People ask me all the time where I'm from. I think it's really cool! It makes me feel interesting.... even though I fully accept that I am the opposite of interesting.
Lot's of people guess that I'm American. Without even opening my mouth, my first name kind of gives it away.
"Ohhh, like Taylor Swift! You must be American!"
And then I talk.........
And sometimes people get excited, especially if I'm talking to girls around my age or if there's alcohol involved.
"You're from Miami?! I love your accent!! Have you met the Kardashians?!"
I promise I did not make that quote up. It happened.
And then, more often than not, people ask if I'm Canadian.
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| The epitome of Canada right there. And then just smother this picture in poutine. |
I always understood the confusion. Sure, Americans and Canadians sound quite alike. We are neighbors, after all.
I never thought anything of the mix up except "Oh cool, I can pass as a Canadian! I should put that on my resume! I really like Canada! And Caesars! And poutine! I'm hungry...."
And I do genuinely love Canada! I've been to Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, and little towns in between. I've also seen the inside of Toronto's airport. Does that count??
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| The Fiance and I in Vancouver this past May. See, we love Canada! |
But then on Saturday, someone asked the Fiance if I was Canadian. He obviously replied no, she's American, which the other person then followed with this:
"Well I was going to say American! But I didn't want to offend them in case they were Canadian!"
Say whatttttt?! You didn't want to offend a Canadian by calling them American?
Obviously, I could care less about that statement or any way of making fun of Americans for that matter. I love a good laugh. And I just epitomized Canada with a picture of a moose. I can be a cultural ass, too.
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| I may not be a cultural ass in this picture, but I just look like an ass anyway. Maybe this could be offensive to other giraffes. I don't know... I just needed a picture to break up the seriousness and keep things funny. |
It makes me wonder..... Does everyone just ask if I'm Canadian out of politeness to other Canadians? Do they just revert to that in the off chance that they meet a Canadian? Or have they met Canadians mistaken for Americans before and just reluctantly lived to tell the tale? Should that guy just have kept that statement in his inner monologue?
But again, I'm making this very clear.
1. Not offended.
2. Not trying to be an American jerk.
3. Just curious.
But I did want to hear YOUR opinions on the matter.
So what do you think? Is this normal? Are Americans allowed to be called Canadian, but not the other way around?
I'm glad you got to the UK safe and sound! Your fotos really make me miss that place :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not quite sure about Canadians etc. but I used to always get made fun of for being an American and having an American accent... I think (no offense to the Brits) the Brits regard it to be insulting to be thought of as Americans so they play it on the safe side for Canadians but not the other way around. Ah, people!
Silly people! And I get made fun of all the time for being American! Or I get my pronunciation corrected by the Brits. Their only comeback is "What language are you speaking? English. What country are you in? England."
DeleteI used to live on the Canadian border, like there was this stone in my back yard, one side said "Canada", the other said "United States"... THAT's how close I was... I promise you, we do not sound alike, it's like saying that an Englishman and a Irishman sound the same... yikes! And I would like to beg your pardon, you ARE interesting, I love your blog!! You have the greatest sense of humor and you make me smile! England is lucky to have you! And if they say "Where are you from?"... act like a movie star with expression and exclaim it loud!! :)... Oh and I'm from Texas and every-time I'm in London and someone finds out I'm from Texas... they ask me if I own a gun. Like all Americans Texans are packing!!! LOL... cracks me right up!
ReplyDeleteI was in a Texas-y cowboy American style restaurant last night and actually thought of you and this comment!! haha everyone was like "is this where you live, Tay?!" I wanted to be like yes I walk around in a cowboy hat with my horse all the time........ :)
DeleteI'm Canadian and whenever I travel I always get asked if I'm Canadian or American. I guess our accents are harder to distinguish from one another's in comparison to others!
ReplyDeleteSHF
thechroniclesofs.blogspot.com
I think so, too! and who knows what I'm going to start sounding like after a few more months of living in England!
DeleteI was asked by an old English Angler (who I met when my dogs ran barking at him in the river) if I knew Bret Favre. Apparently this Englishman is a big fan.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was asked several times (including in Ireland, by an Irish lady) if I was Irish- as in, "what town are you from?" uhhh.... Atlanta?? I got Australian, Canadian, and the rare American.
And once had a long argument defending why Americans shouldn't be expected to know the difference between Geordie, Essex, Yorkshire, North London, etc. accents (not that we can't tell that there IS a difference, but that we can't identify them just by hearing them) by pointing out that the average Englishman can't identify Boston, Queens, Brooklyn, Cajun, GA/AL Southern, Texas, midwestern, etc. SO THERE. (At them, not you!!!) It did crack me up when I was asked (by a Brit) how on earth I understood the Yorkshire accent- maybe because it's where I lived, so it's the one I heard every single day?!?!?
I had NO IDEA there were different English accents until I started dating a Brit. I guess I just thought everyone sounded like Harry Potter!
DeleteI'm pretty good at telling if someone is "northern" since I live in the south of England, but if I had to say which city, I'd probably just mess it up! But I definitely don't know what a Yorkshire accent sounds like. I've probably heard it but just don't remember it specifically.
Southampton has a pretty different accent, too. I joke to my Fiance that they don't pronounce their t's (so like water just turns into wa-uh). Is it sad that I'm kind of excited for my family to visit and watch them have difficultly understanding the accent??? haha :)
I am a Canadian ... also currently living in Hampshire. It was interesting to see this post, since people here always assume that I'm American. They are often very apologetic when I tell them I'm Canadian, but I'm not offended at all by the mix up. I understand why we sound alike to them. I'm still trying to sort our all of their different accents!
ReplyDeleteAgreed!! I think all "northern" people sound the same whereas other can tell apart the distinct cities!
DeleteIt'd a thing here in the UK that American's don't like being called Canadian, kind of like a New Zelander being called Australian.
ReplyDelete