Robert Barlas - Cultureshock! Canada: a survival guide to customs and etiquette

This 6th edition published in 2009 by:

Marshall Cavendish Corporation

99 White Plains Road

Tarrytown NY 10591-9001

www.marshallcavendish.us

First published in 1992 by Times Media Pte Ltd, reprinted 1995; 2nd edition published in 1996, reprinted 1997, 1998 (twice); 3rd edition published in 1999, reprinted 2000, 2001; 4th edition published in 2003; 5th edition published in 2006.

2009 Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited

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eISBN: 978 981 4435 31 4

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Printed in Singapore by Times Printers Pte Ltd

Photo Credits:

All black and white photos by Bill Murtha, Bob Barlas and Guek-Cheng Pang. Dinner menu on page 185 used with permission of Pierre Berton. All colour images from Photolibrary. Cover photo: Getty Images.

All illustrations by TRIGG

Culture shock is a state of disorientation that can come over anyone who has been thrust into unknown surroundings, away from ones comfort zone. CultureShock! is a series of trusted and reputed guides which has, for decades, been helping expatriates and long-term visitors to cushion the impact of culture shock whenever they move to a new country.

Written by people who have lived in the country and experienced culture shock themselves, the authors share all the information necessary for anyone to cope with these feelings of disorientation more effectively. The guides are written in a style that is easy to read and covers a range of topics that will arm readers with enough advice, hints and tips to make their lives as normal as possible again.

Each book is structured in the same manner. It begins with the first impressions that visitors will have of that city or country. To understand a culture, one must first understand the peoplewhere they came from, who they are, the values and traditions they live by, as well as their customs and etiquette. This is covered in the first half of the book.

Then on with the practical aspectshow to settle in with the greatest of ease. Authors walk readers through topics such as how to find accommodation, get the utilities and telecommunications up and running, enrol the children in school and keep in the pink of health. But thats not all. Once the essentials are out of the way, venture out and try the food, enjoy more of the culture and travel to other areas. Then be immersed in the language of the country before discovering more about the business side of things.

To round off, snippets of basic information are offered before readers are tested on customs and etiquette of the country. Useful words and phrases, a comprehensive resource guide and list of books for further research are also included for easy reference.

When we first met each other, we remarked upon the happy chance that we were indeed oppositesCaucasian and male, long-term resident of eastern Canada complementing Asian and female, a newcomer to western Canadaand could bring different viewpoints to CultureShock! Canada. Since then, many hours of cross-Canada telephone time have gone into the creation of this book, and a friendship has been formed. What we lacked ourselves, we supplemented with information solicited from many sources and with suggestions from our own friends.

Writing this book has therefore placed us in debt to a large number of people. To all of you who made contributions in one way or anotherthank you for your support. Special thanks must go, however, to those who so ably helped us research the facts which we needed to make this book accurate:

From Bob: to Robert Amesse, Elizabeth Mitchell and Norm Tompsettfirst-class librarians allto Denise Maxfield, Mike Filip, and Jim and Joanne Rich, whose contributions to various parts of the text were invaluable, and to Vern Shute and Charles Clarke, who proofread my text with great accuracy and precision. Finally, especial gratitude to my good friends Bill Murtha and John Mortimer, whose artistic suggestions and contributions helped immensely in visualising the text as it was being written.

From Guek-Cheng: thanks especially to Shirley Hew and Shova Loh who made me an author; to John Bartle, Mark Looi and Diane Quinn, for their invaluable help; to Bob and Clare Looi, who introduced me to this beautiful country; and to my Canadian friends who have welcomed me into their midst.

Last, but by no means least, our gratitude and love to our families whose constructive criticism and moral support have been invaluable during the weeks and months it took to put this book together.

From Guek-Cheng:

To Pius, Christopher and Kimmy, my fellow-adventurers in

exploring a new country.

From Robert:

With love to my wife, Nancy, my children, Richard and

Sharine, and my mother, Ann.

Canada is a broad landbroad in mind, broad in spirit and broad in physical expanse.

President Truman, address before the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, 11 June 1947

IT IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO REFLECT on a country as diverse as Canada through the eyes of only one personor even twoand first impressions of anything always depend greatly on the context and circumstances of the person doing the observing. When Guek-Cheng and I met to discuss how we would approach writing the following section, we agreed that, since first impressions are so unique, full justice to a topic as subjective as this could only really be done through the eyes of one of us. This would be better than us attempting to make some kind of visual compromise between us. So the text which follows was written by Guek-Cheng and primarily reflects her first impressions of arriving in western Canada as an Asian immigrant. However, what is strange but rather comforting is that my own first impressions of Canada as an Englishman who came to the eastern part of Canada some years before Guek-Cheng are not at all dissimilar. In fact, had I written the chapter which follows, much of what I would have said in it would be exactly the same. Where my account would differ is only in the smaller details of location and time, and hardly at all in the substance of what first impressedand continues to impressme about Canada as a whole.