BLAME CANADA!!

[NerdGirl]

Yarjka - for some reason I was thinking you lived in BC, but apparently you're in Ontario. So now I can ask you this - did you freak out when you first saw milk in plastic bags? Because I sure did. I didn't even know such a thing existed until I moved to Nova Scotia. People at BYU would always ask me about this mysterious milk in plastic bags that Canadians had, and I was like, you guys are crazy, we don't have anything like that! Well, it turns out we do, just not out west. Although now I'm kind of a fan, because you can buy a whole gallon at a time (which saves money) and freeze the bags and take them out one at a time so it doesn't go bad before you drink it all.

[Katya]

Cora's is a breakfast and lunch place that is a gluten-eater's dreamworld. Waffles, pancakes, French toast, crepes, fruit, eggs, some sandwiches and salads. I'm not a huge fan, but that's probably because there are only about 3 things on the whole menu that I can eat.

Aw, I forgot about that.

[Yarjka]

Yarjka - for some reason I was thinking you lived in BC, but apparently you're in Ontario. So now I can ask you this - did you freak out when you first saw milk in plastic bags? Because I sure did. I didn't even know such a thing existed until I moved to Nova Scotia. People at BYU would always ask me about this mysterious milk in plastic bags that Canadians had, and I was like, you guys are crazy, we don't have anything like that! Well, it turns out we do, just not out west. Although now I'm kind of a fan, because you can buy a whole gallon at a time (which saves money) and freeze the bags and take them out one at a time so it doesn't go bad before you drink it all.

It took me a good year here before I was daring enough to try it. We had milk in bags for a couple of years at my elementary school (in Provo) growing up, so I have some bad memories from that. I've never tried freezing it -- that's a great idea. Generally we just buy one of the more expensive cartons.

Another thing that I still haven't gotten used to: gigantic blocks of butter. Butter is only available in a size that is roughly equivalent to four of our usual sticks. It's just mildly annoying.

[Marduk]

Wait, freezing milk? That sounds gross. Also, why can't you just use the gallon before it goes bad?

[Yarjka]

One more thing: you should definitely have a baby in Canada -- it costs nothing! And your baby will have the health care of a Canadian citizen, along with dual citizenship. So far, that has been the best part about Canada.

The only downside is that your baby can't become President of the United States.

[Hypatia]

Have a baby...I will certainly get right on that!

Really, the only reason I'm going up north is for economical procreation.

[Dragon Lady]

Have a baby...I will certainly get right on that!

Really, the only reason I'm going up north is for economical procreation.

Well, and because you think that having a baby will keep you from getting sick. So not only is it economical, but it is also great for your health!
I will have it noted that I do not agree with the idea that being a Mom will solve all of your health woes. Just sayin'.

[NerdGirl]

Wait, freezing milk? That sounds gross. Also, why can't you just use the gallon before it goes bad?

Part of the problem is that it's so humid here that milk seems to go bad faster. And not just milk. Butter goes moldy if you leave it out of the fridge in a butter dish. Plus there's only one of me, and I just am not a big eater/drinker. But freezing it actually works really well doesn't change the taste at all. If you get bag milk, a gallon is split into 3 bags that are completely sealed, so I just throw two in the freezer then put them in the fridge to thaw when the current bag is used up. This is how the milk bags work: http://home.cogeco.ca/~husky66/Milk/ Only my pitcher isn't nearly as awesome as that one!

Yarjka - yeah, the butter drives me crazy! There is one brand here in Nova Scotia that has a 4 sticks version, but it's about $1.50 more than the big slab. And I think it must just be a maritime brand because I've never seen it anywhere else.

[Yarjka]

Yeah, there are a couple of brands here that have a pack of two regular-sized sticks, but it's way more expensive (butter is already crazy expensive -- I only buy it when there's a good sale, and then I buy like ten of them and freeze them).

Also, that milk bag site says it's no big deal to keep the milk open in the fridge, but it still disgusts me, so I use one of those potato bag clips to seal the bag up in the pitcher. It works great, but I've never seen anyone besides me use one.

