Canadian Expatriates: The Expat Blog: Canada 101

An Invitation from Foreign Affairs Canada

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Canadian Expatriates, its contributors, and readers have been invited by Foreign Affairs Canada to participate in a series of eDiscussions. The current topic is “Showcasing Canadian Culture and Know-How Abroad”.

We are asked to consider the following questions:

What role does Canadian culture and know-how play in our foreign policy?

How might the government best promote Canadian talent and expertise in the world?

The eDiscussion runs from April 4 to May 6, 2005. At its conclusion, a summary of the discussion will be sent to senior policy planners.

The Expat admin team encourages its readers to join in the eDiscussion at the Canadian International Policy website.

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Call for Contributors

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The administration team is currently searching for Canadian expatriates who would be interested in contributing to the Expat Blog. The subject matter is wide open, but must remain family friendly.

If you are interested in joining our blogging team, please send an email our way!

Thank you!

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Friday, August 26, 2005

Canada 101
by Expat

Living abroad, one sometimes assumes the characteristics of their adoptive land. For instance, more and more I catch myself pronouncing words slightly differently ("dawg" rather than "dog") and am not nearly as polite nor as patient as I used to be. (Whether that is an affect of "Americanization" or just getting old and crotchety, I am not sure. More than likely, it is the latter.)

As such, I found the "How to Tell if You are Canadian" list to be an interesting refresher course in our home and native land. There are several points that I don't necessarily agree with, but overall it is apt.

The same site contains "How to Tell if You are from Quebec", and a host of other "How to Tell" lists as well.

Posted by Expat at 2:39 PM

|| Permanent Link || Comments (2)

How do you pronounce pasta, sorry and scone?

Hmm, I think I'll ask the same of an American who has moved to Toronto. I wonder if she's taken on the Canadian pronunciations. So far, she's stuck with American spelling.

Posted by Anonymous at 5:13 PM, August 27, 2005

I have managed to stick to the Canadian pronunciations on those (despite the teasing whenever I say "pasta" to the husband guy! LOL)

Last night, I was writing something on behalf of both of us. He snuck up behind me and looked over my shoulder at what I had written. He thought for a moment and then said, "If you are going to write this, at least spell correctly." He was referring to the "u" that I had put into "favourite".

Posted by Expat at 9:47 AM, August 29, 2005