These crazy Canadians

I thought I'd put together a few observations about the weird and wonderful residents of this country! Well, mostly "weird" in these examples, but there are many wonderful things we can tell you about some other time! :)

National Pot Smoking Day

Okay, this is not unique to Canada, but it's the first time we've heard of it! Apparently it stems from a story about a group of Californian teens who would meet after school at 4:20pm to smoke marijiuana. Over here, dates are written as mm/dd, so 4/20 means April 20th, and, hence, this date is observed by the pot-smoking subculture around the world. Well, Vancouver has more than its share of this subculture, as well as an "international reputation for tolerance towards the recreational use of marijuana". So last Monday, April 20th, over 5000 people gathered outside the Vancouver Art Gallery to smoke pot. I heard about it on the radio traffic updates due to the traffic congestion downtown! Meanwhile, the police watched from the sidelines to monitor "crowd control and public safety". And by the way - yes, it IS still illegal here.

Hockey Hooligans

Canadians LOVE their ice hockey. The favourite Vancouver NHL team is the Canucks. When we first arrived, they were doing quite badly so we didn't hear too much about them. Now, however, they are doing extremely well. You can't drive for more than 30 seconds without seeing a car that is flying blue and white Canucks flags from its roof. Last Friday, the Canucks won a game 3-0. We heard in the news that when the game ended, about 2000 fans simultaneously poured out of the bars and restaurants near one city intersection, and complete havoc ensued. We're talking jumping on cars, people being arrested, and a "mountie" (police officer) ending up with a broken leg. We also heard that the decibel level at the game hit 103. To put this in context, 85 decibels is the danger threshold, and 100 is a chainsaw. We want to see an ice hockey game but you can be sure it won't be the Canucks!!

Weather Whingers

(I feel safe saying this because Canadians don't know what "whingeing" is!!) Vancouver has a reputation for being wet and rainy a lot of the time. However, it is also known for having the warmest, mildest, most temperate weather in all of Canada. And of course it snows here; it's Canada! But it snows less frequently and in lesser quantities than in the rest of the country. However, without fail, the second those beautiful snowflakes begin to drift gently to the ground, native Vancouverites all with one accord begin to whinge about it. We find this hilarious because we start screeching with excitement and grabbing the camera whenever it snows! We've been asked more than once why we would want to leave the beautiful sunshine in Australia to come here. "You have snow!" we say. Don't think they get it...

Neighbourly Love

Here's a piece of advice: if you meet someone with an north American accent, err on the side of guessing their nationality as Canadian first. Because if they are, they don't want you thinking they are from the USA for a second! It's been pointed out to me that Canadian travellers generally ensure their bags are prominently displaying their red and white maple leaf flag to short-circuit this very assumption. And, having encountered a few of our southern neighbours who are doing their part to uphold the very stereotype that Canadians don't want to be associated with, we understand! That being said, of course we know many completely lovely Americans, and the above revelations about Canadians may mean that Americans would be just as upset if your first guess was wrong...

PS. To our Canadian readers: this was written in the spirit of fun and with the utmost respect for you. No opinions of Canadians were harmed in the making of this post. We love you.