I had a conversation with my friend to the south, an American. I was astounded by her basic lack of knowledge about its northern neighbour and would like to clear a few things up. If you have a friend who’s never experienced the cold, desperate wasteland of Canada, send them here.
It’s Cold!
Yes and no. Depending on where you’re coming from, Canada may be a lot colder than what you’re familiar to. However, for us it’s life. Maybe your ‘warm’ is our ‘boiling’, it’s all about perspective. We’re not cold, you’re warm! And while we’re on the topic of temperature, USA, can you please give in and start using Celsius? You know it’s superior.
Eh and Aboot
If you’ve ever talked to a Canadian for longer than a minute or so, you know this is absolutely not true. I’ve been around the world and back, and I can honestly say, most Canadians are the most unaffected speakers of English. There’s no hint of British, or Texan, or anything, it’s just plain monotone English.
Is Everything Canadian?
Surprisingly, USA, like you, many of our things are made from China too. All jokes aside, I’ve actually had my American friends wonder if we have cable, movies, or books that aren’t Canadian. I remember pointing out to a friend of mine that part of New Moon was filmed in Canada, (Vancouver, if you’re wondering), to which she replied, “But there’s no snow!”. We receive American tv shows, books, movies, and about any other media you guys do, (except Hulu, could you fix that?).
Bears, Hunting, and Surviving the Winter
You have no idea how many times I’ve explained this. Yes, there are polar bears. No, not in Calgary. Yes, we have summers. Yes, we have trees that aren’t Coniferous. No, I don’t spend my days trying to hunt polar bears for their pelts so I can survive the cold, harsh winters. We here in Canada actually live in houses, and if you haven’t noticed, cities. We have a population of over 30 million people! And we swear, none of them are polar bears.
So welcome to Canada! We hope you decide to visit (or stay) despite the cold. It’s a beautiful place to live. I mean, after all, Canadians live here.