Why don't Canadians like being called Americans?

Secret: American tourists like to travel as Canadians.

Traveling abroad, you can often see tourists with Canadian flags sewn on their backpacks, but the audible accent is obviously American, and later you know there are other secrets.

You can meet fake Canadian tourists everywhere.

A few years ago, when a reporter traveled to Vietnam, he lived in Fanwu Old Street in Ho Chi Minh City, which was a gathering place for backpackers. Living in the same hotel as the reporter are several North American tourists with Canadian flags on their backpacks. When I checked in, I saw "Canadian" in front of the reporter, and the nationality column on the passport clearly stated "United States"; Another time at the railway station in the Italian town of Ventimiglia, the reporter asked where the girl sitting next to her was from. She may have forgotten and answered without thinking, "from Washington State, DC, USA." But when she left, she found the Canadian flag hanging on her backpack.

Not to mention the Americans who travel to Cuba. An American friend went to a coffee shop for dinner on his first day in Havana. The waiter learned that he was from America and dropped the change on the table. The owner of the hotel where he stayed was very polite, but he kept asking him all kinds of questions, which made people overwhelmed. Later, the man was embarrassed when he registered a new inn. First he said he was Canadian, and then he took out an American passport. The Cuban woman standing behind the counter smiled meaningfully.

Of course, Americans occasionally pretend to be travelers of other nationalities. I met an "Irish" college student in Rome two months ago, and later found out that he was also an American. ...

Worried that American identity is unpopular.

In fact, in the past, if someone mistook Americans for Canadians, most of them would say, "I am an American." Proud beyond words. But this is not what it used to be. Now some Americans are afraid that others will not misunderstand when traveling abroad. Why are proud Americans willing to pretend to be their little brothers in the north? On a trip to France, I talked about this topic with two Canadians around me. They told reporters that Canadians' accents, appearances and even manners are not much different from those of Americans, so they are almost always mistaken for Americans. "Canadians are Canadians and we don't like to be misunderstood as Americans." "Then why do Americans sew a maple leaf on the bag?" The reporter asked. When I asked, both Canadians laughed. They said helplessly, "In fact, you also know that the United States has made too many enemies in the world, and it is impossible to be recognized as an American, so they will pretend to be us."

Yes, Americans traditionally look down on their northern neighbors, and many American jokes are based on Canadians. However, compared with personal safety abroad, face is secondary.

Make up Canadian common sense before going abroad

In order to meet the special needs of American tourists, new york International Airport specializes in selling clothing bags containing various Canadian travel goods. It includes a T-shirt printed with the lyrics of the Canadian flag and national anthem, and a cloth badge pinned to the travel bag. In addition, there is a simple guide to introduce common sense about all aspects of Canada for users to inquire. For example, when introducing the field of sports, he mentioned: "There is only one real sport in Canada, and that is hockey." In response to other people's doubts, the textbook also lists the names of the most popular hockey teams in Canada. This clothing bag costs $24.95 and has been selling well. When it was first launched, it sold more than 200 sets in a few weeks. Now many Americans are willing to buy such a suit when traveling, so as not to be caught asking sensitive topics involving American politics.

What's more, I bought a quick guide to teach you to speak Canadian. Before leaving, I tried to imitate the Canadian accent, catch up on some common sense of "new motherland" and avoid being exposed abroad. It is said that the book explains in detail all kinds of slang commonly used by Canadians and the differences between English words and Americans.

Some people seem to think this is not smart. In fact, as the tour guide said, "It doesn't matter who you look like, all you do is have a free, happy and undisturbed holiday."