10 random factoids about Dundas, Ontario

1. Nobody is worried about water conservation here. They have significantly more rainfall. We still can't get out of the habit.

2. EFTPOS is called Interac, and costs $1.50 a time. Most people use credit cards instead. We as yet have no credit rating and so are struggling to convince the bank to give us a credit card. But they will give credit cards to students, no problem!

3. You don't exist unless you have a SIN (Social Insurance Number). I can't apply for one until I'm offered a job.

4. "How are you going?" means "What mode of transport are you taking?"

5. Cheques are called cheques and not checks like in the US. Our bank offered to personalise our cheques ... by giving us a choice of smiley faces or random quotes to put in the corner.

6. Everybody everywhere has a cardboard cup of Tim Horton's coffee. There's a Tim Horton's on the corner of pretty much every city block in Hamilton. No Gloria Jean's, no Starbucks. Apparently they've tried to break into the market and couldn't. Tim Horton was an ice hockey player, and the shop was originally a donut shop.

7. Canadians sometimes say "Ay" after a sentence. Not like Australians do. There's a short pause before "Ay". On the other hand, I think the "oot and aboot" thing is a myth.

8. Frozen rain is when water drops fall out of the sky, and then freeze as soon as they hit the ground. Slippery!

9. The Horn of Plenty sells vegemite.

10. Cars stop for pedestrians. It appears to be courtesy rather than the law.