Comments on: Expat Power?

Expat Power?

generichuman — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 07:36:49 -0800

It can be tough to be a Canadian expat in the US. All those silly little misconceptions about igloos, dogsleds and hockey to combat. Oh, and some stuff from American pundits that makes us feel bad. But don't feel too blue. The Canadian Embassy in Washington has you covered. Are you doing your expat duty?

By: generichuman

generichuman — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 07:39:33 -0800

My first thought was how much of a little whining baby this makes the embassy look like. My second thought was to pity the people who invite connect2canada folks to dinner parties and get "corrected."

By: Mijo Bijo

Mijo Bijo — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 07:43:18 -0800

You left out curling. That, by far, perplexes us Americans the most!

By: Space Coyote

Space Coyote — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 07:47:06 -0800

The U.S. uses the word 'friend' in much the same way as a 3 sheets to the wind oaf uses the term 'buddy'.

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 07:49:04 -0800

the Canadian embassy in Washington is assembling an army of ex-pats as it battles the errors spouted by U.S television pundits and repeated at dinner parties. I wonder if it'll go something like this.

By: beelzbubba

beelzbubba — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 07:49:23 -0800

I never thought of the Neighbors to the North (of the US) as particularly thin skinned, but if comments by Tucker Carlson and Neil Cavuto get them riled, then they deserved to be ridiculed. Who takes those twerps seriously? As far as Canadian ex-pats go--how can we ever forgive them for sending us Paul Schaeffer and Jim Carrey? Oh yeah. Natasha Henstridge.

By: bl1nk

bl1nk — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 07:52:33 -0800

I still tend to point American friends to the This American Life episode of "Who's Canadian" when they express curiosity about the expat experience. Also: Hosting Canadian Thanksgiving in America > Contrived cultural outreach dinner parties.

By: nixerman

nixerman — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 07:58:00 -0800

I think it's kind of cool that Canadians spend all their time hunting moose and racoons and eating doughnuts and still have time to brand their own version of the ipod.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:05:04 -0800

fandango_matt , that was fun. I never met a Canadian I didn't like.

By: Malor

Malor — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:07:00 -0800

Bah to the rumors. There's a six foot wall of snow at the border. Canadians tunnel to work.

By: raedyn

raedyn — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:11:50 -0800

I never thought of the Neighbors to the North (of the US) as particularly thin skinned, Because we aren't. but if comments by Tucker Carlson and Neil Cavuto get them riled, then they deserved to be ridiculed. Who takes those twerps seriously? - beelzbubba Who said those are getting us riled? When Pat Buchannon called us "Soviet Canuckistan" we proudly adopted the term because it was funny. We got hats and shirts made. (That's still my favorite toque).

By: faceonmars

faceonmars — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:13:27 -0800

I'd like to thank Canada for Paul Shaeffer, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and William Shatner.

By: dobie

dobie — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:16:11 -0800

I think it would be more difficult to be an American expat. in Canada.

By: unSane

unSane — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:16:28 -0800

Speaking as an English ex-pat now living permanently in Canada, I'd just like to say that almost everything you have heard about Canada/Canadians is entirely true. Canadians are pleasant and friendly. The crime rate is ridiculously low (I live in downtown Toronto and don't worry if I forget to lock my house or car). It is fucking cold in the winter but Canadians like it that way. The beer is excellent. Canadians do not find jokes about beavers particularly funny. Canoeing is a mainstream family activity. Hockey is a religion. Ethnic tension is almost non-existent. (however) The aboriginals are treated like shit. Most Canadians could not give a flying fuck about marijuana or gay marriage so long as their local NHL franchise makes the playoffs. Canadians privately make a LOT of jokes about Americans and consider themselves honorary Europeans. Canadians watch American TV, apart from Corner Gas.

