Before someone complains about making fun of Canadians, I'd like to describe an encounter I had over the weekend:
I was grocery shopping and had 13 items (mostly frozen) in my cart. Being the honest person I am, I waited in a long line, instead of using the 12-or-less self-checkout that had NO line. Right before it was my turn, the woman behind me said, "Excuse me, but I only have three items, so can I go ahead of you? I'm visiting from Canada." I was a little annoyed, since it wasn't like a had a full cart of stuff, but said (pleasantly), "that's fine, but just so you know in the future, those self-checkouts over there never have lines and are much faster when you only have a couple items." She then told me that she doesn't like self-checkouts and re-iterated that she was visiting from Canada, as if we should bow down or something. She ended up going in front of me and didn't even say "thank you."
I live in the suburbs of Detroit, so I meet plenty of Canadians and 99% of them are kind people. The moral of the story is that just like U.S. citizens, Canadians can be entitled assholes too.
:( Sad. I'm from Canada. I don't think anyone likes being painted with the same brush. When I went to Florida, I got a Frappuccino from Starbucks. I get my mocha frap and it didn't have whipped cream on it. I said 'is there normally whipped cream on it?' and he said 'nice try you little thief, you have to pay for it.' I was like 'I'm from Canada, and it automatically comes on the mocha frap unless you request it taken off' and he said 'well that doesn't excuse anything.' So I guess I used the 'I'm from Canada thing' but it was out of confusion, not arrogance. Also, I don't think all Floridians are arrogant as a result...
haha @ Califblondy, I stayed in Montreal for about 5 1/2 weeks, and I was like 'the winter is so damn bad here, why does everyone allocate their money to pools?!' I wish I knew the answer. It doesn't make sense to me.
@Cathy, what was the point of that story? "Hey, there's a video about Canadians, let me tell you about this Canadian who's an asshole!" How odd. I don't see anyone saying all Canadians are perfect.
@Cathy You two were just experiencing cultural differences. Its quite common in Canada for people to let others go in front of them in line if they have a small amount of items. Here in the US, not so much. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding. I don't see that 'assholary'
My brother in law lived in Canada for a couple of years and loved it. He kept telling us how "everything is better in Canada" from their stop lights to their bagged milk.
So, my husband and I get a kick out of using the "everything is better in Canada" quote when we complain about something here in the states.
Cause, well, you know...everything is better in Canada...
We ARE nice! Except when we're not. *L* Generalizations do tend to piss us off. I'll tell you what, though, our most staunchly conservative right-wingers would probably be considered "moderate" in the US.
That thing about the bagged milk really bugs me though. That's only in Ontario, as far as I know. The milk is not in bags here out west (I'm in Edmonton, Alberta).
Just like in the US, there are rural teenage boys here who do stupid things. I think that's actually the one thing is that universal across the world, teenagers do stupid shit.
Few common Canadian things to clear up:
1. There are TONS of entitled assholes who don't say thank you and do rude things. If someone uses 'I'm Canadian' as an excuse to do an assholey thing, they're an asshole.
2. I couldn't help but laugh at what sounded like a very rural Ontario accent in the video. On the West Coast we don't have a Minnesota-esque accent like on TV. In fact, the typical 'Canadian' accent is only really found in small areas and is usually spoken very lightly.
3. We may have a really similar looking population (a mixture of cultures from all over the world, lots of caucasian people) but there are many social cultural differences that can be considered offensive to both sides of the border. I think because we look the same it's easy to assume we are the same, as is the fact we speak the same language. You don't go to Japan and keep your shoes on in the house! When I worked in the retail/tourism industry I would scoff when American tourists would say 'give me...' with no thank you afterwards. These people were not assholes, just culturally different.
Granted these are just my opinions and I am not the Canadian representative of cultural differences. :P
1. All Canadians are not nice--examples, Beibs and the idiot grocery line skipper.My Canadian friends are nice, fun and a little bit nuts. 2.The pool kids look like goofy rednecks, which seem to be global epidemic. 3. Svetlana, I'm from Louisiana, and my Mocha frap always comes with whip or by Java, there'll be hell to pay!!! 4. All Louisianians are not nice. ;-)
@Jenn-first off I'd loooooove to go to Louisiana. Secondly-I just can't enjoy frappuccinos without whipped cream. It's pointless. Third-I'm going to start saying 'by java!'
@ CeeKay Bags of milk are in Quebec too (at least 20 years ago). I don't think I'd ever seen a plastic milk jug until I moved out west. Plus we had weekly milk deliveries, not sure if they still do, though. :) And yes, idiots are everywhere
Sigh. Let's just say the cultural differences are a little bit nerve wracking for this recent US immigrant to Canada. I live in a Bible belt farm community east of Vancouver and I truly feel like I was dumped off a flyby space ship onto another planet in a galaxy far faaaarrrr away. People are WEIRD.
But it is so breathtakingly beautiful here that I am deeply grateful that some bureaucrat said yes and let me in. The sky, the clouds, the farmland, the wildlife. Truly godgiven spectacularness. I will therefore gratefully and humbly do my utmost to deal with the weirdos... realizing that I myself never quite fit the mold to begin with.
Was that the Baby Biebs driving? Clues: Canadian, White Driver, Idiot Move.
ReplyDeleteBefore someone complains about making fun of Canadians, I'd like to describe an encounter I had over the weekend:
ReplyDeleteI was grocery shopping and had 13 items (mostly frozen) in my cart. Being the honest person I am, I waited in a long line, instead of using the 12-or-less self-checkout that had NO line. Right before it was my turn, the woman behind me said, "Excuse me, but I only have three items, so can I go ahead of you? I'm visiting from Canada." I was a little annoyed, since it wasn't like a had a full cart of stuff, but said (pleasantly), "that's fine, but just so you know in the future, those self-checkouts over there never have lines and are much faster when you only have a couple items." She then told me that she doesn't like self-checkouts and re-iterated that she was visiting from Canada, as if we should bow down or something. She ended up going in front of me and didn't even say "thank you."
