I’m sitting here looking at the Wikivotyage article on Niagara Falls… I have not been since the 90s. I miss those hopeful times, when nothing but a smile and a US plate on your car got you across the border. I remember getting change when I used my allowance money to buy a tiny flag and being amazed at the colors. (This was when canada had paper bills for 1s/2s). I remember asking why those ninjas don’t take off their robes, and a tour guide patiently saying they were visitors from Saudi Arabia, a country that is Muslim, and their women wear those things like a nun wears a habit.
I’ve been back to Canada since then. Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa. And it’s always been pleasant. And maybe part of it is I was an Adult. On Business Trips and Conferences.
But even though everyone I’ve met has always been neighborly, I feel like post 9/11 we’ve lost some innocence. Some magic.
I miss 90s Niagara, and thought I’d make a topic about it because weirdly, Boing Boing is the only place I get that same neighborly feeling.
We’d go to a lake up in Kamloops BC every summer to fish for a week or 2. And crossing into Canada the guards would smile and wave us through and say “have a fun time fishin’.”
Good times. Now to get into Canada is a little more work, and to get back into the US is a huge pain in the ass.
Yeah they aren’t as friendly anymore goingin, but part of that may be simply because I’m not a cute kid.
But they’ve always been professional. That Archer episode with the Mounties reminds me of them - very no nonsense but polite.
I’ve had US people be downright nasty. For example I went to Japan for a conference. So just packed jeans and tshirts. Stayed in Tokyo a few days after. On return the person was suspicious I was gone so long (~10 days) with just a carry on. When I tried to explain he insisted I was lying and just super rude. I got frustrated and was like “if you want to search my bag I don’t mind but can we move this along? I’m jet lagged and tired” and he’s like “oh you didn’t mention jet lag earlier I thought you were being evasive” (WTF?! I answered him, but I had to think when he asked specifics)
Conversely, when I flew to Canada, they asked the name of the conference, paused briefly to Google it. Asked why I was entering on X if conference starts on Y. I said I wanted to do tourism and he’s like oh yeah makes sense.
Like, he wasn’t rude but he was verifying what I said and we were good. If you’ve ever had to visit a federal courthouse down south it was like that - they were polite but firm, verifying info and then being polite and warm.
To be honest I haven’t flown international since Trump got elected. I get a lot of anxiety interacting with cops/border types, and since I also enjoy Las Vegas I’ve been sending them my tourism dollars since I feel bad a maniac is hurting the working people.
But it pains me that our border folks are being unneighborly to visitors, especially since many small shops etc in upstate NY rely on tourism. And it pains me that conversely I’ve done things like visit Vermont instead of Niagara because I just don’t want to risk a hassle.
So much this.
Though the US agent was nice last night.
The Mrs went up for some family stuff for the day and no idea how she got north with it but she had her expired green card and not the current one. I had to rent a car and bring it up. I did make it before 8pm and we had dinner at The White Spot.
On the way back I got asked what my visit was for and the guard was understanding and was just okay get going and have a safe drive.
Okay at the White Spot. yeesh.
Anyway it had been awhile so I had a double double and salad to pretend I was healthy about it.
I do like their burgers.
I’ve got a whole host of awesome colleagues in Toronto and Montreal. They’re awesome, and each time I’ve been to Toronto for work, it’s been amazing. I heart America’s hat.
My problematic ancestors came from Scotland, the sane ones were Scottish-Canadians, so I have always esteemed whatever is it that goes into making a Canadian. Whatever it is that makes stuff like this happen:
I have not been to Montreal yet, that’s on my list. Now that I’m older I can’t handle time zone changes or long flights as easily so it would make a nice destination for a romantic weekend.
For a long time i avoided Paris because i worried people would be rude, and instead found everyone quite welcoming (assuming I took the time to ask if they spoke English in french before using English)
My Montreal based colleagues, though quite French, are also very sweet people. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same etiquette you deployed in Paris was well received in Montreal.
It takes that same small effort to get by in English in Montreal, especially as a tourist. Just learn some pleasantries and other basics and you’ll be fine.
Most people working in public-facing jobs speak at least enough English to serve you, and often they’ll spare you the effort entirely by opening with “bonjour, hi”, which is a way to let you decide which language is going to be used for the interaction.
It’s more complicated for those of us who live here… interactions with the government, medical matters, education… but you don’t need to concern yourself with such things unless you really want to.
Aren’t both languages on equal footing in Canada? I’m not sure I like the idea of being told to speak French to get government services even in Montreal.
English and French are both official languages federally, but French is the only official language of Quebec. That means provincial and municipal government services may be available in French only. That isn’t always the case. For example, provincial tax collectors always seem to speak impeccable English…
Ah, BCs own White Spot. Every time my husband and I go to Vancouver, we made sure to eat at the one just south of Stanley Park. Last summer we went to Vancouver Island and stopped at one somewhere between Nanaimo and Victoria.
Speaking of Nanaimo, the Canadian border officer gave me an odd, perhaps suspicious look when I mentioned that we were heading to Nanaimo. He asked if we’d been there before or if we had relatives who lived there? When I said no, he told me he was surprised because I pronounced the Nanaimo correctly. He seemed appreciative.
