VACATION
My First Impression Of Canada
Three small things opened my eyes
The first time I came to Canada was Christmas 1999 when my husband and I flew in from Germany for a three-week vacation.
We landed in Toronto. One week later, we went to a small town in Alberta to visit two old friends we had met in Germany, then briefly stopped in Vancouver before returning to Toronto and from there back to Germany.
During the time, we visited Niagara Falls and toured the Banff National Park. The grandeur of Canada’s natural landscape is certainly astounding, but here I want to talk about a few small things that form my initial impression of Canada.
1. A big country indeed
In Chinese Canada is 加拿大. The last word“大” means “big”, which also highlights the characteristics of this country.
Not only does Canada have a vast territory, but it also has wide roads.
On the way from the airport to the hotel in the city, we noticed that most of the streets have three or even four lanes on each side, which is rare in Germany.
What caught my attention, in particular, was that the cars running on the road were big one after the other, and some of them were just like small moving castles.
I was a little disappointed to see that there was hardly a single German car on the way, mostly Japanese or American cars.
It’s bad for Germany, the big car maker.
2. I needed a hat
In Germany, it is pretty cold in winter, but usually, we didn’t spend much time outside. When you go out, a thick coat and a scarf can keep you warm.
Walking down the streets of Toronto, it was so windy that I had to clasp my shoulders, but I couldn’t resist the oncoming wind. The wind was so strong that it not only hurt the skin on my face but every now and then it curled up my long hair and threw it into the air.
Fortunately, there are many shopping malls in the city. We walked to the nearest one, and as soon as we entered the door, a sudden heatwave hit, inside and outside the door, there were two worlds of ice and fire.
The heavy coat became a burden, it was too hot to put on and too heavy to hold in my hand.
Surprisingly, the mall even provided a service to save coats.
We took off our jackets and felt light. When we passed a hat store, I remembered the strong wind on the street, so I hurried in and picked one.
I don’t think I look good in a hat, but it wasn’t so important at that time, what was more important was, to keep my head warm.
It’s a bit of a surprise that Toronto is colder than Germany in winter.
3. The labeled price of the item does not match the price to be paid
Taking the hat to the counter to pay, I found out that I had to pay more than the label showed. Why?
When I carefully looked at the bill, I realized that the price on the item label was the net price, excluding tax. Canada levies two taxes: GST, and PST, a total of 12% (different % in each province). That is, if you see an item listed for $10, you’ll be paying roughly $11.2.
I felt cheated at the moment. Isn’t this cheating? When the net price looks low, customers are certainly tempted to buy it, and then only to find out that they have to pay 12% more when they pay.
It was the first time that I encountered such a weird price tag.
Closing Thoughts
Whenever you go to another country, you will experience something new. They surprise you or even shock you, but anyway you can’t change them.
Whether you like them or not, it’s better to accept than to complain. Thankfully, there are many new things to appreciate and enjoy too.
Maturity is really about living a better life after constantly overcoming the things you don’t like and moving on.
Thank you for reading! Care to share your thoughts on strange cultures? Love to read your comments!
You might like my other story about Japanese culture. Thank you for all of your support!
