During my days spent north of the border I meant to behave myself. It is a beautiful country with signs in this province often reminding you that this is beautiful Ontario. Tricky as it was, I figured out my kilometres per hour and tried to do the speed limit but on the "401" (main highway between Toronto and Montreal) everyone speeds. I had to avoid being a traffic hazard.
Prices in Canada are a challenge to figure out in US dollars, and then at the cash register they hit you with GST and PST. Those are taxes meant to foil even an autistic savant who can recite Pi to the 30th decimal. A $6 magazine would sell for about $5 in the US costs $8 in Canada with tax which is?? I give up.
On Nov. 26th I went snowmobiling! There was just enough snow there in eastern Ontario for me to learn how to run a Ski-Doo around the "bush" and proudly I claim that I didn't run over any bushes or hit any trees. It was trickier than I expected. But fun! The gasoline in the Ski-Doo was bought by the litre, not by the gallon. It cost around $.82 a litre which I have no idea how to translate into any measure I can easily relate to. Any mathematicians out there?
Some miles to the west down the 401 I passed farm country that could have been in Indiana. Except the road signs were in English and in French. Vive La Belle Langue!
One final word about Canada. Yes I heard people say "eh!" but I also caught myself saying "y'all". So tit for tat. Differences are fun. Under the outer trappings, people are people. I will always carry a great love for the land of the maple leaf.
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