Tales from the Steppes

2004-07-01

11:41 a.m.
In my mind and in my car, We can't rewind, we've gone too far

I was all set to write a long meditative piece on my sister, who just moved to Belgium, when my calendar informed me that today is Canada Day, so you are spared of my sibling angst. That is probably worth a holiday right there.

So here are my favorite things about Canada.

1) The music - Great Big Sea, Barenaked Ladies, Tragically Hip, Spirit of the West, Bruce Cockburn, Barra MacNeil, Ashley MacIsaac, Natalie MacMaster, and on and on the list goes.

2) The TV shows - Once a Thief, curling at odd hours, TV stars that look like real people.

3) Honey-garlic things - honey-garlic sausage, honey-garlic wings, honey-garlic everything.

4) The exchange rate.

5) Vancouver - Mountains, sea, lakes, even a rainforest. What more do you need?

6) Tim Horton's - 'Cause who doesn't need doughnuts from a drive-thru 24 hours a day.

7) Funky winter sports - Don't know the rules? Doesn't matter! Still fun to watch.

8) Niagara-on-the-Lake - It's just so darn cute!

9) Beer as a cultural institution.

10) Canadian food in general - Robin Hood flour and mixes, Nainamo bars, President's Choice sauces.

11) The culture and politics, in general.

In the interest of fairness, I am including a list of my least favorite things about Canada.

1) Paying extra for rice at Chinese restaurants - Give me a break! It's just rice.

2) Shopping malls - All of the Canadian shopping malls I have been in have been a bit on the unintentially retro side. And poutaine at the food court is just a bit much. I mean, I have been paid to clean up things that look better than that.

3) Lake swimming - I went to Toronto in the 6th grade to play in the Robbie and my host family took us to a lake to swim. I still remember my absolute shock on hitting the water. Way, way too cold to actually swim in.

4) Black flies - not unique to Canada, but close enough in my book.

5) Canadian or Canadienne - Ok, is it Canadienne is a person and Canadian is a thing or visa versa? Or are the Canadiennes just a hockey team? Arrrgh!