Posts Tagged "canada"

Who says America is the most unhealthy? This is how Canadians roll..

Posted by Alex on 6 Nov, 2010 in My Stream | 0 comments

Reverse culture shock – Ten observations of a Canadian Brit visiting the UK

Posted by Alex on 13 Sep, 2010 in Articles | 0 comments

 

I spent last week in the UK (for the HCI 2010 conference) and having spent a year and a half in Canada, for the first time I felt something of a stranger in my own homeland. Here are my top ten observations from the week of the cultural differences I observed:

 

1. When in a car driving on the left, it felt really wrong – like we should be on the other side of the road – especially when turning!

 

2. I found myself asking the driver to open the boot (trunk) – because in Canada you can’t open the boot from outside, you need to pull the lever down by the driver’s seat.

 

3. When buying products, I expected things to cost more than their displayed prices when I got to the till – because I’ve got used to tax not being included.

 

4. The prices seemed really small due to them being in pounds not dollars. What was really weird was I found myself converting pounds to dollars to understand how much they cost – but yet I still convert dollar prices to pounds in Canada to understand them!

 

5. I felt guilty when leaving no tip at a bar or when paying for a meal – I’ve obviously got used to Canadian compulsory tipping. Found it even stranger there’s not even a line to add a gratuity on the receipt when paying by Mastercard.

 

6. I felt like a second-class citizen when trying to pay with my Canadian Mastercard. It has no Chip & PIN, and the idea of a credit card without Chip & PIN is pretty unheard of in UK.. Most places won’t accept it, and I actually was told to use an alternative means some times! Funnily enough they are just rolling out Chip & PIN in Canada, so things should improve soon. I wondered if I would have got more acceptance of my foreign card if I had put on a non-British accent!

 

7. I was able to hear the British accent as a distinct accent, my ears have obviously tuned in to Canadian as a baseline.

 

8. It seemed really strange to be wandering around town after work, 5.15pm – and all the shops were shut. I’ve got used to late night shopping being an option most nights.

 

9. Answering the question “Where are you from?” proved most confusing. Well I’m from the UK, but I’m also from Canada. Depends on the timeframe for the question!

 

10. I suddenly found myself using SMS again. Hadn’t realised how little it is used in Canada vs the UK (email being the preferred instant contact in the US & Canada, given the Blackberry revolution)

Our neighbour’s cat finds all sorts of places to hang out in our apartment…

Posted by Alex on 28 Jul, 2010 in Lifenotes | 0 comments

It being summer we tend to have the back door open and next door’s
cat, which we have christened Smokey since we don’t know her real
name, just loves to wander in and make herself at home. She loves to
come and rub against our legs or get a bit of attention. I guess when
the owner is out. I suppose for a cat, they just see it as all one
home, they probably don’t distinguish between apartments!

Makes me want a cat of my own. Still, I suppose we kind of have one
now, without any of the hassles of looking after it!

See the full gallery on Posterous

A big sink-hole opened up on Rue St Catherine yesterday – Now that’s unexpected!

Posted by Alex on 9 Jun, 2010 in My Stream | 0 comments

This is totally bizarre. The main shopping street in Montreal had a
big hole open up yesterday. Apparently some guy in a Volvo almost fell
in, car and all!

Now they are sucking out the water from the burst water main, and I
gather some sewage too. Lovely.

Update: Now they’re sending a scuba diver down! Even more bizarre!

Why this obsession with voided cheques? Do they think Canadians are too stupid to know their own branch and account number?

Posted by Alex on 26 May, 2010 in My Stream | 0 comments