Job Discussion Forums

[Jojo]

Shaman: I am also a Leaf fan until I moved to Ottawa So, I am also upset about the whole Leaf/Sen loss. But, like I said think positive,,maybe next year

Is the Canadian Bacon movie the one with John Candy? If it is, it is hilarious! Candy is da Bomb!!

Jojo

[Shaman]

[gerard]

jud no I didnt mean anything negative about you or anyone for that matter. New York City is my favorite place and I like country music and a lot of other things American.

Just 2 points. I have never seen the Maple Leaf on a backpack. But if I did I would not blame the person for not wanting to be mistaken for an American. I have heard this that Canucks use the flag ONLY so they are not thought to be American.Maybe but again I have never seen it.

johnslat---I think you read more than me but....a few years ago Clinton called in airstrikes in the Sudan in an attempt to kill bin Laden. He meant well but he bombed a pharmaceutical plant which over the years has led to countless deaths. This is from Chomsky . With atrocities we could go alphabecically or chronologically.

Please I am trolling or out to make enemies.

Shanoi ben---soccer is really good but hockey is still king.

[Newfoundland]

I'll give you a prime example of why us Canadians and others do not want to be seen as Americans. Dalian, China march 2003 driving in a cab and the cab driver asks where I am from. I reply in chinese Canada. He proceeds to give me thumbs up and smiling ear to ear saying good good while saying America and shaking his head saying no no. Then with his hand does his best impression of a plane flying into a building twice. He did this about 4 or 5 times in a row laughing his his head off.

[johnslat]

Dear gerard,
Oh, I knew about that bombing of the pharmaceutical factory - it was the " killing millions " that bothered me. I see that now that millions has become " countless deaths ", instead. A wise move - it's always much better to stick to indefinite adjectives such as " countless " or " untold "; no one can pin you down then. Noah Chomsky is a great linguist and I often agree with his political statements as well. But he can and does go way overboard on occasion. And, being a great linguist is no guarantee that you're always right in other fields. But here's another point - isn't the USA Canada's main trading partner? If the Canadian government were as repelled as you are by the moral depravity of the USA, wouldn't it be moral of them NOT to aid and abet such behavior? And yet, they do so.
Now, I know you can't control the policy of your government, so I don't hold you personally responsible for aiding and abetting. You do realize, I'm sure, that there are many Americans who disagree with the actions of their government, too.
Regards,
John

[johnslat]

Dear Newfoundland,
" I'll give you a prime example of why us Canadians and others do not want to be seen as Americans. "
Forgive me for seeming obtuse, but what exactly IS the reason illustrated by your anecdote? That if you'd been seen as an American that would have deprived the taxi driver of his opportunity to gloat over the deaths of thousands of innocent victims? That if he'd thought you were American, he would have overcharged you? Or is there some other reason I'm missing here?
Regards,
John

[Newfoundland]

Sorry John, let me clarify. The point is "the crazies" are out there everywhere and whatever one can do to avoid being a target of their angerthe better. The obvious reasons for any Canadian wearing the flag is because we are proud to be Canadian. But furthermore it also acts as a sign, and how that sign is interpreted can make a big difference.

[johnslat]

Dear Newfoundland,
Well, I don't fault anybody for not wanting to seem " American " these days. I'm sure some " Americans " are impersonating Canadians, the Irish, New Zealanders, whatever. Good luck to all of them, and to the " non-Americans " who sport their countries' flags. I'm not so sure, though, that the real fanatics care very much which " Western " country you're from, in much the same way that some Westerners now don't care which Moslem country you're from. To fanatical haters, generalizations come easy: " Western bad " or " Moslem bad ". I suppose it would be judicious of me to reply with a fib when I'm asked ( as I almost always am ) by the taxi drivers here: Where you from? But darn it - there's something that won't let me do it, foolish though that might be. So, I tell them - I'm from the USA ( and then usually have to further explain - America ). Sometimes you don't get what you expect. Last Friday, on my way back from my weekly supermarket trip, I hailed a cab, got in and saw the driver was a Pakistani, full beard and all. He looked pretty mean, too. So he asked me ( of course ):
Driver:" Where you from "
Me: USA
Driver: Where?
Me: ( sigh ) America
Driver: Me Pakistani
Me: Uh-huh.
Driver: Me Christian
Me: You could've fooled me.
Driver: You pray?
Me: ( after thinking it over ): Yup, every time I get into a taxi.
Driver: It hard to be Christian here
Me: I'll bet
Driver: I go restaurant - prayer time - matawas come in, tell me " YOU GO MOSQUE ". I say, " I Christian ". They say " YOU NO CHRISTIAN. YOU MOSLEM. GO TO MOSQUE ".
Me: So, do you go?
Driver: I go, but I no pray.
Me: Well, keep the faith.

Regards,
John

[Wolf]

The flag thing, eh? In my house the flag was disliked (grandpa faught WWII under the union jack and it was good enough for him damit, and the flag was designed by Grits and the parents/aunts/uncles mostly Tory.)

As far as I know, it only gets used as an "I'm Not an American" thing. Now, don't flame me. I've never done this in four years as an expat. And in 20/20 hindsight I see this is kinda silly. But a lot of people where I came from honestly believed that it would be better to be considered a Canadian my the people who live "over there." Is it right or wrong? Don't know. It DOES imply that to be an Amercian is so absolutely horrible that one had better tatto/decorate one's self from head to toe in proof otherwise. The US has the third largest population in the world. Painting all people and all things USian in one stroke is, well, bound to be innacurate to say the least.

