Canada vs. The World

[Descyple]

Apparently there is an idea spreading through some threads that us Canadians have a hard time understanding the languages, word-phrases and cultures of other countries represented here on CC (I guess since we are isolated in igloos all year round and constantly surrounded by very hungry and determined polar bears, we are cut off from other places and ideas in the world).

So I thought I'd start this thread so that the handful of us Canadians here can be given pieces of wisdom and education from all the other countries represented on CC.

I will start with some basic preliminary questions from my very limited-Canadian perspective:

1. To my American cousins, since you guys don't have proper health care (as opposed to Canada's excellent health care system) what happens when you get injured or hurt? Do you pay out of your own pockets for medical service, or do you just roll into the nearest ditch and ironically sing "Only In America" as you wait for the end to come?

2. To my many filipino cousins here on CC, at what time of the year do your beautiful Philippine's beach's freeze-over so I can play hockey when I come there for vacation??? You guys do get snow, right???

3. For my Australian cousins, I have just one question: What ever happened to Crocodile Dundee? He was your country's greatest export!!! (Don't tell Hillsong or Eric Bana I said that!!!).


If anyone has questions for us Canadians about Canada, feel free to ask here. But please understand that everything there is to know about Canada can be exhausted in just three phrases: Toonies, Loonies, and Tommy Chong (yes, he was born in Canada, and when he first saw Canada's flag as a child he immediately became hooked on marijuana!!!). Check out our flag, and you'll understand why!!!

 

[Fenner]

1. To my American cousins, since you guys don't have proper health care (as opposed to Canada's excellent health care system) what happens when you get injured or hurt? Do you pay out of your own pockets for medical service, or do you just roll into the nearest ditch and ironically sing "Only In America" as you wait for the end to come?


Before I had health insurance I had to do this on several occasions. Lucky for me that someone with a first aid kit would drive by and help me. Or someone with good sewing skills if I needed stiches. When I had my first child I went to the local swimming pool for a water birth. I have to say nothing clears out a community pool like a woman screaming.


My question for you about Canadians. Was strange brew an actual auto biography of someone's life? I've heard a rumor at your weddings instead of cake and champagne you have glazed donuts and Labatt's. Is this true?

 

[Descyple]

1. To my American cousins, since you guys don't have proper health care (as opposed to Canada's excellent health care system) what happens when you get injured or hurt? Do you pay out of your own pockets for medical service, or do you just roll into the nearest ditch and ironically sing "Only In America" as you wait for the end to come?


Before I had health insurance I had to do this on several occasions. Lucky for me that someone with a first aid kit would drive by and help me. Or someone with good sewing skills if I needed stiches. When I had my first child I went to the local swimming pool for a water birth. I have to say nothing clears out a community pool like a woman screaming.


My question for you about Canadians. Was strange brew an actual auto biography of someone's life? I've heard a rumor at your weddings instead of cake and champagne you have glazed donuts and Labatt's. Is this true?

I now have newfound respect for you Americans regarding your "I'll take medical care in any form I can" attitudes!!! Very rustic and "18th century pilgrim-like"!!!

And "Stranger Brew" is an actual biography of "every" Canadian!!!

And regarding whether or not it's true that Canadian wedding cakes often have donuts and Labatt's Blue beer on them??? I can only say, I WISH!!!

P.S. Fenner, remind me never to go swimming with you!!!

 

[Shouryu]

1. To my American cousins, since you guys don't have proper health care (as opposed to Canada's excellent health care system) what happens when you get injured or hurt? Do you pay out of your own pockets for medical service, or do you just roll into the nearest ditch and ironically sing "Only In America" as you wait for the end to come?

It depends. For major injuries, we shotgun cans of chicken soup and make cocktails out of Red Bull and Robitussin. For minor lacerations or contusions, we make band-aids out of dirty rags and saran wrap, then go to WalMart to hijack one of their motor-scooters.

I know it's not nearly as comprehensive as Canadian health coverage. Broken bones wrapped in poutine, cancer treated by mainlining bowls of Kraft Dinner, sunburns and poison ivy treated with Molson Ice baths, and instead of stitches for large cuts, Arwen83 instantly appears and kisses the wound to make it better. Personally, I think Canadian healthcare has always been awesome. Down here, you get banged up, and we rub dirt on it. In the Great White North, rubbing a slab of back bacon on it has always been a hojiliion times more effective.

My question for you about Canadians. Was strange brew an actual auto biography of someone's life? I've heard a rumor at your weddings instead of cake and champagne you have glazed donuts and Labatt's. Is this true?

I've always wanted to visit the Elsinore brewery, eh?

If I had a Canadian wedding, I'd have the reception catered by Tim Horton's. Seems apropos. Anyone do that up there?

