flags education 2025-09-15T21:28:06Z

That moment in the Toronto airport lounge still burns in my memory. "Québec's separatist movement fascinates me," I declared to a French-Canadian professor, only to realize I'd gestured vaguely toward Alberta on the wall map. His polite cough as he corrected my directional blunder made my ears burn crimson. I'd confidently discussed geopolitical tensions while fundamentally misunderstanding the physical reality of the territory itself.