Americans and Canadians culture Q&A Thread.

[ronandannette]

This one went exactly how I expected it would.

I'd be interested to see a similar one between our American DIS'ers and the UK/European contingent but maybe there's not enough superficial similarities to be able to make the comparisons?

 

[SirDuff]

I'd be interested to see a similar one between our American DIS'ers and the UK/European contingent but maybe there's not enough superficial similarities to be able to make the comparisons?

Not posting this to debate the question (or if it should have been in a textbook), but I found it interesting that at history textbook for students in the UK would include this much depth about Native Americans.

An A-level history textbook has been withdrawn after a youth worker said she was "horrified" to discover an image asking whether the treatment of Native Americans had been exaggerated.

https://www.bbc.com/news/education-59024961

 

[prairie_girl]

I can't refute your experience, which is horrible ( sorry, eh) but I simply DO NOT BELIEVE you are being confronted like that "very often" anywhere in Canada. There's certainly bigotry amongst us toward one another from many directions ("Left-coasters", Albertans, the 416/905, Newfies, Quebekkers) to name a few. I find it interesting that this thread began as a discussion of cultural diversity which is ubiquitous in Canada and generally respected and celebrated. It doesn't matter here what colour you are or where you came from but where you now live can put you in the cross-hairs.

ETA: Now that I'm re-reading it, I'm also super-curious about why a random mean Canadian woman would have had a $100 UDS to accost you with but I digress...

I’ll take things that didn’t happen, for $600 Alex.

 

[ronandannette]

Not posting this to debate the question (or if it should have been in a textbook), but I found it interesting that at history textbook for students in the UK would include this much depth about Native Americans.

https://www.bbc.com/news/education-59024961

I don't know a ton about how American native peoples were treated, outside what was depicted in movies. It is undoubtedly true though that with the residential school tragedies recently brought to light, we here in Canada, much less the rest of the world, are certainly lacking knowledge about our own dark history.

 

[ronandannette]

On a much lighter note, and going back to the question about different terms for things, the current thread about what you ate for school lunches reminds me of this one:
America = lunch box
Canada = lunch kit

 

[michellev]

On a much lighter note, and going back to the question about different terms for things, the current thread about what you ate for school lunches reminds me of this one:
America = lunch box
Canada = lunch kit

I'm in the Toronto area and we say lunch box. I have never heard lunch kit.

 

[ronandannette]

I'm in the Toronto area and we say lunch box. I have never heard lunch kit.

Ah, there's the 905 chiming in... (I kid, I kid ).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

On a much lighter note, and going back to the question about different terms for things, the current thread about what you ate for school lunches reminds me of this one:
America = lunch box
Canada = lunch kit

I didn't really know anyone who said lunch box I mean yes that's a very common term but most of us kids either said brown bag (because normally it was actually in a brown paper bag) or a lunch bag. Even now as adults my husband will bring his lunch to work and he's calling it a lunch bag not box and what we consider a bag is more often soft-sided sometimes cooler style looking and function. Most people probably think of lunch boxes like an actual box like a metal one.

 

[Disneylover99]

I'm in the Toronto area and we say lunch box. I have never heard lunch kit.

I’m also in the Toronto area. Never heard of lunch kit. We call it a lunch bag.

 

[SirDuff]

I'm in the Toronto area and we say lunch box. I have never heard lunch kit.

Nor have I. If I heard “lunch kit”, I’d think of something like those Lunchables (may have the name wrong) that all crackers, meat, cheese, etc. in a box - a “kit” for lunch.

We’d use lunch box (if it was a box) or lunch bag (if it was a bag).

 

[CdnCarrie]

Lunch box here.
Mine was bionic woman.

 

[ford family]

I'd be interested to see a similar one between our American DIS'ers and the UK/European contingent but maybe there's not enough superficial similarities to be able to make the comparisons?

Colour me confused!
Is being culturally dis-similar a good thing?
In the UK some of us certainly feel closer to our Canadian, Aussie and Kiwi cousins than to Americans generally.
But, on the other hand, we often feel closer to Americans than we do to many of our European neighbours!

ford family

 

[CdnCarrie]

This is a very odd thread. Supposedly I hate America, all Americans don’t care care about a (not diverse) Canada and we’re refighting the War of 1812.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I was waiting for the mention of “maple leaf symbols placed on luggage so as not to be mistaken for Americans” to be brought up as it has in the past on these threads. Did I miss it?

