I met a new colleague today luckily someone I don't deal with directly

Colleague - So where are you from?
Smelly- England
Colleague - what and you moved here......?
Smelly- yep
Colleague - why did you leave the "cultural capital of Europe" to come here.......?
Smelly- many reasons.......(of which I have no interest in discussing with you, didnt actually say this part)
Colleague - Well aint you the clever one.... NOT .............. you left the mother country to come here, .....(he chuckled, rolled his eyes and said that's a new one)

Smelly- ..Have you ever been to Europe?
Colleague - No but I seen it on the TV.
Smelly- Do you have a passport?
Colleague -No but I am in the process of getting one, but I been to America though several times though.
Smelly - Lucky you.


It got worse he then asked me what my family thought about the move and whether I had a husband.


Some of peoples attitudes are still very old fashioned and they just cant understand why you would emigrate unless it was due to political unrest or poverty .

I have been asked that a few times but never taken offence or thought is was an old fashioned attitude so I cant understand where you are coming from?

I usually take the questioning as expressing an interest and it sometimes shows insecurity about how Canada rates. When i tell them the reasons why we came they smile and look happy at the compliment to where they live. - I save mutterings about the driving skills and the amount of processed food until i know them well!

I loved this bit it made me chuckle.

Im rather disapointed there was no mention of the royal family. Standards must be slipping at the idiot school.

[QUOTE=batty-x-ray;4378924 When i tell them the reasons why we came they smile and look happy at the compliment to where they live. - I save mutterings about the driving skills and the amount of processed food until i know them well![/QUOTE]

Yes true I will take that on board and be more open with the answer and compliment them on the beauty of Canada.

I just thought he was a bit intrusive , I wouldn't go around questioning other immigrants there reasons for moving and stating "well I seen it on the tele cant understand why you moved personally", I think thats why I thought it was old fashioned.

Well there is one bright side to the guy's attitude. He thinks well of the place from which you came. The conversation can be even more "interesting" when the other party thinks ill of the place from which you came.

I can imagine that. Apparently my OH was single handedly responsible for the invasion of Iraq and the cultural imperialism exemplified by McDonalds.

You should be very proud of her, she is obviously very bright and influential. A little misguided maybe but that can be corrected.

when i was here on holiday in 2005 myself and friend went trail riding. While waiting the owner of the horses said, 'so how about your charles getting married then, how do you feel about that.' Took me a moment to think i have no kids called charles.........duh then the penny dropped. emmmmmmm not a lot really. She then preceeded to go on about how she admired the royals etc etc......................

So you're either married to Condi Rice or you're Laura Bush's bit on the side...

(unless we all have you wrong and you are in fact Laura Bush?)

I arrived shortly after Di died...you can imagine the sort of conversations

While we were in Toronto last year a women in one of the shops asked me where i was from and when i said England she replied " Arrrrr London, i love London... Do you know the spice girls???
I nearly fell off my pirch, how stupid are they, and why when you say your from England do they always think its just London? lol

oh my god yeah. Mind you it was like that in my neck of the woods anyway. my husband and i (sounds royal!) had gone away for the weekend of Di's funeral. Got up in the morning to go into the town to get a nice brekkie and it was like a ghost town. It was eerie......... we were like, did something happen over night we know nothing about??? It took us quite a while to realise. There was not a soul in sight. It was like the old fashioned sundays i remember as a kid!!!

About as stupid as the average Brit who when they find out you're from Calgary, says "I have a friend in Toronto do you know him?".

There are stupid people all over the world Canada doesn't have a monopoly.

So was I.