Canada-The United States' weird little brother

I feel like that's a good description of Canada. Same family as the US, similar to and friendly with it's southern sister, which makes many similarities. But the younger sibling definitely developed habits and traits of its own. I feel like the US treats Canada like you would a strange little brother-teases him, makes fun of him, but ultimately they are family so that's why they get along.

I went to Canada this year (third time I've been) and I had a few observations of what I thought was unique.

-They are pretty proud of their home grown musicians and play them a lot on the store radios. However, they tend to have fewer than the United States so you hear them a lot. Case in point-we were in a gift shop at a tourist local, and the cds they were trying to sell included Justin Bieber, Michael Buble, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, and Gordon Lightfoot. All Canadians.

-They eat this stuff called poutine. It's gravy and cheese curds over french fries. I tried it, it tasted like mashed potatoes. But it wouldn't sell here in the US, don't mess with our fries.

-Boxing Day (the day after Christmas)-why? I don't get why they celebrate seemingly British holidays. Pretty much they use it like we use the day after Thanksgiving. A shopping day. But lots of stuff was closed, which we, being American, didn't account for.

-They really do love their hockey. All the restaurants we went to that had TVs, or other places that had TVs, they were showing a hockey game. Think about in the US, it would be basketball, football, or baseball. But in Canada it's only hockey. Only. And the athletes that are in commercials? They are all hockey players. Complete with missing teeth. I loved it.

-Also, while at breakfast one day, on ESPN (or some sports channel like it), was a whole show dedicated to snow mobiles, how to pick the right one for you and get the right ride for your money! I was dying.

-It's really easy to get into Canada. The border patrol took us five minutes to get through. The US is pickier I guess. Took us almost an hour to get through.

-They have this technology in Canada that we don't have yet. Portable credit card machines that the waiter brings to your table so you can input the amount to charge your card. I think it's to prevent overcharging at restaurants. We'll probs get it here in the US soon.

-The Metric System still evades me. We went skiing and I had to tell them my shoe size (is it the same in Canada?), weight (how many kilos/lb?), and height (meters/feet?). I had no clue so I let them figure it out.

-Money. They have a $1 coin and a $2 coin. Called a Looney and a Tooney respectively. (there's a picture of a Loon on the coin), but when would you ever need a $2 coin? They have $2 bills here, but they haven't caught on. Their paper money is also very colorful.

-They like to use the British way of spelling things. Metre. Colour. etc.

-Vancouvers like their eco friendly vw-type hatchbacks. Saw lots of those bopping around town.

-What we have in Latinos they have in Asians.

Canada is nice though. Seriously. Lots of nice people up there.