5 Things that Confuse Me About Life in Canada | Culture Shock
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- Опубліковано 30 лип 2024
- In noticed some differences between Canada and Europe and some confuse me. I don’t understand why things are the way they are here in Canada. Today I highlight the 5 things that confuse me here. I know comparisons can somehow trigger a defensive behaviour and I hope that these points shouldn’t be taking too serious. Just minor things that I recognized in my day to day life here.
We have everything around numbers from measuring distances to weight and counting. DIdn’t know before that it will be so complicated. I also confused some funny situations here for example at the barber shop when everyone is speaking in different sizes.
I encountered some things in the bed and bathroom that I find confusing and somehow less convenient. Could be that I am missing a point here or that my priorities while showering or sleeping are just different from the Canadian way.
I end with speaking about recycling and taxes. Even Canadians that I spoke to couldn’t really see why things are not less complicated in these areas.
If you are also new to Canada let me know differences you noticed. I am very curious to learn more and understand why things are the way they are.
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Just a short introduction: my name is Manuel. I am from Munich and I decided to take a year of and live abroad. Then Corona came and I needed to adjust my plans. I don’t like to have fixed schedule anyway so and constantly monitor the situation and opportunities and try to make most of my time.
Join me at my year off!
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Pro tip: Start the shower first, get the water temperature right. Then jump in! :D
He is in a trailer with a limited amount of hot water. So that is not feasible.
Dont stop water when you shampo
Another tip if it’s a tub shower combo just let the tub spout get warm then pull the shower head release if it’s just a shower stall let it run a bit open the door check with your hand then jump in
Correct. You sure complicate your water life Manuel.
The metric system was put into common use in Canada in the 1970s. Older people were not used to it, and continued to think in feet, inches, miles etc. so there was a transition period when both systems were used. Some older people like myself, are still not used to it. This is why you see people switching from one to the other.
I concur. I was in grade 3 when Canada became metric. To this day, I still use both systems. I express my height and weight in Imperial. I express distance in Km's (Unless I am talking to an American). In cooking l, I use both systems. The problem with that is when I am reading through a recipe in Imperial measurements and look at a can amd it's in metric. Then I have to convert.
Also, many electronics are exported to North America with the American market in mind so items like ovens, microwaves, and thermostats are automatically in imperial (and people are either too lazy or it’s too confusing to change it to metric). This bothers me a lot! I see it also with real estate: the ads will be in imperial but if you look at city permits and official documents for real estate it is in proper metric. I wish Canada was more dedicated to metric!
@@jeniferdouglas LOL. That's a great memory.
I am a technical drafter and we use both in Quebec.
I know some of the metric system , meters , liters but not centimeters or millimeters . I am more than one meter tall , but less than two . Fields are one half mile square , gravel roads are spaced 1 mile by 2 miles apart , not however many meters so ,,, if I am traveling 100 kph it will take me 1 hr to travel 60 miles . My car gets 35 miles per gallon , not kilometers per liter , or liters per 100 k , a sheet of plywood is 4x8x3/8 not 1.2x2.13x9mm or whatever . A wall stud is a 2x4 . A cow weights 1300 lb , but a shot of vitamins for that cow is CC's . I weigh 200lb . A lot of miles on a car is 300,000 k . The bolts in a tractor are mostly 5/16 or 3/8 , not 7 or 9 mm . We are going to be a funny bunch for a while but I can remember my dad measuring by rods , pecks , stones , corns
When cooking, they're never referring to your coffee cup. Go to the dollar store and pick up a measuring cup set, also a measuring spoon set. We don't flip from metric to imperial measurements based on the size of something, it is more centred around what is being measured. Body parts are still typically imperial, but distance is usually measured in time....That's 5 minutes away, not 3KM.
Adding tax before you get to the cash is illegal in Canada. The store owner has no choice.
Aseparate
Geeez you might of confused him more lmao
It's not illegal to add the tax before. It was always optional to add the tax before but almost all stores opted not to, as it allowed to display a lower price. Case in point: Gas price includes all taxes(HST, GST).
That's right. We often measure distance according to the time it takes to get from Point A to Point B.
You have to realize that there several types of shower units. You just happened to encounter one of the older types. Many are pull-push type to turn on the water and then turn to adjust the temperature and then push it back to stop waterflow. It will remain in the same position that you last left it. As for recycling it all depends on the province you live in. Here in Ontario our recyclables are picked up weekly at our homes left street side.
You can just go to Canadian Tire and buy a hand-held shower head that you can shut the water flow with. It's not like you can't change the shower head, and if you are renting, you just have to put back the old one before you leave.
Here in Quebec it's basically the same and we also have those recycling machines in almost every grocery stores.
I can confirm sir (I've worked in many Canadian Hotels) we wash all the blankets, even the top ones every time we change the beds. Comforters are not as thick as duvets. Anyone I've ever seen who had an acctual duvets did have a cover for it.
Exactly, and they're not that heavy for a reason, coverlets!
Not sure about other people, but this is why I stack blankets on my bed. Each layer is think enough that it can easily fit in the washer. And I can adjust how many blankets I want on me depending upon the weather.
Thank you for the peace of mind and a good night's sleep! I always wondered if they washed the covers and now I can sleep better if I go to a hotel.
The reason why Canadians use the old system for short material is the fact that the US is our biggest trade partner and they still use that system. That's why we are stuck with using it and it's always there.
A lot of Canadians were displeased when Pierre Trudeau forced the metric system on us. We were raised using the Imperial system and many of us still choose to use it today. Trudeau felt that the US would be switching over as well and he wanted Canada to get in sooner to gain some form of trade advantage. They didn't. It wasn't the first time he was wrong, and his son is a chip off the old block(head).
