut... still think enjoying nature 'naturally' while young is much preferable over 'being exposed to cultural differences' at an early age.

my 2 cents :)

[Amy Hoogstad]

Great pics, once again! I can TOTALLY relate:)

[Chris]

I can't get over how much your little girl looks like you!!! :o)
I do know what marijuana smells like (unfortunately), but my kids also know there are several different cultures out there. As my son said a few years back "If we were all the same colour and wore the same clothes, it would be BORING!".

[Erica Feunekes]

Well, you could move to a third world country... A good experience but not an absolute necessity to turn out well-rounded kids who know about cultural diversity! I'd say that eating grill cheese at a little diner in Vancouver is already quite a cultural experience, not?

[Tessa]

My kids can identify a skunk smell at one whiff, spot a red-tailed hawk and wild turkey and distinguish between rabbits, squirrels, dogs and cats by their tracks in the snow and their scat. Different homes lead more naturally to different kinds of diversity. It's all good, I think.

[celeste]

I don't always recognize the smell of marijuana but I do recognize those chairs in that restaurant.
Never did have a grilled cheese sandwich there but I do enjoy the breakfast there or at least, I did.

[Martina]

I really enjoyed all these comments! It's quite amazing how different all of our (and our kids') experiences are. I agree that it's important to expose kids to diversity - be it natural or cultural - wherever we find ourselves.

Chandra - I don't take my camera everywhere, because of its size. I pack it along once in a while, when I'm feeling ambitious.

Tessa - Skunk, eh? The day we told Saskia what marijuana was, she kept pressing us on what the smell was wafting over from the neighbours. "What IS that smell? Can't you smell it? Sort of skunky, sort of sweet?" I couldn't have said it better myself.