Why Canadians Love Canada (Trust me, we really do)

One thing about Canadians, is for some crazy reason, we love that we are Canadian. I mean, Canada's made some pretty stupid decisions in the past (like residential schools, and Japanese internment camps during World War 2), but we strive to change that image. The biggest thing for Canadian pride was the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. We went crazy! We stocked up on souvenirs, went crazy, and had a great time. I had the HUGE joy to visit my sister last summer at the start of July. On Canada Day (sort of like the American's Fourth of July), which is July 1st for us, I got to go to visit her in Ottawa. For those who don't know, Ottawa is the capital of Canada, not Toronto which is only the capital of Ontario. I got to go to the Parliament Buildings for the BIGGEST concert in Canada. The Barenaked Ladies were going to be there (only THE best Canadian band), and even better, I got to see the Queen. I remember deciding to go for a walk early in the day. I went out and I saw everyone dressed in red and white. I of course, had a Canada shirt on, but it was nothing compared to everyone else. I was walking down the street and someone rode by on a bike wearing a Canadian flag as a cape and he was dressed head to toe in red, including his shoes, socks, helmet, and even better he had his face painted red and white. He looked like a Canadian Superman. That night we went down to the celebration. It was packed, so we had to go HOURS early to get a spot on the lawn (which by the way, you should look up; it's huge). We got a spot at the back of the lawn, and luckily, didn't have to stand. But what was craziest was the fact that it was almost impossible to go anywhere. I went to pick up food half way through, and decided to walk down the street about a block to go McDonald's. Nothing big. It took half an hour to get there, 15 minutes to get to the counter (the line was out of the door and the main entrance was blocked off by police), and another half hour to get back. The food was almost cold by the time I returned. Canada sure loves celebrating itself. I had never felt so proud to be Canadian as I did that day. We loved being who we are, and everyone got along. The concert was bilingual and unlike the rest of Canada, in Ottawa the English to French ratio is fairly even. Half of the time you'd be saying "Sorry" if you bumped into someone (which is the Canadian way, to ALWAYS apologize :-P ) and the other half "Excuse moi" "Je suis desolee" or "Pardon." It was a great example of how much Canadians love their country. I would rather be Canadian than be from anywhere else in the world. Canada is my home, and we sure-as-hell think we're better than Americans. We are multi-cultural, bilingual, and we accept everyone. We try to make a point of being nice. I remember being in the US and being shocked that no one held the door for each other, or apologized if you bumped into each other, and that it was unusual to talk to the cashier and other people in line at the grocery store. Each time, they thought I was from the Northern US or something, and when I said Canada, they nodded, like they understood my behaviour then. It's stereotypical, but Canadians are considered "too nice" in the US. It made me proud to know that nice was one thing everyone recognized Canadians are. Canada is a proud and happy nation. I don't know how much it is like that elsewhere, but I truly hope that everyone else feels as happy as they do about their country as I do about mine. And so, the Canadian will always be proud to be one.