That depends in who you are dealing with. I worked in the Auto industry for many years. Older parts were in Imperial (I made oil pumps from engines were designed in the 1940's). But newer products were designed in metric.
If you work in science, it doesn't matter what country you are from, it's all metric.
@@L1V2P9 The U.S. tries. They didn't like it, so they didn't inhale....lol.
Seriously, they did try it. They were unhappy, so never fully switched over. However, a lot of industries have switched to metric.
I'm just a stubborn person. They switched it in the 70's and I never got onto it. I do everything in Imperial and I make people conform to my way of thinking. lol
@@L1V2P9 The whole fffing world uses metric outside the US and two smaller countries and the US military's all use metric. the US's intransigence is still considered ridiculous except of course in the US.
Hey! I’m from Quebec and in most supermarket we have that recycling machine where you can crush cans and get money. Didn’t know this wasn’t the same in the rest of Canada.
Yeah, I never heard of that Recycling machine before, that would be cool but you would need to carry around an empty bottle with you!
We don’t have those machines in Saskatchewan, you have to take bottles to a Sarcan facility. Cardboard you have to figure out where your towns recycling bins are and toss it in, the rest goes to a waste transfer facility at the old dumps where they haul it away, since they won’t let us burn it anymore. Lol!
In ontario we don’t get charged for can/bottle deposit, just alcohol ones. People do collect and bring to the recycling centre to earn extra cash but mostly people put them out on recycling day and the truck picks up all our plastic, metal, aluminum etc.... then we have a bi-weekly cardboard pickup too, along with a garbage pickup and a organic matter pick up also bi-weekly but in summer months it’s weekly.
In Alberta we have recycling centres for Cans & bottles.
You save those cans and bottles until you have AT LEAST $300 worth, and only then do you take them to the bottle depot. That's the Alberta way at least haha.
I think Manuel was confused by a "comforter". A duvet comes in two separate pieces --- a quilted insert and a cover --- while a comforter is a one-piece quilted blanket.
Your shower problem isn't Canadian its just the the style of tap you have. Both of the shower in my home have the same tap as you are used to but we don't shut the water off till we are finished the full shower.
Most people have duvets and duvets covers in Canada.
Many of us learned measurements in the British system and then it was changed to metric. We also deal a substantial amount with the US who still uses the British or SAE system. As such, most of us are "bilingual" in that manner.
5:05 "second session" that's where you're showering wrong. Neither Canadians nor Americans conserve water like that. You don't turn the shower off when you're lathering yourself with soap. The way showers work in North America is that you stand outside the shower, turn the hand to warm water, let it warm up, then jump in, and you only turn off the water when you're completely done and exiting the shower.
@Leggo My Ego This Canadian DOES turn the shower OFF while lathering, if only to save money trying to heat more cold water in the winter.
@@warrenmacdonald1372 That's frankly insane. At least since you're Canadian the government will cover your medical expenses when your nuts fall off from frostbite :)
Both your shower and layers of blankets will make more sense when you go through seasonal changes. We can easily hit 30°C in summer and -30°C. We want hot showers in winter and cooler showers in summer. Layers of blankets allow you to cool off or warm up as you choose. Duvets are usually down filled and very expensive so most of us use what is called a comforter and it is easily washed in our home washer and dryer. We usually have multiple comforters so we have one while the other is in the wash. Always get the temperature right before stepping in the shower, our very cold winters and underground pipes keeps the water pretty cold so you have to let the water warm up before getting in the shower.
Duvet is thick for winter. I use it like a decorative bed cover. We use blankets and sheets. I kick off my blankets and use only the sheets even in winter. Sometimes I'm cold and I need the blanket but I'm never cold enough to use a duvet. It makes me hot thinking about it. It would be on for two minutes and then it would be on the floor.
Hi Manuel. I grew up in Germany too. Using the imperial system when it comes to smaller dimensions is a result of the traditional building materials that were all in inches and have survived in part because the US is right next to us and our supply chains are integrated.
We don't turn off the shower to put shampoo in our hair.
As for the sales tax, come to Alberta where we only have to pay 5% federal GST.
Enjoyed your video, but some things are just different here 😁🇨🇦
Fascinating and refreshing at the same time. Nicely done mate.
You can get a Messbecher with cups and litre measurements.
I've been here since 1990, and I remember the massive culture shock. I'm with you on the duvet and duvet covers. Ikea sells them, and I'm so happy that I never have to use the weird blanket system
You’re right. The blanket thing has always creeped me out too. It’s the same here on the USA.
I'm glad you're finding people friendly, at least in person, in Canada. I will tackle your points in order. Hopefully I can make it clear enough to help ease the shock.
Numbers: First we have a strange relationship with the metric system. We learn it in school but then in our daily life we have to accommodate our largest trading partner. Distance is primarily metric for transport but our speedometer does have miles in case we drive our cars across the border. All construction projects are measured in square feet, feet and inches. Human bodies are also measured that way for US clothing sizes. If the US ever switches then metric will be used daily. Cooking recipes should have both measurements and temperatures. Cups are a standardized measure. Purchase a measuring cup (I recommend tempered glass like Pyrex so hot liquids can safely be measured) it will have both sets of measurements one on each side. Counting it was interesting that you only say hundreds up to 1999. We do it up to 9999. After 10 thousand it's thousands.
