I got this from my friend - nice to read for every canadian!

Different ways to explain to an Indian, how we Canadian NRIs differ from American NRIs

We drive in kmph, measure distance in kms, read our temperatures in °C and fill our petrol (yes "petrol" not "gas" in litres

We spell "colour" & "humour" instead of "color" and "humor", spell "litre", "metre" and "centre" and not "liter, meter and center"

We pronounce "Schedule" as "She-jule" and not "Ske-jule", pronounce "multi" as "multee" and "semi" as "semee" instead of "mult-aai" and "sem-aai", pronounce "lieutenant" as "leftenant" and not "lutenant"

We have Prime Minister to rule the country and Premier as head of Province. And yes, Canada has "Provinces" not "States". Not to mention, Queen of England as the official head of state

When coming to India, we us "30" as converting factor, not "40"

We open our wallet in clinics to take out our health card, not visa or mastercard. After turning 65, we do not have to open our wallet even while buying prescription medicines

We are happy about free healthcare, but whine to see our taxes being more than our salary

We have the image of Queen on our coins and bills, not ex-Presidents

Temperatures of -30°C are normal for us in January-February

We can write todays date as 31-03-2003 instead of 03-31-2003

We can converse legally with our fellow workers in Hindi and Gujarati

Hearing a Hindi song in a passing car or a Punjabi song on Canadian radio is not unusual for us

We do participate in World Cup Cricket and beat an opponent

We do not believe in war with Iraq

We do need a visa while crossing the border to USA

AND YET

We eat "cookies" , "crackers" and "candies" instead of "biscuits" and "toffees"

We drink coffee instead of tea, have a "hood" on car, not "bonnet", use a "wrench" not a "spanner"

We drive on the right side of road, have 110V electric supply, use upside down switches, locks and keys

We buy our groceries in "lbs" and not "kgs"

We need to clear hurdles like "TOEFL", "GRE" and "GMAT" before seeing the doors of universities

We do adjust our watches in summer and winter

We still think India to be a better country and try hard to preserve our culture while discussing about bad system, corruption, etc, etc in India

Being "desi" is a matter of pride for us

And last, create such mails and distribute it among fellow desis :-)

Meghal Pandya

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A Proud Indian Canadian