I'm just back from a few days north of the 49th where I escaped for a bit of a break over the Thanksgiving holiday and used the time to catch up with both family and friends. The more I go back to Canada (and hence the longer I've been gone), the more I appreciate what a unique and special place it is. I love being reminded of all the little cultural nuances that are newly fresh to me after having been in the US for so many years now.
Here's a sampling:
-- I ordered a sandwich and was asked "white bread or brown bread"? I'd forgotten that we say "brown bread" instead of "wheat" or "whole wheat".
-- We put our windows on "opposite ends" in the warmer months when it starts to rain outside. The double-paned storm windows can be opened so that fresh air can snake its way inside, but the rain won't. I've never once heard this expression in the US. Come to think of it, I've never seen the same kind of windows that can accommodate "opposite ends" either.
-- We park in a "parkade", not in a "parking garage" or "parking structure". (Honestly, my American friends, please adopt "parkade" -- it's so much shorter and easier!)
-- Canadian hockey announcers use words like "chippy" to describe a team that's hitting particularly hard and often.
-- Everyone knew what I meant when I referred to my "runners"!
-- [Almost] everyone is uber polite and friendly whether it's the hotel concierge, the cashier at the drugstore, the waiter at The Keg or just random people in shops and on the streets. I never hear "pardon me", "excuse me" and "sorry" as much down south. (And in Canada, it's more like "so-rry" instead of "saw-ry".)
O Canada --The True North strong and free!
2 comments:
Hey now...by "down south" you clearly are meaning the northern & western US. There's no way you could ever come down to the real South and not encounter overly polite people! ;)
Ah, Miss Holly, you are absolutely right... that was WAY too general of a comment! My sincerest apologies to the Carolinas in particular. :-)
Hope you are well!
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