I live in the suburbs of Detroit, so I meet plenty of Canadians and 99% of them are kind people. The moral of the story is that just like U.S. citizens, Canadians can be entitled assholes too.
When you ask a Canadian what time it is, they say, "well, I'm from Canada, and it's *looks at watch* 3:25."
ReplyDeleteOnly in Florid.. I mean Canada.
ReplyDeleteLived up ther for a year.... Looks about right.... Vowed never to go back.
ReplyDelete:( Sad. I'm from Canada. I don't think anyone likes being painted with the same brush.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to Florida, I got a Frappuccino from Starbucks. I get my mocha frap and it didn't have whipped cream on it. I said 'is there normally whipped cream on it?' and he said 'nice try you little thief, you have to pay for it.' I was like 'I'm from Canada, and it automatically comes on the mocha frap unless you request it taken off' and he said 'well that doesn't excuse anything.'
So I guess I used the 'I'm from Canada thing' but it was out of confusion, not arrogance. Also, I don't think all Floridians are arrogant as a result...
I've only been to Montreal, Quebec City and Trois rivière, but why are there so many above ground pools?
ReplyDeletehaha @ Califblondy, I stayed in Montreal for about 5 1/2 weeks, and I was like 'the winter is so damn bad here, why does everyone allocate their money to pools?!' I wish I knew the answer. It doesn't make sense to me.
ReplyDelete@Cathy, what was the point of that story? "Hey, there's a video about Canadians, let me tell you about this Canadian who's an asshole!" How odd. I don't see anyone saying all Canadians are perfect.
ReplyDelete@Cathy You two were just experiencing cultural differences. Its quite common in Canada for people to let others go in front of them in line if they have a small amount of items. Here in the US, not so much. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding. I don't see that 'assholary'
ReplyDeleteMy brother in law lived in Canada for a couple of years and loved it. He kept telling us how "everything is better in Canada" from their stop lights to their bagged milk.
ReplyDeleteSo, my husband and I get a kick out of using the "everything is better in Canada" quote when we complain about something here in the states.
Cause, well, you know...everything is better in Canada...
I love Canadians. Even the assholes are nicer than most of our nice people.
ReplyDeleteWe ARE nice! Except when we're not. *L* Generalizations do tend to piss us off. I'll tell you what, though, our most staunchly conservative right-wingers would probably be considered "moderate" in the US.
ReplyDeleteThat thing about the bagged milk really bugs me though. That's only in Ontario, as far as I know. The milk is not in bags here out west (I'm in Edmonton, Alberta).
Just like in the US, there are rural teenage boys here who do stupid things. I think that's actually the one thing is that universal across the world, teenagers do stupid shit.
ReplyDeleteFew common Canadian things to clear up:
1. There are TONS of entitled assholes who don't say thank you and do rude things. If someone uses 'I'm Canadian' as an excuse to do an assholey thing, they're an asshole.
2. I couldn't help but laugh at what sounded like a very rural Ontario accent in the video. On the West Coast we don't have a Minnesota-esque accent like on TV. In fact, the typical 'Canadian' accent is only really found in small areas and is usually spoken very lightly.
3. We may have a really similar looking population (a mixture of cultures from all over the world, lots of caucasian people) but there are many social cultural differences that can be considered offensive to both sides of the border. I think because we look the same it's easy to assume we are the same, as is the fact we speak the same language.
You don't go to Japan and keep your shoes on in the house!
When I worked in the retail/tourism industry I would scoff when American tourists would say 'give me...' with no thank you afterwards. These people were not assholes, just culturally different.
Granted these are just my opinions and I am not the Canadian representative of cultural differences. :P
1. All Canadians are not nice--examples, Beibs and the idiot grocery line skipper.My Canadian friends are nice, fun and a little bit nuts.
ReplyDelete2.The pool kids look like goofy rednecks, which seem to be global epidemic.
3. Svetlana, I'm from Louisiana, and my Mocha frap always comes with whip or by Java, there'll be hell to pay!!!
4. All Louisianians are not nice. ;-)
@Jenn-first off I'd loooooove to go to Louisiana. Secondly-I just can't enjoy frappuccinos without whipped cream. It's pointless. Third-I'm going to start saying 'by java!'
ReplyDelete@ CeeKay
ReplyDeleteBags of milk are in Quebec too (at least 20 years ago). I don't think I'd ever seen a plastic milk jug until I moved out west. Plus we had weekly milk deliveries, not sure if they still do, though.
:)
And yes, idiots are everywhere
Sigh. Let's just say the cultural differences are a little bit nerve wracking for this recent US immigrant to Canada. I live in a Bible belt farm community east of Vancouver and I truly feel like I was dumped off a flyby space ship onto another planet in a galaxy far faaaarrrr away. People are WEIRD.
ReplyDeleteBut it is so breathtakingly beautiful here that I am deeply grateful that some bureaucrat said yes and let me in. The sky, the clouds, the farmland, the wildlife. Truly godgiven spectacularness. I will therefore gratefully and humbly do my utmost to deal with the weirdos... realizing that I myself never quite fit the mold to begin with.
By Java is a good exclamation when threatening baristas who withhold whipped cream.
ReplyDeleteLouisiana is lovely but is best visited in the FALL and WINTER. Trust me, people, you will melt into a puddle of sweat. Ugh.