Weird Things Americans Have Said To/Asked Me

[tnguy21809 0]

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 Tim Hortons in 11 or 12 states, unfortunately you would have to move towards the east coast to be close to them.

http://www.timhortons.com/ca/locator/index.html

[trailmix 77]

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 Tim Hortons in 11 or 12 states, unfortunately you would have to move towards the east coast to be close to them.

http://www.timhortons.com/ca/locator/index.html

Yeah but they aren't the same, nothing in the U.S., virtually (food and drink) is the same as it is in Canada.

[Krikit 1,163]

Do you know what I find an interesting difference? In Canada, as you enter a city/town, you see the population listed on the sign. Here, I haven't seen that at all. And, sometimes, they don't even have a sign showing the name of the city/town, let alone the population.

[Emancipation 2]

Do you know what I find an interesting difference? In Canada, as you enter a city/town, you see the population listed on the sign. Here, I haven't seen that at all. And, sometimes, they don't even have a sign showing the name of the city/town, let alone the population.

Really?? here they have signs everywhere.. and a lot of them are listed as an "all American towns"... with a series of stars around the sign are they not ALL all American towns?

Edited April 6, 2009 by Emancipation

[Krikit 1,163]

Here they have signs pointing the way to "Historic Downtown name-of-town". At first I was like "Wow. That sounds interesting. We should go there." And then I noticed that EVERY town has an historic downtown.

Edited April 6, 2009 by Krikit

[coldwatersurf 5]

I said zed this weekend instead of Z. My husband quickly corrected me and explained the letter z in Canadian alphabet to our friends. You shouldve seen the look they gave me like I was speaking japanese or something. Haha

Edited April 6, 2009 by borderdriver

[minimule 3]

here are the top questions American people asked me before:

do you french women really dont shave? I HEARD THIS ONE ABOUT 50 TIMES

WHAT

is it true that french women are always naked?

is france in England?

how many states is there in France?

what language do French people speak?

do you guys have toilet?

and the famous

do you hate American?

[Krikit 1,163]

is it true that french women are always naked?

[Holliday 4]

My husband's Pastor: Why do Canadians put vinegar on tacos?

Me: Tacos? Really? I've never heard of that before.

Pastor: Hmm... maybe it's just a Calgary thing.

Heheh. I really didn't know what to say to that.

[Krikit 1,163]

My husband's Pastor: Why do Canadians put vinegar on tacos?

Me: Tacos? Really? I've never heard of that before.

Pastor: Hmm... maybe it's just a Calgary thing.

Heheh. I really didn't know what to say to that.

OMG, I couldn't even fathom being a part of that conversation!

[childress_london 3]

I've met with more than my fare share of Texas stereotypes in Canada. Some of what's been said to me include...

1. "You're from Houston? Wow. So what's a desert like?" (Houston isn't a desert; it's actually very humid, surrounded by quite a few forests and is near the gulf coast)

2. "So you guys wear guns all the time, right? Ever been in a shoot out?" (Please... stop watching TV)

3. "What's the horse-to-car ratio in Houston?" (It's actually illegal to ride a horse within the city limits and if someone did, it'd probably be hit by a car)

4. "Do you really have saloons?" (We HAD them in the 1800s...)

5. "If you're from Texas, why don't you speak like a Texan?" (Because most of us don't sound like the stereotype and just how many Texans have you met?)

6. "You guys sure do act like a bunch of cowboys down there, don't you?" (Considering this was asked to me by someone in Calgary... )

I once got asked if everyone dressed like a cowboy in Texas and does everybody own a horse. I must admit that before I moved to Texas, I also didn't think there was any green here. Imagine my surprise when I saw Houston! LOL It's a common misconception. I get asked about the desert too.

[Krikit 1,163]

I didn't even know Texas had a desert.

[childress_london 3]

Do you know what I find an interesting difference? In Canada, as you enter a city/town, you see the population listed on the sign. Here, I haven't seen that at all. And, sometimes, they don't even have a sign showing the name of the city/town, let alone the population.

It all depends on where you are in the U.S. Some towns will have these signs and some won't. You really can't live in one place in the U.S. and say that everywhere in the U.S. is like it. Every state is different. Sometimes very different. Different slang, different food, different culture, laws, etc. Sometimes it's almost like being in another country from state to state! LOL

I didn't even know Texas had a desert.

West Texas is actually pretty dry. Tumbleweeds and everything. Central and East Texas can be pretty green. Texas is very big, so you get a lot of diversity in one state. :-)

[Krikit 1,163]

Do you know what I find an interesting difference? In Canada, as you enter a city/town, you see the population listed on the sign. Here, I haven't seen that at all. And, sometimes, they don't even have a sign showing the name of the city/town, let alone the population.

It all depends on where you are in the U.S. Some towns will have these signs and some won't. You really can't live in one place in the U.S. and say that everywhere in the U.S. is like it. Every state is different. Sometimes very different. Different slang, different food, different culture, laws, etc. Sometimes it's almost like being in another country from state to state! LOL

Yeah. I meant "here" as in Florida. Sorry. (I've been to 44 states and they're definitely all different.)

[Peachey 10]

My fiance's dad and myself have a running moose joke. I sent him some "Moose Munch" for Valentine's day.

I've had to explain what a toque is MANY times.

My fiance's mother is very worried about her trip up here in the summer because "the culture is SO different".

My fiance and I went to Atlanta to visit one of his friends last summer. We were going out to dinner and I was sitting in the back seat. I said something like "too bad eh?" and the friend turned around, looked at me with the biggest grin on his face and said "YOU SAID EH!!!!!!!".

My fiance's family tried to get me to weigh in on some political jabber at xmas. I promptly reminded them that I can not vote in the US therefore would not be participating in the conversation. I would for sure get myself in trouble, I've noticed a much different way of thinking when it comes to politics when it comes to Canadians vs Americans.

Just remember, Canada is America's hat