Washrooms: We preheat our water before stepping in. We waste water by not stopping the flow. Separate taps are the older style I grew up with. New taps in the style you described (which I have never experienced) do sound more convenient. If you price a tap like that at a hardware store and get a quote from a plumber on installation (don't forget replacing the shower enclosure if the style varies greatly which it will from the two tap type) then add federal and provincial tax to it all, then divide by the minimum wage of your province you'll see why I don't have that convenient style of tap. It sounds lovely but I'll just leave the shower running.
Bedrooms: Blankets. I guess making the bed is more complicated here. I hadn't thought about it because a fitted sheet and top sheet with pillow cases is how our bedding is packaged and sold. Sheets are washed weekly in our homes or for each guest as the case may be. Very few people will have been in contact with your upper blankets because Canadians, being used to the top sheet, don't let the upper blankets touch them without a sheet in between. If my toe so much as touches the blanket I must remake my bed. Funny I once had a duvet cover but I treated it as a blanket, used a top sheet still and only washed the cover monthly like a blanket. Not being used to it I used it incorrectly but I also found my blanket inside the cover kept shifting and I couldn't easily get the blanket back into the cover easily. I would crawl into the cover to place the far corners. It messed up my hair badly. I gave up on the duvet cover.
Bottles: In my province we pay a 10 cent deposit we get 5 cents back on return. We do horde our containers here but children have found a way to fundraise by going around neighbourhoods to collect the bottles. It's called a bottle drive. It's not very convenient true but sometimes I have used batteries to dispose of so it's fine.
Tax: Nothing in Canada is cheap, lol. Groceries have no tax but prepared foods and non-food items do. Yes, nationwide advertising and Canadian pricing is why taxes aren't included. We have 13 different tax jurisdictions because unlike Germany we are a Confederation of Provinces and Territories. Many things are administered at the provincial level, healthcare, education and much more. We are one huge country but we're also a bit like 13 smaller countries in a European Union of sorts. Try living in different provinces and your culture shock will continue from coast to coast.
I hope that helped you understand the rules a bit better.
That was a great explanation. The one thing though is the recycling. It varies from province to province. In Ontario, only a few items do you get money back for bringing them to the store (beer, liquor and some milk jugs). Other than that, it goes in a recycling bin and picked up by the municipality once a week. When I lived in Alberta, I found out quickly this wasn't the case and was actually fascinated with the whole recycling center concept. I was wondering at the beginning why containers cost a few cents more until I was informed how the system worked.
The image of you crawling into your duvet cover makes me chuckle😂
@@rwilsonweir5697 It had a zipper at the bottom short side. I couldn't figure out any other way to cram the comforter into it. It was probably a sight. Me half on half off the bed, with my head 3/4 of the way up a queen duvet cover, just my feet and calves sticking out, stretching and groaning from the effort. When finally I would emerge with my clothes and hair a rumpled static charged mess. I'd laugh too but didn't find the humour in it at the time.
@@trudycolborne2371 Truly hilarious 🤣🤪
@@trudycolborne2371 easiest way to do a duvet cover ua-cam.com/video/c1IzS2oBBN0/v-deo.html
I always wash all my bedding together. whether I'm using a duvet cover or not. Duvet covers seem common enough around here. I'm on Vancouver Island. Thanks for the vid.
We add the tax post price for 2 reasons 1) it is more transparent how much tax you are paying b) it was believed that it would be harder for future governments to increase the tax if people see how much tax they are paying on the things they buy (since people know exactly how much tax they are paying, they'll notice if it goes up, vs cases where the tax is in the price you may not know that a price increase is a tax increase or an increase for other reasons). There is economic research showing that countries that hide their consumption taxes in the list price tend to have higher taxes and increase their tax more frequently. It has worked in this regard, Canadian provinces (and the federal government) has very rarely increased their VATs, whereas european countries etc. charge a lot more in sales tax and increase their tax far more frequently.
I was in Ireland. They have the VAT. I asked the clerk how much the tax rate was. She said they don't have any tax. Maybe she was young, and daft, but when they use Value Added Tax they don't see it, or think about it, or even realize that there is any tax added.
And it fools us into thinking that the sales tax is the only tax
1) numbers: You have to remember that Canada is greatly influenced by the UK and US, so Canada splits the difference or uses both systems. It depends on both the how much British history a province has and how old people are. Older generation are more use to the imperial system. I personally have trouble with the imperial system when measuring distance and temperature, but cannot use kgs to measure weight. Cups (250ml I believe), table spoons, tea spoons are all standardize and can be converted to metric.
2) Showers; You can buy different types of faucets. There is also one that is a nob that you turn to the desired temperature the pull for different amounts of water. If you own your house, buy the faucets you like or ask your landlord if you can switch them.
3) Hotels should be washing the blankets, fitted blankets and duvets every single time... I like the duvet covers you have, you can also get them with a zipper. You just have to look. And if you can't find them in stores, look on line.
4) Recycling: Germany's system is more convenient. For sure. However Canada's system has perks. If you hoard your cans and take them to a recycling centre you can get a big amount of money returned to you. I once got 500 back. It also let's elderly people and homeless people make money when they can't work or can't find a job.
5) Tax: Don't know why Canada doesn't just post the full price. You can keep all your coins in a jar then take it to a bank to have it deposited into your bank account or have cash handed back to you. Like recycling, you might be pleasantly surprised how much you get back.
Sorry for the rant, but I hope it helps.
I agree on the blanket situation. The thick blanket is called a comforter, the thin one is call the top sheet. We switched to duvet covers when I was a kid since Ikea came to Canada. Hotels still use the comforter system and who knows how often they wash it.
In most places in Canada you don't pay a deposit on cans and bottles, and a truck comes to pick them up at your home every two weeks. Liquor and beer containers can be returned to the store where buy them.
