No backpack
No flags

"And i would never wear an American flag abroad or at home either - i'm not a flag waver and when i see Canadians/Canadiens abroad wearing them i actually take offense that they are saying "we're not Americans" - makes me want to vomit actually - same when i see Yanks wearing American flags."

Personally I have no idea why it is offensive to some when people wear lapel pins or flag patches. I did it when I travelled as a young person some years ago AND so did many other young people. It was a GREAT conversation starter at Youth Hostels and we frequently traded pins and patches. I still have a small Swedish flag patch and a really pretty French flag pin.

As a Canadian living in Europe, I am sometimes asked by first time travellers if they should put on a flag patch. I say fer sure eh, I am more likely to tap you on the shoulder and ask if you need help if I see a fellow countryman in a strange land. But other than that and being a topic of conversation with other travellers, I have never seen any advantage to it.

But anyway it is a common question and the OP shouldn't be flamed for asking. Such is the purpose of forums like this.

Liked the Canadian test! But am stumped on allophone and dépanneur?! And shouldn't there be a question on ski-doos and Hortons?

Was the Hip song Fireworks?

llamalady - as a former westerner the terms pogey and bush party were famalier words to us. actually I might have been a bit too famalier with the term bush party during my younger days!!

Wouldn't the real canadian test be something like:

What would you do on a two weeks holiday in Flin Flon???

How tell the difference between an Aussie and a Canadian?

An Aussie woudl never wear a "Roots Canada" T-shirt!

After this thread, I think I'm going to put my state flag on my backpack and see what responses I get.

actually most Roots clothing I see in Europe is worn by locals who have visited Canada(or a relative of someone who has)

as for Flin Flon, one could head to Saskatchewan of course. Maybe do some shopping for genuine seal-skin bindings(obscure Super Dave reference from my childhood).

One truly can never tell where another is from. I have two friends who traveled to Italy for their honeymoon. They returned having had a bad time and wanting never to return(don't ask and don't harass - I didn't say I had a bad time). One complaint was that the individuals in the service industry were quite rude in Rome. My friend's explanation was that they all must have known my friends were American. Ironically, she is Russian (now an American citizen, but definitely Russian born), he is from Montreal and really doesn't look a bit American - neither of them do! I didn't have the heart to point this out to her.

adwinn
in Europe may be - in Oz I think not

adwinn, I might have overestimated the reach of allophone and dépanneur. The former is usually used in the Quebec media for someone whose mother tongue is neither English nor French. The word does appear fairly frequently outside Quebec, but usually in an article or discussion about Quebec.

Dépanneur? A corner store in Quebec, but the word in used in northern New Brunswick and Ottawa, and by a lot of anglos who have ever spent any time in or near Quebec. (I was in Beijing with my Montreal-born nephew last month and he referred to the little store where we bought water and beer as a dépanneur.)

I should have added something about Tim's, but I can't stand the stuff. (I know, it's a national addiction.)

Anselm

Allophone?

I thought Allophone was a telephone in Quebec.

As in "Allo statue". Which translates into "Hello is that you", when someone answers the phone in Quebec.

Only kidding, eh.

;-)

"makes me want to vomit actually" Wow that's pretty extreme isn't it? I usually like to know where tourists are from.

I hope I didn't leave a wave of vomiting tourists after looking at my Tongan flag!

I'm a Canadian, proud of it, and always wear a small Canadian flag lapel pin - wherever I am. It's not for anyone else, it's for me. I feel good wearing it.

But a funny story - My husband is very proud of his Irish heritage. On our last visit to Ireland he purchased a car decal with the Irish flag which he dutifully put on our vehicle when we returned home.

I was walking out of the supermarket one day when I looked towards our car to see this little old lady and man gesturing wildly at my bewildered husband. As I got closer, it appeared they were berating him for displaying the Irish flag instead of a Canadian one. In their opinion, he wasn't being loyal to his own country.

Go figure.

I can't for the life of me understand why Americans would want to try to pass themselves off as citizens of another country.

I can understand Canadians displaying maple leaf flags because they are proud of their country, but I suspect that many of them are trying to send the message,"Look at me, I'm not an American!" For that I have no sympathy at all.

More subtle ways to advertise one's self as a Canadian (at least to other Canadians) is to carry a MEC bag or pack. The Tim's cup (as featured in that sappy advertisement) is another way. Roots accoutrements will also do the trick, but most of them are pretty obvious.

However, for those who do wish to pass themselves off as Canadians, here are some further questions to the ones that AnselmeAdorne posed.

What's a double-double?

What's a two-four blue?

Can you competently use all eight categories of the interrogative "Eh?"

Can you distinguish a loonie from a toonie? Without looking?

Who is Stompin' Tom and what is his connection with hockey?

Who has more hair--Lloyd Robertson or Peter Mansbridge? For a bonus, name two of Peter's wives.

Answer these and you can put the Maple Leaf on your backpack with pride.

cantstayhome,
allo, statue?
"He is from Montreal & doesn't look a bit American". What you mean by dat? eh? Does he have poutine stains on his tee shirt?

Oh, oh. I have to turn in my citizenship. Peter Mansbridge had two wives? Sequentially, I trust. Wendy Mesley and ?

Got all the others.

Anselm

My husband *is* Canadian, but probably can't answer any of those questions. So it's probably a good thing he doesn't have the slightest inclination to carry a backpack in the first place, much less stick a Canadian flag on it.

You should wear a Brazilian flag. Everybody knows it's the coolest flag in the world anyway.

Jules

Anselm: Peter has had three--one in his younger days, then Wendy, and now the lovely and talented Cynthia Dale.