Canada: Soccer as the Key to Integration on the Playground

In her latest column for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, journalist Susanne Grautmann delicately outlines the challenges of family expatriation based on her experiences in Canada. In Vancouver, her family discovers that integrating, even in a country known for its welcoming nature, remains a difficult ordeal. The narrative focuses on their 11-year-old son, who is plunged into a Canadian school where English, Mandarin, and Korean intermingle, reflecting a nation shaped by immigration.

Initially, everything seems idyllic. "Until the bell rang for the first time, our stay in Vancouver felt like a grand vacation." Then reality hits: "It is here, in these linoleum-covered hallways, between the water fountains and metal lockers of Queen Elizabeth Elementary School, that we would see if the promises of our Canadian adventure would also materialize for him."

Armed with basic English, the child adapts using what his mother describes as a "copy-paste technique," observing others to blend into the group.

However, after a week, a message from the administration upends the balance they had found: "All the milestones of the past week – finding a place in class, playmates, and a friend – are rendered null and void." The school reorganizes classes; the child finds himself alone again, forced to start from scratch. This "absence of the magic of the second start" reveals the emotional fragility of an often idealized expatriation.

In his new class, the child faces an unexpected barrier: "Many children speak Mandarin or Korean among themselves. For our son, their conversations are impenetrable. […] It’s a communication wall." Linguistic integration, the cornerstone of the expatriate dream, clashes with the reality of Canada’s multilingualism.

Salvation arrives through sports: soccer, a universal language of childhood. "And indeed, the magic of the ball works." In a single recess, language boundaries dissolve. The next day, a boy approaches him and simply states, "We are friends!"

Through this anecdote, Susanne Grautmann provides a precise and touching testimony on learning to live abroad. Adult expatriates, she implies, could take inspiration from this childlike spontaneity. "We have engaged in countless conversations in impeccable English, but we have yet to find friends." Integration, she concludes, "does not always pass through words. But when the ball starts rolling, anything becomes possible."