It’s Peaceful dammit- By Charles Clayton
It’s peaceful dammit
I’m almost two years into my life in Canada now. Two years of what I will probably look back on and describe as “interesting”! Two years of still grappling with the vast cultural difference that I really didn’t realize existed in my original naivety. Ah well at least it makes for some interesting discussions on occasions. Thank goodness I’m fairly large sometimes!
I’m still surprised at how often I get asked by Canadians,
“So how do you like Canada (eh?)?
It is like a Pavlovian reaction. Hear an accent. Enquire as to length of stay. Ask the question. The intriguing part is that it is always the same question. No variation on the basic theme. It is always – how do I like Canada! I’ve never been asked how I like Canadians. How I like the country. How I like Ontario. Why I am here. What I think of the people or politics. What the differences are. How I am coping with the differences.
So here’s the very simple answer. I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t done my homework on the country, it’s people and it’s customs. I am a Mensan after all. I chose to come to Canada for what, I reasoned, that it offered to my children and me. Simple. And, I suspect, the exact same reason every other legal immigrant has for coming here.
When Canadians learn I am from South Africa they then say,
“I hear it is such a beautiful country”. Followed by a sigh. Not always mine I may add.
Well yes. God certainly had a hand in shaping the geographic environment. I think sometimes that the Devil decided to balance things out by dabbling with the people there but that is another story.
The funny thing is that no South African ever asks anyone they think is an alien “So how do you like South Africa (hey?)? We just automatically assumed that they knew how beautiful it was. The first questions that are asked revolve around whether the visitor had seen this or that or the other. Done this or that. Eaten or drunk this or that! If it was suspected that they might not have, then a major effort was made to ensure that they did. Honour was at stake! Every conceivable thing that could be thrust upon the unsuspecting visitor was! Including the ubiquitous “braai”. This, to the uninformed, is a Barbeque where copious quantities of meat and alcohol are consumed. This explains why visitors nearly always go home weighing more than when they arrived desperately needing cholesterol testing. Clutching enough film of obscure places that never make it into the guidebooks to keep Kodak’s shareholders smiling. Not to mention the souvenirs of carved wooden giraffes that need an airline seat of their own to be taken home.
So here’s a small wake up call to Canadians. Actually from what I have seen this country has some of the most astounding scenery around. And some very interesting places to visit and things to do. I am coming to the sneaky suspicion though that most Canadians know very little about their own country and indeed have seen even less.
When I talk to them about certain parts of Canada I also get the “I hear” line. “I hear that Alberta is quite nice”. “I hear that the train ride through the Rockies is beautiful”. I’m still trying to find someone who has traveled extensively throughout Canada. Whenever I hear people discussing their plans for a vacation, future or past, it always seems to involve travel outside the country. If inside the country it seems to be the Cottage Country getaway. The same getaway every year. When I ask if they have been to the Maritimes or BC or indeed the outer reaches of Ontario I mostly get told that “someday” they intend to do it. That is if I get a verbal answer rather than “the look”! The “are you crazy? Why go there when I can laze in the sunshine at some over-priced resort and be waited on?”look!
OK I admit that travel is cheap here. That going to Europe, the UK or the many Islands in the Caribbean is affordable. Even with the Dollar exchange traveling down in the America’s seems to be inexpensive too. It is exciting to have tales of overseas travel under your belt. Makes you seem both glamorous and rich (probably the main reason for doing it!), but maybe it is time to get to know your own country and all it’s splendour. Before the immigrants do it and become annoying in their smug knowledge of the country.
I seriously suspect that the reason Canadians ask the question is because they are unsure of the country themselves. They feel a little guilty about that and need some reassurance.
Which is why I never allow my warped sense of humour to get the better of me and answer in the negative. I may just try that someday to see if I would get a reaction, but you know, I think that the Canadians damn politeness when dealing with “multicultural sensitivities” would probably overcome any desire to tell me to “go home”.
I hear Mexico is warm this time of the year.
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