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Living overseas

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Original poster

Bizarre misconceptions about your home country

215 replies

NotQuiteCockney · 31/05/2006 21:54

As a Canadian, living in the UK, people are always sharing some very strange ideas about Canada:

  • It's really cold. No it bloody well isn't, not in the summer. It's hotter than the UK. Really.
  • We have loads of beautiful countryside. Well, kinda. It's a long way away from everything, the countryside. We have no right to roam, and no footpaths, so it may well be beautiful, but that doesn't mean you can go see it. And as we have loads of it, we can put up ugly warehouses made out of corregated metal anywhere we like.
  • It's very ecological. No, it's not. It's more car-dependant than the UK. Organic food is harder to get. And electricity is cheaper, so we use loads. And it's more of a consumer culture than here - more adverts on the telly, for one thing.
  • It's cheaper. Not really. The taxes are quite a bit higher than in the UK. (Yes, really!) And work/life balance isn't great.

Which misconceptions are you tired of dealing with all the time?

OP posts:
WelshBoris · 31/05/2006 21:55
  • we have affairs with sheep
expatinscotland · 31/05/2006 22:06

-Everyone is white - blonde, blue-eyed and tall in particular

-Everyone speaks w/regional accents

-The cheap thing

-All are gun-toting, right-wing, Republican, Christan radicals

-Basically all the utter tosh on crap TV programmes like 'Friends'.

emkana · 31/05/2006 22:08

The sense of humour thing about the Germans always gets me.

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 31/05/2006 22:10

Oh, god, EIS, I hate it when people "do" accents. Luckly Brits never "do" Canadian accents. Presumably they all do some sort of weird "Georgian" accent at you?

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 31/05/2006 22:10

some of the misconceptions people have about Scots is mind-blowing to me, too.

kama · 31/05/2006 22:11

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LadySherlockofLGJ · 31/05/2006 22:12

We do not all drink Guinness....

expatinscotland · 31/05/2006 22:12

Yes, NQC, I had this awful ex-boyfriend who was forever trying to put on a 'Southern' accent.

He was Glaswegian.

He also tried to put on a Sean Connery accent.

Blech.

And he thought he was good at accent, too.

I made sure to tell him he was absolute shite at them. :o

He was this major wannabe, too. He wouldn't use colloquialisms like 'erse' or 'shite' or say 'aye' b/c he was pretending to be posh. Even though I've met some incredibly posh Scots who use these all the time.

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 31/05/2006 22:13

kama, so you do all knit, then? (Was it Norway or Finland where people learn to knit at school?)

OP posts:
Piffle · 31/05/2006 22:14

that we fuck sheep

kama · 31/05/2006 22:14

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trefusis · 31/05/2006 22:15

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sansouci · 31/05/2006 22:16

where's princesspeahead, btw?

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 31/05/2006 22:17

trefusis, wouldn't it be better to campaign for some sort of country swap? I think Israel/Palestine would be a good deal, nicer weather anyway.

OP posts:
pesme · 31/05/2006 22:21

that we all dance around like micheal flatley (is that his name? from river dance) only pausing to take a breath and laugh at some god awful irish joke (cos we love the craic don't we?) and wish each other top of the morning.

trefusis · 31/05/2006 22:28

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Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 31/05/2006 22:31

Yes, I don't know why people think it's acceptable to try to mimic accents. Given that actors who are paid to get accents right make a right mess of it, most of the time, you'd think everyone else could maybe work out that actually, doing accents well is very very hard and probably not a good idea?

People are blazingly stupid about this stuff, though. The first time I came over to the UK as an adult, I was travelling with a work colleague. Who didn't believe me when I explained that, actually, to the English, we had accents, too.

OP posts:
Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 31/05/2006 22:32

Um, and trefusis, can I ask: which half? I hadn't known there was an identification thing going on there. Is it reciprocal? Are there Israelis dressing up as Orangemen? Or not, as the case may be?

OP posts:
eidsvold · 31/05/2006 22:34

that we all talk like Steve Irwin and have kangaroos living in our back gardens - well that depends on where you live...

again - trying to do an aussie accent - so sad.

some brits I met thinking we were all convict colonials who did not deserve their time of day.

We all say g'day mate and drink fosters ( only if you like camels wee!)

any others - you lot can come up with?!?!

Piffle · 31/05/2006 22:34

Without wishing to ignite a storm, I could as a casual bystander identify many similarities with Israel and Northern Ireland

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 31/05/2006 22:35

Well, sure, that's why I was suggesting they all swap. It would make a change, at least.

OP posts:
LadySherlockofLGJ · 31/05/2006 22:36

LGJ

Settles down with a bowl of popcorn.

Original poster
NotQuiteCockney · 31/05/2006 22:37

I should probably note that I am really really ignorant about Irish history and politics, and nearly as ignorant about Israeli history and politics.

OP posts:
LadySherlockofLGJ · 31/05/2006 22:39

CoeeeeeeeeeeeeNQC

Come over here and share my popcorn. I probably know more than you, but choose not to get involved in such debates.

LadySherlockofLGJ · 31/05/2006 22:39

On the Irish side I should add. Grin