 

[arwen83]

Apparently there is an idea spreading through some threads that us Canadians have a hard time understanding the languages, word-phrases and cultures of other countries represented here on CC (I guess since we are isolated in igloos all year round and constantly surrounded by very hungry and determined polar bears, we are cut off from other places and ideas in the world).

Really? You'd think since we're a bilingual and multicultural country, that it wouldn't be so. And the fact that 95% of our tv is American. The local low-budget attorney commercials that play in between Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown shows are hilarious (the individual that I support at work likes to watch them, in case anyone questions my poor choice in tv viewing). It would be super great if we were less Americanized atleast in terms of industries and commercialization. But that's a pipe dream.

^I am sure thats what the aboriginals would say about us European folk

 

[Descyple]

It depends. For major injuries, we shotgun cans of chicken soup and make cocktails out of Red Bull and Robitussin. For minor lacerations or contusions, we make band-aids out of dirty rags and saran wrap, then go to WalMart to hijack one of their motor-scooters.

I know it's not nearly as comprehensive as Canadian health coverage. Broken bones wrapped in poutine, cancer treated by mainlining bowls of Kraft Dinner, sunburns and poison ivy treated with Molson Ice baths, and instead of stitches for large cuts, Arwen83 instantly appears and kisses the wound to make it better.

Wow, I don't know whether to feel sorry for you Americans, or to feel jealous - lol.

But hey, we Canadians don't get the "Arwen-Kiss-It-Better" medical perk, so why do you Americans???

We Canadians gave you guys Justin Beiber, but there is no way we'll let you get Arwen to!!!

 

[arwen83]

I now have newfound respect for you Americans regarding your "I'll take medical care in any form I can" attitudes!!! Very rustic and "18th century pilgrim-like"!!!

And "Stranger Brew" is an actual biography of "every" Canadian!!!

And regarding whether or not it's true that Canadian wedding cakes often have donuts and Labatt's Blue beer on them??? I can only say, I WISH!!!

P.S. Fenner, remind me never to go swimming with you!!!

Descyple doesn't speak for the people of Canada......

And it would be Kokanee not Labatt

 

[Descyple]

Descyple doesn't speak for the people of Canada......

And it would be Kokanee not Labatt

My father would disagree with both of you about "Wedding Cake Beer" - he would say it should be Molson Canadian (and he's from the Maritimes, so I think he'd know what would be the best Cake Beer!!!).

 

[Shouryu]

We Canadians gave you guys Justin Beiber, but there is no way we'll let you get Arwen to!!!

Uh, not just Justin Bieber, but also Celine Dion, Shania Twain, and Bryan Adams. I'd say fifty percent of all the jokes Americans make about Canada are thinly veiled anger issues stemming from those Canadian..."contributions." The other fifty percent is thinly veiled jealousy over the fact that you consistently produce higher quality comedians and comedic actors than we do. Aykroyd, Candy, Hartmann, Moranis, Foley, the incomparable Leslie Nielsen...and the best we can do is Adam Sandler? Ugh.

 

[SeatBelt]

in response to your #1...
I experienced Canadian "Health Care". I'd broken my right ulna & radius (both the bones in my forearm) while bouldering in Nova Scotia. The accident happened just before breakfast. My skin was not broken, but as I splinted the arm with rubber bands and magazines (to make it a little more stable for the drive to the hospital) it was blatantly obvious that my bones were protruding from their normal positions, midway up the forearm.
I understand ER triage. Both my parents work in healthcare. I'm not the average idiot when it comes to being a "healthcare consumer".
I also know that I sat in that ER, with nurses bringing me nothing stronger or more nourishing than 3 year old magazines from the waiting rooms on other floors (this is an international problem), & artificially flavored banana popsicles...until it was so very far past the dinner hour that when we did finally leave we barely found any restaurant still open & serving. An anti-inflammatory, such as Advil (Ibuprofen), would have made the time a little easier to pass and what was to come later a little more bearable.
When I was seen, the doc spoke no English... or French. One of the nurses knew a little Spanish, so they were barely able to communicate through his Portuguese + Pantomime. Some how, after much attempts at communicating that made me think the Marx Brothers were trying to cheat and get the college entrance exam answers from the three stooges on the other side of the room...the doc managed to study the x-rays and pull of a double bone setting that involved himself and three nurses pulling traction in ridiculous ways that would have been slightly less uncomfortable without all that nasty swelling from the last 12 hours of wishing I had some Ibuprofen. To his credit, once this was performed to his "instructions" and the after films were shot, it did not have to be redone a second time, just a single re-do. Ouch.
They apologized, knowing that with me traveling, a fiberglass cast would have been much better than a plaster cast. The reality was they had used all of their fiberglass casting materials in the first month of the fiscal quarter and could only give me plaster... to compensate some, they ran one of two cuts that would be needed to remove the cast (once the plaster had dried), then wrapped it an elastic bandage.
I needed a sling for this giant albatross of a cast that ran from above my elbow to past my thumb. They had ran out of slings, too. Also in the first month of the quarter. They could not order more, until the next quarter and could not get more than their allotment. They could, however, pay RN's to stand around all day cutting bed sheets to use as slings...since they could get more sheets whenever, and could give the RN's overtime.
They were kind enough to send me with all of my x-ray films for my doc back home (though I wondered if they kept anything on file for their own liability's sake).
I gave them all my contact information, my health insurance information, and they still were incapable of figuring out how to bill me for Anything... not even a co-pay or a full bill that day.
My arm did heal properly,though.
This was essentially the antithesis of the experience that would be expected in any similar sized hospital in the US.
Except for the ancient magazines that likely held more communicable disease than the whole of the CDC.