I have never experienced that. In what province or territory do you not pay a bottle deposit?
@@trudycolborne2371 Ontario
@@alpearson9158 Thanks. Oddly enough I have lived there about 20 years ago. I wonder how I didn't notice.
Hello. I know in Ontario you can return beer and liquor bottles to the places at which they were purchased but I know of no other store that takes back bottles/cans. As for recycling them at a designated recycling station Canadians would only make such a trip once in a while. At said stations one can also recycle things other than cans such as heavy metals and toxic chemicals/ paints etc, the idea being to do an all in one trip maybe every few months at most.
You can take them back to the store. But they won’t take a lot. And during covid19 some stores don’t take back cans and bottles.
Years ago in BC, you returned recyclable "stubby" veer bottles to the liquor store and pop bottles to the grocery store. I don't know if this is still the case with non-reusable cans and bottles or not. In Alberta, all used containers can be taken to a bottle depot.
We don't hide our taxes. That way you know what you are paying to the government.
Oh, I think we all know what we are paying the government.
I use whichever measurement system is best for my purpose. Like the right tool for the job. Each one is better for different purposes. A cup is a specific measurement, it's not any cup, almost exactly 250ml. A liquid measure cup will have both markings on it. Recipes have been imperial since the origin of the country. Companies were told to use metric, but no one dictates what we do in the house, so people buy a kg of flour, but keep using the same measuring cup. It's in in the language, measuring cup. Plus, my recipes come from my mother, so they're in imperial. The other reason is that we can count in 1, 2, 3, ½, ¼ rather than 200, 500, etc. Cooking does not require scientific accuracy, the zeros are redundant.
Two taps are the cheapest. Single tap with no volume control are also cheap, I hate them too. People who know what they are doing get the shower taps like you are used to. I won't use any other kind, but they are harder to find now because most people choose by what it looks like instead of how it functions. House builders put in the cheapest, or the pretentious looking ones, but don't care about function. If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself. You have to buy your own, proper shower faucet and install it yourself.
Turn the tap on get it worm before getting in. Normally people just leave it running.
Duvets are a newer thing. The thin things are called sheets. This is a traditional bed fitting. The sheets are to protect the blanket, and you from the potentially rough blankets. Blankets are changed for the different seasons. A long time ago, houses weren't so climate controlled. Sheets are to be tucked in at the bottom, so they don't get disorganized and folded over the blanket at the top, so you don't touch the blanket. If they are not tucked in, then the people don't know how to set a bed. I don't like this for not my own bed either, but that's the way from the past. I personally much prefer, sheets an blankets over duvets.
Actually, bottle returns had been done forever, and you did take them back to the supermarket to get the deposit refunded. Then they got greedy and changed to plastic. I don't buy those kinds of things anymore so don't bother with it. In Ontario, we return beer bottles and cans and others to the beer store. Don't know about other provinces.
Tax is different for different items, as well as provinces. Sometimes some of the taxes are different for different people or if it's a company doing the buying. Sometimes the tax is different on the same item, depending on how you buy it, again this is different by province. Sometimes a province will change the tax status of a product, overnight.
Also, online, it's one price with different taxes depending on your address. You couldn't advertise prices unless you knew the address and tax status of the viewer. Including taxes would not work here. By law, you have to sell at the price you advertise. A company would have to make too many versions of the same advertisement and then say where the prices apply or don't apply, thus confusing people.
You have hit on a theme, people are quite traditional in many ways, and keep doing what they grew up doing.
I have had German friends, some of the ways there sound more to my personal preference.
Good morning. In Québec there are machines for recycling cans in all food stores even small ones. I really enjoyed your video. Thank you.
Ugh yeah, for Canadian weather, when it is +45 degrees outside, sometimes you just want to take a cooler shower. Not complicated
For recycling cans etc, we have recycling boxes which are usually coloured blue in Ontario in our houses. We fill them with recycling objects such as glass jars, plastic containers, and tin cans of any kind. Paper products are put in a black box, Unrecyclable objects are put in garbage bags and organic things such ad vegetables, outside yard waste( leaves, weeds,branches, etc) are put in green bins that sit outside. In Ontario we run on a two week rotation basis. One week we put out only blue box ( recyclable) and green bin. The next week its green bin, black box and garbage. So every two weeks the garbage is picked up along with green snd the black box by rthe city garbage collectors. The inly time we go to a dump is when we have a toxic waste day in which we bring things like cleaning prooducts, old paint, batteries, old out of date medicine and body beauty products, anything that is hazardous to the enviroment if left in a garbage dump. These toxic waste collecting stations usually open up in the spring and run for several weeks moving to different areas of the city so everyone has a chance to drive their collected waste over to be disposed of.
As for measuring cups it doesnt mean using a regular mug or glass or cup. We have actual measuring cups that are marked with lines and numbers. They can be in both metric and imperial but mostly metric now. Its the same with actual measuring spoons ( metric or imperial). Example is I still us imperail for measuring out ingrediants because since Im older and always have lived with imperial . I cant for the life of me convert measurments for food ingredients and how many pounds in kg. Its a guess for me yet Im totally in km and temperature measurements as far as weather is concerned but not when it comes to cooking in the oven. I always have to look it up. I know 180 C is 350 F, and 200c is 400f ( i think).
For cooking, there are specific liquid and solid measuring cups. *Liquid ounces are not the same as solid ounces* There are also measuring spoons specific to cooking (solid and liquid are the same.) It is the difference between volume and mass (empiric to metric.)
