Ask A Foreigner

stormjh · 02-10-2010, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayleigh.

A pretty extreme conclusion don't you think?

I know you're not and everything, it's just the kind of think they come out with.

mr dave · 02-10-2010, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NumberNineDream

Well I was talking about Montreal mainly. I spent 35 days there, and didn't have to speak any word of French. I was speaking Arabic the whole time. There's even a street there called "St. Cathrine", that is now known as "St. Lebanon"... spooky.
It didn't bring me much happiness, as the whole reason of going to a foreign country is to be able to insult people in a language they don't understand. The two times we tried to make fun of people, they turned out to be Lebanese, and started shouting at us in extreme anger.

you get what you deserve for that last part. why go through the hassle of visiting the other side of the world if you just want to spread negativity?

you're also the only person i've ever heard call St. Catherine's Street, St. Lebanon, and one of my co-workers was there last weekend... then again the street is over 11km long and ethnicities tend to congregate. so maybe that's how it felt in the neighborhood you spent most of your time in, but last time i was there (6 years ago) the part of the street i visited didn't look or feel any different than any other time i had visited.

littleknowitall · 02-10-2010, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayleigh.

In London White is the minority I swear. I got on a train and me and my friend were the only white people on the carriage. So there you go Kouki

. Europe is pretty diverse.

I was in Birmingham couple of weeks ago and nearly went the whole trip without seeing any white people. Was a bit of a shock.

NumberNineDream · 02-10-2010, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

you get what you deserve for that last part. why go through the hassle of visiting the other side of the world if you just want to spread negativity?

you're also the only person i've ever heard call St. Catherine's Street, St. Lebanon, and one of my co-workers was there last weekend... then again the street is over 11km long and ethnicities tend to congregate. so maybe that's how it felt in the neighborhood you spent most of your time in, but last time i was there (6 years ago) the part of the street i visited didn't look or feel any different than any other time i had visited.

lol. I went there 10 years ago, and a second time 4 years ago. A LOT more Lebanese places. Like there was only 2 Lebanese restaurants the first time I went, the second time there was a restaurant called "Mounir" on every block. The shisha is growing in popularity so there's a Lebanese café every 10 steps. All taxi drivers are Lebanese (it's like the Sikhs in NY), all the gas-station stores' cashiers are Lebanese, and the workers at McDo's are Lebanese. They're everywhere!

If I only want to count close family members that live in Montreal... I can count over 15... (17 actually). They are scarily everywhere.

mr dave · 02-10-2010, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NumberNineDream

lol. I went there 10 years ago, and a second time 4 years ago. A LOT more Lebanese places. Like there was only 2 Lebanese restaurants the first time I went, the second time there was a restaurant called "Mounir" on every block. The shisha is growing in popularity so there's a Lebanese café every 10 steps. All taxi drivers are Lebanese (it's like the Sikhs in NY), all the gas-station stores' cashiers are Lebanese, and the workers at McDo's are Lebanese. They're everywhere!

If I only want to count close family members that live in Montreal... I can count over 15... (17 actually). They are scarily everywhere.

holy crap, on all accounts, half my family is from the Montreal / Laval area and i don't think there are even 15 hahaha

speaking of cashiers and fast food ethnicities, one of my college buddies who lives in Ottawa can tell when he crosses the provincial border into New Brunswick by the people who work at Tim Horton's.

FETCHER. · 02-10-2010, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littleknowitall

I was in Birmingham couple of weeks ago and nearly went the whole trip without seeing any white people. Was a bit of a shock.

Well I grew up in a small village, no other ethnicy except whites. Went to school with all whites. So that train carriage was definetly interesting.

**Janszoon** · 02-10-2010, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

is Toronto the only city this has happened in? because if it's a night out on the town (and in the pubs) that's pretty standard from coast to coast.

as far as big Canadian cities go Montreal is tops for me although i haven't had a chance to visit Vancouver yet (it's on the back burner for a late spring / early summer visit).

Yep, I'm pretty sure Toronto is the only place I've ever had that happen to me. As far as Montreal goes, it's a nice looking city but I'm not a fan of the people. Whenever I've gone there I've to run into large numbers of douchebags, more than in any other city I can think of.

mr dave · 02-10-2010, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Yep, I'm pretty sure Toronto is the only place I've ever had that happen to me. As far as Montreal goes, it's a nice looking city but I'm not a fan of the people. Whenever I've gone there I've to run into large numbers of douchebags, more than in any other city I can think of.

fair enough, maybe it's the half quebecois blood in me that keeps the douches away haha. that, and i'm not very social, i just feel more comfortable in montreal.

something else i noticed with bigger cities is that people who've moved into the city are usually far more accommodating to tourists and visitors than people who've lived there their whole lives.

**Janszoon** · 02-10-2010, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr dave

something else i noticed with bigger cities is that people who've moved into the city are usually far more accommodating to tourists and visitors than people who've lived there their whole lives.

I'd say that's probably pretty true of the cities I've lived in. One city that's an exception that I've spent a lot of time in though is New York. I feel like it's the transplants who are the bigger assholes there a lot of the time. It's like they're trying to prove they're hard enough to handle New York.

Freebase Dali · 02-10-2010, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucifer_sam

All about Frank's up here in the NE. Not as spicy but without all the fucking preservatives and superfluous ingredients in Tabasco.

Also it's impossible to make hot wings without.

I like Franks. I put it on my fried shrimp.

Um...
You do know that Tobasco is made only out of vinegar, red peppers, and salt right?
There are no preservatives. Tobasco is aged and that's it.
The other flavors (like garlic Tobasco) have respective ingredients. All natural.