What's Different In Canada?

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What’s Different in Canada?

They speak with an accent. The “ou—“ sound in “out” is a quick little dipthong—ah-oo. Ah-oo-t and ah-bah-oot (about), etc. It’s amazing how many words have that sound in them, and how often people say “out” so that I keep being reminded I’m in a foreign country. They also very slightly burr their r’s. Rrregal. The “i” like in “night” is a bit close-throated—ah-ye. They say, “Nice day, in-nit?” The combination sounds a bit Scottish, a bit US Midwestern. Some have stronger accents than others.

Restrooms/bathrooms are called “washrooms.” Center dividers in the road are called “barriers.”

Left turns are difficult because there are not many left turn lanes. If you are heading one direction on a two or three lane road, and you want to go to the left, sometimes you have to “Follow the U-Turn Route.” That means you turn right into a parking lot or other turning place and then you have to make a left turn from there. The Canadians are very brave about making those turns in traffic. I wait and wait.

Their cars and pickups and SUVs are the same. But no one has a bumpersticker. Shoes are a little different too.

Some people fly Canadian flags from their porches; a few from their cars. I wonder if it means the same thing here vis-à-vis Canada as flying the US flag does vis-à-vis “America” in the states? That is, does it mean that there’s at least a 50% chance that the flag-flyer is an asshole?

Out here in the boonies, the Canadian “country,” Kamloops, there’s country music on the radio but no religion. No Bible study, no praise music, no smooth-talking unswervingly confident inevitably male preachers. I sort of miss radio religion, since I always catch up on my fundamentalism when I’m on vacation.

I have seen no black people. There are plenty of Asians, many prosperous-looking, on vacation, and lots of First Nationals in certain places, not so prosperous-looking, and a few east Indians, who have owned two of the motels where I’ve stayed. Lots of people speaking French, especially tourists on Vancouver Island. French speakers are almost universally skinny.

On Vancouver Island, almost no one is fat. Here, inland, there’s more pudge, but still not to the US level.

McDonald’s is ubiquitous. Also Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, A&W Root Beer and Dairy Queen. I’ve only seen a couple of Starbucks and two Walmarts. But some pure Canadiana, like “Tim Horton’s”. I also discovered, driving into Kamloops, that the “Home” restaurant is a chain. In the grocery stores, products are advertised as “home-grown” or “made entirely in Canada.” I think they somewhat resent their southern neighbor.

People are mostly very nice. I like them.

JACKIE: One other difference I noted. Here’s a picture of a lake I passed today. It was named “Yellow Lake.” I guess even colors are different in Canada.

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Photos

cold day in southern Canada
I drove from Hope to Keremeos then north to Penticton, then northwest to Kamloops. It was cold and wet today.

new snow in mtns
There was new snow in some of the mtns west of Keremeos. That would be the Cascades.

Lake Okanagon
Famous in Canada for sunny warm summers. People were camped along its shores but no one was swimming today. It was 53 degrees.

Yellow Lake
Canadian yellow peas are what I'd call yellow. But this lake I would not.

Comments

[jackie t. joday]

water water water
Cindy, thanks for these gorgeous water pictures.................of many different colors! I love the aqua water most of all.......it seems like the "real"water. Makes me think of the streams out of Cordova. I laughed out loud at your postings on Canada and Canadians today, and am glad to be reading your writing again. Especially because I have a summer cold, and while I'm not sick sick, I'm all stuffy and achy...............so the Internet is my company, and your blog is the most interesting thing out there!