Culture shock for Canadians in the US

[vanee 13]

I'm just starting the K1 process, so I'm still in Canada. But I've travelled a lot in the US, and I recently spent 2 months with my guy there.

I don't know if I can describe much as culture shock for me. There were a lot of differences, but most were differences in big city life compared to small city life. And there were differences in what's available to buy, but that was covered in the thread favorite things you'll miss from Canada.

One Canadian-American difference was how to pay with credit cards. In Canada, the cashier swipes them in the credit card thing (sorry, I don't know what it's called) and gives the customer a receipt to sign. In the US, the customer is supposed to swipe the credit card, sign the credit card thing, and then push the "done" (or whatever it is) button. It took me a couple of weeks until I'd learned which direction to swipe the card and then to remember to push the button. And now I've forgotten how to do it.

Whenever I struggled with the US credit card, I felt like the cashiers must have thought that I was clueless. If that's the only way they know how to use credit cards, they probably don't understand why it's difficult for someone from another developed country.

What have you felt as a Canadian in the US that could be described as culture shock? What differences in thinking, perceptions, and behaviour did you encounter? What made you feel like a foreigner?

Also, what thinking, perceptions, and behaviour made you feel at home? While Canada and the US are different, we're also quite similar in a lot of ways.

[Jersey Girl 2]

I'm a dual, born and raised in New Jersey, who went to Canada at 18 and stayed many years. I'd often hear Canadians say Americans are: greedy, vulgar, trigger-happy, aggressive, rude, fat, self-centered, war mongering, etc. I poo poo'ed this as an over reaction. I also heard Canadians quick to describe themselves as "not American!"

However, after coming back to Jersey and living here a year, I can understand why Americans have such a bad reputation in Canada.

Don't worry about handling your own credit card; it's for your security. Instead, worry about people who can be overly competitive, nasty, manipulative, untrustworthy, sleep deprived, quick to sue, fanatical, and materialistic.

Watch out for false faces, that is, people who hide their true intentions. The corporate world here is based on showing one's "nice face" to everyone and concealing one's real opinions and plans.

These are generalizations, I know, and can be construed as stereotypes, which is another big no-no in a culture that's highly sensitive about "rights." So be careful that you never touch anyone innocently when you talk, or you'll risk sexual harrassment charges (!)

Be careful that you never identitfy anyone based on their personal characterisics (Oh, it's the bald guy over there.) because that can be grounds for dismissal at work.

Don't be surpised that everyone knows about something illegal but will never report it, since "no good deed goes unpunished." Most whistle blowers suffer dire consequences even though there are laws to protect them.

In many ways, I miss the Canadian culture because people are more polite, honest, helpful, straightforward, easy-going, welcoming and respectful. So pack up your Shreddies, Tim Horton's, and 222s because you can't buy them here. And be prepared for a bigger shock, because you'll be living with Americans, and they can be very different than Canadians, depending on which area of the country you live in.

(Okay, you can start stringing me up now.)

[giraffemd 0]

don't even get me started...you would think that here in Minnesota, how different could things be? BUT......things are very different, and my son, who moved to San Francisco 5 years ago for work, says the same thing. The one thing we both noticed that made us laugh is that everytime there are Canadians and Americans around talking together and someone mentions someone famous that is from Canada, it is inevitable that one of us will say *He (she) is Canadian, you know.....and many times someone (American) will say *no way* we had quite a challenge convincing someone here that Neil Young was actually Canadian...too funny...and yes Canadians as a rule are much more polite...but I love it here anyway...well except for the food...except I found *Trader Joe's* here in the cities...not Canadian, but a great place to buy groceries

[KarenCee 3]

I *want* to be Canadian...I plan on becoming a dual someday as well. My husband tells me I am so "Un-American" lol. I am fully aware of how some Americans can be...and this does NOT make me proud of my homeland. The times I've been to NS I've been treated so politely and with such respect, despite being from America. I cheer for the Canadian hockey teams, I love anything Canadian (lol, some might say I am biased b/c my beloved is Canadian...eh, maybe ). All the family I have in this world are back in NS...and they are his family. If I could have been the one to emigrate, I would have. My daughter's bio father would never have agreed to that though so my beloved came here for me...and for no other reason. Wow.

As for culture shock...the area where we live looks a lot like the area he came from, except for the shore. We're in the mountains of NE Georgia and some of the scenery looks a lot like the Annapolis Royal Valley. He hasn't had any trouble adjusting to life in the Deep South and he says he enjoys it here, except for the bloody summers here...all humidity and high temps.

