trip to Canada

So this past weekend was my first time out of the country and even though it was only Canada, it was a little eye-opening in a few ways.

One of the first issues I checked on was gun laws. They are not allowed across the border and this made me naturally uncomfortable. When I saw the local police with their guns, however, it made me that much more so. I felt like a subject rather than an individual.

Also, because we have a tariff on imported sugar which makes it so soda companies in the us were forced to switch to high-fructose corn syrup, I went to the grocery store and bought a dr. pepper to taste the difference. There is one, their soda is sweeter. But the point is this: my soda cost 1.69. When I took it up to the register, there were more fees to pay. A recycling fee of .03, a deposit of .20 and a 7% sales tax which brought my 1.69 soda to over 2.00.

Lastly, I took a ride in a horse drawn carriage and got the chance to talk to our driver. She was a cute Brit but one of the first things I noticed about her was her teeth were less than average. Thats when I remembered that England's insurance does not cover dental - makes sense. But along the ride, we talked a lot of politics, not to argue with her, but to listen and learn.

We talked about England's border and how when they entered the EU, they had an open border policy and a stream of immigrants came in and took their jobs, overcrowded their country and she now hates it there. She hates even visiting.

According to her, it is a complete welfare state. It is not worth it to work there, it is better to live off the govt. Also, while they are heading to a more capitalist economy, she said she has about 10 friends who moved to the states for work.

There are a lot of people who want to remove the monarchy because they live off a lot of tax payer money. She is not for the removal of it.
She doesnt know what England would be without its monarchy. She finds her identity in it.

In a matter of days, England has become a more racist nation because of the immigrants and the states are not anymore. The surprising part was, she was pro assimilation, anti diversity.

She loves Barrack Obama. She admitted it is his personality. She doesnt know anything about his policies. Same with most Europeans.

Canadians are more personable. We watched a parade and people were willing to stand closer, talk easier and interact more casually than most Americans.

There are just as many homeless in Canada begging for money and looking for pop cans.