"You do realize...."

[AdminAssistant]

I'm preparing to head to Canadalandia (Montreal, specifically) on Thursday for an academic conference. I've been telling a lot of people about the trip because I'm really excited. My first international trip to a city that I've wanted to go to for a long time to go to a pretty amazing conference. However...people must assume that I'm completely stupid or something. They'll say, "You do realize that it's going to be colder there, right?" You mean...a place farther northeast from here will be...colder??? Canada gets cold in the winter? Who knew? Or, "Are you going to pack any snow gear? You never know, it's Canada."

I mean, seriously? Yes, I've been checking the Weather Channel regularly for the past few days, both looking at the forecast and noting the actual temperatures. Probably highs in the 40's and lows in the 20's. Certainly colder than the Indian Summer we're having in Kansas, but hardly frigid. Light coat and sweater weather, bring an umbrella. Yet people are acting like I'm going to some frozen wasteland.

The other thing is that, although I'm excited about the location and I hope I get to explore the city a little bit, I'm there for a conference. I'm going to be reimbursed for the trip because I'm presenting a paper. This isn't a vacation. And yet I'm being told all of the places that I 'have' to see/experience/whatever. This is from other academics/grad students, mind you, who really ought to know better. If it's not close to the hotel, I'm not going to be able to see it. That sucks. But I'm only going to have short breaks for meals and in the evenings....not much time for exploring.

*sigh* All that said, I'm excited to go! I've found a nearby poutine shop and I'm very intrigued by this whole 'underground mall' business.

[bara]

enjoy your trip!

Id like to go to Canada someday.

[Peppergirl]

Travel agent hat on:

You do realize that you need a passport nowadays, correct?

/Travel agent hat off


:ducks and runs away:

Kidding aside, have a safe and wonderful trip!!!

[AdminAssistant]

Peppergirl, oh that too. "You mean I need a passport to go to a different country? Herp derp!" Sheesh. Granted, if you're driving in you only need a passport card, but I don't think anyone would be driving from Kansas to Montreal for a four-day trip.

[Boozy]

It might be colder in Montreal, and it might not. It's a really weird time of year. For example, we were getting an Indian summer here in my part of Canada while the east coast of the US was getting two feet of snow.

Obviously, anyone travelling will check weather reports for their destination before leaving. Unless you're one of the idiots that Admin is talking about, in which case you'll pack only parkas and snowshoes because ZOMGCANADACOLD!

Have a good time at your conference. McGill, I'm assuming? I have several friends completing their graduate course work there.

[AdminAssistant]

American Society for Theatre Research, meeting at one of the hotels downtown. One of the reasons Montreal was chosen was to bring in more scholars from Canada, perhaps there will be some from McGill?

[MrsEclipse]

Ah, yes, people giving you the most obvious, useless, or incorrect advice. It's because they want to be helpful, but they don't know the first thing. If it's because they want to feel superior, just brush it off. Let them pretend their ego has been satisfied. If it's because they like you and just don't know any good advice, take to heart that you have good people who care about you, even if they are a bit clueless.

And just ignore the people who don't understand Canada or what it means to be at an academic conference instead of on vacation.

Courtesy of "Dan Vs.":
England and France had a baby out of wedlock and that baby was Canada. Canadians drink maple syrup out of the bottle, and most Canadians are at least half bear. They thrive in cold climates and live in the shadow of a massive glacier, blissfully unaware of the horriffic fate that would befall them should the glacier ever collapse.

[guywithashovel]

When I was seventeen, I went to Quebec for a martial arts convention. Before I went there, I got the "You do realize" comments about the weather. I was told that I'd need to pack a snowsuit, even though I was going in May. Most of the time, it was a little cooler than the May weather I was used to in Ohio, but not that much. One day it got really warm, like turn-on-the-air-conditioner warm.

Have fun on your trip, though! I'm kind of envious. I haven't been back to Canada since my Quebec trip.

[blas87]

If it's anything like Wisconsin, tourists show up in their full winter gear and we're all still in jeans flip flops and tshirts in 40 degree weather

[jackfaire]

If it's anything like Wisconsin, tourists show up in their full winter gear and we're all still in jeans flip flops and tshirts in 40 degree weather

Umbrellas.

Here if a person is using an Umbrella either they aren't a native or they are a tourist.

[Gravekeeper]

Yeah, I never understood that. You're not crossing some sort of enchanted wall at the border that holds back all the bitter Canadian weather from leaking into the US. Quebec especially is brutal in the summer for that matter. Like hide inside and weep next to the A/C brutal.

More pertinent information would be: You do realize people there are going to pointedly speak French to you even if you speak in English to them until they finally sigh, roll their eyes and switch over to English? >.>

They use to do that to me even when I was 7 years old.

[AdminAssistant]

Well, so far everyone is reinforcing the Canadian stereotype of being incredibly polite. My experience so far is that people will say something in French, I'll say, "Pardon?", and they switch to English. Except the hotel staff, who speak English by default, except for greetings. But I haven't been out much, so we'll see how it goes today. I'm going to try to find this mysterious Tim Horton's you folks talk so much about.

[Gravekeeper]

I'm going to try to find this mysterious Tim Horton's you folks talk so much about.

Hah. Just stumble randomly in any direction for at least 3 blocks. Shouldn't be too hard. Or just ask absolutely anyone around you who is still breathing. >.>

I can name the locations of 3 off the top of my head in a 3 block radius from my office and I've never even been in all of them. I just know.

[ExRetailDrone]

Mmm, Tim Horton's. Haven't been to one in ages. And never one in Canada, funnily enough. I grew up in the States, but close enough to Canada that we were able to find them sometimes while traveling and such.

I hope you get to enjoy exploring a little bit around your busy schedule.

[AdminAssistant]

Okay, I need to figure out how to get this nectar of the gods in Kansas. That's honestly the best coffee I've ever had. Also, underground shopping malls? Brilliant!