#19 Everyday Culture Shocks I experienced living in Canada (as a Chinese immigrant)🧐
Comparing Daily Life in Canada vs. China
Hello 大家好!今天我想和你们分享,我从中国移民到加拿大之后,在加拿大感受到的文化差异。我会从五个方面和大家分享在加拿大的日常生活与中国的日常生活相比,有什么不同。
Hello everyone! Today, I want to share with you the cultural differences I’ve experienced after immigrating from China to Canada. I’ll share five aspects comparing daily life in Canada and China.
Quick note:
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You can also watch the video here, along with the writing below.
☀️文化冲击一:天气
Culture shock #1: Weather
第一个方面是天气。你可能听说过,加拿大的冬天特别冷。我听说过一个笑话,说在加拿大只有两个季节:一个是冬天,另一个是“不是冬天”。
The first aspect is the weather. You may have heard that Canadian winters are extremely cold. I once heard a joke that says there are only two seasons in Canada: winter and "not winter.
我住在加拿大的多伦多,冬天的时候这里真的很冷。比如说去年的冬天下了好几场大雪。这是一张照片,是去年下雪的时候我家门前的积雪。你可以看到在我家前面有很多雪,很高、很厚。
I live in Toronto, Canada, and winters here are really cold. For example, last winter it snowed several times. Here's a photo of the snow in front of my house. You can see there's a lot of snow, very high and thick.
下雪之后,我需要用雪铲去铲雪。铲雪是很累的,虽然我很喜欢下雪。
After it snows, I have to shovel the snow. It’s tiring, even though I like snow.
我在中国的天津长大,在我的家乡天津冬天也会下雪,但是我们没有像在加拿大这么多的雪。所以每年冬天的时候,我都希望在多伦多可以少下一点雪,这样我就不需要经常去铲雪了。
I grew up in Tianjin, China, where it also snows in winter. But we don’t get nearly as much snow as in Canada. So every winter, I hope it snows a little less in Toronto, so I don’t have to shovel so often.
🎁文化冲击二:送礼物
Culture shock #2: Gift Giving
我发现我在加拿大的朋友和邻居送给我礼物的时候,都会把礼物包装得特别好看。比如说去年的圣诞节,我的邻居送了我一盒巧克力,他们把这盒巧克力用包装纸包起来,还在上面系了一个蝴蝶结,特别好看。
I noticed that when my friends and neighbors in Canada give me gifts, they always wrap them beautifully. For example, last Christmas, my neighbor gave me a box of chocolates. They wrapped it with gift paper and even tied a ribbon on top—it looked lovely.
这让我想到,在中国人们送礼物并不会经常包装起来。比如说我们给亲戚朋友送礼物,买水果、买一盒点心,我们并不会专门把买的东西包装起来,用礼物纸包得很好看。
This reminded me that in China, people don’t usually wrap gifts. When we give fruit or a box of pastries to friends or family, we don’t go out of our way to wrap them in fancy gift paper.
但是我发现在加拿大,不管你送什么礼物,哪怕是一个很小的东西,大家都会用包装纸包装,或者用很好看的礼物袋再送给别人。这是我觉得很有意思的一点。
But in Canada, no matter what the gift is—even something small—people tend to wrap it with paper or put it in a nice gift bag. I find that really interesting.
💧文化冲击三:喝水
Culture shock #3: Drinking Water
第三点是喝水——喝热水还是喝凉水。在中国,很多人喜欢喝热水。我从小到大也是喝热水长大的。
The third point is about drinking water—hot vs. cold. In China, many people prefer to drink hot water. I grew up drinking hot water, too.
现在虽然我住在加拿大,我还是每天都喝热水。我家里有一个电热水壶,我每天早晨都会倒很多水在这个热水壶里,把它烧开,然后我会喝热水。
Even though I now live in Canada, I still drink hot water every day. I have an electric kettle at home. Every morning, I fill it with water, boil it, and then drink hot water.
但是在加拿大,大多数人喜欢喝凉水,甚至是冰水。每一次我去餐厅吃饭,服务员都会给我凉水或者是冰水。我就要去问他们能不能给我热水,如果我不问的话,他们是不会给我热水的。
But in Canada, most people prefer to drink cold or even ice water. Whenever I go to a restaurant, the server will automatically bring me cold or ice water. I have to ask for hot water; otherwise, they won’t serve it.
