Let me first begin with an apology, as us Canadians are famously known to do. If you are a Canadian, an American, or a student from somewhere else, welcome to this article, dedicated to all the northerners back home.
I am currently a freshman enrolled at UHM, originally from the West Coast of Canada and I’m here to tell you about what it’s like being a Canadian in the U.S.
For starters, as a Canuck, I’ve had to make some adjustments to the language I use when talking about everyday things with my newfound American friends. A “touque” is called a beanie, there are no loonies or toonies, but rather dollar bills.
And daily coffee runs are now to Starbucks, not Tim Hortans for a “double-double” (an extremely Canadian way of saying coffee with two creams and two sugars).
Not to mention how we love to add extra “u’s” to words like colour, cheque, and honour. While these all may seem like small changes, I realized just how much I missed them when I went home for Winter Break and came back to Hawaii with multiple travel-sized containers of maple syrup stashed in my carry-on.
Stereotypes aside, there really are some strikingly different aspects to life in America compared to in Canada. For example, we have a Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau as well as a Queen since we are a part of what is known as the Commonwealth.
As for artists and athletes, us Canadians have been making a name for ourselves in the music industry too, with performers such as Drake, Nelly Furtado, Michael Buble, even throwing it back to our middle school days with Avril Lavigne. These are only a few of who we have to offer! And of course how could we ever forget our most famous hockey export – and arguably the best player to have ever skated – Wayne Gretzky.
Now for the facts: If you clicked on this article wanting to know more about Canada, here’s your chance. Canada’s national animal is a beaver, although we pretend that hockey is our number one sport it’s actually (officially) lacrosse, and no, we don’t live in igloos or drive to school in Zambonis (at lease not year-round).
Our official second language is French, and our Mounties really do wear those red uniforms including the hats.
We use “Celsius” for our weather, and although we sometimes partake in the Black Friday shopping frenzy, our main sales blowout is called Boxing day, the day after Christmas. We celebrate Canada Day on July 1st, and as of this summer Canada will officially be 151 years old!
While there are many differences between Canada and the U.S., we also share many things in common with our American neighbours. We too drive on the right side of the road (unlike those Brits across the pond), we share the same time zones, and call post-secondary school university or college. Without our differences we would have nothing to talk about, and without our similarities we would have nothing in common. So here’s a shout-out to both countries for what they offer, and for their unique roles in this special relationship!