One of the first things that struck me as odd about Saskatoon when I first moved there, was the abundance of fake palm trees. Both indoors and outdoors, these plastic versions of tropical paradise seemed strangely out of place in the cold prairie environment. Furthermore, many Saskatonians hadn’t even noticed them until I pointed it out. This made me think about the Benjamin quote, and how we create our own sense of place, no matter how odd or freakish that may be.