Interesting - When people ask me where I'm from I say "Japan" because a) I'm sick of having to be a Canadain. "What do Canadians think of (insert topic here)? What's Vancouver like? You're from Eastern Canada? Toronto, right? What is Canadian food?" If I was so interested in talking about Canada ad nauseum, then I'd never have become an EFL teacher.
b) There ARE people who are not Japanese ethnically but consider Japan home (permenant residents or even CITIZENS), and I want to help my students/whoever asks to see that there is no relation to pigmentation/nationality/what people are like. (Okay, but there doesn't have to be.)
c) It's fun to see the confused look.
d) Chinese get told lots of (sadly true) bad things about Japan's past. But that's all. I'd like for them to see their neigbor in a bit more of a balanced/realistic light.

Yeah, it's presuptuous (sp). But what's the harm? After all, The Constitutional Monarchy of the Rising Sun was the only home I knew for several years (never left.) Now Middle Earth is. The country I hold a passport from (which by the way is NOT PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP ) is not the only place that has been "home." And it's not like I'm unique. How many people go do another country for work? Not just EFL, but EVERYONE. If the do it for any lenght of time, then isn't the country they're standing in their "new home" for better or worse? Life is short. Life is change. Isn't trying to adapt to a new home a healthier attitude than obstinately (sp) hanging on to the "old country?"

Wow that got off topic.

[nomadder]

When I first backpacked years ago my sister and I had the flag because we heard it was the thing to do and it got us a drive in France and maybe different reactions from people-hard to tell. Last year I went back to Europe again and since the travel agent had given me an address tag with a flag on one side I left it on after the flight. During the first week I walked into a hostel and saw some girls sniggering and pointing at my flag and speaking French. Then I saw they too had Canadian flags. They certainly didn't try to be friendly and I decided I didn't want to be identified and took it off although last year maybe many were worried about anti-American sentiment. By now I don't care where I'm from. I don't think Canada is as good as it used to be and there's not that much to be proud of. Most Canadians you meet travelling are not that friendly. They'd probably rather you were from somewhere else. I don't feel we're very patriotic but you see flags, stickers and pins all over the world for some reason(they're free?). By now I don't take offence if someone calls me American. I just say I'm a North American. Who cares? With our rising crime rate, mostly American TV and dwindling healthcare and soon maybe no Canadian airline we may as well be American. Now I wouldn't care if we joined America but I doubt they'd want the hassle. The open spaces are nice though and long live Superstore! PS-I never really liked the Canadian flag.

[johnslat]

Item noticed in today's Arab News:

" Amman ( Jordan ) - A Swedish tourist was seen placing a small Swedish flag in front of him in a coffee shop here, Okaz reported. Curious Jordanians inquired of the waiters why he did so and were told the man was afraid of being mistaken for an American. "

Got to get me one of them flags.
Regards,
John

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Hi johnslat:

Well ... if I do finally break down and get me a flag, I've decided on Burkina Faso. If I'm going to make a political statement, I want it to at least be funny.

And here now, the country-facts of my **NEW** adopted homeland:

Formal Name
Republic of Burkina

Local Name
Burkina Faso

Local Formal Name
R�publique de Burkina

Location: Africa

Status: UN Country

Capital City: Ouagadougou

Main Cities: Bobo-Dioulasso

Population: 10,069,000 Area [sq.km]: 274,200

Currency: 1 CFA franc = 100 centimes (no longer used)

Languages: French, Sudanic tribal languages

Religions: Animist, Muslim

PS: Gotta luv the name of my new capital city, eh? Remind me to put this one on my next spelling quiz.

[M.]

To all co-authors of this thread,


I think we have the makings of a novel here, if We can just keep the thread going. We could sell the rights to Margaret Atwood so as not to make it too Amerikan.....

Shanoi Ben- I think it was you that said Canada and America have almost the same culture and language. So, I am a stupid Amerikan, but from my trips to Canada- I have found quite a few cultural differences and do believe that they have a second language as well. Not to mention the French-Canadian families that live outside of Quebec. I met one of thes families in Geneve� about ten years ago.....And even a different accent from Qeubecoise.

Every person that I have met in Eastern Europe has and Uncle, or cousin or Friend in Chicago, Toronto, or L.A.

Living in a Huge Turkish Neighborhood, I get to suffer for being American even though I don�t like most of my governments policies. What can I say, I can only try to show that not all Amerikans are idiots on a one-on-one basis.

Chomsky------- As far As I know....I think he is still American......He might have an Israeli passport.


Here in Berlin, I meet educated people who are anti-American, Anti-Israeli, Anti-French, Anti-Russian, Anti-Danish(believe it or not), Anti-Swiss, Anti-etc......

Unless these people or their families have personally suffered from any of these countries I find their outlook very narrow.......

M.

P.S. Kent have you seen any Tartars........with Tartar Flags on their Backpacks...........Every Tartar I met in Russia was very nationalistic........

[johnslat]

Dear keNt,
" Religions: Animist, Muslim "

Here's a tip - go with Animism. You'll have a lot more fun. Oh, and better lay in a large supply of burnt cork.
Regards,
John

[Shaman]

Well done, Kent. I've decided to follow your lead. If I opt to sport a flag, mine will be the Jolly Roger.

Stranger: "So. Where ya from?"

Me: "Treasure Island."



Shaman