[michou]

Ahem... <br /> <br />If I may, <br /> <br />Would you be so kind as to share your own opinion about this matter Mr.Can-Euro and in return, we will most likely oblige with ours. <br /> <br /><i>...so I would personally say Canadians are perceived from other countries as being generally polite, amiable and reserved...</i> <br /> <br />Bienvenu monsieur Can-Euro

[Mr.Can-Euro]

Thanks for your opinion and I'll be happy to share my opinion on this matter michou. I believe the world indeed does view Canadians as polite and amiable but I also believe that they also view Canadians as a small group of people who have made some interesting contributions to the world. However, many people from different countries from around the world don't know that Canada, along with having many different cultures and traditions, has its own unique culture as well.

[michou]

Mr. Can-Euro wrote: <br /><i>However, many people from different countries from around the world don't know that Canada, along with having many different cultures and traditions, has its own unique culture as well.</i> <br /> <br />Interesting comment. <br /> <br />More often than not, it has been my experience that Canadians have difficulties defining their nation's culture, a common bond from coast to coast so to speak. <br /> <br />I hope you will enlighten us as to what this unique Canadian culture you mention is all about. Please don't tell us the secret can be found at any TimHorton's. I've just passed the Timbit level on this site and I don't ever want to go back there. <br /> <br />I'm also looking forward to comments other than my own.

[Mr.Can-Euro]

Here is what I think Canadian culture is: <br /> <br />I believe Canadian culture is unique from the rest of the world as all cultures are. The Canadian culture is our flag, red and white with a maple leaf in the middle, and our national animal, the beaver. Canadian culture is the uniqueness of each province and territory that makes up Canada. Canadian culture is the different, uniquely-Canadian foods we have like Quebec poutine, Alberta prairie oysters, Canadian maple syrup, and Timbits. It is the values that Canadians have like public healthcare, being peacemakers to the world, and helping those countries that need help. It is being among countries that support freedom like USA, UK, Germany, France, etc. It is being able to correct people from different countries when they call Canadians Americans. Having our own talent in music, television, and movies even though most of that talent resides in the USA. Having 2 official languages, anglais et francais. In order for us to continue to have this culture and be able to expand on it means keeping Canada together and keeping Canada sovereign. <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/smile.gif' alt='Smile'>

[Dr Caleb]

[QUOTE BY= michou] Mr. Can-Euro wrote: <br /><i> <br />More often than not, it has been my experience that Canadians have difficulties defining their nation's culture, a common bond from coast to coast so to speak. <br /> [/QUOTE] <br /> <br />All too often Canadians define themselves by what they are not (ie: American) rather than by what we are. One thing not listed it 'Patient'. You can't live in a country this size and not be.<p> <br /> <br />[QUOTE BY= Mr.Can-Euro] <br />I believe Canadian culture is unique from the rest of the world as all cultures are. [/QUOTE] <br /> <br />I agree. One of the things that makes us unique is we don't want new immigrants to blend in. We want to learn and experience other cultures within our own.<p>

[michou]

Mr. Can-Euro, <br />Let us be careful when dealing with perceptions. They are deceiving and in the wrong hands they can become a powerful tool for deception. <br /> <br />Flags and anthems are symbols. That is all and with time they change. Maples grow in Québec and so do poutines …but I've never eaten prairie oysters and correct me if I'm wrong but aren't they the fried testicles of some wild animal ? Are they eaten with a dip ? As for the timbits, I’m full thank you. <br />(I concur with Mr. Can-Euro, Canada has a rich and diverse regional cuisine.) <br /> <br />A nation will also be judged by the company it keeps. I would not personally call the US and the UK the best of buddies to hang around with right now. As a matter of fact, I would not recommend bringing them home with you. They might decide to stay, by force if they have to. It wouldn’t be in Canada’s best worldwide reputation to associate itself too closely with occupiers. <br /> <br />Perception : Canada is searching for its identity. <br />True or false ? <br />

[Milton]

Yes, Canada is searching for its identity. Some want to change the name to Canusa but I am not one of those. I think we have an undeserved reputation as peacemakers. Its hard for the world to see what we do because we are so close to the blinding glare emitted by the USA. We are not as evil as the leaders of the G8 but we haven't been very hospitable to the dispossessed of this world either.

