E83: Urmi Hossain still doesn't feel Canadian after 14 years in Canada

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In this episode, I’m speaking with Urmi Hossain, who after 14 years in Canada, still identifies as an Italian-Bengali living in Canada rather than Canadian.

In her words, “I feel like I'm betraying my origins if I put Canadian because I only became Canadian later on in my life.”

I find her position so fascinating because she's one of the few immigrants I've met who don't struggle with the state of in-betweenness - where you feel like you're suspended between your former culture and the new one.

To Urmi, Canada will always be her second home, the first place where she felt she could be comfortable in her dual identity. The first place where she met people who were navigating multiple cultural identities like herself. People who spoke more than one language. Unlike Italy where her friends were ‘strictly Italian.’

But...Urmi still thinks she probably is going to retire to Italy.

In this conversation, Urmi and I chat about Canada’s multiculturalism and how it helps people like her feel at home. We also explore:

• What do we mean when we say “Canadian culture”

• The quality of Canadian coffee vs. Italian coffee

• Choosing to move to Canada

• Why she’ll probably retire to Italy at some point, and more good stuff.

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