Canadian values and lifestyle affect every newcomer. Optimistically, Canada is a democratic and vibrant country where Canadians work hard to improve their lives and society. Although some face more difficulties in life than others, most are confident and hopeful about the future.
Family life:
Canadians live in families of three to four people (i.e., a couple and one or two children). There are very few single people or families with many children. Parents pay close attention to cultivating their children's habits of hard work, diligence and self-reliance. Generally, they do not spoil their children, and from the time they are in high school, they begin to look for jobs to earn money during study vacations, and after graduating from high school, they live independently, working while they study and going out to work during school vacations to earn money to pay tuition fees. When children get married, they have to leave their parents and find their own place to live. When they have children, they raise them on their own and do not rely on their parents for help. Every Thanksgiving or Christmas, children who have left home usually go back to their parents' home to visit and bring gifts.
Freedom and equality:
Canada's national laws follow a policy of equality for all races. In reality, some people may tell you that there is no racism in Canada, others may say that there is a lot of racism in Canada. The real situation may be somewhere in between. Some Canadians may make you feel unwelcome, but the majority of Canadians are fair and accept and respect all who are willing to accept and respect others.
Canada believes that everyone is responsible for their own successes and failures. Canadians allow everyone to live their lives the way they want as long as they don't affect others.
Personal Character:
--- HumilityCompromise and Cooperation:
Most Canadians understand the value of humility. In a society as ethnically and culturally complex as Canada's, tolerance and the absence of petty conflicts are important for everyone to live together happily and peacefully.
--- Acceptance, Tolerance and Respect:
Most Canadians want others to treat them and their families fairly, and most Canadians are able to treat others fairly, regardless of their ethnic and cultural background.
--- AmbitionAmbition Perseverance:
Canadians believe in a reward for effort. Canada is an economically stable country, but unemployment and poverty still exist and can happen to anyone. Everyone has to compete for jobs and work hard to succeed.
Gestures:
Most Canadians are of European descent, so their customs are similar to those of Europeans and Americans. In Canada, the standard greeting is a firm handshake and direct eye contact. If a woman extends her hand first, men are expected to shake it, but many women will simply say, "Hello," and perhaps nod their heads without shaking hands.
People stand and talk about half a meter apart and generally don't touch each other. Male best friends will occasionally pat each other on the back, close relatives will put their arms around each other's shoulders, and female best friends meeting after a long separation will occasionally hug in greeting.
Maintaining decent eye contact is important, whether you're engaged in business or social conversation.
Whenever a lady enters a room in a social setting, men should usually rise to greet her.
Summoning someone is done by raising one's hand, fingers up, palm inward, and swinging the fingers toward one's face or body. To summon a waiter, simply raise your hand to the level of your head or above it, tell him you want a bill, and make a motion of writing on a piece of paper with both hands.
Canadians eat either continental style (always holding the fork in the left hand) or the American way (constantly exchanging the fork between the right and left hands).
Since French culture is very strong in Quebec, certain European-related gestures can be seen here. A tight handshake is still the most common form of salutation here and is more frequent, at arrivals and farewells, and in all social situations. In addition, close male friends will gently embrace when they meet, as do the ladies, and with a gentle kiss on the cheek.
Commercial Shopping
Most Canadians shop for food at supermarkets, most of which have weekly specials on food, and Canadians focus on buying food once a week, with food items like milk and bread being purchased more often.
There are also convenience stores, which also sell necessities and are usually open longer than supermarkets, but they can be more expensive. Many Canadian cities have open-air markets; they are much like China's morning markets and usually sell fresh fruits, vegetables, and other local foods.
Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating can help you make sensible food choices. This food guide tells you about the four main types of staple foods and shows you how much of each type you need to eat each day to stay healthy. You can get a copy of the guide from your local public **** health officer.
Canadian kitchen appliances are available for easy and safe meal preparation. There are usually electric stoves, electric or gas ovens, refrigerators, storage cabinets and washing cabinets with hot and cold water.
Most household appliances in Canada run on 110 volts.
Depending on where you live, you must be at least 18 or 19 years old to buy and drink alcoholic beverages.