To you I ask... Did yall not realize the formula for Amazing cuisine they created when you "transported" all those French settlers to Louisianan and dumped them without sufficient provisions in swamps so dangerous where if it wasn't poisonous it was going to eat you or eat the thing that ate you? You did this, creating the Cajun people but failed to retain the rights to the amazing culinary delights that resulted? How could this be?

 

[SeatBelt]

for what it's worth, my current fave TV show for grown folks is 'Flashpoint' and my current fave kid's animation is "Jacob Two Two."

 

[Shouryu]

for what it's worth, my current fave TV show for grown folks is 'Flashpoint' and my current fave kid's animation is "Jacob Two Two."

I readily admit - I love me some Continuum.

 

[arwen83]

When I was in the pharmacy industry many years ago, it was interesting the questions Americans would ask me about Canada. Mainly the weather if it was summer- sometimes exceeding their temperatures. But many of them seem to think that we're frigid all year round. I was once asked if we celebrate New Years Eve here. That said there were some Americans that I spoke to that were very knowledgeable about us. I remember when Harper got elected, an American had mentioned to me that he was disappointed because Harper gives off an American vibe. I hope one day Justin Trudeau will get elected.

 

[Descyple]

Uh, not just Justin Bieber, but also Celine Dion, Shania Twain, and Bryan Adams. I'd say fifty percent of all the jokes Americans make about Canada are thinly veiled anger issues stemming from those Canadian..."contributions." The other fifty percent is thinly veiled jealousy over the fact that you consistently produce higher quality comedians and comedic actors than we do. Aykroyd, Candy, Hartmann, Moranis, Foley, the incomparable Leslie Nielsen...and the best we can do is Adam Sandler? Ugh.

You guys can keep Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, and the Biebster, but I would personally recommend you send Shania Twain back to us (she's the hottest thing to come out of Canada since we started selling maple-syrup scented Cologne, which is titled "The Call of the Wild and the Weird").

Regarding your American comedian Adam Sandler, we Canadians refer to him as our "Special-Needs Brother From Another Mother"

 

[Shouryu]

When I was in the pharmacy industry many years ago, it was interesting the questions Americans would ask me about Canada.

The jokes about Americans being fairly ignorant about other cultures and foreign events, including those of our two immediate neighbors, is a joke that's rooted in a lot of truth, Arwen. It's sad, but it's true. Most of your common Americans are going to get their Canadian "knowledge" from the jokes on How I Met Your Mother and South Park. (I wouldn't even include Strange Brew or SCTV on there, because at almost 30 years past, it's borderline obscure now.)

We're a pretty self-centered nation. *crosses arms and frowns* Not something I'm particularly proud of. But I'm always of the mind set that you don't crack a joke if you can't take a joke. I laugh at a good pot-shot aimed squarely at 'Merica most of the time. ^_^

 

[arwen83]

Uh, not just Justin Bieber, but also Celine Dion, Shania Twain, and Bryan Adams. I'd say fifty percent of all the jokes Americans make about Canada are thinly veiled anger issues stemming from those Canadian..."contributions." The other fifty percent is thinly veiled jealousy over the fact that you consistently produce higher quality comedians and comedic actors than we do. Aykroyd, Candy, Hartmann, Moranis, Foley, the incomparable Leslie Nielsen...and the best we can do is Adam Sandler? Ugh.

