Canada

Learning English as an immigrant in an English-speaking country is one of the best opportunities someone would ever have, but I did not ever think about how very interesting it could become by learning about a new culture as well. That being said, my journey learning a new language turned into an unexpected and wonderful adventure when my teacher introduced Bob Joseph to me. Since then, we have had a reflective and very productive conversation about the book, 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act every week.

In my home country, Venezuela, where I used to be a lawyer, we have not published investigations into aboriginal people for a long time. These are some of the reasons why I find this book so interesting and valuable while studying English, because while learning about the language, I am also learning about its history, also about some of the cultural issues in relation to it, and how these were treated in the past. So far, every single chapter has been outstanding, especially when I interpret and analyze it from a professional legal point of view. This process brings impressive results to me such as cognitive and analytical improvement.

When I arrived in Canada in 2018, I had a basic idea about what the Canadian culture was and its history. Before I began my journey as a second language student and started reading the book 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act, I always believed that Canadian history was the same as Latin American. Nowadays, I realize how different they are despite they had the same cultural origin. However, Bob Joseph opens an amazing road in his book, especially to people like me who have made Canada their new home.

Finally, I wish to continue reading and discussing it with my friend and teacher. I look forward to the next chapter, anxiously waiting to talk about the 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act every week in my class.