By: unSane

unSane — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:18:11 -0800

Who said those are getting us riled? When Pat Buchannon called us "Soviet Canuckistan" we proudly adopted the term because it was funny. We got hats and shirts made. (That's still my favorite toque). Ha, ha! That is completely true. The more the wingnuts get annoyed, the funnier it is. 'Canuckistan' is indeed used as a term of approval here.

By: raedyn

raedyn — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:40:34 -0800

Canadians watch American TV, apart from Corner Gas. - unSane And Rick Mercer.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:44:18 -0800

*Inhales while saying, "yeah" in agreement with the previous posts*

By: furtive

furtive — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:44:18 -0800

Canadians privately make a LOT of jokes about Americans and consider themselves honorary Europeans. Spot on!

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:54:44 -0800

It's hard out here for a 'nuck. (With much love!)

By: Timberman

Timberman — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:56:25 -0800

As a Canadian who's lived in d'Uhmerka for 20 years, my pet peeve has always been that 99% of merkans don't even know the capital of Canada.

By: aaronetc

aaronetc — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:01:36 -0800

Isn't Detroit the capital of Canada? (Just kidding, I know what it really is. Saska-something, right?)

By: illiad

illiad — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:02:44 -0800

I was recently in New York city. I was introduced to someone who asked me where I was from, and I said "Vancouver." She then asked me, "Is that near Montreal?" Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

By: Gamblor

Gamblor — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:07:11 -0800

...but if comments by Tucker Carlson and Neil Cavuto get them riled... If they're doing something to piss off dishonest, bullying pricks like Carlson and Cavuto, then there's something worth liking about them.

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:10:37 -0800

Canadians privately make a LOT of jokes about Americans and consider themselves honorary Europeans. Yeah to the first one, not so much the second, at least not 'round where I live- oh, you live in Toronto... That explains it. /Spits in unSane's general direction, as per Terms of Citizenship Article #63-3984, or the Everyone Who Doesn't Live in Toronto Must Hate Toronto Act.

By: illiad

illiad — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:12:32 -0800

If they're doing something to piss off dishonest, bullying pricks like Carlson... I recall an interview Carlson did with ex-MP Caroline Parrish on CNN. Tucker was trying his damnedest to goad and bait her (quite rudely I should add) but she either refused to take the bait or she was too oblivious to notice it and just let it pass by. I think that probably incensed Carlson more than Parrish vocally calling Bush a "moron" in earshot of the President.

By: Gamblor

Gamblor — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:14:59 -0800

It is fucking cold in the winter but Canadians like it that way. What choice do they have? I learned as a boy in Wisconsin, when it's winter eight months of the year, you either learn to enjoy cold-weather actities, or you go insane. Canada is fucking cold, alright.

By: illiad

illiad — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:17:57 -0800

Canada is fucking cold, alright. Not for us Vancouverites. :)

By: Gamblor

Gamblor — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:22:20 -0800

Not for us Vancouverites. :) Yeah, count the string bikinis in that picture. "Vancouver: It's practically like being in Rio!" :)

By: gompa

gompa — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:25:14 -0800

The scene: a golf course on an American air force base in Germany. Dramatis personae: me, my dad, and two youngish American airmen paired up with us by the starter. It's about the third or fourth hole. One of the airmen asks if my father and I will be playing in the upcoming father-son tournament. ME: No, that tournament's only open to Americans. AIRMAN: You're not American? ME: No, I'm Canadian. AIRMAN: Oh. [thoughtful pause] Your English is really good. ME: Thanks. Been practising it my whole life. Turns out the guy's sole experience with Canada was one weekend in Montreal. As usual when stuff like this happens, it didn't make me hate Americans. It just made me think that sometimes American insularity is really, really funny.

By: illiad

illiad — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:26:10 -0800

"Vancouver: It's practically like being in Rio!" Touche! :) The string bikinis do come out, although usually only in July and August. Or they come off entirely throughout the summer down at Wreck Beach. Who needs Rio?