[Hypatia]

What about cultural things? I learned that a beanie is called a toooook and cars don't stop for people in cross walks. Any other differences?

[Yarjka]

These are some of my impressions regarding culture.

I can only speak for Toronto and not Canada as a whole, but what you say about not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks is absolutely true -- in fact, there are even signs quite a few places that say "Pedestrians Wait for Gap" (in other words, Pedestrians don't have the right of way). Drivers in Toronto are far worse than any drivers I've ever seen -- accidents happen all the time. I've lived in large cities before, but Toronto is in a league of its own, at least as far as North American cities go.

Canadians have an accent -- they say 'about' funny, as well as words like 'tomorrow' and 'sorrow' (even when singing hymns), but if you point out the difference, they'll look at you oddly and say they don't have an accent. They truly don't recognize it and they think Americans are crazy for making jokes about it.

Oh, and that's something else: they hate it when you say "I'm an American." They consider themselves Americans as well, so you have to opt for the much more cumbersome "I'm from the U.S."

Every bookstore has a section entitled "Canadian Fiction," but I'm not sure anyone reads it. They're just proud to have it. Likewise, they have Canadian artists, Canadian music, Canadian award shows, etc.

Quebec is awesome -- I went to Montreal for a week and that was a great experience. It's an entirely different culture. You should go there if you get the chance.

[mic0]

The newest 30 Rock (which can be watched on Hulu) is half about Canada! I really think you should watch it to learn some more stereotypes, and a valuable lesson at the end.

[NerdGirl]

Edmonton is a lot more pedestrian friendly than Toronto. People will stop at crosswalks. Usually. Calgary, not so much. But Edmonton is usually okay. Halifax, on the other hand, is a little too pedestrian friendly. If you're walking down the sidewalk, and you look at the other side of the street, cars will stop to let you jaywalk. I wish I were kidding. I think it's a side effect of the green movement on steroids that seems to be going on in Halifax - the sight of a pedestrian makes drivers feel like horrible people for destroying the whole universe with their cars.

Ontarians have more of an accent than Albertans, so you might be a bit disappointed. But I do hope that you run into some Newfies at some point, because they are very fun to listen to.

Also, you may already know this, but Smarties here are a thing like M&M's. What you call Smarties in the US are called Rockets here.

And you can't get spray cheese here, so if you refer to it in conversation, no one will know what you're talking about. Oh, and you also can't get Chex here. Which is really annoying to me, because the only square shaped cereals they have here all have wheat in them.

Singles wards in Alberta are very similar to singles wards in Utah, so if you hate singles wards in Utah, you might want to check out a family ward. Singles wards are much better outside of Alberta, though.

I'll keep posting things as I think of them.

[NerdGirl]

Speaking of why is the queen on our money, you should watch this video that one of more nerdy facebook friends just posted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBS ... r_embedded

It explains the British commonwealth in a level of detail that most Canadians don't even know! Watch it and you will win at everything forever!

[Dead Cat]

I've never been to Canada, but my parents have--back in the day when they drove the Al-Can. I remember my mom telling me that when they went through customs, my dad (who served his mission in New Zealand) fell back into an accent and my mom would just be quiet and smile a lot. They were treated pretty nicely that way.

So, get an accent or become a mute.

[Hypatia]

Nerd Girl,

I'm starting to think that Canada is the place for me! For example: I didn't even know what spray cheese was until I came to Utah!

Let's talk about health care. What is included? Just ER visits? Will I be able to see speciallists like physical therapists, gynecologists, psychologists, etc. if necessary? What about dentistry?