Shopping at malls in Canada brings a lot of pleasure. Inside these malls are many independent department stores, most of which sell only the same type of goods, such as shoes, bookstores, and clothing stores.
Commercial streets have shopping centers or department stores that sell goods including clothes, furniture, and household equipment. In addition, commercial streets have supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, restaurants and parking lots.
You may like to shop in small, privately owned stores. You can find the names and addresses of such stores in the yellow pages of the telephone book, so you can buy what you need. Many Canadian stores are self-service, and the major stores usually have low-priced sales during the change of seasons or on holidays.
Transportation:
--- Bicycles:
Bicycles do not require a license, but you must follow the rules of the road as if you were driving a car, and you should ride at night with lights and reflectors. It's a good idea to wear a helmet. In some places, helmets are mandatory. It is illegal to ride a bicycle on a footpath.
--- Taxis:
Taxis are metered (i.e., they charge for the distance traveled). If there are more than four passengers or if there is a wait, there is an additional charge. Tipping is usually about 10 percent.
--- Public transportation in the city:
There are a variety of public transportation options in each city, and one standard ticket will usually cover all public transportation in the city.
--- Rail:
The VIA Railroad operates a trans-Canada passenger service.
--- PRIVATE AUTOMOBILES:
Canada is so vast that most Canadians find the convenience of owning their own automobile to be worth the high cost of the vehicle and insurance.
Driving licenses:
Each province can issue driving licenses for cars, motorcycles, and other motor vehicles, and the license you get can be used in any province. In order to get a license, you must be a minimum age (the legal driving age in Canada is sixteen), pass a test on the rules of the road (many of the signs and rules of the road may not be the same as those in the country in which you are originally from), pass a vision test, and obtain a driving license. (many traffic signs and rules may not be the same as in your home country), pass a vision test, and obtain a junior license (a legal training certificate).
Driving instructions:
--- The driver's seat is on the left. The direction of travel for Canadians is right up, left down.
--- Speed and distance are measured in kilometers and gasoline is measured in liters.
--- Parking on city streets is hard to come by and in many cases impossible to find. Where parking is permitted, there are strict time and time limits. Don't forget to have enough coins for the parking meters.
--- It is illegal to park on the street, so don't break the law and block the street.
--- License plates must be renewed on time. Your insurance company will provide details.
--- Although the light is red, drivers may turn right (except in Quebec) if they find it safe to do so after a safe stop
--- Canada adopts international traffic signs. If there is a red or flashing red light ahead, stop completely and wait for the light to turn green before moving forward. Also if the light does not turn, wait until it is deemed safe to move forward.
--- If there is a flashing yellow light ahead, drivers should proceed with caution. If it is a fixed yellow light, stop.
--- The speed limit in most cities is fifty kilometers per hour, except in parks, where the speed limit is thirty kilometers per hour in almost all parks.
--- All drivers and passengers in Canada are required by law to wear seat belts.
--- Infants weighing less than eighteen kilograms are required to use an infant seat with a seat belt.
--- Motorcyclists are required to wear helmets.
--- Pedestrians have the right of first refusal to use the road at all times.
MOTOR ACCIDENT:
A person involved in an automobile accident is required to:
--- Report the name, address, and telephone number of the registered owner of the vehicle, the license plate and number of the vehicle, and the name and policy number of the insurance company and insurance agent, all clearly written out and given to the person who has a need to have this information.
--- Call the police if anyone is injured or if the damage appears to be substantial.
--- If you have called the police, you should remain at the scene until you are authorized to leave or have completed all the legal formalities.
--- If someone is injured in an automobile accident, immediately call 911 for police or an ambulance.
--- Record the name, phone number and address of each witness.
--- Never admit fault or accept blame at the scene of an accident.
Access to medical care:
--- Canadian law requires international students studying in Canada to have health insurance. Students are required to have an insurance card if they are ill.
--- To see a doctor, call and make an appointment. When you make an appointment, give your name, phone number, and symptoms. If you can't make the appointment, cancel or reschedule or you will be charged.