By: jon_kill

jon_kill — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:27:01 -0800

To be a North-American but not American. I don't know why any Canadian would mess that up by moving to the states. This sounds like a nice support group for them.

By: GoodJob!

GoodJob! — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:28:12 -0800

Gamblor, I'm not sure if that was Ottawa or Winterpeg. Can you find out? My guess it was Winterpeg. Because you know, "it's 40 below @ Portage and Main" I KNOW the Cdn prairies. A block heater just isn't good enough sometimes, so most people just remove the car's battery and bring it into the house. Problemo solved.

By: jon_kill

jon_kill — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:29:58 -0800

Because you know, "it's 40 below @ Portage and Main" SUMMER DAYS ARE LONG! WINTER DAYS ARE COLD! PORTAGE AND MAIN FIFTEEN BELOW!

By: Gamblor

Gamblor — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:32:54 -0800

Ok, illiad, I've been thinking of relocating to the Pacific Northwest, and the nude beaches sealed the deal for BC. Where can I apply for residency? (I'm polite, don't litter, and like hockey. I think I would fit in well.)

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:35:23 -0800

I don't know why any Canadian would mess that up by moving to the states. Half my university graduating class moved to the US. My sister lives in the US. Why? I think it has something to do with their economy being 11 or 12 times the size of ours. Plus, if you're in a specialized field (I took Computer Engineering), the effective difference is more like 500 times bigger. I will spare myself the embarassment of finding actual data on the relative size of the US vs Canadian software industry. No one wakes up and says "Fuck this Canadian shit, I need me some USA! USA! USA!". Most people just get tired of looking for a job, get a TN visa and move.

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:38:15 -0800

Canadians are pleasant and friendly. The crime rate is ridiculously low As an American living in Canada, I'm always slightly perplexed by the Canadian Idolatry I find. It's a country - it has it's share of jerks, corruption, and crime. Sure, it's got a lot of good things going for it, but in my personal experience, in regards to the above statements, I haven't found it that different from any other country I've lived in. But I'm a little bitter because some drunk or inept thief wrapped the frame of my bike around a pole I had locked it to this morning. That said, this is one of my favorite Daily Show Clips [WMV].

By: jon_kill

jon_kill — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:39:15 -0800

GuyZero, where was your university? If it was in Ontario, I think your sample might be skewed. Anyway, economy isn't a good reason. I'd rather live in a country than a loose grouping of cities and roads.

By: jon_kill

jon_kill — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:39:44 -0800

t has it's share of jerks Look out for Scott, he's a dick!

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:46:42 -0800

"(That's still my favorite toque)" So that's one stereotypical item actually based in fact. *makes a check next to 'toque' in The Book* Tell me, how do you feel about back bacon?

By: raedyn

raedyn — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:47:09 -0800

I KNOW the Cdn prairies. A block heater just isn't good enough sometimes, so most people just remove the car's battery and bring it into the house. Problemo solved. - GoodJob! Uhh... "most people"? Lived my whole life in the Canadian Prairies and I can think of this being done about twice, both times because it was already frozen. Yeah it does get cold. I spent a week in January in Cuba this year and one of our bartenders was wearing a jacket when it got down to 15 C. I was in a bikini and laughed because at home it was -15C which is very WARM for January here. Two years ago on the January day when I moved into my house it was MINUS 54 with the windchill, and somewhere around -40 without the wind. Did anyone mention how Canadians are proud of living though the cold? Bragging about how they went swimming in a outdoor hot tub when it was 40 below and all that.

By: raedyn

raedyn — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:48:44 -0800

It's not like we wear them all the time or anything, but what the hell else do you do when you've got to shovel the walk when it's forty below and windy? Exposed skin can freeze in a minute, so you don't leave anything exposed!

By: raedyn

raedyn — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:49:38 -0800

Errr... my most recent comment was answering mr_crash_davis' comment about toques.

By: raedyn

raedyn — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:50:16 -0800

I have yet to taste bacon I didn't like.