In Canadian homes we may use duvets or blankets or both we also use duvet covers. When it’s your own family you are not washing blankets very often as you have a sheet between you and the blanket. I’m sure hotels, motels etc. would be cleaning those blankets between clients, either washing or dry cleaning.
I've travelled a lot in Europe, the showers and faucets are the same, they change everywhere. It isn't a country thing it is just different plumbing when the owner built it. I have had the separate hot and cold faucets all over Europe. For recycling for cans and bottles you can take any alcohol cans and bottles to any liquor store except the smallest ones. For taxes, it is annoying but their are Federal taxes and Provincial taxes and are regulated differently. Here in BC you don't need cash and coins anymore, a credit card works pretty much everywhere
Not to mention a debit card, oh and bus passes
Living very close to Toledo, Cleveland, and Detroit, there was triple the American TV stations where I grew up. So there was a lot of influence when it came to still using feet/inches and temperatures. The local Canadian stations uses metric measurements (mostly), but throws in Fahrenheit for temperatures for older citizens and American visitors.
Cups in recipes or in any kind of measurement refers to the quartet of nesting tools known as Measuring Cups! 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, and 1/4 cup. You level them off with a straight spatula or back of a knife and you have an exact measurement as called for in a recipe.
When we turn on the shower we set the temperature once and then turn it off when we are finished. We don't turn the water off in the middle to apply soaps and shampoos and then turn it back on. Obviously not all of us but still maybe it's your shower habits that are weird and not the showers. ;)
Unless your in the military and have a 2 minute shower no one turns the water off mid shower
Usually people adjust the shower temperature before getting in, and don't turn it off until they're finished. But even if you wanted to turn the water off for a moment, is it so hard to remember how far you turned the knob?
I wish we could set the shower nob so we never need to play with the hot and cold again!
@@dpcnreactions7062 fine if you live alone but everyone in my home likes different temperatures 🤷🏻♀️
You can just go to Canadian Tire and buy a hand-held shower head that you can shut the water flow with. It's not like you can't change the shower head, and if you are renting, you just have to put back the old one before you leave.
My shower isn’t like that, and we DO use duvet covers. Mine has buttons at the bottom so the actual blanket doesn’t fall out easily.
As for showers, it is a seasonal question: in winter in Montreal, aqueduct water can be at 0.5 degrees Celsius; in summer, +20 degrees. Adjustment is necessary.
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1. Anything shorter than a carpenter’s tape measure is imperial
2. Adjusting water temperature is like splitting the atom
3. That is for less washing, most people use duvet covers. This method is mostly for hotels.
4. recycling depot, one time trip every couple months
5. GST - still paying for the world wars, on everything, 5%. PST - not on essential items generally. 7% in BC
In Kamloops the recycling centre was fast and clean when I lived there in 2007. But here in Ontario there are no refunds for beverage containers just alcohol.
9:39 In Quebec we mostly return bottles and cans to the supermarket, using this crunching machine for cans.
Canada, like the US, has true federalism, therefore taxes will be different from province to province or state to state. Most of your other complaints can be solved by buying or installing those items you miss. You can get a duvet cover off of Amazon and probably German shower controls also.
Hi! Here in Quebec we have bottle machines in grocery stores to return the recycled bottles, exactly like what you showed in Germany
We are fluent in both Imperial and Metric. No problem.
You can also buy a showerhead that has a switch to turn the water off and on, so you don't have to turn the tap(s) off altogether. I have one with a lever so you can either turn the water pressure down or completely off while you lather up. It's great for helping to conserve water. :-)
Welcome to BC. Love it here on Vancouver Island. If you have not had the pleasure then it is a must see/do. But i would suggest longer then a day as there is a lot of Island to explore. (and smaller islands all around)
The reason the shower knobs are like that in Canada is because those types of knobs are way cheaper than other types of knobs. Hotels started using those because they are a cheaper price and since hotels have sometimes hundreds of those installed in a building they wanted to save money. In the United States we also have those knobs which will create a moment of panic by not knowing how cold or hot the water will come out. So, I understand your frustration.
We have those taps, here too. Have had them for years. They simply were never installed in your home.
As a canadian i have never measured distance in anything other than metric. All recipes and kitchen gadgets were originally printed in usa and made in usa, hence cups. Every shower is different. I would rather adjust my temp than hold the shower head the whole time. That is a comforter it is a duvet with a built in cover. You can buy a duvet and duvet cover or you can get it all in one and that is the comforter. The comforter is much easier to wash than a duvet. In Quebec you can bring your recycling where you buy it.
There was a point when retailers would include the tax in price but also would inflate the price and blame the taxes. This was changed to offer full disclosure of what the item cost actually is and the tax is added to disclose what the tax actually is
I can think in both. I have been forced to convert from one to the other quickly just to verify prices. Produce in grocery stores tends to be advertised in pounds, but cash register receipt shows kilos.
Measuring cups.Two separate cold and hot means you can adjust the temperature. We have sheets and duvet covers. Do you use a debit card?
FYI a cup is 250ml. It is an easy conversion. Living next to the US Canadians have grown up being able to convert between metric and imperial. For example most Canadians can easily convert between cm and inches, km and miles, kg and pounds and ml and cups. It is true that people usually give their body measurements in imperial units. When metric was introduced in the late 70's, it didn't really stick with some things.
#s is because we just did the change over in to metric system in the 70s and there is still many of us who grew up with the old system so we end up using both as time goes on it will change I am certain (we also have to deal with the US which is one of the last 3 hold outs). Also here in Saskatchewan we tell distance by time such as I am 3 hours from Saskatoon.
