Friends, family living in ideal areas

[Cataboo]

hrm. Maybe I'm easily amused or grasp at nit picky details - but while the US and Canada are Westernized, but it's fairly diverse. I've never seen it as completely the same - except from the standpoint of a starbucks and a walmart box store on every corner.

From where I live, I can go a couple hours and meet Mennonites or Amish people. I can drive 4 hours to New York city, find the Orthodox Jewish population and it's a completely different world. Or go to West Virginia or southern Virgina and seriously - West Virginians are very different. Southeners are different from New Englanders and so are people from the Midwest or the California. I wouldn't have to go far to find a section of town that's completely Haitian or Vietnamese or Chinese or hispanic... The spanish influence on architecture and history in the south vs. what you get in the northern states is quite different. Then there's the history of the various indian tribes around the US.

Ecosystems are completely different across the US.

When I visit Canada - I notice definite differences in culture that goes way beyond they say eh a lot more up there. You can see a definite British influence around Toronto or Vancouver - just from the point of views of gardening or gardens alone... Quebec is definitely completely different from the US... our closest French influenced area is New Orleans, and obviously... new Orleans is way different from Quebec in development and where the french ancestry has branched.


Yes, it feels like a completely different world when I'm in Asia or a third world country somewhere... But it also is a completely different world when I'm in the middle of Alabama or West Virginia, or in an inner city Ghetto, or in the hispanic sections of Los Angeles.

I find it much more exotic to leave the country on a vacation - but I also really appreciate the differences within the US ecosystem or people wise...

[shootingstar]

hrm. Maybe I'm easily amused or grasp at nit picky details - but while the US and Canada are Westernized, but it's fairly diverse. I've never seen it as completely the same - except from the standpoint of a starbucks and a walmart box store on every corner.

From where I live, I can go a couple hours and meet Mennonites or Amish people. I can drive 4 hours to New York city, find the Orthodox Jewish population and it's a completely different world. Or go to West Virginia or southern Virgina and seriously - West Virginians are very different. Southeners are different from New Englanders and so are people from the Midwest or the California. I wouldn't have to go far to find a section of town that's completely Haitian or Vietnamese or Chinese or hispanic... The spanish influence on architecture and history in the south vs. what you get in the northern states is quite different. Then there's the history of the various indian tribes around the US.

Ecosystems are completely different across the US.

When I visit Canada - I notice definite differences in culture that goes way beyond they say eh a lot more up there. You can see a definite British influence around Toronto or Vancouver - just from the point of views of gardening or gardens alone... Quebec is definitely completely different from the US... our closest French influenced area is New Orleans, and obviously... new Orleans is way different from Quebec in development and where the french ancestry has branched.


Yes, it feels like a completely different world when I'm in Asia or a third world country somewhere... But it also is a completely different world when I'm in the middle of Alabama or West Virginia, or in an inner city Ghetto, or in the hispanic sections of Los Angeles.

I find it much more exotic to leave the country on a vacation - but I also really appreciate the differences within the US ecosystem or people wise...

In Canada and the U.S. really...one doesn't have to travel for kms. to find someone who speaks English, they may not be perfect, but still easily understood. There is always an English language fallback /helpful person around. This alone I distinguish a difference being in any Chinatown, Japantown, etc. in North America vs. being in China or Japan. I also consider the North American history of those ethnic groups different from the original mother country. Even the mother language transferred to North America, takes on new word idioms particular to that immigrant group to reflect their immigrant history/experience. It is for this reason alone, none of us have visited relatives in China when visiting China: cultural and linguistic gap is just too enormous plus there is no pre-history of us as kids establishing any relationship with any relative in China by mail/phone.

Yes, true about the Mennonites who are culturally as well as by religion. Even their German is different. But now we have the Mexican Mennonites settling in farming community in southern Ontario.

[Aggie_Ama]

DH and I have the goal to see all 50 states. Sure some aren't that interesting but the US is a HUGE country and I feel a bit annoyed by people who don't try to learn about their country. For me I would love to see every state and every province in Canada. We also want to go out of the country but it does generally require more money and time off. I am not opposed to it but it isn't the most feasible goal.

We have a close friend living in Alaska, so next year we are getting to add a state that is usually very expensive to visit. I have wanted to go to Alaska since I was a kid and having one of our best friends there is just a great excuse!

[Tuckervill]

We were in Montreal a couple weeks ago, just overnight (staying in Vermont).

I was surprised and impressed and grateful to all the people we spoke to. When they said "bon jour" and we said, "Hi", they were almost apologetic that they didn't figure out that we spoke English and not French, and happily repeated everything they'd said in French for us to understand.

I rode for a while with a cyclist in Vermont who said he rode from his home in Middlebury to Montreal and back once a year (150 miles one way). He said the hardest part was trying to find a place to use the bathroom once he entered Quebec. ?? He said the farmers between the border and Montreal tended to speak a dialect of French that even people in Montreal didn't understand. I don't know if that's true, but I thought it was interesting. (By the way, the man was 70 years old.)

Karen

[e.e.cummings]

shootingstar, one of your comments reminded me of a friend of mine who took a cycling trip to Denmark - she came back saying - I could have gotten that landscape in Vermont! It is true, there are places that just look the same.

-We may join friends in Normandy, France next summer (son's best friend, we get along with the parents very well.)
-Dh's best friend is a professor in Calgary, and has a place near Banff - never been, love to go.
-have a friend/colleague in Vancouver - want to go all over again - never been in the summer. She is thinking of renting her place during the Olympics - she wants to get out of Dodge! Hmmmmm....

[shootingstar]

shootingstar, one of your comments reminded me of a friend of mine who took a cycling trip to Denmark - she came back saying - I could have gotten that landscape in Vermont! It is true, there are places that just look the same.

-We may join friends in Normandy, France next summer (son's best friend, we get along with the parents very well.)
-Dh's best friend is a professor in Calgary, and has a place near Banff - never been, love to go.
-have a friend/colleague in Vancouver - want to go all over again - never been in the summer. She is thinking of renting her place during the Olympics - she wants to get out of Dodge! Hmmmmm....

Well, Denmark sounds different enough culturally. My partner has been to Copenhagen twice..with latter trip examining their cycling infrastructure for several days and meeting local cycling advocates. Alot of history there and very different since the city so bike-oriented. So please...I meant sometimes the landscape looks the same....without the local people.

I'm telling friends: unless you're actually attending Olympic event, don't bother visiting us during the Olympics. It's going to be mayhem here in Vancouver. 250,000 extra people (than normal) daily in downtown core. This includes the media, athletes, visitors, security..

I live very close to one of the Olympic venues downtown plus less than 1 kms. radius from 3 major public park /event areas that will be active from 11 am - 11pm minimum during the whole 2 wks. These meet areas will have music, crowds, etc. Groan. The city wants to reduce cars into downtown by....35% in total during the Olympics.

Several other TE Vancouver members live not far also from the ..uh..crowded action. Unless they are taking off outside of Vancouver.