Man, I really like the Canadians. They are so kind. I’m sure there are one or two that aren’t, but I certainly haven’t heard from them. I have had the pleasure of doing two phone interviews with some good ol’ Canadians. I’m pretty sure I didn’t make too much of a fool out of myself, but I’ll let you be the judges. I can say, both interviews went very smoothly and I felt very much at ease. That was greatly appreciated from my end.
The first was with the Motts, Paul and Carol. You can find that interview here.
The second one with Hanna from That’s So Gay can be found here.
I cannot tell you how strange it is to me that people want to talk to me. I love it. I love the discussion, I love different perspectives, I love the people. And yet, I still find this all so surreal. I appreciate the graciousness of the interviewers. I’m still getting used to all of this and feeling my way around, but with people like the ones I’ve dealt with around, it isn’t hard at all. Thank you, Paul, Carol, and Hanna.
Please take a listen and give a little love to my neighbors up north.
Canada! Canada! Canada!…
There are certainly some dingbats and intolerant “ice holes” here in Canada too, but I’d like to think the majority of us are pretty easy going and accepting. One thing I would like to clarify is that not all of Canada is always cold, and we do not live in igloos either…just sayin’ :-)
I like to think us Canadians are mostly polite and sweet, so I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying yourself :)
But, how the school system teaches tolerance, is by promoting the theory that people are and should be all the same inside, and that some particular differences (such as skin color and sexual orientation) are unimportant. The upshot is that there’s actually rather less tolerance than you’d expect for any eccentricity that’s potentially a volitional matter, and less tolerance than you’d hope for, for accomplishment and ambition.
Growing up in Toronto, about 95% of my first encounters involved parrying questions concerning my accent (odd, English-ish vowels, mild speech impediment). I moved to Massachusetts, and that immediately went down to about 30% and almost nobody wants to know what’s up with my accent before they know my name, so I can generally conduct retail transactions without it coming up.
Yay Canada!!!
I work for a call center that takes international calls and have always found our Canadian clients to be the most polite and easy to work with. It must be the cold air…
As a Canadian, I love the progressive Americans who promote gay rights and “salad bowl” thinking instead of “melting pot” thinking!
I like that phrase - salad bowl. It really is better than melting pot. It allows all to be who, how and what they are, yet acknowledges that we all are part of a whole. We do not have to be fully assimilated.
I love them Canadians too!
As an American ex-pat living in Canada, I can agree that in general Canadians are pretty cool! I live in a big city so I come across the odd jerk, but there’s still a lot of kindness and politeness. I feel that politically even the most conservative Canadians look pretty liberal in light of the American political spectrum. I, personally, will take my same-sex marriage and my healthcare, thank you very much, and live out my days up here in the cold north.
I’m not Canadian but I’m close enough that I get Canadian radio stations!
That said, congratulations on all your recent media exposure! How exciting/terrifying! ;-)
-Karinya @ Unlikely Origins
http://www.unlikelyorigins.blogspot.com
We try!! I’m sure (know) that there are some butt-heads up here, but we try to ignore them!
Gee, I am loving Canada more already in just two comments! Yup, I have quite a few gay and lesbian friends legally married here in Canada (and amazingly society hasn’t unravelled, heterosexuals haven’t abstained from a now-meaningless institution, and um, well… it probably just provides more stability eh. what an idea) and I do, I do answer the phone in French and switch effortlessly to English (or vice versa!) Thanks y’all!
I will be eternally grateful for the opportunity Canada gave my husband and I by marrying us legally under their laws in 2003. And the warm welcome and well wishes we received from all in Toronto made our wedding extra special and full of excellent memories.
I have several friends who are Canadian, but in dealing with them through business I, speaking only one language, have always been impressed when they answered the phone in French and switched to English like it was no big deal.
Yay for us Canadians! (though believe me, I can tell stories of my exes, quite a few of whom are Cdn, if you like… :P)
And oh, re the dressing up, I did a drawing of my son in his princess dress:
http://leannefranson.blogspot.com/2011/03/step-by-step-of-princess-mulan.html
Check it out! :D