Shower you can find many types of showers in Canada even some with dial-in heat control. For your problems I would suggest adjusting the heat before getting into the shower and you can buy for about 5 to 10 $ a turn off/on valve that will attach to the showerhead.
The duvet covers I don't know it is a matter of choice. We use both the duvet and top sheet. Sometimes It is a quilt with or without duvet cover then a cover blanket, flannel sheet,top sheet, bedspread, and mattress protector. It can get cold here and hot over 100 C temperature difference here. Another thought it maybe because it is a homemade quilt which is made to be seen.
I think your recycling system is much better and when I was a child that is what we did too, but then we only had glass bottles no plastic bottles or cans.
The taxes just is awful system... you hit the nail on the head.
Well hope this helps and Take Care~eh.
I am a born n raised canadian, and I hate that style of shower faucet. The 2 tap system is my fav. Cold isn't there necessarily for showers. If you need to fill a bucket, you're not going to waste your hot water for it. But when it's swamp ass season a cold shower is a good way to get clean without continuing to sweat while you do lol.
We use both metric and imperial because were bad ass. Man my dog can run the shower.
Shut up jay ray
One of the reasons why some people switch between systems is that we born under the imperial system but experienced conversion to metrics system. Certain things just seem to make more sense in the metric system like temperature and distances, but I ain't never going to get used to measuring my tire pressure in kilopascals!
ohhh...the shower part....lol..i laugh so loud...i almost woke my upstair neighbors...4:30 in the morning right now !!
Shower controls differ greatly, and I agree with you about disliking the kind that simply rotating the handle to the correct temperature. I’ve actually never owned one of those, but have used them. Almost every shower/bath faucet has been rotate for temperature, pull out for water volume. If it’s a faucet (or tap) in a bathtub/shower combination you always run the water through the bath spigot until you have the right temperature, THEN redirect the water to the shower fixture.
Oh, and we never turn the water off between applying shampoo and rinsing, you keep the water running and simply get out of the way...unless you’re in a teeny tiny shower, then you’re on your own.
All shower systems here can be quite different. Mine looks nothing like the one you showed in the video. My system is you turn on the hot and cold water and regulate it to the temperature you want ( the water is coming out of the faucet. . Then when ready you pull a little plunger on the top of the faucet, this switches the water flow from the faucet to the shower head, and as you have already regulated the temperature you don’t get any sudden cold or hot shocks. When finished you just push the plunger back down which switches the water back to the faucet and you just turn the water off at the taps
Wow... things we take for granted in Canada.
Per the duvet... lots of people here use Duvets. I personally like to have multiple duvet covers with matching sheets.
The shower is just normal to us. I don't have any issue with them. It is what we know.
Recycling is different depending on whether you live in an apt / condo or a house. Some communities you have to take your recyclables to the plant yourself but most homes have regular municiple pickup. Some recycling has a fee deposit when you purchase ... like pop or liquor, so you tend to take them into the plant yourself to get that deposit back.
Taxes: Tax can be added as part of the cost, but isn't commonly done. The company selling the product will need to note that taxes are included in the cost in the receipt or invoice.
Tax exemptions are usually on uncooked, unprocessed foods. With baked goods, if you purchase less than 6, you will be charged tax, if more than 6, it's tax exempt. I know, it doesn't make sense.
Showers: I agree! That feature drives me crazy too and I grew up here.
Duvet Covers: I agree with that too! That also drives me crazy! However I understand the multiple layers and like it because if you get too hot, you can get rid of layers instead of the whole blanket and sleep more comfortably.
Bottles: I love the idea of machines that give you a voucher at the grocery store! But, we take it back to the bottle depot if you want your money back. Sometimes ppl are too lazy and put it into regular recycling. That's why you will sometimes see ppl going to garbage and recycling to pick bottles to return for money.
I'm from El Salvador and I also think that after living in Canada for more than 30 years I feel like Canadians give in so much to American culture measuring in in feet and inches and saying mileage like seriously have a backbone and stick to metric all around
We do not shut off the water when we wash our hair. Unless you are using a hand held unit or assisting someone with their shower.
In Ontario you leave your recycling at the curb and it’s picked up weekly and taken to the appropriate centre. No deposit for most items but you do have it for bottles containing alcoholic beverages. Those you take back to beer store. Yeah a bit odd but it works.
Yeah, for my first few weeks living in Canada the tax thing was really annoying. I’d be going to the till with what I though was the correct money in my hand ready to pay and then realized it was more. Having the money ready to pay was such a habit for me it took a few times before I gave up. Now I just pay everything on credit card, haven’t handled cash in a couple of years I think.
all thick blanckets are alrealdy in a removable cover blancket. If you look at the end of it carefully, you will fine a tiny zipper and inside you'll be surprised to find the thick blanket is white.
You have a thiner layer for the summer when its too hot to have thick blanket on.
Recycling bottles and cans in Quebec is done at the grocery stores. We have a duvet cover, a great idea to add all blankets to the duvet ,thank you. I wish they would add the taxes.
In Ontario we recycle bottles and cans in in bins that are collected at the street by trucks every two weeks. That's even more convenient than bringing them back to the store.
Alright. I'll try to DE-confuse you...
1- Metric vs. Imperial... I'm 52 and I was in grade 2 when we switched (1976 I think...), so a LOT of parents and grandparents still think imperial first and metric second, and the kids go with it. Also, we are almost ALL living near the US border, watch American TV and movies, and they are our main trade partner, so our factories work in measurements that fir THEIRS!!!!.