[michou]

Dr Caleb wrote: <br />[QUOTE] <br />All too often Canadians define themselves by what they are not (ie: American) rather than by what we are. [/QUOTE] <br /> <br />Defining oneself through what one is not is the first step in discovering what one is, non ? <br /> <br /> <br /><i> C’est l’idée de culture <br />qui fait que nous sommes <br />ce que nous sommes. <br />Être vraiment d’une culture, <br />c’est savoir d’où nous venons, <br />c’est savoir à quoi nous rêvons, <br />c’est savoir de quelles réalités <br />nous entendons rendre prégnants <br />les rêves que nous portons, <br />c’est savoir à quelle nouvelle <br />hauteur de liberté <br />nous espérons atteindre.</i> <br /> <br /><b>Victor-Lévy Beaulieu</b> <br /> avril 1998

[gaulois]

[QUOTE BY= michou] <br /> <br /><i> C’est l’idée de culture <br />qui fait que nous sommes <br />ce que nous sommes. <br />Être vraiment d’une culture, <br />c’est savoir d’où nous venons, <br />c’est savoir à quoi nous rêvons, <br />c’est savoir de quelles réalités <br />nous entendons rendre prégnants <br />les rêves que nous portons, <br />c’est savoir à quelle nouvelle <br />hauteur de liberté <br />nous espérons atteindre.</i> <br /> <br /><b>Victor-Lévy Beaulieu</b> <br /> avril 1998[/QUOTE] <br /> <br />I am definitely from Quebec and yet I have not lived in Quebec for a very long time. Other than his last name, I share a lot with Victor-Levy (!) as a "Gaulois" sceptical about comes out of cultural bureaucracies, whether based in Ottawa, Quebec City or Montreal, for example. My brother lives in the same small town of Trois-Pistoles and is even his family doctor. Over and above this, Victor-Levy and I probably share some common dreams and it would be each other loss if we could not call each other country-mates in the view of the World if some culturally inspired bureaucracies decided that we should not. All this to say that Canada readily allowes you to operate in more than one "Trusted Network". Refer to the francophonie forum for more. Some Americans do not seem as opened on this matter: "you are with us or against us". I wonder what would Victor-Levy would think. Perhaps I should use my connections to find out? <br />

[jared]

[QUOTE BY= michou] …but I've never eaten prairie oysters and correct me if I'm wrong but aren't they the fried testicles of some wild animal ? Are they eaten with a dip ? <br />[/QUOTE] <br />I've never even heard of prairie oysters... <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/lol.gif' alt='Laughing Out Loud'> Although I can assure you they're not testicles! And if they are, nobody around here eats them, trust me. <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/biggrin.gif' alt='Big Grin'> <br /> <br />As far as how foreigners see us, there's probably quite a scope of opinion... Certainly, some Americans think we're all idiots, and others desperately want to move up here. So who knows? The only thing I'm sure of is that they all think we're "frostbacks"... Which is true... <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/lol.gif' alt='Laughing Out Loud'>

[Congio]

Who is a Canadian?

- You can't tell what language a Canadian speaks: it can be English or French or even Inuit
- You can't tell the colour of his skin
- You can't tell his ethnicity
- You can't tell in what environment he lives: Metropolis, town, village, Ocean coast, prairie, mountains
- You can't tell what faith he is.

All you can tell about a Canadian is that you can't tell nothing sure about him. Diversity is the beauty of this country.

Canada is seen as the country that achieved the impossible: peaceful coexisting of different people.

[Hyack]

Damn nice necro....

[Congio]

I know