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It has been 5 months since I moved to Canada. To beautiful Vancouver, city surrounded by mountains and ocean. City full of unlimited opportunities. City where I try to learn as much as possible about Canada. Although sometimes it is very difficult as Vancouver is a very cosmopolitan city with many people from different countries living together. However, thanks to my job in a restaurant where most of my managers and colleagues come from Canada as well as our customers, I had a chance to learn something about Canadian culture and its people. I have summarized 7 facts about Canada (or Canadians) that you probably didn´t know.
Fact n. 1 – Extremely polite and nice Canadians
Canadians made a great first impression on me. Since the day one, I started meeting very nice and friendly people. Everyone always smiling. Everyone here has a tendency to apologize a lot or praise you for your good work. Canadians are super polite and well behaved. You can observe it in everyday life situations but probably the best example is a ride in a local bus. Everyone getting on a bus always says HI to the driver and while getting off a bus through the back door, everyone yells: “Thaaanks”. It´s a super nice gesture.
Of course there might be some exceptions, as everywhere are, but most Canadians I know seem to be super polite and nice. 🙂
Fact n. 2 – Well behaved drivers
Canadians are unbelievably polite and well behaved drivers. They always stop at pedestrian crossing and even at parts of road where no official crossings are. They never honk, don´t get angry (or at least they pretend not to). It was never easier and safer for me to cross a road from one side to another than here in Canada. Especially after my crazy travel experiences through Asia or Latin America.
Fact n. 3 – It´s not easy with alcohol in Canada
Did you know that in Canada you can buy alcohol only in specific shops? Not in any shop with grocery? Yeah. When you are preparing yourself for a party weekend and you need to buy some booze, you have to head to so called “liquor shops” where you can buy only alcohol. The official age permitting drinking alcohol in Canada is 19. Sellers at liquor shops ask young people to show them at least 2 pieces of valid ID.
Fact n. 4 – Marihuana is on each corner
Although marihuana is still not officially legalized in Canada (is about to), you can easily get it from various “marihuana shops” where a vendor will explain you different kinds of weed they have and what is their favourite. It is forbidden to smoke cigarettes on almost every public place such as beach, bus stops, restaurants, etc … However, you can freely smoke marihuana on those places. There are even some bars where they allow you smoke weed. Isn´t it crazy how liberal Canada is about this matter?
Fact n. 5 – Every restaurant has its own hostess
As this matter might be common in many countries, it is definitely not common in Slovakia. In Canada almost every bar and restaurant has a nice, friendly hostess who will seat customers upon their request. And after that a server will take his/her part. For me it is a nice gesture and would appreciate it in my country as well.
Fact n. 6 – Services are highly appreciated
In Slovakia it is not very common to tip a server in a restaurant. And if someone does, it is not usually a lot. However, here in Canada services are highly appreciated by Canadians and most servers get between 10 and 20% tip out of the whole bill. And when I speak about services, I don´t mean only people working in restaurants and bars. Canadians gladly leave tips for masseurs, hairdressers, cosmeticians, etc … Besides that they always say HI and THANKS.
Fact n. 7 – Asians on each corner
As I have already mentioned, Canada and especially Vancouver are very cosmopolitan. People of various nationalities are living here. However, very high percentage of people living in Vancouver are ASIANS. There are on each corner literally. And not only tourists, but also expats living here. Or even Asians with Canadian nationality. How is that? In 1990s, Hong Kong who was under the rule of the UK was about to become an official part of communist China. People living in Hong Kong feared of such transition, therefore, they started to move to countries of Commonwealth. And Canada is one of such. That is one of the reasons why there are so many Asians living in Canada. So since 1990s many people from Hong Kong moved to Vancouver, settled down, started their families and business and never thought of moving out. Why would they? Life here is nice. 🙂
So dear MiliMundo readers, what do you say about these facts of Canada(ians)? Do you agree or disagree? Feel free to leave some comments below.
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