2- The DUVET... you talk about. First. a DUVET is actually the thick insulated blanket with the DUVET ( a type of feather) in it. NOT the cover. We DO use covers on duvets. To protect them, because they are usually all-white, and pretty expensive if filled with goose down. What you had, were BLANKETS. And to protect them from your dandruff, body dirt, etc..., we use BEDSHEETS. One on the bottom, to protect the mattress, which is called a CONTOUR, and one on top, to provide a layer BETWEEN you and the actual blanket. It's just not wrapped all around it, is all. We usually only wash the bedsheets. I hope this was clear enough because you seemed VERY disgusted.
3- Measurements in CUPS. One imperial cup is 250ml, (a US cup is close to 237ml). Come ON!!! It's just a different volume measurement. I'm a chef and we DO use grams and ml in restaurants. It's for home cooking. Buy a MEASURING cup... They are NOT coffee mugs.
4- The Shower... HINT: Set it to your desired temperature BEFORE you get in. Just test it with your hand. We ALL manage to get to that point on our own. So it's not THAT complicated.
WHY turn it off, between shampoos. Just wash, rinse, condition, and rinse... Are you actually using salon-grade, activated compounds special scalp miracle shampoos? If not, why the wait time between the steps??? ...
I'm going to stop there. ALL you had to do was ask ANYONE around you if you had questions...
We don't hoard recycling or have to take them to a recycling depot. Recycling is picked up weekly at the curb of the home or weekly from apartment buildings. Some do all recycling each week. My city does cans and glass one week in a blue bin and paper and plastic the next week in a grey bin. The bins are supplied by the city. They are taken the same day as the garbage and compost bins. We can drop recycling at a depot too if needed but usually only do so for bigger recycled items. What many say about imperial vs. Metric is true below. You also have to consider that with baking many of our cookbooks are from the U.S.A. so imperial is used more. Measuring cups are used not just any mug to measure what a cup and a third of a cup etc is. ..generally it will have imperial marked on one side and metric on the other. We do use duvets in our homes but most hotels don't and just wash the coverlets every time ( why they are not generally thick). Gets changed with the sheets. Which is a cleaner way then just changing a duvet cover between guests.
Pro tip - you’ll need to buy a set of 'cups' which are exact measurements. 250 ml is one cup. 15 ml is a tablespoon. 5 ml is a teaspoon. Amazon has everything you need. You don’t need to turn your shower lever backwards and forwards. Find your right temperature and just pull the lever in and out to turn the water on and off. Better hotels have duvets. I’ve used a duvet since I got here in the early ‘90s. Recycling sucks here but we have recycling pickup with the garbage. Blue box day. Don’t get me started on taxes here. It's a mess. And yes, you don’t know how much you will have to pay until you get to the checkout. Hope you enjoy it here !
why do you turn the shower off when you soap up? ive never heard of that
I'm in Ontario . I have a hot and cold valve for my shower and a removable shower head. I also use duvet covers. :) 😀
You need to set the shower temp before you enter the shower haha, we usually turn on the shower before we enter so we don't burn our selves. We don't turn the shower on and off, we let the water flow like a river.
There are measuring cups used for cooking that are in metric and imperial measurements..usually just pick one
I totally agree with you about the shower controls. I've lived here all my life and I always curse about it.
I moved to Canada when i was 10. I felt the same way about the numbers. I think it is because of switching over to metric. A lot of people grew up learning imperial. My parents are from Norway and I grew up with duvet covers. I don't like sheets either. We do have lots of water so no need to turn it off unless you're in a travel trailer.
Usually in RV s There is a button To stop water from coming out Then you don't have to stop the water all together There for it keeps your settings.
You set the water temp at what you want in shower and not turn it off you keep temp were you like. Some like hot showers and some like cold showers. Some like warm shower. In my house each person gets their own blanket. We also use duvets
In BC supermarkets used to take bottles and cans back but it got stopped because of covid last year.
For taxes, when you are shopping at a grocery store, things that are considered necessities like your eggs, bread, milk etc are not taxed. Things that are not necessities like your junk food, expect to be taxed, like your pop and chips, etc. Though that could be different per province. I believe pre-made meals are also taxable.
Shopping at department stores, I have always added tax to my total items. To get a rough estimate I just total my items and add 10%, though I was in Ontario and at that time it was 13%. So I get a rough idea. So if I'm buying several items, round up to nearest dollar and added 10%. It sounds more difficult than it is but you do get closer to what you will pay.
So just total you items, move the decimal point to the left one spot (of the total) and you have 10% and add the 10% to your total.
For example, items costing 29.99 + 34.99 + 5.99, I would just say 30 + 35 + 6 is $71.00 and 10% of total is $7.10 so I know I will pay roughly $80.00 if total tax is about 13%.
With a calculator it would be 29.99+34.99+5.99= $70.97 + 13% (9.23) = $80.20
If an item is not taxable, my total is less than I think, which is a bonus.
Measuring cups are standardized, get a set.
I lived in NL for a while and knew a couple that had lived in the US, they too thought cups were inexact. I asked if they used a scale and they showed me a measuring cylinder with many different scales on it: flour, sugar, water, rice, etc.. All listed in grams according to their density.
Yes, I said, this is much better. ;-)
Hi Manuel - I agree, I wish the tax was already on the price tag so that I would know the final price of an item. The reason the tax is added at the end is because the tax rates vary according to geography (different parts of Canada). When tax was included in the price tag, some provinces felt the base amount was different from other regions. People complained that it was difficult for the consumer to figure out whether they were receiving a fair price from the store. As such, they decided that tax would be added at the end so that no matter where you are in Canada, you know what the store is charging (before taxes). I know it's confusing, but that is why tax is charged on top of the price tag.
for the shower with hot and cold you turn on the hot one and let it come through the tub head then you add cold until you find the right temp you like. then when youre done you turn it back to the tub and get out and turn off the water. but for your situation, it might use too much water but for households, that's usually how its done. also some people do take cold showers, in my opinion, they are weird but its their life they can do what they want
I like how you conserve your water...most of us have a steady shower while washing our hair.