 

[CdnCarrie]

I was waiting for the mention of “maple leaf symbols placed on luggage so as not to be mistaken for Americans” to be brought up as it has in the past on these threads. Did I miss it?

Wouldn’t that reinforce the rumour that we all hate America?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Wouldn’t that reinforce the rumour that we all hate America?

That was the thing that stuck with me. Someone brought it up, otherwise I wouldn’t have known.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Or a Canadian who moved as an adult to the US as well. These experiences would interest me. Much like Carrie and Kim on this thread, I have found that Canadians love to make little disparaging remarks to Americans, and about the French in Quebec. There is a lot of interest in general about the USA, and that fact that it’s not reciprocal seems to be a hurting point for many Canadians. Americans just don't care.

What exactly do you want to know? My life has been split pretty close to 50/50, with the first half, including working, spent in Canada, and the second half, living and traveling within the US.

I'm not exactly sure where you get the impression (if I am reading this right), that you feel like Canadians are hurt by the fact that Americans take little to no interest in them. I'm going to step out on a limb and attempt to speak on behalf of ALL CANADIANS and say, "We really and truly don't care that you don't care!" Making comments like this just feeds into the American stereotype. If we (Canadians) talk about how we learn about the US, but then you hear us bemoan the fact that Americans don't learn about their northern neighbours, it is NOT because our feelings are hurt. It is more so that we are incredulous that a country could be so self-absorbed, that they give little thought to any place outside of their own borders, even for places that directly impact their lives. The fact that Americans know very little about Canada is actually the basis for much comedy amongst Canadians. We often follow things going on in the US, such as politics and healthcare, simply because they seem absolutely bonkers from our point of view (and trust me when I say that we have our own brand of crazy politics at times). We probe and ask questions to gain understanding because it is like exploring an exotic zoo exhibit. The responses we receive will then become the subject of coffee row talk and legend, like, "My brother-in-law works at the border and he said they had Americans driving up to Canada with skis on the top of their car in July expecting to go skiing because Canada is a snowy wonderland year round."

Now, I will walk this back a bit and say that I can remember ONE time where Canadians that I spoke to felt hurt that America forgot or failed to mention them, and that was after 9/11, when more than 30,000 travelers were routed to and cared for in Canada. President Bush, in his speech on Sept. 20, thanked nations from all over the world, listing a number of them off specifically, like Japan and Iran, while completely neglecting to mention Canada's aid. He later thanked Canada in 2004!!! I have since read an article on the National Post, "Why Bush didn't mention Canada in his 9/20 speech?" The reason given? “We just … forgot.” The response to that oversight was...harsh.

On another note:

Canada = lunch kit

I'm from Saskatachewan and we used the term "lunch kit" as well.

 

[CdnCarrie]

One funny recent story lately is I’ve been chatting with our new neighbour. She had a strange accent that was almost a Southern drawl. I just couldn’t place it.
About 2 weeks ago she friended me on Facebook and she’s a Newfie!
I should have recognized a Newfie accent! Sure reminds me of a southern one. Anyone notice a similarity between the 2 accents before?

 

[declansdad]

I'm in the Toronto area and we say lunch box. I have never heard lunch kit.

Never heard of lunch kit in the East. Lunch box when I was a kid, more likely to hear lunch bag now.

One funny recent story lately is I’ve been chatting with our new neighbour. She had a strange accent that was almost a Southern drawl. I just couldn’t place it.
About 2 weeks ago she friended me on Facebook and she’s a Newfie!
I should have recognized a Newfie accent! Sure reminds me of a southern one. Anyone notice a similarity between the 2 accents before?

I would equate it to more like an Irish accent than a Southern accent. I have friends with both and they don't sound anything alike.

 

[SirDuff]

I would equate it to more like an Irish accent than a Southern accent. I have friends with both and they don't sound anything alike.

Yes, definitely Irish/Gaelic to my ears. Not Southern US.

Aso, a lot of different words/sayings.

« Welcome to Rock if you come from away. Youl probably understand about a half of what we say ».