"Oh Canada, Land of 3 A's, eh?"

“Heaven is where the police are English, the cooks are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and everything is organized by the Swiss. Hell is where the police are German, the cooks are English, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and everything is organized by the Italians.” MSNBC.com

Living in a house with a bunch of people from different countries really does prove that, for instance, not all Germans are efficient or not all slavic people drink vodka. At the same time, you can see how some of the stereotypes might have come about. It is true that the German people I live with are very organized and efficient, but not even close to the way the stereotype makes it seem. And, of course, you have the Brits/Irish and their drinking habits. There is certainly no exception with the two guys in my house. The best part is when they say, "I don't even drink that much compared to some of my friends."

Apparently, the Canadian stereotype isn't well-known here. I ask, "What is your stereotypical Canadian like?" All I get in reply is, "What? You guys aren't the same as Americans?"

From what I can gather, the Canadian stereotype is something like "polite, reserved, unwilling to stand up for what their beliefs because the big bully on the playground might steal their lunch money, with a little dash of 'eh?' to taste." Now that I think about it, everyone is like "You're from Canada, eh?" I love the emphasis that gets put on the "eh?" Always worth a good laugh when I hear it.