Five things Halloween tells us about life in Canada?

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Frank
Is Halloween scary?

Is Halloween scary?

Halloween is one of the major events of the year in Canada. What are the five things that Halloween tells us about life in Canada?

1. Canadians love kids

Halloween is for the kids. Trick or treating happens on Halloween and all the little kids dress up and go around in groups, with a watchful parent or two, and knock on all the neighbourhood doors. It is a chance for everyone to admire just how cute the kids are and hand out some candy.

2. It’s good to be good neighbours

Trick or treating would not work if neighbours weren’t good neighbours. Knocking on the door and being sent away empty handed just doesn’t happen. Instead we all stock up on candy and have it ready for the hordes of cute, little kids that we’re expecting.

3. Canadians have a sense of fun

Wander around just about any neighbourhood at this time of the year and you will see extravagantly decorated homes. They have elaborate scenes set out on the lawn, with gravestones, ghostly figures, and bloody bodies. And all of this is to delight and entertain the local kids and adults.

4. Canadians are generous

These decorated front yard scenes are most often accompanied by a charity donation box. At great effort, and some expense, these householders have set their ghoulish imagination to work for a local charity.

5. Canadians are inclusive

It was a shock to me on my first Halloween in Canada to see adults in shops and offices dressed up in Halloween costumes. Even adults want to join in. It doesn’t matter what kind of costume it is – it doesn’t have to be scary – it’s just a chance for everyone to join in the fun.

Sinking my teeth into Halloween

Sinking my teeth into Halloween

Now I really look forward to Halloween. I haven’t decided what costume to wear, but at least I have the candy ready!

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Multiculturalism in our communities

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Frank
Whatever your home country you are welcome in Canada

People from all over the world now call Canada home

Canada became a multicultural society officially in 1971. Being a land mostly of immigrants, arguably we were multicultural from the start. Nevertheless this value is now built into our society and our legislation supports it.

Multiculturalism means that we recognize all people as equal and encourage them to keep their ethnic heritage alive.

I think that most people would say that multiculturalism has been a pretty good policy for Canada. Apart from French Canadians, we’ve seen very little unrest between people of different origins. Immigrant communities have been integrating into the general population without major incident for decades.

My local paper, the Vancouver Sun, has been looking at the ethnic make up of Vancouver. It is an interesting read if you’re not familiar with the ethnic make up of this diverse city.

It is also slightly disturbing in that it talks about a trend for ethnic groups to gather in certain neighbourhoods. This trend might mean that immigrants tend not to integrate into the wider Canadian society. I understand that there is safety in staying with your own people, keeping your language and customs alive.

The downside is that this groups then tend to be inward looking and suspicious of others. And that goes both ways of course.

As an immigrant myself I wanted to integrate into Canadian society. I wanted to have friends who were Canadian. I didn’t care about their ethnic origin. I admit it is good to meet up with fellow Brits from time to time because we can chat about the UK and share our British sense of humour. (In my biased opinion there’s nothing quite like it).

But I would not like to be living in a neighbourhood exclusively made up of ex-pat Brits.

Vancouver, and other major Canadian cities, will continue to attract many immigrants from all parts of the world. I hope that they will also continue to integrate with those immigrants who’ve already arrived. We welcome them on that basis.

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How to adjust to prices in Canada

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Frank
Vancouver farmers' market

Checking the prices at the farmers' market

When you first move to a new country there is a period of adjustment that you go through. One part of that is getting to understand prices and what is good value.

There’s a psychological element to this as you’d guess.

Much like the early honeymoon period that most migrants go through at first, the early days may well be a time when you spot all the good things about prices. Gas prices might be one for instance.

This honeymoon period is our way of confirming we made the right decision in coming to Canada. We are on the look out for all that’s good, and price comparisons are included.

If the exchange rate works for you, and this is admittedly unlikely, then you might be tempted to mentally translate all the dollar prices back into your old currency. That is a mistake. You really need to adjust to looking at prices from the local perspective.

There’s a psychological effect which I will call “price anchoring”. This is where our expectations of  a good price are set by our first experience of buying or considering buying something. That sets the target price. When you’ve moved to Canada, your price anchors may still be referring back to prices in the Old Country.

So how do you reset them?

Time will eventually reset these price expectations, but since the first weeks after arrival are usually the time when you’re doing a lot of shopping, it is a good idea to reset them as soon as you can.

The best way is to be aware of your own thinking. Avoid comparing back to the Old Country prices, but do look around locally. Ask advice from people who’ve been in Canada a long time. Canadians love a bargain, so you’ll likely get a lot of advice. You are then consciously setting your anchor price for a lot of things.

Before long you’ll be like most of us in Canada: grumbling about the gas prices!

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