[KiminON 0]

i moved from the GTA to small town Louisiana. biggest thing i notice is the racism. i was shocked one day after chatting with a neighbour (who happens to be black) about dogs and afterwards the fellow one door over (who is white) asked me what business i had talking with 'her'. i must have looked like an idiot with my mouth hanging open. what does one say to that sort of stuff?! i was warned that it's not like at home, but i guess until i experienced it, i didn't realize.

the other thing i miss is having things close enough to walk to, but that's a big city, small city thing. of course, i'm still getting some things imported from home (timmy's coffee, smarties, shreddies & red river to name but a few)

can't wait to go home at the start of next month for a visit! i can finally get my hair done!

k

[Caladan 19]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the differences between Canada and the U.S. are no greater than the differences between a large American or Canadian city and small-town or rural areas in the U.S. and Canada. Not that there aren't differences, just that I could duplicate them by moving from Connecticut to Wyoming or from Vancouver to Grand Cache.

That includes the obesity problem. The racism problem. And even whether you hand someone a credit card or swipe it yourself. Or touch someone innocently. Or whether someone's going to get bent out of shape over generalizations. It really depends on the area.

My fiancé is from Alberta, and my old roommate and her boyfriend were from Toronto. They argued more than she and I did because they didn't agree on anything.

[CutienPurg 0]

I was reading an article the other day and the author said something to the effect of " The differences between regions of the United States and Canada are greater than the differences between Canadian and American cultures" and it really made me stop and think a bit. If you think about it, it really does make sense. The west coast from Southern Cali all the way up to BC , then you have Texas to Calgary, the Midwest and the prairies.......... the differences between say the Great Lakes region of the US and the deep south or a major city and small town are like night and day at times from a cultural standpoint, but we don't differ a whole lot from Ontario.

My experiences between Michigan and areas of Canada Ive spent significant time have to do with the type of rude we're talking about. The type of rude Ive experienced in Canada was a sort of "ignorant" or passive rude i.e. people letting a door close in your face , cutting you off in traffic or in a store/mall, lack of "personal space" respect. It's that kind of rude behavior that makes you think " damn that was rude" but then leaves a person wondering " did they mean to do that?" Where I live, if a person was rude , you damn well know it as I think we're in an " in your face" kind of rude. In general I find Canadians just to dang nice to be blatantly rude.

Oh and as far as Nova Scotia is concerned , Ive heard, but have yet to experience it first hand, they are the NICEST people on the planet. This coming from my dad who has traveled extensively around the world and the US.Can't wait to find out first hand!!!!!!

[A-PhiJill 0]

My sentiments exactly!

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the differences between Canada and the U.S. are no greater than the differences between a large American or Canadian city and small-town or rural areas in the U.S. and Canada. Not that there aren't differences, just that I could duplicate them by moving from Connecticut to Wyoming or from Vancouver to Grand Cache.

That includes the obesity problem. The racism problem. And even whether you hand someone a credit card or swipe it yourself. Or touch someone innocently. Or whether someone's going to get bent out of shape over generalizations. It really depends on the area.

[Cassie 8]

Oh and as far as Nova Scotia is concerned , Ive heard, but have yet to experience it first hand, they are the NICEST people on the planet. This coming from my dad who has traveled extensively around the world and the US.Can't wait to find out first hand!!!!!!

I heartily agree! (And I'm not biased or anything! )

When people ask me what it's like living here in the US, I say it's different. And I say this after having lived in both urban and rural areas of Canada. There are things that I like, and things that really bug me.

My top differences are:

--we know lots about the US, and it's definitely not vice versa

--criticizing the government/politics is basically a sport in Canada (heck, some politicians make fun of themselves on This Hour Has 22 Minutes or Royal Canadian Air Farce, can you imagine that happening here? not bloody likely!), but criticizing the government/president here is basically treasonous!

--there's nothing here to rival the force of nature known as the hockey mullet

--and i won't go down the guns-in-the-house-obsession road....

I dunno, I'm not saying that Canada's perfect, because it isn't. All I know is that I am not sure if I will ever be settled here, because a lot of the American way of thinking/way of life just doesn't sit right with me.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

(hmm, ok, 2nd go around - the first one decided to disappear into the ether just before I pushed send)

Environmental issues - everything is overpackaged in the stores; food stuffs come from a distance away - virtually nothing local and no farmer's markets to buy local produce; only recycling is for newspapers and we have to drive to a depot 5 miles away to drop them off - no blue boxes, green boxes, black boxes or whatever; in fact the hardware store didn't even know what a composter was when we asked for one.

