posted Saturday, 23 May 2009, 19:53 (+0800), by Martin
More Observations
Following on from my previous list of observations, I thought I'd take the opportunity to jot down some more, while seated on a plane 10km above the ocean a few hours north-east of Sydney (but posted on my blog sometime later).
Note that this wasn't my first time in Canada - but it's the first time I've taken the opportunity to make a note of some of the differences that struck me while in Canada.
Here are the additional observations:
- Waiting staff in restaurants and cafes provide a better level of service than in Australia. [1]
- All hotels and airports I visited provided free wifi internet access. [2]
- There are lots of Aussies working in Canada. [3]
- Light switches are upside down compared to Australia (ie, up is on in Canada).
- "Entree" refers to the main course, while in Australia, it refers to starters. [4]
- When asked by waiting staff if they would like more coffee/food/etc, Canadians
typically respond with "I'm good". What does good behaviour have to do with it?
- A "strip mall" isn't what I thought it was! [5]
- A car with a manual gearbox is referred to as having a "standard" transmission.
Does that mean an auto gearbox is non-standard? Even though most cars have autos?
- Canadian toilet bowls are a very different shape to those used in Australia. [6]
- ATM machines don't seem to give out larger denominations than a CAD$20 note. [7]
- Buildings don't have a level 1, but go straight from the ground floor to level 2.
Footnotes
- They do so to ensure they'll get a decent tip from you, as a significant portion of their income is from tips they receive from their customers.
- In Australia, hotels typically charge AUD$30 per day for broadband internet access.
- This appears to be particularly true in the tourist industry. At the Jasper Tramway, about half the staff were Aussies.
- I believe "Entree" is derived from French, but how can it have such a different meaning in Canada vs Australia?
- A strip mall is a single row of shops.
- I'm not referring to the "bog drops" in the national parks...but to the normal porcelein ones seen in houses and offices. Does anyone know the reason for the difference in shape?
- This can be annoying when you withdraw a few hundred dollars, and you end up with a very full wallet.
In Quebec, the french word "Entree" refers to starters :-)