I've been studying in Canada for about a month now, so I've found that it is easier to comment on certain things after time has passed. One of these things is the fact that my classes (for obvious reasons) rely on different perceptions than those that I am used to. Since some of these classes revolve around Canadian issues specifically, it's been quite the experience to watch others comment on certain issues and their perceptions of them without really being able to put in my two cents. While this situation can be a bit frustrating at times, such as when no one else in class will say anything and the professor stares us down for a solid minute or two without saying anything, it really allows me to see how other people my age are affected by the issues that have surrounded them for their entire lives that I will only get to experience for a few months.

I have also noticed that there are some similarities in the issues that Canadians face and those that are faced in America. I can only speculate that this comes as a result of the closeness of the two countries, not only in physical proximity, but in terms of international relationships. A lot of the issues that are currently affecting Americans are being discussed regularly here. The president gets dropped by name almost daily, and more often than not, it's in a negative way. On a shopping trip during one of my first days here, he appeared on some sort of tabloid in the check out aisle, and the woman in front of me said that she hoped he "falls in a hole", and went on to say some other choice things about him. A question that I am frequently asked is whether or not I voted for him (which I always answer with a solid "no"), and then some discussion of modern events follows. When I say "discussion", I really mean "they talk to me about things, and I either agree or disagree in order to quickly shut down the conversation because politics tend to be a topic that I avoid simply because they're so polarizing back home". While I anticipated some of these questions and discussions, I realize now that I wasn't fully prepared for them.

A conversation that I had with a new acquaintance just yesterday is truly what made me start thinking about this topic. This person grew up in Manitoba (one of the other provinces of Canada, which I talked about a couple of weeks ago) and asked me a question that included some information that I was surprised to hear. I was asked if I had to learn any Canadian history while growing up in the United States, since they had learned about U.S. history in school. I was glad to answer that I had, but I felt bad knowing that if I had grown up or gone to school anywhere else, my answer would have been "no".

After that, I started thinking about my courses, and how much more involved I could be if I knew more about the background material. I also thought about the times that my professors have turned to me and asked for my forgiveness as they speak about certain stereotypes and viewpoints that Americans hold, and that they hope that I am not offended by their remarks. I simply tell them that I completely understand their points and agree with them, since they are the same views that I hold myself. While I'm glad that we share similar thoughts, I can't help but think of how people with different views from my own would react to things around here.

All in all, I'd like to think that I am able to go along with my classes with relative ease, but these certain instances have really gotten me thinking about how out of place I can be at times while I'm here.