Of course duvet covers are known. The heavy blanket or cover is not a duvet (as in it is not filled with goose down). In a guest bedroom a house owner would be better to have a real eider or goose down duvet with a washable cover. If you own a god blanket and sheets, they are not meant to come into contact with a guest's body, only your own. And so you don't feel grossed out about the blanket coming into contact with your own body. Contour sheets and regular sheets are washed on a regular basis. Those are the sheets that come into regular contact with your body.
In North America we are not as aware of water conservation (unfortunately) and so we usually only have to adjust the water temp in showers once and we just let the water run during the shower. I guess in Europe (where there are water counters, etc.) you shut the water off while lathering or applying shampoo? I empathize with the dread of opening the shower initially and getting drenched with the residual cold water that is in the hose or pipe. I hate it too.
Measurements in the kitchen are heavily influenced by the USA. Most of the cook books sold in Canada are published in the USA and so the units of measurements used in them are Imperial holdovers. I worked for a company that did a lot of business in the US and so we had to conform all our equipment to US standards. Our tools were bought from American suppliers, etc. I had American techs throw screwdrivers away rather than use the Robertson head screws. It was petulant on their part, but... Well there you have it.
I don't know about British Columbia, but here in Québec there are can and plastic bottle recycling machines in most supermarkets. But then they also sell wine and beer in pretty much all markets that sell food. In many of the provinces it is illegal to sell alcoholic beverages in corner stores.
There are two taxes here in Québec. The Provincial and Federal taxes added together come out to about 15 percent. You just have to add that amount in your head when looking at the price of goods (except food that are non-taxable). Why the advertised price doesn't include the sales taxes is just marketing. You have a psychological reaction to 9.99$ instead of 10.14$. And on more expensive items, like washing machines or vehicles, there is a huge advantage in not including the various sales taxes and hidden costs...
I hope these comments help,
Our recipe books have measurements in cups, tsp, tbsp, as yet, another age thing!
We have taps like Germany in Canada, I have one in my shower. But there are a large selection so it is up to the owner. Same with blankets comforters (duvet without cover) and duvets that have covers. Comforters are cheap so maybe the place you stay has an owner is cheap. The difference is Canada is next to the USA so things like cups etc are in our cook books. Also people from many cultures move to Canada and bring or support the comercial import of things that are familiar with. The result is Canada has a larger variety of ways things are set up in Canada. If you bought a place in Canada you could set it up to be identical to Germany or Italy or Japan as you wish.
I agree about your last point. I prefer it in Europe with the price you see is the price you pay. Here you have to calculate another 13% for taxes. (GST & HST)
For a shower it's simple, set the water temperature before you go in and don't turn it off until you are done. You can leave the water running while you shampoo, it doesn't hurt anything. As for the fixed shower head, get one with a hose, it takes less than 5 minutes to swap. 😁
Oh dear we can be very confusing regarding the Metric and the old Imperial system. Hopefully it will get better as ch are taught the metric system at school. Canada did not start using the metric system until the 1970’s. Speaking for myself I was already in my thirties. For many of us older Canadians we ended up using a bit of each. For example for the weather I relate more to Celsius, but for distances I think in miles, and feet and inches. For body weight I use ponds and ounces, but am also comfortable ordering deli foods in grams.
You can take a small amount like 24 of bottles to some grocery stores. I prefer the European way of having the tax included in the price on the shelf. We have duvets with separate covers, its just a matter of preference.
Manitoba here. I use weight and cups both. Height in cm 153; 5 ft. We recycle everything but do not get any deposit back. Our shower works like the German one and taxes are taxes. We live we die. That’s life man.
It’s typically medical professionals that always use Metric..and a cup is 8 oz (of water)… ;) As for recycling - you must be in a odd location because you can usually redeem your empties wherever they are sold. As for tax. Not everyone is subject to the same amount of tax. For example, if you are Indigenous, there is a part of the taxes you don’t need to pay. What is considered basic food (not cola for example) can only be partially taxed and some items are tax free for students… etc. Because of these different levels of taxation, it’s impossible to put one price tag on an object as it may cost different amounts to different people.
As for your showers - we don’t usually turn the water off, we just step aside - so the temp is usually set before you enter.
And hotels that don’t have duvet covers are less than 1/5 stars - just don’t stay there!
Thanks for the video! And please, try and blink more…
There was a news program that showed that even hotels do not ever wash the blankets, very gross
Change the tap hot water control for the shower to something you can use easier. It doesn’t have to be that specific one.
with the shower most people don't turn the water off till they are done and they do make all kinds of different taps and for the shower being fixed you can go to Canadian tire and for under $30 you can get a hand held unit that is east to set up if you wait for the right weekly sale you can probably get one for $15 ps the do make water saver shower heads that give good pressure but use less water
Duvets are pretty common now that interior climate control is pretty much everywhere, but historically the weather here is *much* more variable than in Europe. In summer it gets very hot, in winter it gets very cold. Bedding usually had many different layers so that you could easily adjust the number and thickness of layers as the seasons would change. With a duvet you get one level of insulation that's difficult to change. As a kid, many decades ago when we did not commonly have air conditioning, in summer, I would sleep with just the sheet (ie: the "thin blanket") because it was too hot. With a duvet you would have to remove it from the cover and just use the cover.