A whole year? You have got to be kidding.
Nope. Checking the calendar, it has indeed been 12 months since we lurched off a plane into the New World. To put it mildly, it has been an eventful year as we established a home, work, school and all the other things that are needed for a normal life.
So here are six of the things I did not know and have had to learn, presented in handy list form because the internet hasn’t got enough lists on it. Thanks for reading my transatlantic gibberish!Being Scottish is always a good thingAs soon as I open my mouth, I’m guaranteed a smile. People love the accent and love to talk about Scotland and their Scottish relatives. Being Scottish opens doors, and hearts, and is overwhelmingly positive for everyone involved in the conversation.
Sometimes people have to admit they don’t know what I’m talking about, but I reply: “Dinna fash yersel’” and that seems to satisfy them. Hoots!You do develop a mid-Atlantic accent sort ofOne of my little uncertainties about emigration, as discussed in a previous blog post, was losing my accent. But a year has taught me that it’s not so simple.
Retaining the accent isn’t too difficult, but adapting your phrasing is essential. For example, you may make subtle changes to be better understood: garAGE instead of GARage or ADDress instead of addRESS. It’s the thin end of the wedge but I don’t really mind. I can cope with sounding a little bit North American.
The real test will be the reaction I get if I ever visit Scotland again…Let’s talk about the weatherI was surprised to discover that Canadians chat about the weather in much the same way that British people do. I thought it was a UK trait, due to the unpredictability of the climate, but no. Even here, where it’s hot in summer, cold in winter and not nearly so damp all year, people still like to comment on it.
Of course, part of the reason for that is our first winter here has been an extreme one, with cold weather records tumbling all over the place. But I’m still amazed when people wander into a coffee shop, shrug off the minus-30 wind chill and say: “Cold today, isn’t it?” Um, yes. It is.Tim Horton’s is not the only coffeeSoon after my arrival, with a caffeine rush upon me, I wrote a blog post enthusing about Tim Horton’s, Canada’s great success story in coffee form. I still love my Timmies, and I still feel thankful to have good, affordable coffee on every street corner, but I can see beyond it now.
One of the real pleasures of living in North America is the coffee. The chains are good (I especially love Starbucks) but it’s wonderfully easy to get a great coffee from independent coffee shops. A short walk from the office is local business Fire Roasted Coffee, where a couple of dollars gets me heaven in a cup, and I’m happy to support places like that.The spelling is more similar than I realizedWhen I arrived, I was worried that I would have difficulty with Canadian English. It’s a particular problem for a journalist because all joking aside we are supposed to have a good command of the language.
But I need not have been concerned. One of the joys about working in newspapers here is that nearly everything is done in the British style. It’s “colour” with a U and “councillor” with a double L. “Practice” is the noun and “practise” is the verb. It’s all part of Canada’s fierce determination to remain different from its neighbours to the south, which is something that Scots might recognise.
Ah, but that should be “recognize”, in the local style. There are some differences, like “tires” on a car. I’m getting there.The worst thing about CanadaLet’s get one thing straight: emigration has been an amazing experience. Yes, there have been ups and downs, but we’ve been warmly welcomed and I love the place. So, despite being a whinging Scot, I can’t criticise anything. Well… almost.
The one thing I cannot stand about this country is a weird, petty, little problem that I encounter every day: the inertia reel seat belts are terrible.
There must be a different industry standard here that makes car seatbelts retract more slowly. Every time I get out of a car I catch the damn thing in the door, and turn the air blue.
And if that’s as bad as Canada gets, I think we can stay.