I'm a Canadian... hey

[Baldricks-Bullet]

I pretend to be Canadian...

Nothing wrong with that (although the Yanks are a bit dubious). See, there's this US/CAN bus that goes from somewhere in Brussels to NATO HQ where I (Denmark) go for 4 day meeting twice a year. I stay with the US/CAN contingent. So this bus leaves every morning... half empty... My mates (collegues) leave and I have to take a taxi behind it because I'm not US/CAN.

So the Yanks taught me to say "hey" all the time and pretend to be Canadian. (Have to admit that I don't know when to say "hey" I just put it in a few times here and there). Which worked for a while, but last time I was hoiked off the bus by the big fat Belgique bus driver... 3 times... with my tail between my legs. To get into taxi and follow.

So questions:
SHOULD I BE PROUD TO BE CANADIAN (even though the embassy might not agree I am)
WHEN DO I SAY "HEY"
SHOULD I GO TO HEAVEN FOR TRYING TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS
SHOULD I GO TO HELL FOR TRYING TO GET SOMETHING FOR FREE AT YOUR TAXPAYERS EXPENSE.

Have a nice day! Hey!

 

[Roy Harding]

I pretend to be Canadian...

Nothing wrong with that (although the Yanks are a bit dubious). See, there's this US/CAN bus that goes from somewhere in Brussels to NATO HQ where I (Denmark) go for 4 day meeting twice a year. I stay with the US/CAN contingent. So this bus leaves every morning... half empty... My mates (collegues) leave and I have to take a taxi behind it because I'm not US/CAN.

So the Yanks taught me to say "hey" all the time and pretend to be Canadian. (Have to admit that I don't know when to say "hey" I just put it in a few times here and there). Which worked for a while, but last time I was hoiked off the bus by the big fat Belgique bus driver... 3 times... with my tail between my legs. To get into taxi and follow.

So questions:
SHOULD I BE PROUD TO BE CANADIAN (even though the embassy might not agree I am)
WHEN DO I SAY "HEY"
SHOULD I GO TO HEAVEN FOR TRYING TO REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS
SHOULD I GO TO HELL FOR TRYING TO GET SOMETHING FOR FREE AT YOUR TAXPAYERS EXPENSE.

Have a nice day! Hey!

Try dropping the "h" - as in: Have a nice day, eh!  Good luck getting on the bus, eh!  Taxi's are expensive, eh?  The bus is already paid for, eh!

 

[Baldricks-Bullet]

Ah... see... I knew I'd get some help... Thanks -eh!

(and another little Q: will singing the lumberjack song get me on the bus... or kicked off, eh?)

 

[karl28]

 Funny how those crazy wonderfull Americans even manage to mix up our accent its   actually pronounced eh not hey  but  as for when to say eh it will just come naturally .    A few other things about Canadians you might like to make note of  when pretending to be a Canadian on the bus  
                   1/ I don't travel by dogsled
                   2/a loonie is a dollar not a relative
                   3/ I live in the the second largest country in the world  
                   4/ winter only last one season not all year round
                    5/ I live in a house not an igloo
                    6/ (also one of my fav) I don't know cousin john in Saskatoon
                    7/ Parliment buildings are not made of ice
                    8/The maple leaf is our national symbol
                    9/ and Canadians  are the best hockey players in the world
                    10/ also when ordering poutine in Quebec and you have a lovely french female waitress please don't ask for a large order of poutan (not sure on spelling ) but apparently they are two very very different things  ( I was a victim of a practical joke from one of my best friends on that one )
                  Hopefully you will see these as a good laugh  Cheers

 

[Roy Harding]

...

(and another little Q: will singing the lumberjack song get me on the bus... or kicked off, eh?)

Depends who is on the bus, how good your singing voice is, and what you look like in your Momma's Bra, eh!!

 

[Justacivvy]

We have better beers and our timmies are way better than that "american coffee" brand 

 

[Baldricks-Bullet]

 Funny how those crazy wonderfull Americans even manage to mix up our accent its   actually pronounced eh not hey  but  as for when to say eh it will just come naturally .    A few other things about Canadians you might like to make note of  when pretending to be a Canadian on the bus  
                   1/ I don't travel by dogsled
                   2/a loonie is a dollar not a relative
                   3/ I live in the the second largest country in the world  
                   4/ winter only last one season not all year round
                    5/ I live in a house not an igloo
                    6/ (also one of my fav) I don't know cousin john in Saskatoon
                    7/ Parliment buildings are not made of ice
                    8/The maple leaf is our national symbol
                    9/ and Canadians  are the best hockey players in the world
                    10/ also when ordering poutine in Quebec and you have a lovely french female waitress please don't ask for a large order of poutan (not sure on spelling ) but apparently they are two very very different things  ( I was a victim of a practical joke from one of my best friends on that one )
                  Hopefully you will see these as a good laugh  Cheers

That's a major help... Thanks    I'm gonna have to get me one of those Ice hockey shirts... Should I pick a particular team?

I also thought I'd like to stand out as a Canadian on the bus by shouting "Mine!" now and again, to see if the Yanks hit the deck.  (Thumbs up to Ottawa).

Best Regards,- Chris

 

[tree hugger]

Toronto Maple Leafs if you want to look cool/intelligent.

Montreal Canadians if you don't.

 

[career_radio-checker]

The use of "eh" almost always comes at the end of of sentence.
-"Nice day, eh?"
-"Toronto Mapple Leafs suck hockey pucks up their noses, eh."
-"Hillier could kick his ass, eh."
-What about this shirt, eh?"

