59 replies to this topic

[aastra]

Say you're from BC and they usually know what you mean but say you're from British Columbia and they often think of Europe or some tropical island.

Maybe that's why TDBank and RBC are doing so well in the US. Americans like abbreviations but they don't like knowing what the abbreviations stand for.

[jonny]

^ LOL

That's been about my experience.

One guy, upon finding we were from Canada, asked if I went to the F1 in Montreal...we went to the Mariners games when the Blue Jays were in town, and one lady behind us remarked (there were at least 20,000 Blue Jays fans at the games I would estimate) that "all of Canada" came down to see the games.

I grew up in the south due to my parent's work, and have been asked several times by people, dead serious people, what it is like to live in an igloo, what it feels like to now experience freedom living in the US, etc. Americans generally know shockinly little about the world outside of the USA, and "Cascadia" is not exempt from this unfortunate reality.

[Baro]

Province of Vancouver Island? Nah, go full nationhood or go home.

[Mike K.]

Say you're from BC and they usually know what you mean but say you're from British Columbia and they often think of Europe or some tropical island.

Maybe that's why TDBank and RBC are doing so well in the US. Americans like abbreviations but they don't like knowing what the abbreviations stand for.

That's exactly it! Whenever I say "BC," the know exactly what I mean. When I say "British Columbia" I'll sometimes get a glazed over stare.

I'd say Americans know about as much about Canada as Canadians know about Mexico.

[UrbanRail]

It is an interesting idea and I am sure the US would hate us if our only export was pot.

Personally I think we are screwed either way.

[UrbanRail]

Yeah, I don't see what Vancouver Island would stand to gain from becoming its own province. We would lose thousands of provincial government jobs and be one of the smallest and most isolated provinces in the confederation.

Actually we are isolated no matter what happens. There are people back east that forget that Vancouver Island actually exists.

[Mike K.]

^I'm ok with that

[UrbanRail]

Here is a funny story a freind told me. His girlfriend (now wife) use to work at Butchard Gardens. She was approached by an American couple who asked her if they could exchange their money for Canadian money so that they could go into Canada.

I guess someone forgot to tell them that VI is a part of Canada!

[UrbanRail]

Say you're from BC and they usually know what you mean but say you're from British Columbia and they often think of Europe or some tropical island.

Maybe that's why TDBank and RBC are doing so well in the US. Americans like abbreviations but they don't like knowing what the abbreviations stand for.

It may have something to do with this.

http://www.statistic...-who-cant-read/

[UrbanRail]

I love this quote:



Yes, a future of joblessness, high taxes and NIMBY-ism. For the rich retirees who live on the Island we might as well become a separate province, but for the rest of us there would be little if any benefit.

We can call our new province NIMBIA! =)

[jonny]

Actually we are isolated no matter what happens. There are people back east that forget that Vancouver Island actually exists.

Out east doesn't matter so much, but we would become isolated from BC economically and politically obviously.

[LJ]

Well we could claim ocean rights and charge all the freighters coming and going to Vancouver huge fees.

[LJ]

Say you're from BC and they usually know what you mean but say you're from British Columbia and they often think of Europe or some tropical island.

Maybe that's why TDBank and RBC are doing so well in the US. Americans like abbreviations but they don't like knowing what the abbreviations stand for.

Most Americans know Vancouver so when people ask where I am from I usually say I am from the west coast of BC near Vancouver. Then I judge by their response if it worth going into anymore detail.

I can tell you if you say you are from Victoria on Vancouver Island you will generally get that deer in the headlights look, unless they have visited before.

[aastra]

I don't know, in my experience I'd say they're about as likely to know of Victoria as they are to know of Vancouver. Actually, I don't think it's unfair to say that most of them aren't even clear on the difference between Victoria and Vancouver, even if they've been to BC.

Case in point: a few years ago I was in Disneyland and a cast member using an electronic pad asked me to answer some customer survey questions. When she asked where we were from I replied "Vancouver/Victoria" as if it were one place, and then I looked at the options on the pad and saw that "Vancouver/Victoria" was the first option in the list of BC locales (it might have been "Victoria/Vancouver"... I can't remember which one was first). It was curious because the rest of Vancouver Island and various other locales in BC were identified separately. When they analyzed their data did they ever question why they were getting so few visitors from Vancouver Island, I wonder?

I suppose it's possible that Victorians have contributed to much of this confusion over the years and decades by doing the very same thing that I did there. It reminds me of the time some folks from Australia were visiting and told us they were surprised how far apart Victoria and Vancouver were. They thought Victoria/Vancouver was one unified metro area with a short ferry ride linking the heart of one to the heart of the other.

I seem to remember that there's a mid-1980s David Letterman clip in which he says something to the effect of, "I've been to Victoria, it's an island," and the guest (can't remember who??) replies, "No, Victoria is the city, Vancouver is the island." Something like that.

[Bingo]

Vancouver Island, on a few early 19th century maps, bore the toponym “Wakash Nation” — in addition to “Quadra and Vancouver’s Island.”

http://www.bchistory...ancouver_Island

Wakash has a nice ring to it.

[HB]

I had an American ask me last week if we consifer ourselves to be Americans due to the fact that Canada is in North America.
I had to consider kicking her off the bus on the Pat Bay Highway or handle it without showing her that her stupidity was really iritating me.
I answered it with a question of my own. which was "Do Americans consider Mexicans to be Americans because Mexico is also in North America"

There is no cure for ignorance is there.

[tedward]

I had an American ask me last week if we consifer ourselves to be Americans due to the fact that Canada is in North America.

Not such a dumb question. It seems to be a hot button issue amongst Central and South American nations that the United States has appropriated the label "Americans". Not part of our cultural identity generally but nothing to get angry about if asked.

[gumgum]

I was in line behind a woman at the RBC bank machine in CSV.
As I was waiting I heard her money dispensing out of the machine. She suddenly appeared extremely confused when she plucked the small stack of 20s asking herself and anyone else repeatedly, as she examined the notes, "What is this? What is this?"
Nobody was quite sure what she was on about. After a moment of silence as she examined the notes her confused expression transformed to annoyance.
"Oh," she said " it's...Canada money. What I supposed to do with this?"

I told her she could buy stuff with it.
She sighed and headed to a counter to talk to an employee.

[Sparky]

.
If anyone can find the website I would be interested.
 

 

http://www.vanisleparty.com/

[57WestHills]

Ah good regionally divide politics. That always ends well.