Weird Things Americans Have Said To/Asked Me

[Wis-Can 0]

While working at a 93 room hotel and convention facility in dear old Nova Scotia a few years back we had a bus tour in from Kentucky and one of the passenger came to the front desk to ask me where we bought our groceries at. I had a hard time keeping a straight face. Then another American couple on another occasion brought out a map of the town of Amherst and asked me where she could see some wild animals...I replied, the Elm Tree Tavern...or as I like to refer to it, the Pick a Pig.

[MrsCat 6]

When Mel and I were taking the train from London, ON to Montreal, I looked at the map of where VIA Rail goes, and noticed....... That it has service to Churchill, Manitoba. Despite my better judgement, I had to point it out to Mel. Her reaction was priceless.

"Jesus, you do realize that you can't ride a polar bear right? You can't feed them, you can't pet them. They kill people. I'm not going to Churchill with you. You can go yourself".

I just added that one to the list of things i'm never allowed to have. Never allowed to have a rascal, or a midget bodyguard either.

I think I like Mel. Have her post here more often.

[to_hope 0]

I got laughed at pretty hard at work when I asked if "we had any elastics"..... they're rubber bands down here!!!!!

Haha- I've said this before too! A friend told me, "Elastics is the stretchy part of your socks or underwear!" Oops!

I've been asked if we have dimes in Canada or if we tell fairy tales... but the best questions an American ever asked me was:

"What's it like to be from a country where everybody else in the world hates you?"

[MrsCat 6]

I got laughed at pretty hard at work when I asked if "we had any elastics"..... they're rubber bands down here!!!!!

Haha- I've said this before too! A friend told me, "Elastics is the stretchy part of your socks or underwear!" Oops!

I've been asked if we have dimes in Canada or if we tell fairy tales... but the best questions an American ever asked me was:

"What's it like to be from a country where everybody else in the world hates you?"

OMG, I think thread this might make a good coffee table book.

[SuperDuper! 230]

Xenophobia explains a lot of this. Its only natural to judge other cultures by our own worldview, and deem the foreign culture as weird, backwards, wrong, strange or different. Someone can always find reasons why one culture sucks over another.

Cheers!

[MrsCat 6]

Xenophobia explains a lot of this. Its only natural to judge other cultures by our own worldview, and deem the foreign culture as weird, backwards, wrong, strange or different. Someone can always find reasons why one culture sucks over another.

Cheers!

Perhaps, but this thread is also about how Canadians secretly love our own stereotypes.

[defunct 0]

I have had two incidents and I haven't even moved to the U.S. yet...

I went to Washington to do some Xmas shopping one year. Keep in mind that I was about 1 hour away from the border, so I'm sure the retail clerks had seen a Canadian before. Anyway, a sales girl started talking to me and asked where I was from, so I said I was from Vancouver, Canada and was down here to do some Christmas shopping. She looked at me with an expression of both shock and awe, replying, "Oh, you celebrate Christmas in Canada too?". I didn't even know how to react to that, so just said, "Uh...yeah...".

No, Christmas was invented by America.

I was in a convenience store buying something and had forgotten to separate my Canadian change from American. I was an American dime short and tried to pass it off a Canadian dime to the clerk, hoping she wouldn't notice. She did notice, looked at me funny and gave it back. I apologized and was about to just give her a credit card instead, but she told me not to worry about it and rang me up 10 cents short.

Is a Canadian dime really worth less than nothing?... yeah, probably.

Edited March 27, 2009 by eyoa

[Bern. 3]

I was shopping in North Las Vegas with my mother in law, and when I was rummaging through my purse, I pulled out a few bills, which contained a mix of Canada $10 bills and American $20's. I went to hand her a $20, then she gasped and she questioned me on how I'd gotten a $10 purple bill with George Washington on it. o_O Then I said, it was Canadian currency...then she went on to say how she thought we still traded beaver pelts...and stuff. So then for kicks, I told her that all Canadians ride Polar Bears to work. We don't have boxes on wheels.

