Hello everyone,
I was going through an old, old blog of mine that I used to keep several years back. I had mainly run it during my time in Canada, to document that experience of moving to another country (seems like a running theme with me is blogging when I move to another country... but anyway!).
It has a lot of junk on it that isn't relevant anymore (probably never was, if the truth be told!), but I did find one entry that made me laugh.
I found Canadians to be very different to what I had expected. I had anticipated that they would be much like their American counterparts south of the border. How wrong I was!
Canada is a very different place, as are her people.
This entry is from Sunday 23rd December, 2007. I had been in Canada about 5 weeks at this point.
"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town, not a creature was stirring - but for one house...
So here I sit in my room. It is the 23rd December, but unofficially in this house it is Christmas Eve. Why? Because R has to work all through the holiday and he wont be able to see the kids open presents otherwise. So tomorrow evening we will do the opening of gifts. But not ones from Santa of course - he still has to come Christmas Eve and leave the stockings and whatever else...
The upstairs bathroom is still being rebuilt, so there are currently 7 people (B has gone to his parents for the holiday) using one bathroom downstairs. Not good when for 3 days at least 5 of us have been very sick with some "24 hour" bug.
Things I have learned here in Canada so far:
You can drive in a van to a place called Dominion, grab a cart from the corral and go foffing...
Canadians sound nothing like Americans once you get used to it
Everything is so slow!
Technology is about 50 years behind
Pay 'n' Go is an alien concept yet to be discovered
Boy does it snow!
Customer service needs to be, well, exist...
It's cold
Flipping your house doesn't literally mean what it sounds like...
On the other hand flipping the laundry is what it sounds like...
CV's are resumes
A loonie isn't someone who belongs in an asylum
Not saying "you're welcome" after someone has thanked YOU can be considered rude!
The British either have funny accents or are hippies (thanks M, nice... real nice!)
Everything (nearly) is "plus tax"
Travel can be expensive and slow
A toque and a parka aren't items of stationary
Canadians are generally more intelligent than the Americans
Mince meat is hamburger. Hamburger is hamburger
Pasta can be called anything from noodles to spaghetti, regardless or whether it is shaped like a noodle or not... ("Pass me the noodles", "there aren't any", "you're looking right at them", "these? These are sheets of pasta for lasagna")
Lasagne is spelled lasagna
William Shatner is Canadian, and is just as annoying on TV here as anywhere else
Dx"
I can't speak for my opinions back then, and have no defence if anyone is offended by any of the above. It is what it is. I've become more rounded in 5 years.
In the 5 years I have been going back and forward from the US visiting Jon, I have come up against some quirks between American and British English, and culture, too.
I definitely look forward to having these similar sorts of experiences once I live in the US full time!
Dan.
Canadians may be 50 years behind in technology, but they do have socialized healthcare. It must be nice not to fear getting sick.
ReplyDeleteBut, shut your mouth about William Shatner! He is one of Canada's greatest imports! LOL! They used to have a game show here hosted by William Shatner. He would dance with the participants before and after the commercials and I really wanted to go on it to say "I danced with The Shat!"
Anyway, very interesting observations and I like how you acknowledge that these were your thoughts back then.
Most of Europe, including the UK, does have socialised healthcare also.
DeleteOne of my biggest fears about moving to the US will be the healthcare situation.
I don't want my life beholden to profit hungry drugs manufacturers.
If you have never watched Michael Moore's 'Sicko', you should. It is a shocking eye opener, and it does not paint a pretty picture of the US system. You'll learn things that you wish you never knew. BUt seriously, watch it. It made me cry at the end, and that's pretty hard to do!!
Oh, and LOL about William Shatner!!! :P
DeleteOne of my biggest issues is healthcare. I have always found it such a travesty that many people, in one of the most advanced countries in the world, still have to worry about being sick. Even with healthcare, depending on what you have, you can still look at massive costs. Nobody should have to fear being sick.
Delete