I am Canadian!

Happy belated Canada Day, everyone!!

You can take the girl out of Canada, but you can't take Canada out of the girl. Yesterday was the first Canada Day I celebrated outside of Canada. Thankfully, Cayman is celebrating Constitution Day today, which meant I could celebrate our nation's birthday without having to worry about waking up for work in the morning. And celebrate I did.

The Canada Day festivities began at a friend's bbq. Although there were no other Canadians in attendance, my friends seemed excited to join me in my Canada Day celebration. After the bbq, we chilled out on the beach for a couple of hours. I was saving my energy for the big party scheduled at Coconut Joe's, a bar owned by Canadians. The scheduled events included: KD eating contest, all you could eat poutine, Canadian Fear Factor and Crown Royal ice luge... I couldn't wait!!

In my favourite "Oh Canada!" t-shirt & carrying a variety of Canadian flags, we showed up at Coconut Joe's and claimed a table. After some creative decorating, there was no mistaking that it was a Canadian table. In honour of Canada Day, Coconut Joe's sold Keith's and for the bargain price of CI $3! I certainly took advantage of that special.

After wandering around, my friend, Rachel, found the Crown Royal ice luge. Rachel, Luella and I felt we must partake in the ice luge in order to fully celebrate Canada Day. I really had no idea what the Crown Royal ice luge was and once I saw it, it all became clear. Paths had been carved into a giant block of ice and the block of ice was raised on a stand. Upon purchasing a shot of Crown Royal or Jagermeister, the bar patron (unsuspecting victim) waited at the bottom of the block of ice for the shot to trickle down and was supposed to drink it as it flowed from the ice block. We felt we needed a demonstration. Luella purchased a shot of Jager for a GIANT fellow Canadian. I'm not exaggerating when I say he was a GIANT. I barely came up to the middle of his chest - he was probably 6'9". He gladly accepted the shot and attempted the luge. He did a good job, but unfortunately he chose the wrong path and missed the beginning of the shot as it poured out of the luge.

After watching his performance, I felt comfortable with what I had to do and was confident I could improve upon the Giant's performance. "Stand back", I said, "I'll show you the pretty way to do it." After debating which shot I should choose, I settled on the Canadian Crown Royal. I set myself up under the ice luge, tilted my head back and awaited the flow of alcoholic goodness. As my back was to the luge, I relied on my friends to tell me when the shot was at the end of its journey. At last, it flowed out of the luge! Initially, it dripped right into my mouth. But, I made a slight adjustment and as a result of a huge miscalculation, I moved so it was flowing directly into my eyes. For those of you who have never had alcohol drip into your eyes, let me tell you: IT BURNS!! I couldn't readjust in time and 3/4 of the shot was ingested through my eyes. As I stood up and cried: "My eyes! They're on fire! It burns! It burns!", my friends, the kind and considerate souls that they are, replied: "We've got great pictures, Beck! Wanna see? Oh no - your mascara is running!" Once my eyesight returned, I quickly ran to the bathroom to wash the Crown Royal-smudged mascara from my face. Despite the searing pain and temporary blindness, I am just glad I provided my friends with some entertainment. I did my best to spread the Canadian love in Cayman, and with the help of the Crown Royal ice luge, I succeeded.