[NerdGirl]

Everything except dentistry, physiotherapy, drugs, and optometry is covered (see more in my second paragraph). Ophthalmology is, though, and thank goodness, because I had to see an ophthalmologist every week for a while. So you can see a family doctor or any kind of specialist you want. Any tests or procedures your doctor orders are covered, although prescriptions are not. One thing to note is that internists are considered specialists in Canada (not primary care providers like they are in the US), so if you want to see a general internist you may need a referral from a family doctor. It just depends on the particular internist and their policies. Some gynecologists take patients without family doctor referrals, but some don't. Most other specialists require referrals, but it's not a government policy, it's just up to the doctor whether or not they will see you without a referral. It's easy enough to get a referral from a family doctor, though, and you can see whatever doctor or specialist you want and it will be covered. Allergists, gastroenterologists, neurologists, whatever you want. You don't have to fill out any forms or prepay for things and claim it back, and there's no deductible. Well, okay, you will have to fill out forms when they take your history, but they aren't insurance related. You just show your Alberta health card and the doctor's office bills Alberta health directly. It might be a little different the first year until you get an Alberta health card, but you'll probably have a health insurance card from your school that you just show, and their international student plan should be equivalent to Alberta healthcare. Midwives are covered, if you decided to have a baby and want a midwife.

If you get supplemental health insurance through the school or elsewhere, it will cover a certain amount of dentist and optometrist visits, prescription drugs, ambulance rides, physiotherapy, and probably massage therapy, chiropractor visits and other things in the "alternative medicine" category. My school health plan pays for 80% of drugs, 100% of ambulance rides, and a certain amount for physical therapists, dentists, optometrists, massage therapists, etc. It's a designated amount for each of those things, not for them all collectively. Oh, and psychiatry is covered by Alberta health, but counseling by a psychologist isn't (although there are free counseling places in the community and probably at your school).

If you want tons of detail (some of which is a bit out of date because it says midwives are not covered - I'm all about the midwives, in case you couldn't tell by how often I mention them!), go here:
http://www.health.alberta.ca/AHCIP/plan-benefits.html

One other thing to note is that we have 911 just like in the US, but we also have 811, which is a fairly new thing. 811 is staffed by nurses and you can call 24 hours a day if you're having a medical problem and you're not sure what to do or how serious it is. If they think it's really serious, they'll hook you up with 911. It's a really useful thing to know about. My sis-in-law calls when she's worried about my nephew or herself. She had her gallbladder taken out a few years ago, and about a year later she woke up in the middle of the night with this horrible back pain that felt like a gallbladder attack (except her gallbladder wasn't there anymore). She called 811, and the nurse said it was probably serious and sent an ambulance over and the next thing we knew they were flying her to Calgary for emergency surgery. I think what ended up happening was that there was gallstone hidden in her liver that had decided to start moving. It's a really nice option to have when you're not sure if something's an emergency, and you don't want to take the time to go to the ER only to be told it's nothing serious. And it's nice when it does end up being an emergency, because you've already talked to this nurse who tells the paramedics what's probably wrong who can then tell the ER what's probably wrong. Just sort of expedites the whole process.

And if you ever have any trouble navigating the health care world, let me know. I've been through it all before and I can help.

[NerdGirl]

Actually, here's a better webpage that the one I already linked that explains what's covered:
http://www.health.alberta.ca/services/h ... vices.html

That's what's all covered by Alberta Health in addition to what the Canada Health Act requires provinces to cover (namely, visits to any kind of MD and any tests or procedures ordered or performed by them).

[Yarjka]

I should note that if you're going to be in Canada on a study visa, you won't have the full coverage that a permanent resident or citizen of Canada would have. For example, we were unable to opt for a midwife -- we also were limited in the decision of which hospitals we could choose to have the delivery at.

It's also rather difficult for a non-resident to get a family doctor, so you end up having to go to the walk-in clinic for everything -- which means waiting for a few hours usually just to have a random doctor give you a referral to see the specialist that can actually take care of you.

So, while health care is great here, there are a lot of hoops for non-residents. It's also not completely free if you're a non-resident -- your university funding package will probably cover the expense for you, but it's really money you could be getting that is going towards health insurance instead. A spouse or dependent has to pay for health insurance (but it's still really cheap -- the university helps offset the cost -- my wife's is something like $1200 for the year, but with half of that reimbursed at the end of the year). And then there are no co-pays, which is just fabulous -- you've paid and you're done.

[UnluckyStuntman]

woah, 811 sounds like the best idea ever. I'm a little jealous of Canada right now.