A laugh

[nedfumpkin]

British told how to treat visitors – including Canadians – to the 2012 Olympics

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/artic ... mpics?bn=1

Feel free to find your own country and say whether it is true or not....My comments are in red.
....

EXCERPT FROM VISIT BRITAIN BROCHURE

Section on Canadian tourists from Visit Britain brochure “Delivering a first class welcome”

CANADA

Social practices – not laws – govern many types of behaviour in Canada. Some traditions are well established and are politely but firmly enforced.

For example:

• Lining up, or queuing: People normally line up or queue according to the principle of ‘first-come, first-served.’ They will be angry if you push ahead in a line-up instead of waiting your turn.

This is true. Canadians will generally wait patiently in line for stuff. But then, Asian immigrants tend to just crowd in, which annoys those who grew up here. We'll stand in line for anything, and if there is no definable line, the people generally know who was first and will still wait their turn.


• Not smoking in private homes: Most Canadians do not smoke.

Statistically this is true, and it is also true that many people who do smoke, won't smoke in their house.

• When you are in people’s homes, you should always ask their permission to smoke. However this may be different in Quebec.

This is just good manners if your hosts aren't smokers and there's no ashtrays about.


• Being on time: You should always arrive on time. People who are often late may be fired from their jobs or suspended from school. Many Canadians will not wait more than 10-15 minutes for someone at a business meeting. For social events, it is expected that you will arrive within half an hour of the stated time.

This is true, but I don't think it is just Canadians


• Respect for the environment: Canadians respect the natural environment and expect people to avoid littering.

Not everybody, but this is true too...Canadians generally don't litter.

• Bargaining: Bargaining for a better price is not common in Canada, but there are some exceptions. People who sell things privately may also bargain.

This is true to. Most people I know while shop around and compare prices. The prevailing attitude is that if is if you have to haggling for a good price then the shopkeeper is dishonest in their pricing. But trying to get discounts off the stated price for a variety of reasons could be considered a form of haggling, but this occurs after the price has been set and the decision to purchase has been made.

• Smart shopping: Stores compete on price with one another to attract customers. Note: the price marked on goods in stores does not include taxes, which add from 7-15% to the cost of an item, depending on the province.

In order to shop in Canada, you must be able to do math to figure out the price with the taxes.

• Shaking hands: It is customary that you always shake hands at a first-time meeting and always in business situations.

To a degree true. But formal introductions in the US and Europe also include shaking hands.

• First names: Canadians are always on a first name basis; especially in social situations and informal business environments.

Again, for the most part very true. Kids call their friends' parents by their first names, most companies are on a first name basis, even me when I call clients I address them by their first name. The exceptions are that teachers will be formally addressed by their students and most parents, court officials of course, and other stuff like that.

• Not Americans: The Canadian visitor to Britain is not an American.

• Many in Britain treat Canadians as Americans even though they are quite different from their American neighbours. Canadian may take offence if labeled as American. Canadians often identify themselves as Canadians by wearing a maple leaf pin, or a maple leaf on clothing, etc.

This is true as well. Americans and Canadians pretty much look the same, drive the same cars, live in the same houses, and possess many of the same qualities of good character. But we are as different as the French and the Italians, the Germans and the Dutch, the English and the Irish.

[Blackhawk]

• Many in Britain treat Canadians as Americans even though they are quite different from their American neighbours. Canadian may take offence if labeled as American. Canadians often identify themselves as Canadians by wearing a maple leaf pin, or a maple leaf on clothing, etc.

That reminds me of some words of "wisdom" I heard somewhere. If you run into a person and can't tell if they are Canadian or American, assume they are Canadian. A Canadian might be annoyed at being labeled an American, but if you mistake an American for a Canadian most won't mind. Those that would mind, you could probably tell they were American. I think I heard something similar with Australia and New Zealand, when in doubt go with New Zealand.

[nedfumpkin]

We used to hear stories about American backpackers sewing a Canadian flag on their backpacks so they wouldn't get treated as poorly in Europe.

I think a better bit of wisdom would be that if you don't know where someone is from, don't assume any place and just ask.

Funny thing in the movies Bruges, there is a scene in a restaurant that inolved smoking and Canadians. I guess now we are stereotyped, yet you don't hear about the native smokes issue. In Canada cigarettes are taxed so that a pack of 25 will range in price from $7.00 all the way up to $14.00. So the natives who live on reserves near the border with the US smuggle in loads of smokes and sell them on the reserves for less than half the price. Gov't is upset over the lost taxes. So they keep trying to crack down.

[dantheman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29g57XTYgLE
they must have seen this true story