A Canadian Penguin

Hey!

I recently had an interesting conversation with a person here that I thought was very cute. So cute in fact that it inspired this morning's playtime...which of course led to today's baby photo shoot....

I don't know about you but I've noticed time and again that when people from different countries get together a common topic of conversation tends to be about each other's countries. And why not? I like learning about other countries and cultures and people. You never know, just when you think you've completed your list of Must See places to go to in your lifetime, you could meet someone that makes you realize you need to add another country to that list. So I really don't mind when people over here ask me questions about Canada. I like it actually. Some are probably just trying to make conversation but I'm sure there are at least a few who are genuinely interested in learning about our beautiful hunk of rock. Either way, I'm happy to tell them all about it.

There are the common questions: 

1. What's the population of Canada? 
2. How long does it take to fly there from Mytilini or Athens?
3. What's the time difference? 
4. If you're in Vancouver and you want to go to Quebec to see Miltos and Valerie, how long does it take to get there?

The answers to these questions usually shock and mystify. Especially the last one because often they already have guessed that it would take quite a few hours...by car. When I tell them it's about 4 or 5 hours by plane....BY PLANE?!?! Yes. By plane. Canada is massive.

But it's the not so common questions that are really fun...even if they don't get quite the same reaction as the last one. 

Here's the conversation I had recently:

Them: "Do you have penguins in Canada?"

Me: "Ummmm, no"

Them: "Oh. But it's really cold there right?"

Me: "In some places yes but not always and not everywhere"

Them: "Oh. But I saw on tv that you have polar bears.."

Me: "We do have polar bears"

Them: "And you have those people that live in ice houses..what are they called?"

Me: "The people or the houses...?"

Them: "Eh, both"

Me: "Ice houses are igloos and the people are Inuit" 

Them: "Inuit? I thought they were Eskimos or something like that"

Me: "Yeah it's not really politically correct to call them Eskimos anymore, now it's Inuit"

Them: "Why?"

Me: "Ummmm, I don't know actually"

Them: "Huh. Ok. So some parts of Canada are really really cold, so cold that some people live in igloos and you have polar bears"

Me: "Yep"

Them: "But no penguins?"

Me: "Nope. No penguins. Why?"

Them: "Oh I was just curious"

I'm sure you can already tell but "Them" was about 7 or 8 years old. I thought it was just so cute that of all the questions you could ask he wanted to know if we had penguins. And clearly he'd put some thought into this because from his interrogation about polar bears and igloos etc, I think he'd already decided that there must be penguins in Canada because why wouldn't there be if you have all those other things? 

Ok so we don't have penguins in Canada. But because no one's ever asked me that before, and because his logic was pretty good and almost had me second guessing myself....I present to you the first ever

Canadian Penguin

There's no penguin hat in this one but she's so proud of herself for being able to stick her tongue out on purpose now...and to sometimes spit with it...so I had to throw it in anyway

And as for another thing I just can't help but throw in....here is the stupidest question anyone has ever asked me about Canada:

Them: "How do you say 'Cheers' in Canadian"
Me: ".......it's 'Cheers'"
Them: "Oh it's the same as in England!"
Me: "........"