--- Bring your insurance card and a visit slip with you to every doctor's appointment. At large-scale clinics, there is usually someone who speaks Chinese to help you if you ask.
--- Parents are allowed to accompany their children to the consultation room, but adults must enter the consultation room alone unless they need an interpreter.
--- Serious health problems such as heart attacks, head injuries, broken bones and high fevers should be treated immediately at the nearest hospital emergency room. If necessary, call the emergency number 911 to summon an ambulance. Most provinces charge a fee for ambulance services.
--- If you need to be hospitalized, your doctor will tell the hospital and give you the name of the hospital and the date and time of admission. The hospital will verify the date and time of admission with you twenty-four hours in advance. You should bring your personal belongings, a small amount of cash and your health care card when you are admitted to the hospital. Your hospital bed, medical bills and meals will be paid for by the health plan. A nurse will take you to your room and there will be two or three other patients in the same room. If you want a private or semi-private room, you must pay a separate fee.
Living and entertainment:
If the weather is good and the distance is right, you can walk or use a car as an economical and convenient way to get around, and some cities have paths dedicated to walking and biking.
Canadian cities and towns are far apart, so asking how far you're going before you travel will help you choose the right way to get around.
People can buy bus and subway passes at convenience stores, bus**** stations and other places. There are also discounts for students and senior citizens.
All buildings in Canada are heated. Many universities, stores, and buildings are connected to each other by walkways, so you don't have to go outside at all in winter.
Winter is also a time of plenty of life, with skiing, skating, field hockey and many other sports.
In addition to outdoor activities, Canada has many good indoor sports facilities. All universities and colleges have gymnasiums, and most communities have recreation centers, which are either free or have minimal fees.
Our Life Customs
The Chinese lack integrity and social responsibility.
The Chinese do not understand the responsibilities and duties they should have to the state and society as individuals in society.
The average Chinese person usually only cares about their family and relatives, and Chinese culture is based on family blood relations rather than on a rational social foundation. The Chinese care only about the well-being of their immediate family, and turn a blind eye to the suffering of those who have nothing to do with them.
There is no doubt that this kind of morality, based on blood relations, leads to selfishness and callousness, which have become the most crucial factors hindering the development of Chinese society.
China has never been a law-abiding society because the Chinese way of thinking is incompatible with law-abiding behavior. The Chinese always want to take shortcuts. They don't understand the fact that achievement comes with hard work and sacrifice.
The Chinese tend to take rather than give. They need to realize the truth that life is not about how much you take, but how much you give to society and your fellow human beings.
Most Chinese have never learned what it means to live a decent and respectful life.
The Chinese generally do not know how to live a productive life for the good of the individual and society. Subconsciously, the Chinese see the purpose of their lives as elevating themselves so as to gain recognition from others. In this way, a person will be satisfied with the trivial desire to "keep face". "Face" is a fundamental part of the Chinese psyche, and it has become an insurmountable obstacle that prevents the Chinese from accepting the truth and trying to live a meaningful life.
This reprehensible habit, which makes the Chinese inherently ruthless and selfish, has become the main reason for China's backwardness. The Chinese do not have the courage to pursue what they believe is right. First of all, they do not have the ability to sift the right things from the wrong because their minds are occupied with greed. Then again, even if they had the ability to sift through the right things, they lack the courage to put the truth into practice.
The Chinese are used to accepting cheap and free things, and they always dream of miracles or good luck, because they are not willing to put in the effort, they always want to get something for nothing. Few Chinese understand the fact that prestige and achievement are realized through step-by-step hard work and sacrifice, and that there is no gain without giving. Simply put, if it is to make a living, then one has only to take; but if it is to live, one must give.
Because of their poverty and lack of education, most Chinese people do not know how to behave with elegance and basic manners. Most of them dress awkwardly and crudely without feeling shy.
As teenagers, they are taught to lie and take from others rather than share what they have.
China is a rich country. But the consequences of its unlimited birth policy have made China an exporter of infinitely cheap labor. These outputs also include those educated labor outputs, which are really not fundamentally different from other general drudgery, except for their level of education.
