What's the STUPIDEST question you've been asked about Canada

SaaraG
CanuckAbroad Regular



Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 37
Location: Bristol, UK

Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 7:07 am

 

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I grew up all over the world and I have heard some silly questions, but the one encounter that will forever stick with me took place in Washington, D.C.

I went into a store and was chatting with the woman behind the counter when she asked me where my "strange" accent came from. I told her I was from Canada and she said she had been and thought it was really "cute". I asked her what she meant and she proceeded to explain that she thought it was a really sweet TOWN. She then spent 5 minutes trying to convince me that Canada was a town in Northern KENTUCKY!

Realising that geography was not her strong point, I explained that we were the country to the North of the States. She then informed me that there was no country to the north of America which is why the continent is called NORTH AMERICA!

You can't fault that logic!

And one last frustration: That the Brits are always trying to convince me that they "own" Canada. First off.just because we share a queen does NOT mean that any Tom, Dick or Harry in a pub OWNS me or my country! Sorry.that's 2 years of the same comments driving me nuts!

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Karon
New Member



Joined: 24 Sep 2006
Posts: 1
Location: Phoenix

Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 7:55 am

 

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I had someone ask."Was if difficult having a social life as a teenager?" I replied "No.Why?" to which they responded "I mean given that everyone lives so far away from eachother."
And me being the smarta** that I am, couldn't help but say "Oh no, that wasn't a problem at all, just hook the dogs up to the sled and off you go, not an issue."
Brutal.lol

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Reba
Moderator


Canuck in NC

Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1488
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 9:46 am

 

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Yeah, I've heard the comments about Canada and cold and snow all the time. Its very difficult to get Southern Americans to understand that Canada has summer time too, and even my friend up in Nunavut has a couple of months without snow And being from Toronto myself, try to explain to them that summer time there is stifling hot and humid, and yes, can get up to 100F for days on end.

But, a couple of other interesting (how's that for a diplomatic word? ) people have asked me some rather interesting questions. One was "Canada? Where's Canada?" and another was "where'd you learn to speak English so good?"

The second question I just answered "my father is from England" after I picked my jaw up from the ground. The first I said "um.north"

These same people have never left North Carolina, and probably couldn't even pick out Washington DC on a map, let alone any other country.
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Martin
New Member



Joined: 15 Nov 2006
Posts: 5

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:01 am

 

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This reminds me of this news story recently

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Reba
Moderator


Canuck in NC

Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1488
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:28 am

 

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Unfortunately, the same can probably be said of most school age children in any country.
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YellowkniferINTHEUK
New Member



Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Posts: 3
Location: Canterbury

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:38 am

 

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Some of these are pretty hilarious, but I must say that when I travel in southern Canada (I'm from Yellowknife) more often than not people think that I'm from the Yukon, including some of my professors in college. So Canadians aren't always the sharpest tools in the shed either.

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acrossthewall
Junior Member



Joined: 06 Dec 2006
Posts: 19
Location: New York, USA

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 12:42 pm

 

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In the summer of 2005 I was trying to buy a cellphone here in New York. I explained to the woman behind the counter that I was a student from Canada, that I wanted to be able to use my phone at home, and that I also wanted to be able to call home for a reasonable rate.

She blinked at me and said, "Well, what state is that in?"

It took about ten minutes to convince her that a) Canada was a separate country; b) it was north of the U.S.; c) it was not on the map of the contiguous 48 states that she was holding. Sheesh. That was also the last time I went to the local Wal-Mart.

I also once had a Texan nod knowingly when I said I was from Canada. "Yeah," she said. "You look Canadian. Especially in your facial features." Uh, right.

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Reba
Moderator


Canuck in NC

Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1488
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:59 pm

 

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The most annoying thing in Wal Mart I've seen was the display of "State" flags, and there was a Canada flag The packaging even said "Your State Flag"

I wanted to scoop someone's eye out with a spoon.
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