Originally Posted by
gauvins
You may ask advice on how to blend in. Not being an English speaker, I can only guess that if you smile a lot, are exceedingly polite and end several sentences with "hey" (as in "Great weather, hey?"), most people will guess that you live in Toronto
When I spent eight months cycling around Australia, it was far more common for people to guess I was Canadian than American. I thought that was somewhat interesting. Not sure how true, but one person did explain to me - that if they incorrectly guessed an American was Canadian, they might be amused - but if they guessed a Canadian was American, they might be offended
It was a while ago, but when I spent three months cycling across Canada, I found at least as large differences in outlook between Canadian provinces, e.g. how people looked at Canada/the world was sometimes different between Alberta vs. Newfoundland vs. Quebec - as well as urban/rural areas. Covid may have changed some things as far as outsiders in general, and more specific abuses e.g. not following guidelines for the corridor to Alaska. However, have no concern in cycle touring in Canada once we are able to again.
As far as discussing politics goes, I am naturally curious as well as cautious with people I don't know well. So when a question comes up on US politics - I am far more likely to at first redirect the question to understanding how the questioner sees things and what led them to ask...that also gives me a clue on whether to explain I live in Texas or live in Austin
