The TexaCadien. One Texans journey to the Great White North

I can remember it so vividly.I was a business owner in San Antonio when President Obama was re-elected to office. Oh, the hate that followed. My Facebook feed was scattered, torn and battered with patriots who were ready to run for the Canadian border afterwards with prophetic propaganda about how it was the end of the United States as we knew it. The rest of it was filled with praise and rejoice. The democrats had won. But, when it comes to politics, the only one's who win are the politicians, but that's another story.

I was once given the opportunity to travel to the border and see, for myself, what Canada had to offer. Without a single hint of reluctance, I jumped at it. I made my way through the central east coast of the country in a car (30 hours, 3 days. It only ran $300 total for the entire trip. Pretty cheap in comparison to flight). I traveled without passport, so granted I was a bit anxious at the border going in. This was before I knew I could enter Canada with a birth certificate and an ID.

My first impression was ..

"This is it?"

I believe we are conditioned to believe the different parts of the world acts as a certain way or means and, unfortunately, we could not be any more ignorant. I'm amazed at the similarities of our countries and, of course, the major differences.

Canada is driving it's economy directly underground with the amount of taxes the citizens are subjected to. Of course, you can't escape the tax man and they serve a great purpose. The fact that the citizens are taken care of at the drop of a dime without being put into copious amounts of debt is reassuring. However, much like everything else, their social systems suffer from leaches and con artists galore. If you think the welfare problem is bad in the USA, you should see it there.

I believe the most interesting and, albeit, beneficial part of this trip was that I was the immigrant. I was the Mexican in Texas looking for work under the table to support myself. I've never had the reason to feel as a stranger in a not-so strange land. I felt as my grandfather did when he first came to America from Mexico. I guess the only major difference was I could find work incredibly easy. In fact, it was easier to find work in Canada than it was in Texas. ( I have an Associates degree, seven personal training certifications, and I've owned and operated my own business and I couldn't get anything beyond part time in Texas)

Apparently, Canadians don't want to work very much. They are either to lazy or they  want to get paid a lot for medial tasks. Whatever the cause, it benefited me and my employer greatly. I was grateful to work, but not every experience was great in itself. A lot of the citizens weren't fond of a Texan making his way around the job market collecting pay for jobs the citizens felt were beneath them. Some even  went as far as to NOT offer me the job because I was American. Others were a lot more open to the idea. I guess my skill of impersonation payed of as I quickly picked up a Canadian accent with ease. To the point where I had to show my I.D. just to prove I was actually born in Texas.

Of course, the ignorant stereotypes of being a Texan were just as prevalent in Canada as ours are regarding Canada in the states. I can't tell you how many times I was asked how many guns I owned or how did I like owning a horse. Regardless, I maintained my own personal character while assimilating myself with the culture. Granted, it wasn't difficult seeing as our countries are very much alike, however to earn a lot of respect from the people, I made an effort to become "Canadian" in a way.I was already a Hockey fan by that time, so that was easy. Tim Horton's coffee became the place for me and, I must say, it is the BEST coffee money can buy. (Seriously, you can't beat $1.70 for a medium cup of coffee that actually tastes amazing. Screw you Starbucks *aka 5 bucks*). It paid off nicely as I started to get a little more respect from the locals.

I find the funniest part of the trip was when I was reading a paper from Hamilton, ON. This particular issue had a full page spread of the paper bashing former PM Harper for his actions of appointing his cronies in office and , on the next page, a full two page spread of the paper basing Donald Trump citing him as " Everything that's wrong with America". Between that, the homeless, the  hippies, the trendsetters, all the people in Toronto (basically every major city in American and Europe rolled into one city), paying for gas by the Litre (that's how it's spelled there) and the people abusing the welfare system, I was reaching my fill.

I will say this, I found the French Canadians to be the most interesting and amusing group of individuals I met. They're really the Mexicans of Texas, in a way.

In the end, I had my fill of all the: Hockey Night in Canada, Don Cherry, Export A cigarettes, REAL Cuban cigars, Labatte 50, Beer Store antics and Canadian Tire I could endure. Time called for me to return to Texas, so I bid the Great White North  adieu

Regardless of the entire experience, I hope to go back and visit the rest of ON along with Quebec for more of the culture, to brush up more on my french, and to have some more Poutin. (awesome Canadian dish)

Until we meet again Canada,

The TexaCadien