The Passion of Every Canadian

(I'm a little late with this one. Forgot to post it when I wrote it last week)

Every Wednesday night I go down to the church and play basketball. We don't talk about much, but after the game a number of guys go to Filo's down the street for appetizers. I went this week to get to know some of the guys and talk sports, but I found myself in over my head when the conversation ranged between Flames hockey and, well, Canadian hockey on a broader sense. There were at least 5-10 minutes we talked about other sports--baseball playoffs, the NBA (but mainly the fact that another Canadian could go as the #1 pick), and even a couple of other subjects, but other than that it was all hockey, and we were there for over an hour. And most of that hockey was about the Flames, although there was some discussion about who the Maple Leafs would decide on as their starting goalie

For years I have followed every major sport--baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and even hockey--and I have a pretty good knowledge of all of them. But hockey is definitely in the backseat to the others. Being from Northern California my favorite team growing up was the San Jose Sharks, who made the playoff nearly every year, but I wasn't as interested as I was the other sports, simply because no one else was. It wasn't televised or covered in the newspaper as much (that's right, I followed sports in the newspaper). The Sharks have been really good recently, but I honestly haven't followed the entire league other than standings. So to sit down and try to be part of a discussion about players on a team in a rebuilding season was beyond me, even if it was my new home's team.
TSN (the equivalent of ESPN) is the same way. I'm looking for football highlights on Monday and analysis during the week, and every time it takes the backseat to hockey. And the brunt of the coverage goes (deservedly) to the Cannucks, Flames, Oilers, Jets, Maple Leafs, Senators, Canadiens and Sidney Crosby, but I still get a whole lot more Sharks news than I did before I came here (like highlights of the team improving to 6-0-0 and 20 minute of analysis of this).
Out of all the cultural changes that I've had to and I foresee myself needing to adjust to, becoming a real hockey fan--the way I am a baseball and football fan--may just be the most difficult, or at least take the most work (although recycling isn't always easy for me to remember, either).

Happy Thanksgiving

Source: www.123rf.com

Thanksgiving in Canada comes a bit earlier than in the States. Just as Thanksgiving in the States is celebrated at harvest time, the same goes for Canada, but harvest time is a little earlier. It is held the second Monday of October, and has been a national holiday since 1957. Since being married, Courtney and I have been to or hosted a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner for our friends every year. Yesterday Courtney was home for Thanksgiving for the first time in seven years, and it made her really happy. It was my first time in Canada for the event, and I noticed that some things were the same and others different.

• Vacation Aspect: The vacation aspect of Thanksgiving compared to the States is low. Since the holiday is on a Monday, people get a day off work and children miss a single day of school. That's a huge difference to me, as kids get at least two days off, three in some districts (and at most universities). Because people go to work and kids go to school the following day, traveling long distances for the holiday is not as prominent. We went to the walking trail around Glenmore Lake, seeing many other families enjoying their day together.



Source: thimbleanna.co

• Dinner: We had dinner on Sunday instead of Monday, but I believe Monday is the day of choice for feasting for most Canadians. The dinner was the same--turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, thand other veggie sides. The one difference was dessert. Apparently it's not as important to have five different types of pie for dessert as it is in the states. Granted, there were only six adults (and two children) and my family probably eats more pie than most due to the four sons and a hereditary sweet tooth (thanks, Mom), so maybe one apple and one pumpkin is actually normal for dinner. But to me it seems like the more desserts it has, the more American it is. (I feel like you need at least 2 pumpkin, 1 chocolate chip, 1 banana cream pie and 1 pecan to make Thanksgiving official.)
• Family: Spending time with family is just as important in Canada. However, because it is only a one-day holiday your Aunt Margret isn't going to fly in to Calgary from Halifax for dinner (your brother, Liam, might drive up from Lethbridge, though). You spend the day with whatever family is near, which is really nice. 



Source: http://slam.canoe.ca

• Football: There actually is football on Thanksgiving here! We got 14 people from the church to show up for a game in the morning, but apparently that's more than most years. Plus, the CFL plays two games on Thanksgiving, like the NFL, but different teams play every year. That's actually a plus, because you don't have to A) see Jerry Jones on TV B) struggle though years of watching a horrible Lions team. On the flip side, it is CFL, and I the transition to CFL fandom hasn't been as easy ( even though the Calgary Stampeders are in first place and ex-BYU quarterback Max Hall is starting for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers). I'm sure that in time I will learn to love it.
• Shopping: There is no Black Tuesday accompanying Canadian Thanksgiving. Their big shopping discount day is called Boxing Day (December 26th). More on that in a couple of months.

We had a great little weekend and it's back to real life today. We have so much to be thankful for here, even if some things haven't gone our way.

Canadian Corruption?

They actually never smile. Never. (thestar.com)

There is actually plenty of corruption in Canada, the brunt of it occurring in Quebec (see here, here, here, here, and here). I'll write more on Quebec later, it's an entirely different place than Alberta, but while the government stays out of corruption, I've seen quite a bit of shifty business during my job search. I am still unemployed due to my inability to find a business with an open LMO. It has been six weeks since I had someone apply for me to work for his concrete business and there has been no word back from him. It will likely take another six weeks for the paperwork to finish, which will be no good seeing that he'll be done working for the season. I have received some offers, however, to work without an LMO for cash. Upon entering the country I was given a visitor's permit which clearly states that I am not authorized to work in Canada. The officer I spoke to told me to not do anything for money, because I was not authorized to do so and would risk being deported and jeopardize my pending permanent residency. So when I am told by these employers that they'll hire me and write a check to my wife for the amount, I simply decline their offer. There are many who are working illegally in this province, and they successfully evade detection and deportation, and I think it has a lot to do with the labour shortage here. While I could probably get away with it, I won't be putting my status in the country on the line anytime soon. This is not a blog about moral fortitude, so I'll refrain from an honesty speech, but it is a blog about my completely legal move to a foreign country and my adventures trying to fit in.
I did make contact with a recruiting agency that finds workers in Mexico for Calgary businesses with LMOs--Mexi-Can. It has been a week and a half, however, and they have no results, but it seemed like a good prospect at the time, and still could pull something out of their hat for me. When they do I will still have to wait a month to be approved by the government to be on their LMO. Needless to say, it's a lengthy process--moreso than we previously thought it'd be. But our house sold, so there's no turning back now.