So far the closest I have come to experiencing the resentment that some people say that North Americans hold toward foreigners was with an OC Transpo driver. It was in my second week in Canada, having arrived from Rwanda at the end of August.
Apparently, I had failed to transcribe the Photo ID numbers onto the OC Transpo pass. The driver noticed and in a harsh tone asked me to write the number on the pass.
He instructed me to write the number down instantly, on the spot, and then show him the card.
I didn’t understand the urgency. A minute later the driver demanded at the top of his voice that I do what he asked of me or get off the bus.
I did what was necessary, but was left deeply disappointed because the driver’s conduct was in stark contrast with the good Canadian hospitality that I had experienced every day since arriving in Ottawa. Right after disembarking from the aircraft at Montreal Airport, people were happy to talk to me about anything. Before boarding a coach to Ottawa, a couple warned me to brace for severe cold during winter.
In Kigali, some Rwandans who have lived here had told me not to expect much from an ordinary person on the street or a neighbour.
I came with the perception that people were very into themselves.
But many students on campus and even strangers on Bank Street will stop when asked for a please-guide-me-talk and will take time to tell you about the buildings you will see, streets you will cross and the bends you will turn before your destination.
That said, when they’re helping you, say if you met them in an elevator, these Canadians will be staring straight into the walls.
But they will politely agree to being interrupted with questions, answer them when they can or quickly say they have no idea at all when they can’t, without wasting time.
And here time can’t afford to be wasted. It is a first world where everything moves fast. People even walk faster here than they do in Rwanda. I have to constantly hurry to keep up. Perhaps it is the effect of extreme weather – the need to escape from the cold outside during winter, or the sapping heat during summer, into the comfort of a climate-controlled home or car. Maybe the fast speed of living is related to high productivity and competition.
That said, there is one thing about Canadians that I have not found fast and competitive – at least from the perspective of an East African – and that is the election race. Competing political party leaders and parliamentary candidates do not print their photos on the campaign signpost-like ads.
You wonder if they are doing enough to imprint their images into the voter’s mind. The rallies are muted; there is no whistle blowing and hours on end ‘vote our man, our man’ songs.
The noise about election is a lot louder in the media than on the ground. There is nothing dramatic about politics here, which makes it boring.
Simply look at the show-bizlike race in the U.S. and you will know what I am saying. Well, it is a different thing if the choice to go cool, like the hospitality and general Canadian character is deliberate.