Hiya everyone. I came upon this forum through days of searching, trying to figure out the ID of some plants I took on a trip to a botanical garden and nature hike... I totally regret not carrying a pad and pen with me, as now obviously, I cannot remember the names-- though I managed to find all the tropical plants names on my own already... anyway. I'm afraid my knowledge of plant life is almost nill, but it's something I've recently been getting into (very very recently actually) and when I came about this forum, I figured I could learn a lot. OK well... I recently turned 20 in June, my hobbies are sewing clothing and all, jewelry crafting-- so happens to be my "job", I have an Etsy account where I sell my creations (I have nothing up on it since school work is heavy nowadays). Now I am growing a fancy on plants... though I can't really grow anything. At the moment I am a full time student living in Alberta Canada. and that's me in a nutshell. Sorry for the long post, hehe.
Welcome to the forums. I am sure that you will find a lot of useful information and helpful people here!
lololololo I don't know enough about any and somehow Alberta was never mentioned...lmaoooooooooo I think all Canada is nice!
Yikes! Don't say anything nice about Ontario or its inhabitants to an Albertan!! soccerdad really cracks me up when I read this.
Short cultural lesson. Albertans hope to turn Alberta into Texas North. I fled Alberta in 1978. Ontario'ns think that Ontario already is New York North. My wife fled it in 1975. In between is a wasteland of flat dreary provinces whose names none but the inhabitants can remember, but you can think of them as "North Dakota North" or "Baffin Island South". My parents fled them for Alberta - which tells you all you need to know - in the depression. Out east we have the combined province of Quebec-St.Pierre-Miquelon, and by telling you that, I have told you all that they teach us in school here about it. The premier is said to be Charles de Gaulle, deceased. And there are reputed to be some fishing villages south or north or east of that province. One of them is a Rock. The inhabitants used to eat salted cod and chant heartily. Finally, out here in B.C., we come to the place where G*d elected to send her favorite people so they could enjoy heaven while they were still alive. The only pollution comes from the dreaded killer weed, which everyone but me smokes; the sun shines all day - although sometimes above the clouds - and the people regularly gather to give thinks that they fled here from whatever place they fled. Until you have seen Morris Dancing to the tune of a Sitar in the streets of Chinatown you have not appreciated the true meaning of "multiculturalism". Anyway, to cut to the chase, the Albertans and the Ontario-ans are like the Scots and the English used to be (and still are? My history classes stopped as regards England in 1946), except that with every economic turn they reverse roles; currently the Albertans are the English. Hope that helps. Now you can talk intelligently to every Canadian. Oh, and if you are from elsewhere we will all tell you regularly that we are not Americans and have nothing in common with them (we would not vote for Bush, but then, neither did 51% of them in their last election) - although if you wandered around both Seattle and Vancouver without looking at license plates or flags you would not know which city you were in.
my hubby often refers to Canada as "Little America" and Alberta is "Little Texas", according to him, "That's why all of your cities are so close to the border" ... he is obviously from the US... I still love him so lol.
