One thing I've noticed when watching the news recently is that a lot of Canadians aren't ashamed to don the colours of another country.

It's not an invasion by a foreign nation, just soccer fans supporting their country of ancestry for the 2010 World Cup.

Canada hasn't come close to qualifying for the prestigious tournament in a while so there really isn't a reason to run around with a red maple leaf anyways.

But that got me to thinking, do people consider themselves Canadian first or do they use the hyphen (Italian-Canadian, Spanish-Canadian etc.)?

Some people I've talked to in the past seem offended at the concept of hyphenated, dual identity, saying that your Canadian and nothing else but I've always been on the fence.

It's difficult for me to lean one way or the other.

On one hand, I'm a Canuck born and raised and very proud to be and besides I've never been to Hong Kong, where my parents came from.

My birth certificate and passports say I'm from Canada and I haven't lived in any other country and more importantly, I've got all the Canadian mannerisms.

On the other hand, there is always a small part of me that thinks I shouldn't forget about where my ancestors came from – give a nod to my roots as it were.

But what is the perfect balance and is there really any?

My Cantonese language skills aren't too sharp so when I speak to my relatives that are equally inept at English, the conversation isn't to in-depth or long and that always makes me feel a little awkward.

But at the same time, I get offended when people make jokes about Chinese people.

I enjoy drinking a bottle of Sleeman's Honey Brown as much as I like a bottle of Tsing Tao beer.

I look forward to cracking open a bottle of champagne at the stroke of midnight between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 and I enjoy ringing in Chinese New Year with my family.

I guess it's a good thing that Canada and Hong Kong aren't in the World Cup.