Just kidding; lighting fireworks would melt our igloos. Where would we live then?
Seriously, though, jokes aside, I love being Canadian!
Here's why:
1. We've been rated as the most educated country in the world multiple times (http://www.yongestreetmedia.ca/inthenews/canada081413.aspx). That's some very exciting news!
2. That may also be one of the reasons that last year, we were rated as the second most tolerant country in the world (http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/nation/the-10-most-tolerant-nations-in-the-world/9/). I guess it helps that just about everyone here came from somewhere else first. That's excluding our lovely First Nations people, of course! Anyway, we're a big mumbo jumbo of cultures, religions, and race, which is pretty cool.
3. We have real maple syrup. I always want to cry when we go abroad and get fed that horrible Aunt Jemima crap. It doesn't taste nearly as good as the real thing. Come on, people! Step up your maple syrup game! We also have things like poutine (which I can't eat, being a vegetarian, although vegetarian versions can be pretty great) and beaver tails, also known as elephant ears (which I can eat, being a vegetarian, because they're basically just crêpes with delicious toppings that will give you heart disease). In short, our food game is strong.
4. We're officially bilingual! That means that we can listen to French radio, buy French books, and just generally enjoy the existence of our lovely francophone Canadians. Also, depending on where you live, you may also meet people who are actually bilingual aside from a few heavily accented words. (You'll have more luck out East, I'm afraid).
5. We generally have a pretty good international reputation. Not totally, and things are certainly going downhill due to certain decisions by a certain man, but it's nice that we don't get hated on as much as other countries when we go abroad, generally. That is, if people can tell us apart from Americans. No, we're not the same country. Our accents are slightly different, actually, but most people can't hear that.
6. We're a ginormous country. We're the second largest country in the world, but the nice thing is that our population is relatively small. That means things aren't too crowded, and you can still find a lot of wilderness, particularly up North. Most of us live near the bottom of our country, because things can get pretty cold and dark if you go up too far. Anyway, that means that there are many different cultures within my country. There are lots of different accents, climates, and people in general. Awesome, right?
7. We get really cold winters. In Edmonton, where I grew up, things could get as cold as -45 degrees Celsius, which is really, really cold. Still, we didn't get a single snow day. That's the good part about going to university out East. Things aren't nearly as cold, but they get storms of a whole other type; huge blizzards and piles and piles of snow (we could have tunnelled out of our back door this winter). In other words, they need snow days, because there is literally no way to get anywhere when there is another fresh meter of snow covering the road. On the plus side, that leaves us with lots of bragging rights and some lovely unexpected holidays.
8. Canada is gorgeous. I have yet to see anywhere I love more than the Rockies (the mountains in Alberta/British Colombia). If you haven't seen them, you've missed out. They're vast, gorgeous, and also generally beautifully quiet and unpopulated. I love the wilderness. I love the prairies. I love driving by bright yellow fields of canola. I love the huge forests in BC. I love the rolling hills out East. I really hate the ocean, but, yeah, the coast is pretty gorgeous too. Basically, my point is that this whole country is beautiful.
9. We have free healthcare and social security. That means that if I am about to kill myself, I can go to the hospital for free, instead of killing myself because I don't want to pay however many hundreds of dollars.
10. Our paper money is rainbow coloured. And our coins are called loonies and toonies. Yeah, that's pretty cool.
11. We get to use American or British spelling and grammar rules. It pretty much depends on your teachers and their preferences. Still, people are generally pretty tolerant if you use different spellings.
12. We have some awesome rights and freedoms. Canada is a pretty great place to live overall.
Really, the only negative thing about Canada is this guy here:
....I guess that no country can be perfect. We're still hoping that the US might take him.
Happy Canada day, everyone!
-Laura
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