By: illiad

illiad — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:50:42 -0800

Did anyone mention how Canadians are proud of living though the cold? Bragging about how they went swimming in a outdoor hot tub when it was 40 below and all that. We can be kind of retarded that way.

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:50:52 -0800

D'oh - I think I screwed up the Daily Show link. Try this one.

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:53:55 -0800

Who said those are getting us riled? When Pat Buchannon called us "Soviet Canuckistan" we proudly adopted the term because it was funny. We got hats and shirts made. (That's still my favorite toque Yes, a pretty good-humored people ... for me to poop on.

By: orange swan

orange swan — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 09:53:57 -0800

The crime rate is ridiculously low (I live in downtown Toronto and don't worry if I forget to lock my house or car). My North York apartment was burgled two days ago. Lock your damn door, unSane.

By: GoodJob!

GoodJob! — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:01:55 -0800

Raedyn, try living in Cold Lake, Alberta for a few winters. You'll get used to bringing the car battery into the house as easily as shutting off the car's headlights. BTW, I'm one of those Canadians who gets chilly if the temp drops below 70 f, so I just can't relate to your Cuba story. But man, then I moved to NY state. Wow-- I really escaped the cold, didn't I? I'm no fool.

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:19:03 -0800

Oh yeah?!? Well, try living in... [Shitty climate one-upmanship: A Canadian tradition since 1867.]

By: gompa

gompa — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:19:20 -0800

Cold Lake, Alberta Man, there's a place name I never thought I'd see on MeFi. I spent five long hard winters there. (You a fellow base brat, GoodJob!?) My favourite memories of (CFB) Cold Lake are of playing shinny in balaclavas and two layers of longjohns with ski-glove inserts under the hockey gloves, and of listening to the radio each morning to hear how long it would take exposed flesh to freeze that day. Also of hitch-hiking into Grand Centre to play videogames. On the plus side, I'll probably never again see the Aurora Borealis light up so vividly in that "icy sky at night" Neil Young sang about - it was like an undulating holographic Monet.

By: chrominance

chrominance — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:20:14 -0800

if comments by Tucker Carlson and Neil Cavuto get them riled, then they deserved to be ridiculed. Who takes those twerps seriously? Apparently, half of America.

By: solid-one-love

solid-one-love — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:23:00 -0800

My North York apartment was burgled two days ago. My toolshed was burgled three weeks ago (Vancouver). And while, as a lifelong BC resident, I've never understood the whole "Canada is cold" thing, it's two weeks until spring and it's snowing pretty heavily outside my window.

By: gompa

gompa — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:24:13 -0800

(Also, for the record, we used to just plug in the block heaters in our corner of Cold Lake. And even my parents' second car - a creaking tinfoil fartbox of a Dodge Omni - started on most days.)

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:25:41 -0800

Can. A. Da? That's....north, right?

By: GoodJob!

GoodJob! — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:26:09 -0800

Yes, gompa, I'm a fellow CFB brat, so I have to say I was held there against my will. :-)

By: generichuman

generichuman — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:30:32 -0800

Cold Lake, Alberta Ha, posting this thread was worth it just for that. I lived there when I was kid - Esso Brat. I remember going to and from the school bus with a flashlight because it was still dark, and it being so cold that the ice on the lake was "singing" Not to mention, CF-18's screaming overhead as the pilot's way of saying "Honey, I'll be home in a bit," to the neighbourhood families.

By: gompa

gompa — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:33:31 -0800

CF-18's screaming overhead as the pilot's way of saying "Honey, I'll be home in a bit," to the neighbourhood families Might've been my dad on a couple of occasions. Ye gods, ColdLakeFilter - never thought I'd see such a thing.

By: generichuman

generichuman — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:36:03 -0800

Cold Lake Public and Nelson Heights, represent?