Edited March 27, 2009 by Ber + Ter

[scandal 951]

I got laughed at pretty hard at work when I asked if "we had any elastics"..... they're rubber bands down here!!!!!

You can't call a shopping cart a "buggy" here either.

And when I say "I was pissed".... I don't mean I was mad!!!!!!

And I MISS TIM HORTON'S SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!! Why aren't there any here????????

There are Timmies in the US, just probably not around where you are. All along the Interstates throughout Michigan and northern Ohio - around Detroit, Flint, Kalamazoo, Toledo, Cleveland, and I've seen one as far south as Columbus. Also in western New York, around Buffalo.

I miss Timmies, but I think I miss Harvey's, Swiss Chalet, and Crappy Tire even more.

[BermyCat 1]

When I flew down to meet Phil in person (was living in Ontario at the time), a friend of his housemate asked him if he know how risky it was to date a Canadian woman. Apparently, we're all trying to get knocked up by American men so we can stay in the US.....

This guy was just about every bad US stereotype all rolled up into one delightful person.

~ Catherine

P.S. Yesterday I was asked if Bermuda has cell phones. "Doesn't the Bermuda triangle mess up the reception?"

I answered "No cell phones in Bermuda but thank God I had one when I lived in Canada. It's brtual to try and install a landline in your igloo."

[JillA 2]

Well I was once asked if Canadian women shave their pits.... if we have flouride in our water and do we all have nasty teeth... that was on a reality show though no one asked me.... if we celebrate easter, christmas, thanksgiving, etc.... oh goodness there are so many I don't even know where to begin. Oh if we have air conditioning here

[TayL 0]

Didn't happen to me, happened to my best friend who was dating an American at the time.

She was at a convention for her boyfriend's university and one of his best friends kept following her around, asking where her pet moose was. She tried to tell him she didn't have one, but he wouldn't listen. My friend is an INCREDIBLE actress and, frustrated, she finally turned around and burst into tears. The guy asked her what was wrong and she said "My pet moose died right before I came here, okay?"

The guy turned BRIGHT red, apologised, and bought her a bunch of plushies from one of the vendors at the convention.

[JillA 2]

Didn't happen to me, happened to my best friend who was dating an American at the time.

She was at a convention for her boyfriend's university and one of his best friends kept following her around, asking where her pet moose was. She tried to tell him she didn't have one, but he wouldn't listen. My friend is an INCREDIBLE actress and, frustrated, she finally turned around and burst into tears. The guy asked her what was wrong and she said "My pet moose died right before I came here, okay?"

The guy turned BRIGHT red, apologised, and bought her a bunch of plushies from one of the vendors at the convention.

[coldwatersurf 5]

there is an easy alternate word to toque. All my friends and family call it Beanie. i guess its not new to them b/c they often have canadians come down all the time. But they still find the word toque funny.

They did say they have caught me say Aboot and not about many times. . I have no idea what they are talking about. I guess i just talk too fast. and we were talking about city Olympia and for short its called Oly but I pronouced it Awly and they laughed and they said its pronounced Owly. or Cosmospolis. For short I called it Cosmo. and they said its Cosie. or montasano.. short form is Monty. I guess everything ends in E pronounciation.

I'm still trying to get used to the slangs. Like Rig is truck. or a standard car is a manual car to them. or get used to the word Gnarly. they call asians - oriental and i have heard other people call them chinamen. I guess i have to laugh and not get offended. ... what i really found rude at first is when I say thank you and they say "uh huh". But i guess that is you're welcome. And I gotta get used to tipping fast food restaurants.. which is totally new to me and when i tip starbucks some change, they find that different. Oh yeah... i wanted a Slushy from 7 Eleven and they called it something else. i was puzzled.

I gotta love the booze being available in gas stations and grocery store though.

and I am never going to stop saying Eh!

Edited March 27, 2009 by borderdriver

[Carlawarla 1]

This thread reminded of flames comment a few weeks ago when he was in Saskatoon. We call men's underwear gitch, or gotch. Gene thinks that's hilarious.