My Hometown
August 18, 2025 – Back to Prince Rupert
What can I say… I took a short trip to Prince Rupert, my hometown. I was born and raised in Prince Rupert. I thought it was funny to say to folks that I was born and raised in Prince Rupert, lived on Prince Rupert Boulevard, and graduated from Prince Rupert Senior Secondary. As you can see, Prince Rupert is deeply embedded into the identity of “Christine Ho,” particularly in the formative years. I’ve returned to Prince Rupert when I was married to visit family. I returned to Rupert with my own family (brother, sister, and dad) a few years ago. Now, I have returned to Prince Rupert for work. This last weekend, we returned to Prince Rupert for a short, leisurely trip.
At first, my friend and I planned not bring our laptops or work on this trip. Guess what? We both brought our work and laptops on this trip. That said, I never took my laptop out to do work. I almost started blogging, but I opted to just BE and relax. My friend did a similar feat and I am so grateful to know that I can “vacate” and not have to work. Because when I come home, the work is still there. Moreover, I was able to enjoy the travel experience without feeling any guilt. However, here’s some irony. Revisiting places from my childhood and learning more about how the Chinese immigrated into BC and Prince Rupert helps me to understand where I come from.
When I think about my research program and what excites me about research is more about self-discovery and identity development. Oh my goodness… once again, the writing process has opened the doors to my thinking and knowing. That’s a HUGE aha I am experiencing right now as an educator, scholar, and person (in their midlife). At first, I thought my research work was in leadership, then in out-of-field teaching in secondary mathematics education, then program evaluations in teacher education. But, it’s more than that!! I am aware that my work is within the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), but I think that I have finally found the thread that links my work.
Hmm… I was going to write in this blog post about my trip to Prince Rupert, and I was kind of engaging in work because I have been really wanting to engage in an autoethnography about being a second-generation Chinese Canadian woman and my positionality in my family, work as a BC public educator, and now as a scholar who is interested in my experiences with racism, sexism, and marginalization. Part of this work is understanding who I am and where I came from. Furthermore, I have to understand the history of the Chinese in BC and how the Chinese were treated and what roles they played in Canada before I arrived as a person born in Prince Rupert.
Admittedly, I have always felt detached from who I am (authentically) and often felt that I had to “give myself away” to belong, fit-in, or be accepted (attachment). This way of being is very aligned to Dr. Gabor Maté’s work. I could not feel committed to my name, to my likes or interests, to my work, or to companionship. Life started transforming radically when I turned 40, but has been changing ever since. Fifteen years later, I finally feel like who I am. I feel confident in what I like and don’t like. And, I feel comfortable in my own skin. This feeling is new to me, but what I am realizing is, I am achieving some clarity. I’m no longer chasing, but rather I am appreciating.
I could have done some work on the 12-hour train trip each way, or do some work in the middle of the night or be on my phone constantly to respond to emails, etc. Instead, I was enjoying Prince Rupert… the rain, the seafood, the different places, and the memories. The trip started with a curiosity of VIA rail from Prince George to Prince Rupert, and taking a short holiday. In return, I have stoked the fire about pursuing a research study via an autoethnography, but also, I have found a connection between the different aspects of my work. Who knew that this trip of non-work contributed so much to my work. Thank you Prince Rupert for the inspiration.