Foley was Canadian?
Also Mike Myers, Lorne Michaels, Norm MacDonald, Jim Carrey, Ryan Gosling

 

[Descyple]

in response to your #1...
I experienced Canadian "Health Care". I'd broken my right ulna & radius (both the bones in my forearm) while bouldering in Nova Scotia. The accident happened just before breakfast. My skin was not broken, but as I splinted the arm with rubber bands and magazines (to make it a little more stable for the drive to the hospital) it was blatantly obvious that my bones were protruding from their normal positions, midway up the forearm.
I understand ER triage. Both my parents work in healthcare. I'm not the average idiot when it comes to being a "healthcare consumer".
I also know that I sat in that ER, with nurses bringing me nothing stronger or more nourishing than 3 year old magazines from the waiting rooms on other floors (this is an international problem), & artificially flavored banana popsicles...until it was so very far past the dinner hour that when we did finally leave we barely found any restaurant still open & serving. An anti-inflammatory, such as Advil (Ibuprofen), would have made the time a little easier to pass and what was to come later a little more bearable.
When I was seen, the doc spoke no English... or French. One of the nurses knew a little Spanish, so they were barely able to communicate through his Portuguese + Pantomime. Some how, after much attempts at communicating that made me think the Marx Brothers were trying to cheat and get the college entrance exam answers from the three stooges on the other side of the room...the doc managed to study the x-rays and pull of a double bone setting that involved himself and three nurses pulling traction in ridiculous ways that would have been slightly less uncomfortable without all that nasty swelling from the last 12 hours of wishing I had some Ibuprofen. To his credit, once this was performed to his "instructions" and the after films were shot, it did not have to be redone a second time, just a single re-do. Ouch.
They apologized, knowing that with me traveling, a fiberglass cast would have been much better than a plaster cast. The reality was they had used all of their fiberglass casting materials in the first month of the fiscal quarter and could only give me plaster... to compensate some, they ran one of two cuts that would be needed to remove the cast (once the plaster had dried), then wrapped it an elastic bandage.
I needed a sling for this giant albatross of a cast that ran from above my elbow to past my thumb. They had ran out of slings, too. Also in the first month of the quarter. They could not order more, until the next quarter and could not get more than their allotment. They could, however, pay RN's to stand around all day cutting bed sheets to use as slings...since they could get more sheets whenever, and could give the RN's overtime.
They were kind enough to send me with all of my x-ray films for my doc back home (though I wondered if they kept anything on file for their own liability's sake).
I gave them all my contact information, my health insurance information, and they still were incapable of figuring out how to bill me for Anything... not even a co-pay or a full bill that day.
My arm did heal properly,though.
This was essentially the antithesis of the experience that would be expected in any similar sized hospital in the US.
Except for the ancient magazines that likely held more communicable disease than the whole of the CDC.



To you I ask... Did yall not realize the formula for Amazing cuisine they created when you "transported" all those French settlers to Louisianan and dumped them without sufficient provisions in swamps so dangerous where if it wasn't poisonous it was going to eat you or eat the thing that ate you? You did this, creating the Cajun people but failed to retain the rights to the amazing culinary delights that resulted? How could this be?

SeatBelt, I'm afraid I couldn't read through your very long thread, because up here in Canada we are only capable of reading small carvings our ancestors left on the inside of igloo walls (the technical terms is Great White North Heiroglyphics - the Egyptians copied us!!!).

Regarding our part in forming Cajun cuisine in the U.S., we did that because our stomachs don't agree with spices up here in Canada, so we couldn't handle the potency of such food. The most spice we can handle here is salt and pepper (and even then, we chill our salt and pepper shakers to lessen the burn to our pallets!!!)

 

[arwen83]

Descyple YOU NEED TO SEE THIS:

His voice hahahahahaha, too funny!

[video=youtube;2ic3xNfEP_o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ic3xNfEP_o[/video]

 

[Descyple]

Descyple YOU NEED TO SEE THIS:

His voice hahahahahaha, too funny!

[video=youtube;2ic3xNfEP_o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ic3xNfEP_o[/video]

That impersonation was funny (and eerily accurate!!!).

I'm glad I grew out of that accent when I hit puberty!!!


Well folks, I'm off to bed now, where I will set my "O Canada" alarm clock so I can get up early to chop fire wood for the long cold summer ahead!!!

I will wish you all a Yukonian goodnight and a blessed Manitobian morning tomorrow.

Sweet dreams, eh!!!

 

[SeatBelt]

SeatBelt, I'm afraid I couldn't read through your very long thread, because up here in Canada we are only capable of reading small carvings our ancestors left on the inside of igloo walls (the technical terms is Great White North Heiroglyphics - the Egyptians copied us!!!).

Regarding our part in forming Cajun cuisine in the U.S., we did that because our stomachs don't agree with spices up here in Canada, so we couldn't handle the potency of such food. The most spice we can handle here is salt and pepper (and even then, we chill our salt and pepper shakers to lessen the burn to our pallets!!!)

If I ever sleep again... This is the reason I will cry myself to sleep.
I doubt I can sleep though, for fear that I will wake up unable to eat anything less bland than seal flipper pie.

Maybe we can utilize the wonders of Medical Tourism to visit an independent 3rd party country and have a Stomach/Pallet transplant performed for you.

At this moment my car smells like Tapatio.