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Hi, Are You Canadian?
Look For These Tell-Tale Signs to Spot Canadians
Canadians welcome the world with smiles – and beers.
(Editor's Note: This article as been "Canadian approved")
Aside from the obvious – red sweatshirt with the country's name stitched proudly across the front – how does a visitor at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C, recognize a Canadian?
Yes, Canadians do indeed say "eh" at the end of sentences, they go "oot and aboot," react to every song by the Tragically Hip as if were the national anthem and manage to work hockey into almost any conversation. (If Canada doesn't win Gold in this sport at the Games, it will be a national tragedy almost akin to running out of beer.)
They are friendly, as approachable as a puppy dog, and love to have beers with strangers. A Canadian will say this statement is "bang on."
Yet in order to tell a Canadian from a distance takes a bit of casual observation. It's not as if they have features like a dark-skinned Italian or the dreadlocks of a Jamaican. At a distance, they kind of look like Americans, although some sport those small, square "Euro" glasses which make them appear as if they are from, say, Switzerland.
 Instead, it's the style and mannerisms that set them apart. These traits are most easily observed in a restaurant or bar.
Canadians think nothing of sitting outside on a patio in the Yaletown section of Vancover or Whistler Village, even if its cold, snowing or raining.
For breakfast (which they term "brekky") they are likely eating Eggs Benedict (called "Bennys") and drinking something that looks like a bloody mary but is not. It's called a Caesar, which is like a bloody mary but instead of rich, thick tomato juice the main ingredient is Clamato juice, a clam juice-type of tomato juice that Americans find as distasteful as hockey. Canadians drink this as if were water from the Fountain of Youth. It's also a sure sign someone is attempting to recover from a hangover.
At all other hours, they are drinking beer. In fact, beer is the unofficial national beverage of Canada. Canadians drink beer the way Russians drink vodka, Jamaicans consume run, Mexicans down tequila. To them, having a beer in the hand is as natural as putting on a pair of skates.
Once upon a time, a Canadian would rather be caught without a hockey jersey than drinking anything other than a Canadian beer – Molson, Alexander Keith's, Kokanee, Slemeen's. Today, however, they are as likely to be gripping a Bud Light as a Molson Canadian. They are quick to point out, however, that the Bud Light (or any other imported brand) is brewed in Canada.
Canadian girls are both beautiful and fun.
And the Canadian women? Well, they have a sparkle in their eyes that makes them as approachable as a golf green. They are, for the most part, quite beautiful, almost Swedish in their look, and are as friendly as a hockey player off the ice. Some are a bit wild and bartenders and waitresses display their zeal for life by encouraging patrons to enjoy their restaurant or bar and, of course, having another drink.
And many – particularly those from the Ontario province – have an outstanding physical feature that PubClub.com simply terms. MCBs.
So as the world comes to Canada, Canadians welcome visitors with open beers, hearty cheers and no fears (except about their hockey team winning Gold).
That's bang on.
– VANCOUVER 2010 OLYMPIC LINKS –
• Winter Olympics Fans Guide & Party Guide,
• Lindsey Vonn, America's Next Olympic Star.
• Ready for the Games: A Report From Whistler.
• Vancouver Visitor's Guide,
Get orientated so you can cruise the streets like a local.
• Official Vancouver Olympics Site. www.Vancouver2010.com
• Vancouver's pubs and clubs.
• Vancouver
Sightseeing & Activities Guide
• Specia Bonus: Sizzlin' Slopes Guide
to Whistler!
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