Culture shock: Growing up in the 1970's

The chorus from the Joni Mitchell hit, Big Yellow Taxi“ released in 1970 goes like this:

“Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone”. 

I grew up in the 1970s, the son of Jamaican immigrants.  It was a turbulent decade that mirrored the turbulence we experienced as a family beginning a new life in Canada.

The culture shock of immigrating to Canada from our home in Jamaica was just the first a cold reality after having spent many vacations in Canada in the years leading up to our big move. 

In 1967 we travelled to Canada for the first time. We were here to visit family and friends in and around Toronto.  That was exciting enough but an even bigger part of the trip was our planned visit to Montreal to take in Expo 67. 

Canada and certainly Montreal was buzzing that year in celebrating 100 years as a nation.  

I’ll always look back fondly on the road trip down the 401 to Montreal.  I got to ride on the top of the luggage in the back of a huge Ford ‘woodie’ station wagon.  Yes, those were the days before seat belts and airbags!

We spent 3 days touring Expo; going on the rides; visiting the pavilions; riding the monorail; stuffing ourselves with food.  On one of the days it rained…we splashed in the puddles and got soaked thoroughly.  That was a glorious day.

Montreal and Expo 67 began our love affair with Canada.

A few years later when the violence in Jamaica intensified, my parents made the decision to leave our homeland.  Canada was the choice; us kids didn’t push back.  

The 4 hour airplane trip transported us from the world we knew into one we thought we knew.  As is typical for most immigrants, we experienced the culture shock of moving from a visitor to a resident.  

And what a shock it was!

We dressed differently.  We spoke with a thick accent.  We looked different. We ate different food.  

Thankfully I liked rock music…I know, a kid from Jamaica who didn’t like Reggae?

Rock…that became my ticket to adapting and fitting in. 

And that’s what we did back then.  Fit in.  

I’ve liked rock for as long as I can remember. In Jamaica my early music collection included Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Jefferson Airplane and Led Zeppelin.  

In Canada I added The Guess Who and a little 3 piece heavy rock band called Rush.  A highlight of my mid-teens was seeing Rush play live very early in their career:  In Brampton in front of no more than 90 fans, they rocked the place!  I was hooked!

Until next time...