By: mike3k

mike3k — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 10:43:35 -0800

It is fucking cold in the winter but Canadians like it that way. Not everywhere. I was in Vancouver last January and I found the temperature very mild & pleasant, reaching 50 most days. Unfortunately it rained most of the time. I'm from Florida, yet I could see myself living in Vancouver. After one visit it's now one of my favorite places. It reminds me a lot of Seattle or San Francisco.

By: Captaintripps

Captaintripps — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 11:43:05 -0800

All about Canada.

By: GoodJob!

GoodJob! — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 11:50:57 -0800

Wreck Beach. Try the electric jello, if so inclined.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 12:11:36 -0800

When I lived in France we'd identify other candians by humming the Hockey Night in Canada theme and seeing who turned their heads and started humming with us.... Ahh, memories...

By: stinkycheese

stinkycheese — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 12:20:58 -0800

Every year, about the end of February, I think, "this is insane, people were never meant to live in places this cold, I have to move to BC this year", and so on. And then, as soon as it starts to get warm and everything melts, I forget about it all until next February. And I live in Southern Ontario.

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 12:21:26 -0800

posted by beelzbubba As far as Canadian ex-pats go--how can we ever forgive them for sending us Paul Schaeffer and Jim Carrey? At least solid-one-love isn't over here, using up the US supply of cheeseburgers.

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 12:24:39 -0800

gompa writes "And even my parents' second car - a creaking tinfoil fartbox of a Dodge Omni - started on most days." Of course it did, it was a dodge. Dodge: Rusted but reliable to 50[1] below. beelzbubba writes "but if comments by Tucker Carlson and Neil Cavuto get them riled, then they deserved to be ridiculed. Who takes those twerps seriously?" Nobody, we think it's hilarious when they call us obviously uniformed names. Alvy Ampersand writes "Everyone Who Doesn't Live in Toronto Must Hate Toronto Act." That's an Act?! I thought it was just common sense. [1] Which 50? First one, then the other.

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 12:34:27 -0800

"I got nothing against the Canadian people but in the last few years you've swung dramatically to the left, and we in America have some questions about that." - Fox News host Bill O'Reilly on Canada, May 2004. I mean how can you not laugh at this ignorant fool?

By: WinnipegDragon

WinnipegDragon — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 13:00:14 -0800

GoodJob! Speaking as a Winnipeger, I have never seen a battery brought indoors. Cold Lake I could see, but not down here.

By: I, Credulous

I, Credulous — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 14:01:59 -0800

I feel obliged to defend toronto, my home for the last 16 years (born and raised in Niagara Falls, ON [the side with the pretty parks and the view]): In my 16 years here (and frequent visits before that) I've only witnessed one act of violence (a Goth guy got sick of a homeless man pestering him for change and gave the guy a shove, breaking the open beer bottle he was holding in his coat pocket), and we recently had our car stereo stolen from our locked car in our driveway (I live in East York). That's it. But even with our rising crime and murder rate here, our annual totals look like just a bad weekend in DC, don't they?

By: amberglow

amberglow — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 14:06:08 -0800

As a Canadian who's lived in d'Uhmerka for 20 years, my pet peeve has always been that 99% of merkans don't even know the capital of Canada. I was actually there in January : > What we're going to be needing pretty soon is an underground railroad to get us up there--can you guys get on that, please?

By: imaswinger

imaswinger — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 14:20:36 -0800

you'll just have to head a little west... http://www.dea.gov/pubs/pressrel/pr072105.html

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 14:30:34 -0800

WinnipegDragon writes "I have never seen a battery brought indoors" I brought one in doors, but just so no one would steal it. The hood on the 4X4 I'm not driving right now doesn't lock and is parked in the alley on the other side of my fence. I thought it was a bit to tempting of a target.

By: bwg

bwg — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 15:39:10 -0800

There's Cold Lake, and then there's Yellowknife. After -60, -40 feels like a Spring day -- according to friends who lived there. I don't miss the cold, but I still find Hong Kong summers too damned hot.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 15:58:50 -0800

99% of merkans don't even know the capital of Canada Sheesh. Everybody knows it's Canada City.

