Cultural Differences

I spent 24 hours in Canada this weekend. It's always amusing to experience the cultural differences that exist just a wee bit to the North. Sure, pronunciations are different for "out" and "about". They have "bean" where I have "been". They use different terms for things as well. I enjoy powdered sugar while they enjoy icing sugar. I might drive a manual while they drive a standard. I could go on and on...

I noticed one major difference this time I hadn't noticed before. The Canadians embrace family in a whole-hearted way! Here's "Parent Parking" adjacent to the handicapped spots. They offer Families a safer more convenient way to purchase their groceries.



At Rogers Arena where the Vancouver Canucks play hockey, they also embrace family. They offer very comfortable chairs in the ladies room. Nurse your baby or just sit and hold your child for a few minutes. Pretty incredible! Do these exist in the Men's room? I kind of doubt it although I can't be sure.

Women get one full year of maternity leave when they have a child. Can you imagine? That's 4-5 times as much as Women in America are allowed. I'm sure there are differing opinions about the pros and cons of a socialist society, I'm not here to weigh in on that. I'm just making the observation that it is only a couple of hours away and so much different!

There was a baby about a year old at the Canucks game I went to that had industrial strength ear protection. How funny I thought, to expose such a young child to the violent game of hockey, the raucous crowd and yet protect their ears. As a Mom, I completely get that!