Today I will try to get a book on Canada and read up on the history, Its a big country and one can't grasp from a short cultural lesson lolol but I am grateful for the lesson. I only recently started getting interested in different cultures about two years ago. My first enconter was a forum such as this. They all seemed to hail from Toronto except one I think who came from Newfoundland. I made friends with a couple in particular and it was they who invited me to stay for as long as I liked but my fear of flying prevented that, instead they sent aa huge Christmas package. Later I met another Canadian man who joined a forum I had at that time now he taught me things history about ethnic cleansing, the British were at fault for that I believe and Canada apparently still waits for an apology from the big house. I still write to him. So my Canada friends are not a big circle lmaooooooooooo only a small group. The Acadians: http://www.acadian.org/acadian.html
Apologies are the flavor of the day here. Our federal government has actually created an apologies department recently. The PM has just now released what is, I think, the fifth apology in the last 12 months, this one to the people who were on a ship that was refused admission to BC about 100 years ago. He has not yet apologized to me for failing to find me a good summer job in 1966, but I have submitted my application. I believe that the Acadians are indeed awaiting an apology from the English - the Canadians aren't waiting for one, since none of us were cleansed; those who were cleansed left Canada and their descendants now live in New Orleans (where they still await an apology from George Bush about Katrina) rather than Canada. I assume that the English await an apology from Italy because of what Julius Caesar did in 55 BC or whenever. And the Italians must surely await an apology from the Goths or the Visigoths or the Vandals or the Huns. But we Canadians are the only people who actually do apologize. It is trite that Canadians excuse themselves when you step on their feet in an elevator. But do not be fooled by words; buy an English-Canadian dictionary and you will see that "Oh I'm sorry" is Canadian for "You utter imbecile". It is interesting that most of your friends said that they come from Toronto. People used to be ashamed to admit such a thing. But the rest of the country has grown so tolerant in recent decades that they evidently have become emboldened. We still pity Torontonians, but we no longer discriminate against them. Unlike most Canadians, I do not believe that you have to be deranged to live in Toronto. Perhaps you would have to be deranged to like living in Toronto, but that is quite a different matter. Out of time to say more: I was in New York for a week and now must spend at least an hour each evening embracing the earth in my back yard and giving thanks to the great Earth Mother who let me move here but who luckily bars the door against the hordes of slavering Eastern Canadians who ache with the desire to join me.
I call that post a *p take towards Toronto The people from Toronto I met, still talk to are a well mannered lot, very helpful, very friendly set of people. I need no book on hello or whatever. How many strangers have you invited to your home recently to stay for good if they wanted to? Lets go through that sentence again. How many forum people have you invited to your home recently? I was asked to Toronto after only a few weeks of knowing these people. I could have been anyone, a rapist, murder, thief, or squatter and took their home but they trust me. Have you even met and struck up a friendship with a Toronto inhabitant? I believe I am the only English person in that forum yet they treat me as one of their own. I have not had the experience to meet from any other part of Canada so I don't know if they are as caring or not like my Toronto friends. No wonder the worlds in a state.
Just to reiterate - this is an international forum, and all are welcome here (unless their behaviour dictates otherwise, e.g., spammers). A corollary is that members should make some effort to be as welcoming to others as I hope they've been made to feel welcome.
I don't think my country is all that bad. People-wise that is. Government... I guess it's as good as one could hope for in this odd world of ours, heh. I don't harbor any sort of negative feelings for my people to the East. There is just no sense to it. Or maybe I just choose not to see anything wrong with it. I guess for this reason I have no friends, haha! Either way... eh?
Hello Marianella, Course you have friends lol - us! - have you any idea how huge these forums are? You have mega friends here.
Welcome...If you can barrow a digital camer you will find it increadibly useful when you share information to id a plant.
Hey, you all. Canada is a great place! I'm from the States, married a Canadian in Israel, and moved first to Toronto then to Montreal. I love Montreal (except for the perpetual language squabble). I haven't seen much else of Canada but have come to terms with the winters here. When spring comes, it moves rapidly into summer as if the earth knows that winter is right around the corner. Two weeks after the snows stop and everything starts turning green, you somehow forget that it was winter. I've seen that Ontario has some beautiful camp grounds, so that province hasn't been forgotten either.
Hi everyone. Interesting thread. I'm from the island portion of the province of Newfoundland Labrador who has moved to Labnrador City, on the mainland portion, a little over 2 months ago. I just want to clarify the "short cultural lesson". Quebec doesn't extend into the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore St. Pierre & Miquelon aren't part of it. They are a series of islands, belonging to France, a few kilometers to the south of the Burin Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland. They are a very unique people with a culture far different from the rest of North America. I visited there in the early 1980s & was in awe & have vowed to go back ever since. There is a daily regular ferry service between Burin & St. Pierre.The southwest portion of the island of Newfoundland has a strong french influence & we once had a "French Shore" that took in a great portion of the island. As well there is a strong french influence here in Labrador City being so close to the Quebec border. Even though this province was the last to join confederation with Canada (1949), I am very proud to be a citzen of it. I am very proud to have our neighbors to the south & am equally as proud to be part of the closest province (closest point in North America) to mainland Europe. I'm also rpoud to be aquainted with this very impressive international forum. Right on.
