Re: Canada v Australia
 

Why ever not?
Spiders and other roaches can be deadly, and even if not deadly, then downright disgusting!

Re: Canada v Australia
 

Interesting point.

BC is, in some respects 'the edge of the north american continent' and the distance from the centre of the universe (AKA TO) is astounding, also 2 time zones away. How far from NY, LA, UK etc etc. A lot of stuff which happens 'back east' is in many respects meaningless to us here in BC.

Psychologically and physically, BC is seperated from the ROC by the Rockies, and more trade is done with (imp/export) the Pacific Rim countries than ever before, and booming, too. Think of it this way, the ROC thinks of Asia as being in the East (as in the Far East) whereas in BC, Asia is to the West, geographically and in peoples mindset. Incredible, huh ? BC is not just another province, it's a biodiverse distinct region of Canada. Earthquake zones, arboreal forest and tropical rainforest, Pacific Rim islands, stunning mountain ranges, world class ski-ing, cities on the edge of lakes, deserts, glaciers, etc.

BC is just a different state of mind altogether :cool: who the hell'd want to live on the edge of the world :confused: :D only hedonists and mentalists IMHO.

Rich. [and we have our own gap in the ozone, it's called the Fraser Valley]

Re: Canada v Australia
 

not to mention you guys have some of the best... ahem, "crops" I've ever had the pleaure to... ahem... experiment. ;)

Re: Canada v Australia
 

Oh yes it suits the mindset out here. :cool: I sometimes muse as to whether BC is a bizarre social experiment in finding out how many wonders the average human being can handle and how much weirdness and diversity humanity can take. Pot plants (as opposed to potted plants) growing down by the railroad tracks must be a weird sight, as must the monster plant [allegedly] growing out of a huge pot outside the RCMP station :rolleyes: some kind pot[ted] plant that would be.

Rich.

Re: Canada v Australia
 

I haven't watched a lot of Australian or New Zealand television, that's true, but I have recently been to Australia to work on a computer system. The same sort of system we work on everywhere else in the world, it looked, well, the same. We rented an Isuzu with the exhaust on the roof because the Honda we had the previous time couldn't cope with the fords, Honda and Isuzu offer very similar models in Canada. Australia has fast food. Canada has fast food. Sydney has ethnic restaurants. Toronto has ethnic restaurants. Adelaide has a neat market, Toronto has a neat market. Australia and Canada are not wildly different.

You don't think men in plaid shirts are neanderthals ? I'd say WASP Canadian man are as misogynist as anyone alive, fortunately there are very few of them in Toronto.

Re: Canada v Australia
 

let's just say I have compared Aussie men from major cities vs Torontonian men. I'd say only a masochistic women would date an Aussie.... just trust me on that one! maybe Italians are slightly worse, but really, only slightly.

Re: Canada v Australia
 

And WASP-males treat aboriginals badly in OZ and Canada alike, have done, will always do. It's part of the program in their midset. I'd hazard a guess Canada has made better reparation attempts of late, but I'm ignorant of matters in Oceania so open to thoughts.....I have a mental picture which isn't pleasant though, based on a couple of second hand tales.

Rich.

Re: Canada v Australia
 

Not if you look at the CIC stats, they don't:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/facts2004/index.html

Re: Canada v Australia
 

I thought it was 3 time zones.

Re: Canada v Australia
 

I went to Australia as a married woman, so cannot comment on dating Australian men. However, prior to living in Australia I'd heard horror stories about Autralian men, so I was expecting the worst, even in ordinary social situations. In reality I found Australian men to be very considerate. My experience of Aussies was mostly in Melbourne, where we lived.

A typical example was a man whom I met within days of arriving in Australia. He asked me how my kids were settling into school, how I was finding my way around the neighbourhood, etc. I told him everything was going great but my husband did have one question. He was wondering if there was a warehouse-style hardware store similar to Home Depot in North America. The man took the time to give me detailed directions to Bunnings. The same man bumped into me about three weeks later. He recognised me and asked me if my husband had managed to find Bunnings and whatever it was that he wanted to buy there.

I had numerous encounters in which Australian men were very helpful.

In previewing this message, I see that the discussion now has broadened to include the relationship between white people and aboriginal people.

There again, while I was living in Melbourne the aboriginal reconciliation movement was very active, and there were numerous events related to it (ceremonies in which bishops apologized for the abuses that their churches had committed in the past, etc.). As someone who originally had come from Southern Africa and who had lived in Canada, I was invited to speak at several aboriginal reconciliation gatherings. The people in the movement were interested to find out about other countries' experiences, how similar or different they might have been from the Australian situation, other countries' initiatives that had been effective as well as those that had failed, etc. Yes, there were racists in Australia, and some of their behaviour was very ugly indeed. But there were many people in Melbourne who cared about the relationship between "mainstream" society and aboriginal people.

Re: Canada v Australia
 

Pacific, Mountain, Central. Three time zones, therefore is two time zones away.

Yes ?

Rich.

Re: Canada v Australia
 

Toronto is in the Eastern time zone.

Re: Canada v Australia
 

Judy, your insight and reality check is truly awesome.

Karma'd. :D

Rich.

Re: Canada v Australia
 

Aha then you witness at first hand the apathy the west shows towards the east. :zzz:

Life on the edge of the world is just too far away from the centre of the universe. :zzz:

Rich.

Re: Canada v Australia
 

Actually, BC doesn't have a "tropical" rain forest, is has a "temperate" rain forest.