Driving - in addition to parking lots on the interstate American drivers are rude; they don't use turn signals very often, they tail gate, they cut you off and they try to cram as many other vehicles through an orange light as they possibly can

Religion - I used to joke that there were donut shops on every corner in Ontario - well, here it is churches - and not just familiar churches but denominations I have never heard of. Churches have elaborate names such as "Church of the Harvest" "King's Vinyard" "CHurch of God of Prophecy" "Noah's Ark CHurch" "Church of his Blazing Glory", etc - 10 pages worth in the yellow pages. This, of course, may be more of a regional difference here in the South but the focus on religion is definitely a lot more public and less private than back in Canada

Medical costs - expect to pay for everything even with insurance: doctor's visits, women's health visits, chiropractor, xrays, etc. They will also do complete physical of all vitals regardless of what you are seeing the doctor forat every visit. Expect to deal directly with insurance companies yourself because they are slow, make many errors, and you will receive multiple demands for payments from the doctors before the insurance has been paid, while the insurance is being paid and after the insurance has been paid - all for different amounts. Of course, since you pay for tests and such you get to keep the originals or copies of all reports, including MRIs and XRays;

Spanish influenced food items on the grocery shelves - tacos, corn flour, canned chillies and beans of all shape and sizes; seeing Spanish language used where we are used to seeing French.

Mail delivery on Saturday and the mailman will collect mail at the house rather than having to deliver it to a postal box somewhere

Security - having to be a lot more aware of your surroundings at all time; experiencing suspicion from neighbours until they get to know you; being aware of cars and vehicles that are in your area

Politics and Elections - they NEVER STOP! There is ALWAYS someone running for something at some level of government or other. There are election signs and billboards for everything from dogcatcher to Senate all over the place and it never ends - and neither does voter apathy. A recent run off election for a magistrate here garnered less than 5% of the possible voter turnout. Eventually, you begin to tune it all out - which is what I think the Americans already do

Sign pollution - signs, signs, everywhere are signs - billboards, placards, jobs, selling stuff, every street corner is littered with signs; every highway intersection; every interstate has signs - they are everywhere!

Clear plastic bags and showing receipts - after shopping at many stores you have to show your receipt to a security employee as you leave and he/she slashes a red mark across it after checking it against your purchases

Cell phones - I think these grow out of people's ears or they are implanted shortly after birth. Everyone has a cell phone and they are always talking on them everywhere - driving, in the supermarket, on the street, at entertainment venues . . .

There were others that I noticed as well but these were the biggies for me:-). Oh, that and being called Miss Kathryn by everyone - that is kind of nice, actually:-). Of course, that is definitely a Southern thing.

Edited January 7, 2007 by Kathryn41

[Cassie 8]

oh, and I forgot this one:

Americans are way more publicly patriotic. Between the t-shirts, bumper stickers/car magnets, flags, red white and blue election signs, etc etc, the sentiment "I'm proud to be American" is in your face a lot more than it is in Canada. I'm not saying it's wrong to be proud of your country, because I am very proud to be Canadian, but I just often wonder.... who are you all trying to convince?

Edited January 7, 2007 by Cassie

[Kathryn41 3,205]

ok - another difference for me as well - Military - here everyone knows someone who is in the military or who has a family member in the military or is a veteran or on active service themselves. Many people have seen action in war or 'police actions'. In Canada, our veterans and military acquaintances are more often our grandfathers and great grandfathers rather than our brothers and sisters.

Humour - Canadian humour is often self-deprecating, laugh at yourself kind and don't take anything - especially politicians - too seriously; American humour is more often the in your face slapstick or practical joke - and there is nothing self-deprecating about it. Americans are not very good at laughing at themselves; Canadians are among the best in the world - sometimes you want to tease an American - but you know you don't dare.

Edited January 7, 2007 by Kathryn41

[Jersey Girl 2]

You forgot cheese. There's cheese on everything here, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you don't want cheese on your bacon and egg sandwich, they don't know how to ring it up because the cash register is only programmed for cheese.

Then there are medical conditions. Everyone here can tell you their cholestrol count, blood pressure, and a host of other things, including the prescription drugs they take. Guess they never realized that if they cut out the cheese, they could stop paying for Lipitor!

