Short Summary

I think it's finally time to write some things down and share my thoughts in English in this blog. It'd be dumb to not to. :) For those who might think that there is no a single mistake in grammar, I have to say that likely there exists some. Hopefully you'll still get my point! (Although I have a lot to say I try to keep this short enough so that it'd be reasonable to read.)

I arrived to Canada in the early days of August. To country, which I didn't actually know that much of -if I put it in a scale with my knowledge today. Well, I guess it's obvious that my knowledge has increased a lot but what did I actually know about Canada? Winter likely  will be snowy, cold and long. Canadians love hockey and maple syrup. I did know that there are tons of immigrants, but I was still confused of the amount of them and their offspring, when I had gotten here. I also knew lot of cities -since I've always been some sort of junkie when it comes to geography-, but that's pretty much it. The first time when I heard about Tim Horton's was when we were flying over the border to Canada from the NYC... Shame on me!

When I was choosing my TOP4 countries as the options where I'd like to go, Canada was clearly the #1. I just felt it, I didn't even think about picking the US. Okay let's be honest, though. I've made a few great trips in the US and I've met some awesome people there. But every time when I've come over the border to Canada, I've felt a warm blow "Home, sweet home."

Just a few words about the school. Did I adjust the system properly at any point? Not really. Did I enjoy going to school? No. I was okay with the uniform, but I never got used to make my lunch for the next day. Knowing that my marks won't really count back in Finland, studying felt often meaningless and silly. But I'm still happy for having this kind of experience, I'll remember this school for the rest of my life. All the teachers who taught me were absolutely great and I got an impression of a good school.

I've been lucky to have as much as 5 different host-families during the year. I've got to known great people whom I'll remember forever. Their efforts for me have been amazing, I certainly can't thank them enough. My exchange student peers in my district have also been wonderful to get to know. Friends from many countries in the world and unforgettable meetings during the year..

Meanwhile when I'm feeling sad to say goodbye to this country, to my dear host-city and all the people who I got to known on this side of the Atlantic, however, I'm excited to go back to my home country and continue -or restart- my life in Finland. I'll finally finish my high-school in two years and go to the university possibly in about 3-4 years. It's time to turn a new page and move on.

I have one single week left in Hamilton before I go to the Cross Canada Trip with about 40 other exchange students. (After that I've one more week time to say goodbye and pack my suitcases.) Within just a little bit less than a month, we'll basically travel from sea to sea, Prince Edward Island-Victoria and discover not only the main cities, but also the mountains in Alberta and the sea landscape in the east and west. You can tell I've been fired up since November! I guess I couldn't ask for better ending for the year, it's gonna be incredible. Long story short, my "day" is coming
to an end, but the sunset is still to be watched.

22.6 Moncton, NB
23.6 Prince-Edward-Island
24.6 Hopewell Rocks, NB
25.6 Train to Quebec City, QC
26.6-28.6 Quebec City
29.6 Montreal, QC
30.6-1.7 Ottawa, ON
2.7-4.7 Toronto & Niagara Falls, ON
4.7-8.7 Train from Toronto to Edmonton, AB
8.7-9.7 Edmonton, AB
10.7 Calgary, AB
11.7 Drumheller, AB
11.7-13.7 Banff, AB
14.7-15.7 Icefields Parkway & Jasper, AB
16.7-17.7 Vancouver, BC
18.7-19.7 Victoria, BC
20.7 Back to Hamilton, ON

                                                                  Thank You, Canada

                                                           8.8.-13 --- present  (15.6.-14)

Kanada- Eteläisen naapurin hellässä huomassa. Tai sitten ei..

                    

Eipä jatku perus kuulumisten kertomisella, tällä kertaa vähän spontaani ja vähäisellä suunnittelulla kirjoitettu postaus. Haluan vähän vertailla Pohjois-Amerikkaa, Kanada vs. USA siis seuraavassa.

Tyhmät, ase takin povitaskussa roskaruokaa joka aterialla nauttivat, ylimieliset ja erittäin itsetietoiset kapitalistiset jenkit. Kuulostaako tutulta stereotypialta? Äkkiseltään voisi luulla, että asukasluvultaan Yhdysvaltoihin verrattuna pikkuinen rajanaapuri Kanada on varmaankin periaatteessa sama-asia. Puhutaan sielläkin amerikan englantia, maa jakautunut provinsseihin, käytetään dollareita jne. Ei - ole - sama - asia.

Kanada oli aikoinaan Iso-Britannian siirtomaa, USA ei. Kanada taisteli ensimmäisessä maailmansodassa osana Britanniaa, jolloin se oli siis vielä Kanadan emomaa. 1931 voimaantulleen Westminsterin säädöksen myötä Kanada sai totaallisen itsenäisyyden ja näin se oli toisessa maailmansodassa omillaan -ei siis taistellut osana Brittiläistä Imperumia. WWII:n jälkeen Kanada alkoi etääntymään enemmän Britanniasta, ja USA:sta alkoi (vasta silloin) muodostua sen tärkein kauppakumppani. Kylmän sodan aikana Kanada oli kyllä lännen puolella, mutta vastusti voimakkaasti joitakin naapurinsa hankkeita, eikä Vietnamiin Kanadasta lähtenyt kuin joitakin yksittäisiä sotilaita(!)

Kanadalaista kulttuuria on hankala kuvailla. Kanukit ovat kyllä isänmaallisia ja ylpeitä maastaan, mutteivät niin itsetietoisia ja ylimielisiä, mitä naapurinsa. Kansainvälisissä koulutusvertailuissa Kanada on USA:a korkeammalla ja täällä on hyvä verorahoin rahoitettu sairaanhoitojärjestelmä (universal health care). Aselaki on myös paljon tiukempi, mitä USA:ssa.

Tämän lyhyen tekstin tarkoituksena ei ollut dumata tai polkea Yhdysvaltoja maan rakoon, vaikka ehkä kotiinpäin vedinkin. ;) Tunnen ja olen tavannut monia jenkkejä, jotka ovat olleet tosi mukavia, ystävällisiä ja välittömiä. Paljonhan näiden maiden välillä on yhtäläisyyksiä, joka lienee sanomattakin selvää, mutta ovat silti kaksi aivan eri maata.

Loppuun vielä pari videota (molemmat vievät youtubeen):
Video 1
Video 2