China's mass production of cheap products reduces the commercial creditworthiness of the regions to which they are imported. Due to technological backwardness and management failure, the unit energy consumption of Chinese manufacturing is much higher than that of developed countries such as Japan and the United States.
So as exports increase, China loses valuable energy as it expands production. At the same time, this behavior also seriously pollutes the environment, making China the most inhospitable country in the world.
Currently China is suffering from the 2 major evils of capitalist society, namely, the destruction of the environment and the loss of humanity. Because of their innate greed, the Chinese people have no reservations about accepting the dark side of capitalism, which is the endless pursuit of profit and the neglect of human dignity.
Chinese people are fanatical in their pursuit of Western technology and products, but indifferent to the qualities of frankness, directness, and honesty that Western management culture emphasizes.
Because Chinese culture discourages risk-taking, the Chinese avoid it and do not seek opportunities to improve their lives.
The Chinese are not interested in balance and meaning in their lives, but rather they are more obsessed with materialism than Westerners. Most Chinese find that they do not understand the concepts of "spirituality," "freedom of belief," and "mental health," because their minds are not yet capable of reaching the concept of one life (complementary).
They are not yet able to reach a higher level of life (complementary: the coexistence of the physical and the spiritual).
Their minds are still preoccupied with the animal instincts of the pitiful desire for sex and food.
In the eyes of the Chinese, education is not a search for truth or an improvement in the quality of life, but merely a symbol and sign of status and prominence. Chinese intellectuals gain respect from others not because they have done anything for the well-being of others, but only because they have gained possession of considerable knowledge. In fact, most of them are nothing more than a bunch of diners who only know how to take exams but never care about truth and morality.
China's education system has largely become a failure and a disgrace. It no longer serves what education is supposed to serve: society. This education system does not provide society with many useful individuals. It has only created a group of opportunists who are eager to benefit from the advantages that society has to offer without caring about the rewards.
China can produce a large number of high-level professionals, but it can rarely produce qualified management-level experts who can lead independently. It is not enough to have the skills to serve a company or a society; it takes courage, guts, integrity and honest leadership, which is what most Chinese people lack. As Arthur Smith, a famous Western preacher, said. Smith, a famous Western missionary, pointed out a century ago, what the Chinese lack most is not wisdom, but the pure character of courage and integrity. That assessment, though centuries old, still accurately diagnoses the cause of the Chinese syndrome.
Most Chinese graduates don't feel guilty about choosing to go abroad and work for a foreign country, when in fact they owe the Chinese people for the sacrifices they made for them in education in the first place. With the destruction and gradual weakening of traditional cultural values, most Chinese, including the educated, are wandering at the crossroads of their spiritual and inner worlds, not knowing where to go like lost dogs.
Canadians have to make appointments for many things in advance. You have to make an appointment for business, you have to make an appointment for private matters, you have to make an appointment to get a job interview, to get a treat, or even to visit a friend's house. Uninvited guests are not welcome.
Westerners pay a lot of attention at the table. They practice sharing meals, not making too much noise, chewing without opening their mouths, and the list goes on and on. Only by observing more can we realize the essence of it. Even if you invite local friends to your home, you should respect their table habits.
Chinese people like to be modest, but Westerners prefer to be casual. Some courtesies, such as persuading people to drink or eat, can be overwhelming. Chinese people socialize in a more subtle way, and outward expressions are often not what is meant inwardly. Canadians are straightforward and sometimes appear less "understanding" to Chinese people. These differences take some getting used to.
Canadians who are new to Canada find some things strange, even things that are common in China, such as warm water bottles and wash basins, not to be found here. Canadians like to drink cold water, no matter how high or low the grade of the banquet, with ice cold water always occupy a place. Because of the hygiene is guaranteed, people also usually drink cool water from the tap.
Household garbage is put in plastic bags and put into special big black plastic bags, which are picked up by municipal garbage trucks on a fixed day of the week. The large plastic bags are to be placed in front of the house the night before. If the amount of garbage is large and there are many different types, you should use special plastic baskets to separate the garbage by type. It is usually divided into paper, metal, glass containers and miscellaneous garbage for recycling.