[Autumnchik 6]

(hmm, ok, 2nd go around - the first one decided to disappear into the ether just before I pushed send)

Environmental issues - everything is overpackaged in the stores; food stuffs come from a distance away - virtually nothing local and no farmer's markets to buy local produce; only recycling is for newspapers and we have to drive to a depot 5 miles away to drop them off - no blue boxes, green boxes, black boxes or whatever; in fact the hardware store didn't even know what a composter was when we asked for one.

Driving - in addition to parking lots on the interstate American drivers are rude; they don't use turn signals very often, they tail gate, they cut you off and they try to cram as many other vehicles through an orange light as they possibly can

Religion - I used to joke that there were donut shops on every corner in Ontario - well, here it is churches - and not just familiar churches but denominations I have never heard of. Churches have elaborate names such as "Church of the Harvest" "King's Vinyard" "CHurch of God of Prophecy" "Noah's Ark CHurch" "Church of his Blazing Glory", etc - 10 pages worth in the yellow pages. This, of course, may be more of a regional difference here in the South but the focus on religion is definitely a lot more public and less private than back in Canada

Medical costs - expect to pay for everything even with insurance: doctor's visits, women's health visits, chiropractor, xrays, etc. They will also do complete physical of all vitals regardless of what you are seeing the doctor forat every visit. Expect to deal directly with insurance companies yourself because they are slow, make many errors, and you will receive multiple demands for payments from the doctors before the insurance has been paid, while the insurance is being paid and after the insurance has been paid - all for different amounts. Of course, since you pay for tests and such you get to keep the originals or copies of all reports, including MRIs and XRays;

Spanish influenced food items on the grocery shelves - tacos, corn flour, canned chillies and beans of all shape and sizes; seeing Spanish language used where we are used to seeing French.

Mail delivery on Saturday and the mailman will collect mail at the house rather than having to deliver it to a postal box somewhere

Security - having to be a lot more aware of your surroundings at all time; experiencing suspicion from neighbours until they get to know you; being aware of cars and vehicles that are in your area

Politics and Elections - they NEVER STOP! There is ALWAYS someone running for something at some level of government or other. There are election signs and billboards for everything from dogcatcher to Senate all over the place and it never ends - and neither does voter apathy. A recent run off election for a magistrate here garnered less than 5% of the possible voter turnout. Eventually, you begin to tune it all out - which is what I think the Americans already do

Sign pollution - signs, signs, everywhere are signs - billboards, placards, jobs, selling stuff, every street corner is littered with signs; every highway intersection; every interstate has signs - they are everywhere!

Clear plastic bags and showing receipts - after shopping at many stores you have to show your receipt to a security employee as you leave and he/she slashes a red mark across it after checking it against your purchases

Cell phones - I think these grow out of people's ears or they are implanted shortly after birth. Everyone has a cell phone and they are always talking on them everywhere - driving, in the supermarket, on the street, at entertainment venues . . .

There were others that I noticed as well but these were the biggies for me:-). Oh, that and being called Miss Kathryn by everyone - that is kind of nice, actually:-). Of course, that is definitely a Southern thing.

Good observations I am smiling because my fiance and I have had this same discussion and he has made many of these points too. I spent the last 6 years living in Georgia (have now moved back up North to New England area where I am from). Have to say that the Spanish thing is more prevalent in the South and in other areas where there is a high Latino population. Here in Northern NH, close to the Quebec border, we do have a fair amount of things with French labels.

My fiance is used to grocery shopping nearly every day, buying fresh produce, etc. for the evening's meal. I, on the other hand, HATE having to go to the grocery store every evening after work; I would rather shop once a week. Have to say though, if I had lived in Vancouver and had access to greengrocer's and butcher shops rather than having to trek through a huge grocery store, I might like to shop daily too!

[Canuck Carrie 1]

Miss Kathryn & Cassie hit it on the head for me. Add to it that I'm in Texas, the church and patriotic-ness is tripled, quite the shock for me.

Coming from big, bad downtown Toronto I'm used to all shades of people. All this time I thought we only had 2 black people here until I was told they live "over there", meaning north of the McDonalds, I guess people don't mix too much here.

Now that I'm working I've noticed the differences more. It may just be my line of work (411 operator) but (most/some) Americans are just plain ol' rude. I have people literally yell at me because I ask them to repeat or spell something, they seem to ignore the fact that they mumble, talk like they have marbles in their mouths, say "unh" instead of yes or no or pronounce it with letters that aren't even in the word. Manners seem to be unheard of.