First off, I wanted to include pictures with this, but unfortunately the last cafe I was at was way too slow to upload them, and though I think it'll be fast enough at this other cafe, I forgot my USB key :( so I'll try next time. I'm off to 'Eua in a couple hours, and I'm sure they'll be good photo ops there.
No, I am not Australian. And no I am not (as seems to then be the default guess) part of the US Peace Corps! I’m from
In a country where beef comes in a $20 tin from New Zealand (though the tin is as big as my head) and gasoline is incredibly expensive, I’ve amazed Tongans with the fact that we have an entire province dedicated to the production of beef and oil! Then I threw in that there’s another province that’s just one massive wheat field, and for good measure we’ve got a couple provinces working pretty hard on getting fish. In fact, there’s a brand of sardines here called simply “Canadian Sardines” that support my claim.
Aside from the cold and the size (oh yah, and Celine Dion, how is she so popular!) the only other thing that Tongans seem to know about Canada is trees and logging. I guess when your only tree has no branches and drops coconuts, that would be a big deal. Wearing a few plaid shirts with my bearded, hairy, lumberjack physique has contributed greatly to this stereotype. Ok, maybe I’m not lumberjack-esque in
Canadian Sardines, you're doing better than I am here!
ReplyDeleteYou need to start walking around wearing a toque and say "eh" often ;)
Craig
Oh to be a man living in a land where there are so many common stereotypes to be believed. One could say that they raced monthly against Canada's national dogsled team as it is based just down the street. One could say they were the captain in the Canadian Snow League. That one lives in an igloo made of plastic as the information age has changed things with it's space age polymers. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm going to ask what 'Eua is. What is it? I'm going to assume it's an area or town. Oh wait, Wiki says it's an island that's part of the country. Apparently Maui, the Tongan god had exploits in chicken breeding on 'Eua. Interesting stuff.
You should ask why hockey is always called ice hockey by everyone else? It was the original hockey - field, street, and floor hockey are all derivative of the original. And none of those have skates - unless you're in a cool street game.
.... Lastly I'm going to guess that beef night is going to be a really important time during the Tongan years. Important in the way that the Outback Steak House trip a few weeks ago was a milestone in business student history. Bacon wrapped around a steak that was so juicy .... Oh sweet sweet steak. And that blooming onion and cheese fries. Those Floridans really know how to make an Australian knock-off chain.
Okay, well that's enough for now. Go perform some amazing feats Hercules.
You could always use this as an opportunity to create more flattering Canadian stereotypes. Or become the ultimate Canadian stereotype!
ReplyDeleteI double dog dare you to try fresh durian fruit.
emily
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