By: Deep Dish

Deep Dish — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 16:12:31 -0800

Canadians privately make a LOT of jokes about Americans and consider themselves honorary Europeans. I am Canadian but I have lived abroad also. One Canadian trait I noticed was that British Imperial History is held in high regard by Canadians. Maybe because our country largely received its identity in those days - the Boer War, WWI, 1812, are all big in terms of Canadian identity (even when people can't actually tell you about those events) and at least in the West - Queen Victoria is considered our "founder" (Regina, Victoria, Alberta, Prince Albert - all names related to Queen Victoria). I've noticed Brits could care less and South Africans seem to find it kind of archaic. Not sure about the rest of the Anglosphere.

By: lunalaguna

lunalaguna — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 16:36:52 -0800

What about the stupid misconceptions that Americans have about other Americans? You know how hard it is to be a Texan anywhere outside of Texas? Hell, it's hard for me to be a well-educated, liberal in my own state. There are many Americans who genuinely believe that Texans are all riding horses down here, across a vast desert. I grew up in swamplands, for chrissakes. Also, to all the Canadians who get all pissy because Americans don't know your frickin' geography or national history, we have 50 states (!) to worry about on top of European history. I mean, I had to take Texas history every other year until I was in 7th grade. It's just too much...you have to prioritize a little, you know?

By: amberglow

amberglow — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:51:54 -0800

for real, luna? We never had any New York history at all--no one gave a shit. Do other states do that? It's such a waste.

By: mk1gti

mk1gti — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 20:26:43 -0800

"Vancouver: It's practically like being in Rio!" Touche! :) The string bikinis do come out, although usually only in July and August. Or they come off entirely throughout the summer down at Wreck Beach. Who needs Rio? posted by illiad at 9:26 AM -------------------------------------- Every summer in late July early August I head up to Vancouver for about a week (I need the civilization) Most of that time is spent out at Wreck Beach (so very, very civilized). The first time I went there I was about to leave because I was thirsty and hadn't brought anything to drink. Then I looked down the beach to see. . . a beautiful and deeply tanned auburn-haired cutey swaying towards me carrying a tray full of mai-tais wearing nothing but a change purse. I'm afraid I ended up with the most complete sunburn of my entire life that day. Bathing in Aloe Vera gel for two weeks afterward was worth it. Now I am sure to bring my sunscreen. As far as running into fellow 'muricans when I'm up there? I smile at them, glance down at my watch quickly and make some excuse for being late then head off to hang with my Vancouver homeys. And hell yes I'm thinking of expatriating, wouldn't you?

By: unrepentanthippie

unrepentanthippie — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 04:51:16 -0800

I talk to people all over both countries, and I love Canadians. Taken as a group, they're smart and polite, often funny, and fiercely independent. Funniest Canadian story: From up around Yellowknife, a young lady told me how they receive their supplies. "The pilot radios in when he's about 10 minutes out, we all put on our coats and run out to the parking lot, he opens the door at 50 feet and they kick the boxes out the door, and we run out to get the perishables before they freeze." Funniest American story: I had to conference in some lady from down south to call Canada, after she spent some time worrying on my phone that "I sure hope I can find someone who speaks English up there." Repeated assurances that calling Alberta was not going to be a problem did not cut it, so I offered to go along for the call, "to translate." (My French consists of, "Bonjour, do you speak English?" So far, that's always been all I needed.)

By: raedyn

raedyn — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 11:55:28 -0800

Another thing to brag about. Go Team Canada!

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 12:11:03 -0800

It's not cold in the Okanagan, either. And while the higher hills around here have a thin skiff of snow from an inappropriate bit of weather this week, there's not a speck of snow down in the valley, and I've got all sorts of green things poking through the soil.