Documenting Peace Arch

Our family is currently hosting two students from Korea. It's been a wonderful experience as we've shared our culture with them and they've shared theirs with us. Yesterday morning, they taught our preschooler to cook one of their favourite street food dishes - he said it was spicy - and in the evening, we caught our younger son chatting away with one of the students, who was happily replying in Korean. I'm not sure either one understood each other, but it's been an amazing experience nonetheless.

One of our favourite parts of hosting international students is exposing them to as much local sightseeing as we can. Peace Arch Park certainly fits the bill. To be able to stand on the border and walk freely between two such massive nations - I'm not sure there's much like it anywhere else in the world.

As the clouds gave way to sun yesterday, we took our students to Peace Arch in the late afternoon...but decided not to tell them where we were going. They inquired about the lines of stopped highway traffic in both directions, and I replied simply with "I'll tell you about it in a few minutes." My goal was simply to cross under the Arch and say "Welcome to the United States."

As we walked into the park, my plans were slightly derailed by a few hundred people. Along the border was a peaceful protest. Demonstrators were everywhere along the southbound side of traffic, and loud chants occasionally rose up from the crowd.

I only had my phone with me for these pics, but I love them nonetheless. The whole experience certainly gave a new meaning to "Welcome to the United States."