Culture is more than old buildings

If you move to Canada, you know in advance that you will not find nice medieval towns.

What you do see a lot are the rather tasteless "American-style" cities with streets in a checkerboard pattern and wide car boulevards everywhere. The architectural achievements often consist of erecting flashy buildings as large and cheaply as possible. This applies to offices, shopping centers, apartment buildings and houses.

Some older buildings are given a "Heritage" status, which means that they receive some protection. But if someone can make a lot of money from it, they will still fail.

Je zult weinig cultuur aantreffen in Canada. Wel vrij veel subcultuur en hebzucht.

It is not that easy to describe Canadian culture

You might initially think of ice hockey when you think of Canadian culture.

The Canadians themselves may be more likely to think of pub life and the habit of getting terribly drunk every now and then. Celebrating, at home or elsewhere, is a top priority for many.

What else is important to Canadians? Driving, shopping, watching TV and certainly eating out. Nowhere will you find as many "fast-food" eateries as in Canada.

There are also Canadians who like to go to the gym, but there aren't many.

The arts are underrepresented in Canada: people prefer not to know too much about music, dance, theatre, literature and museums. That's just boring.

The interest in new experiences and other cultures is remarkably limited. In fact, most people close themselves off to it quite rigidly.

Even the differences in their own country are difficult to make people aware of. And for those who want to see them, there are indeed some differences.

Yes, you adapt

Multiculturalism has long been promoted in Canada, but in everyday practice most people stay in their own circle and often look down on other cultures.

This is also clearly evident from the aversion to other languages. Most Canadians speak only one language and want nothing to do with the other national language.

Many people prefer to exclude themselves from the fact that there are other languages and cultures in the world.

The fear of other cultures quickly leads to xenophobia. You can read more about that here.
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