Goin' Metric

I could be wrong, but I feel it's safe to say most Americans next to nothing about the metric system. From my glory days in track and field I know that a rough conversion for a mile was 1500 meters, and that a 5k was a little more than three miles. The fact that doing this requires a) math and b) conversion from one unit of measurement to a greater unit backs up my opening statement. 

If you didn't know before, you must have realized by now that in Canada things are run by the metric system. My driver's license says I am 177 cm tall and weigh 70 kg. Every day is a new experience figuring out what the temperature means. Not everything is in metric (they measure house area in square feet and baking times are in Fahrenheit and golf courses are in yards), but most things are. 

The most common uses of measurement, though, are distance and speed. Things are a number of kilometers away and you drive in kilometers per hour. So the speed limits are all different and require a little getting used to. Luckily there's a 10 km/hr cushion above the limit, so if I'm going too fast it's generally accepted.

• In-city Highways: 110 km/hr (68 mph)-pretty much the same
• Major thoroughfares: 80 km/hr (50 mph)-it's been a while since I lived anywhere with major thoroughfares, but I'm thinking 45 is normal, so this is a little increase
• Suburban areas: 50km/hr (31 mph)-this one always seems really fast because Courtney always tells me, "You know, you can go 60," which is 37 and feels a little fast. But that's probably because we just spent two years in Roosevelt (i.e. Mayberry RFD) and I drive like an old man because if you go 30 in a 25 you're gonna get pulled over (and I did once, but it was our second week there and he let me slide).
• School/Playground Areas: 30 km/hr (19 mph)-this is slow. REALLY slow. And these are strictly enforced It's difficult. You see it ahead and you really have to start slowing down to make it down to 30 in time. Plus, there's the ambiguity of when the zone actually ends. In school zones there is a specific time (and only on school days), but playground zones like the one pictured end 'one hour after sunset.' Just a little subjective, don't you think?

Generally, I have done a pretty good job at learning metric, except for the temperature--that's going to take some getting used to. At least I know that when it gets its coldest here it will feel the same as Roosevelt (because -30 F is the same as -30 C).