It's usually a confirmatory experession like "Wouldn't you agree?" or "Don't you know". In this sense, "eh" has the power to turn any sentence into a question.

 

[Baldricks-Bullet]

The use of "eh" almost always comes at the end of of sentence.
-"Nice day, eh?"
-"Toronto Mapple Leafs suck hockey pucks up their noses, eh."
-"Hillier could kick his ***, eh."
-What about this shirt, eh?"

It's usually a confirmatory experession like "Wouldn't you agree?" or "Don't you know". In this sense, "eh" has the power to turn any sentence into a question.

Got it!... so...like

If I'm down the pub and say E=mC^2, then I'll be met by silence. But if I go E=mC^2 eh? I can expect a thrilling debate on the geometrical theory of gravitation and an explanation of
the anomalous perihelion precession of Mercury!  Brilliant...

And if I go "Montreal Canadians" I'll get a punch in the gob. But if I go "Montreal Canadians, eh?" then I'll get a chorus of "Yeah... idiots...eh?"

So... and this is the crunch...  ARE YOU GONNA LET ME ON THE BUS! EH?

 

[career_radio-checker]

So... and this is the crunch...  ARE YOU GONNA LET ME ON THE BUS! EH?

Yes, this is how it is properly used, it lets the person you are talking to know that you are looking for a response of some kind. Even if it is a simple sign of agreement.

 

[211RadOp]

So... and this is the crunch...  ARE YOU GONNA LET ME ON THE BUS! EH?

But don't forget to wave around your Tim Horton's travel mug, eh.

 

[niner domestic]

I don't know Baldrick, I just can't let you innocently go around saying "eh" without realizing that Canucks in the east are the ones that tend to use that phrase.  Now out here in the glorious, expansive, breathtakingly beautiful western provinces and northern territories, we tend to say, "you betcha" as opposed to the plain eastern "eh".  "You betcha" can be used in a much more colourful way than the generic "eh".  

For example,

"You betcha I can kick your arse from Grand Prairie to Toon Town."
"So, the Oilers are going to win the cup this year, You betcha."
The Liberals are going to get their butts kicked again, You betcha."


Note the lack of a passive voice that's seen when using the question mark, eh?  You betcha those easterners couldn't make up their minds to save a sailor on payday from Molly Jolly.

 

[CdnArtyWife]

Toronto Maple Leafs if you want to look cool/intelligent.

Montreal Canadians if you don't.

ah...other way around. 

But a good stand by is the Team Canada jersey

 

[CdnArtyWife]

Oh, and if you want to encourage a buddy and motivate them, you gotta use the term "give'r"

"Waddya mean you can't get the cap off the beer? Come right onto'er and give'r!"
"Just give'r the gas and get goin' eh!"

And finally, the best research you could do on Canadianism...would be to thoroughly preruse www.RickMercer.com and link to the Mercer Report and watch his rants.

 

[Shamrock]

Tips to becoming Canadian:

1.  Use eh at the end of just about every sentence.  Once in a while, throw in a "there eh." 

2.  Words with an "ou" sound become "oo" -- noo doot aboot it eh.

3.  Apologize for everything.

3.  Team Canada hockey jersey.

4.  Roots ballcap.

5.  Tim Horton's travel mug.

6.  Learn how to say 'Saskatchewan.'  Say it often.  Tell people you're from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  Tell them it's kitty-cornered to Nunavut.


Practice the above until perfection.  Once you've mastered them, you'll get on the bus no problem.  Not because the driver will think you're Canadian, but you'll be so hyper-Canadian he'll just assume you're an American faking it there eh.

 

[Old Sweat]

A few more hints,

When commenting on the weather, try "cold anuff ferya, eh?" or  "hot ..." or "wet ...," but never "nice anuff ferya, eh?" because nice weather is unknown in the Great White North.

Try tossing in lines like "he's got more tongue than a mounties' boot" or "he lies like a carpet." In both case eh is optional.

Once you get comfortable with the language, you can attempt regionalism like "side by each," which at the very least will make lesser beings shift their seats.

If an American asks you what Canadians do in the summer, it is permissable to reply that "that day we play baseball."

 

[exspy]

Baldricks,

To help you blend in I suggest you never, ever again refer to hockey as "ice hockey".  I've heard this term from other Europeans I've met (usually Brits) who, after having attended a game, will state "I've just been to an ice hockey match".  There is and will only ever be one kind of hockey, unless you're attending a prestigious, private girls school in Rosedale or Westmount.

Now, repeat after me;

The good old hockey game,
It's the best game you can name,
and the best game you can name,
is the good old hockey game!

With appropriate respect to Stompin' Tom C.....eh!

 

[Trooper Hale]

I read a great book called "How to be Canadian". It can be found in the RCD RP's room in the shacks. Simply brilliant though, definitely a must for all good, try hard Canadians.
look it up, its by the Fergusan brothers.
(sorry about incorrect spelling, i blame drinking)

 

[William Webb Ellis]

That's a major help... Thanks     I'm gonna have to get me one of those Ice hockey shirts... Should I pick a particular team?

I also thought I'd like to stand out as a Canadian on the bus by shouting "Mine!" now and again, to see if the Yanks hit the deck.   (Thumbs up to Ottawa).

Best Regards,- Chris

It's hockey you don't need to add the ice part we all know what you mean.......if you are talking about the game played by women it's Field Hockey!!!