Living in the usa

The United States has always prided itself on being a “melting pot”, a changing, developing heterogeneous society. U.S. society has traditionally stressed individuality. In the U.S. there are as many exceptions as there are rules. One hard rule is: “Expect the unexpected”.

Americans tend to guard their personal space. Generally people stand 61cm apart. People in the U.S. shake hands when they are first introduced. Touching the elbow or kissing the hand are considered too intimate. Americans are friendly. Strangers may smile to you and say ‘hello’ or ‘how are you?’ They may not say ‘good-bye ‘or ‘thanks’ in rushing. People in the USA also tend to be informal. They use a lot of slang. There are also differences in American and British English.

People wear different types of clothing in different situations. Students often wear informal clothing, professors dress in more formal, yet comfortable clothing.

Americans consider themselves individuals. They value independence and self-reliance. Children are encouraged to think and do on their own. Directness is a desirable trait in the US. People often respond to questions in a frank manner. They tend to value personal achievements. This lends to the competitive nature of US society. Some people take great pride in their possessions as measures of their success. They value time, so they are often rushing around that creates a very rapid pace of life.

Canadian ways

Canada shares with the USA a large vocabulary. But prestige of British English has exerted strong influence on Canadian speech and habits. In the speech there is British colouring. Canadian speech patterns are neither British nor American. They have many Canadianisms. Many of them are loans from French, Eskimo and Indian. Hundred of Canadian words fall into the category of animal and plant names: Canada goose, snow apple. In pronunciation Canadians have much in common with British and Americans, some words are pronounced in a way that is typically Canadian.

The native people Inuits /Eskimo/ survived incredibly cold winter in the igloos-dwellings in the shape of dome built of blocks of snow. They hunted for food with simple sticks and travelled on toboggans. Now most of them live in normal houses and travel on snowmobiles.

The Hurons, like many native people of other tribes were addicted to gambling. The Hurons used all the magic they knew to win the game.

Ottawa is a capital of Canada. In 1826 British troops formed the first settlement in this area. Ottawa was not only a political compromise but it also lay a more secure distance from the American border. Population of Ottawa is about 5,000,000. 85% of people of Ottawa were born in Canada. The rest emigrated from Western Europe or the U.S. English is the main language of most Ottawans. A number of people speak both English and French.

Toronto is the second largest city of Canada and capital of Ontario. Its population is about 2 million. Toronto is a big port on Lake Ontario. The places of interest in Toronto include Casa Loma, The CN Tower, the Sky Dome and Ontario Place.

Montreal is the largest city in Canada. Its population is 1,200,000. It was founded in 1642 as a French city. Situated on wooded Montreal Island in the St. Lawrence it is the chief port of Canada.