| Author | Message | ||
     Newfie_buell  |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - An American T-shirt company has a solution for fellow citizens who want to vacation in Europe without having to answer questions about U.S. politics: pose as Canadians. For $24.95 US (about $30 Cdn), T-shirtKing.com offers the "Go Canadian" package, full of just the kind of things an American traveller needs to leave home and its politics behind. There's a Canadian flag T-shirt, a Canadian flag lapel pin and a Canadian patch for luggage or a backpack. There's also a quick reference guide - "How to Speak Canadian, Eh?" - on answering questions about Canada. It's the brainchild of employees at the Mountainair, N.M.-based company known for novelty T-shirts it sells worldwide on the Internet. The Go Canadian idea sprouted after one of company president Bill Broadbent's colleagues heard of someone being harassed about U.S. politics during a recent overseas trip. Some people might not mind, but others "just want to be on vacation," Broadbent said. "So we were joking that they could just go as Canadians, and that just kind of evolved." The package went up on the company website Nov. 12, and sold a couple hundred within weeks. Sylvia Dawson's boyfriend has been joking that she needed to find him a Canadian flag for a coming trip to Spain. That's after his daughter, who is studying there, warned that he might be questioned about politics when he comes to visit. So she bought a package. "I said, 'What are you going to do if someone asks you about the prime minister of Canada?' And he said, 'I'll study up,' " Dawson said. Such questions are the reason for the package's quick reference guide, which offers tips in case an American in disguise gets quizzed on Canada. When it comes to sports, the guide suggests: "This is easy to remember. There is only one real sport in Canada and it is called hockey. Regardless of any trivia question, the answer is Wayne Gretzky. If a Canadian says he had to "deke out of a meeting," it means he avoided the meeting. If someone is headed to "Hogtown," that's Canadian for Toronto. A trip to "Cowtown" means the person is going to Calgary. And in all cases, the guide advises: "If your vacation is to be stress free, leave those heavy politics behind and travel with a light heart and quick wit, Canadian style." | ||
| Ray_maines  |
And maybe even a red cover for your blue passport? | ||
| Gschuette  |
I would never claim to be Canadian.  | ||
| Sportyeric  |
In a former life I was a surf bum for a winter in Puerto Escondido,southern Mexico. Me and my buddy hit on a couple of girls fresh off the bus. Could tell by their tans they'd just arrived. Standard starting conversational gambit'"Where you from?",got the answer,"Canada." "So are we! Where abouts?" "Uh, Banff." "No shite. So are we!" (Its a tourist town in the Canadian Rockies with a population of 10,000 residents and about 60,000 visitors at any given time. Lived there for several years.) "So where do you work?" "We lied. We're from Santa Barbara and that's the only place name we knew! What's the odds?" | ||
| Blublak  |
Actually.. Americans, years ago (I don't know about now) used to be able to acquire (from certain sources) all the 'credentials' needed to prove they were NOT from the US. You would use your US passport when leaving and entering the country, but for casual sightseeing etc, you'd whip out the dummies. Later, | ||
| Lornce  |
The funniest American I've encountered abroad would have to be the guy from D.C. I met in a tiny village in the Nepalese Himalayas. He'd been raised in Milwaukee by adoptive German Baptist parents after having been given up by his student mom and foreign student father (his bio-dad was Indian, from Delhi). When I met him he was running around in national garb, complete with fez and sparkling clean white shirts, being generally mistaken for a Brahmin businessman from Kathmandu.... Which he played to the nines to much amusement. Laugh?!? | ||
| Doughnut  |
Milwaukee RULES! (sorry)  | ||
| Blake  |
Met and hung out with some Canadian girls during Spring break in Acapulco. Took me another week to quit the "eh" after returning to SMU. That was one great Spring break though.  They seemed to like Americans just fine. |
