I am your neighbor to the north

In case you didn't know, I moved to Canada three weeks ago. (If you didn't know that, who are you? Why are you reading my blog?) I am now an American abroad. As my fellow postdoc ironically points out, we're Obama dodgers. Obviously, that was neither of our intentions. It's a very exciting time to be an American. And actually, it's probably a much better time to be an American in foreign lands...

And Canada, despite its proximity, is definitely a foreign country. I needed my passport to get here, my passport to get a cell phone (I got sent home to fetch it when I tried using my California driver's license as ID), and my passport to open a bank account. I kind of wonder if my US driver's license will allow me to buy alcohol, but since drinking age is 19 here, it's unlikely to come up... But, oh yeah, I'm 17... ;)

A lot of things are different about Canada. I'm working on a list of strange Canadian things to regale you with. Here's what I have so far:

• Canadians talk funny. We all knew that already. They really do say "eh" a lot. Also "fair enough", which has to be the runner up catch phrase, at least here in Victoria. It's hard because they sound mostly like Americans, and then they say something like "aboot" (instead of about), and I giggle on the inside. It's hard to pay attention when you're giggling on the inside... Of course, it goes both ways. They all think we talk funny too. I've been treated to quite a few American impersonations since I've moved up here. They're all very similar, all very badly done southern accents. Apparently all Americans are from the south. (I suppose that's true from the Canadian perspective. Fair enough :D) I usually respond with my own version of a southern accent, which is much, much better than theirs. They love it! I've gotten a lot of requests for more. Maybe I really should start talking like that!
• Synchronized swimming. The subject of mockery in the US, bizarrely popular in Canada.
• Post-dated cheques. This one's really weird. For things with recurring payments such as rent, ballet tuition, etc., Canadians prefer that you write out a year's worth of cheques in advance, and post-date each one to the appropriate month. The idea makes me very uncomfortable, so I've managed to get out of it so far. I assured my landlord that I would in fact remember to pay my rent every month...
  
• French. Canada is definitely a bilingual country. It's not just Quebec. (Though perhaps Quebec is monolingual. It was interesting reading through some of the immigration information before I moved up here. Apparently to move to Quebec you not only have to be let into the country, but you must receive special permission to be allowed into the province. Fortunately British Columbia isn't so selective!) It seems that many government workers are required to be bilingual. The receptionist where I work is French Canadian, and I've gotten a few emails about my application status cc'ed to me that were largely in French.
• French Canadian Radio. Ok, this isn't so much strange as AWESOME. My favorite radio station here by far is a French Canadian station. It's a community radio station, so it basically has everything. And all in French! There's French pop music, French alternative music, French rock, French ballads, Franch club music, French disco, French 80s music, French punk music, French country music, French bluegrass music, French reggae, French ska, French big band, French French music, French Irish music (seriously, I couldn't make that up!), French rap, French children's music, French story time, Opera (ok, that isn't necessarily in French)... And that's just all that I've managed to hear so far. I'm sure there's more! Ok, you're right, it's very, very strange. But very, very awesome! Let's see if I can learn French just by listening to it! (Of course, if that does happen I'll probably have to find a new radio station to listen to. So much music is so much better when you have no idea what they're saying!)
  
• Nomenclature. I guess this should probably be in the they talk funny heading, but I'm trying to pad my list :). They mostly use the same words for things that we do, except they call leotards "body suits". Weird. And, to me at least, a little bit creepy.
• Traffic lights. The green lights flash here. Sometimes, but not always. I haven't yet figured out why. I wondered at first if it's to indicate that it's going to change soon, but there are yellow lights for that. Hmm.
• Cheese. The cheese tastes funny here. Maybe the cows have a different diet. Maybe there are different processing regulations. Maybe those California Dairy Board advertisements ("It's the cheese." "Good cheese comes from happy cows; happy cows come from California.") are actually true. (Maybe the cows are unhappy here?) Maybe it's just me... So far I've had parmesan, and it's definitely different. Next week I'll try Canadian cheddar and see how it compares. I think I might get some of those laughing cow cheese cubes too. That should be a good way to control for the happy cow effect :D.
  
• More nomenclature. Oh yeah, the cheese thing reminded me: Soy milk isn't soy milk here. Milk only comes from cows. So I now buy "soy beverage" for my cereal and my coffee.
• Quitting time. People stop working very early here. The evening rush hour is at 4. I, of course, am backwards. When I lived in California, I left work at 4, while everyone else stayed later. Here, everyone else leaves work at 4, and I stay later. Sadly, I'm still coming in to work at the same time as I did before (too early). Ah, the life of a postdoc...
• The currency. Especially the $1 and $2 coins. I'm not used to change being worth anything. I'm going to have to start carrying it around!
• False grandeur. Victoria is very beautiful. There's a lot of real grandeur here, both natural and man-made. But there's also some posturing, perhaps attempts to live up to the general loveliness. For example, there are crystal chandeliers in the McDonald's downtown. (I see them through the windows as I drive past to ballet; I don't go to McDonald's.) And some people speak with fake British accents...
  

I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of it right now. I'll add more as I remember/encounter it. Such excitement!

I'll leave you now with a picture of me with America at my back. :D (Those mountains on the horizon are Washington's Olympic Peninsula. The photographer was a log, hence the crookedness...) You can see more pictures of my Canadian exploits here.