在中国的文化里,我们认为喝热水是非常健康的。我之前专门做了一个视频,讲为什么中国人喜欢喝热水,你可以去看一看。
In Chinese culture, we believe that drinking hot water is very healthy. I even made a video explaining why Chinese people love drinking hot water—you can check it out!
🗑文化冲击四:垃圾分类
Culture shock #4: Garbage Sorting
第四点是垃圾分类。我记得我刚来加拿大的时候是在上大学。那时候我在学校外面租房住,当时房东给我讲解了如何垃圾分类:什么东西是可以回收的,什么是可以生物降解的,剩下的就是一般垃圾。这三种要分开装,然后要放到相应的垃圾桶里。
The fourth point is garbage sorting. I remember when I first came to Canada during university, I was renting a place off-campus. The landlord explained to me how to sort garbage—what can be recycled, what is biodegradable, and what goes in regular trash. These three types have to be separated into different bins.
对我来说这是一个新的体验。我以前在中国生活的时候,日常生活的垃圾并不会分类。
This was a new experience for me. Back in China, we didn’t usually sort household waste.
不过最近几年,我回到中国发现也有了一些变化。现在有些小区也会鼓励居民去垃圾分类,但是总体来说,在中国垃圾分类还不是那么常见。我觉得在加拿大养成这个垃圾分类的习惯对我来说是一件好事,这样可以更好地保护环境。
However, in recent years, I’ve noticed some changes when I go back to China. Some communities are starting to encourage garbage sorting, but overall it’s still not that common. I think developing the habit of sorting waste in Canada is a good thing—it helps protect the environment.
💵文化冲击五:吃饭结账方式
Culture shock #5: Splitting the Bill
第五个方面是吃饭结账。在加拿大,我和朋友吃饭结账通常是各付各的。我在加拿大的朋友不会抢着去付钱。
The fifth aspect is paying the bill when eating out. In Canada, my friends and I usually split the bill. My Canadian friends don’t fight over who pays.
但是在中国,和朋友出去吃饭,通常大家会抢着结账,每一个人都想请客,很少会各付各的。而且请客是轮流的,比如说今天是朋友A请客,下一次吃饭就是朋友B请客,这样大家轮流请客。
But in China, when we eat out with friends, people often fight to pay the bill—everyone wants to treat others. It's rare to split the bill. And this kind of treating is usually done in turns—friend A treats this time, friend B will treat next time.
在加拿大,如果我是和我的中国朋友出去吃饭,我们也会这样:这次我请客,下次我的中国朋友请客,我们会轮流请。这种方式对我们来说更舒服,因为我们习惯了。
In Canada, if I go out with my Chinese friends, we still follow this pattern—I treat this time, they treat next time. It feels more natural to us because we’re used to it.
当我和加拿大朋友或者其他国家的朋友出去吃饭时,我也可以接受各付各的。因为我觉得这些没有好坏之分,只是一种文化的差异。
When I go out with Canadian or international friends, I’m fine with splitting the bill too. I think there’s no right or wrong—it’s just a cultural difference.
这些就是我感受到的,在加拿大日常生活中的文化冲击。评论告诉我,你有没有感受到文化冲击的时候?
These are the cultural differences I’ve experienced in daily life in Canada. Tell me in the comments—have you ever felt culture shock?
Key Words
文化差异 (wénhuà chāyì) - cultural differences
文化冲击 (wénhuà chōngjī) - culture shock
天气 (tiānqì) - weather
笑话 (xiàohua) - joke/funny story
比如说 (bǐrú shuō) - for example
铲雪 (chǎn xuě) - snow shoveling
送礼物 (sòng lǐwù) - give gifts
包装 (bāozhuāng) - packaging/wrapping
蝴蝶结 (húdié jié) - bow (ribbon)
专门 (zhuānmén) - specially/going out of way
喝热水 (hē rè shuǐ) - drink hot water
凉水 (liáng shuǐ) - cool water
冰水 (bīng shuǐ) - ice water
回收 (huíshōu) - recycling
生物降解 (shēngwù jiàngjiě) - biodegradable
垃圾桶 (lājī tǒng) - trash bin
鼓励 (gǔlì) - encourage
养成...的习惯 (yǎngchéng...de xíguàn) - develop the habit of...
保护环境 (bǎohù huánjìng) - protect the environment
各付各的 (gè fù gè de) - go Dutch/split the bill
请客 (qǐngkè) - treat someone (to a meal)
轮流 (lúnliú) - take turns