Have any of you lived abroad and returned to Canada? Share your experiences. - Page 8

niwell · #**141** Posted **Feb 21, 2019, 10:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Didn’t read the link, but I remember having to learn the nuances of “now” vs “just now” vs “now now” (which you don’t hear as often as you’d like).

Other favourites include the greeting “Howzit?”; “Pleasure” for “You’re welcome”; and the mysterious “Yah well no”, which seems to mean yes (except when it means no). There’s also “shame”, which gets used a lot but seldom with respect to anything that’s actually a shame.

Eish! That doos in the bakkie fokken run the robot!

Acajack · #**142** Posted **Feb 21, 2019, 10:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by niwell

Not yet but I’ll be in the Cape at least a couple times while here - I’ve noticed that unlike Canada they tend not to give water automatically. Which has gotten me in trouble as there’s no problem with providing another beer. I’m sure that’s even more pronounced in Cape Town with their water issues.

One thing I have experienced first hand is the interesting relationship South Africans have with the word “now”. If someone tells you they will do something “now” that could mean at any point in the relatively near (or not) future.

https://joburgexpat.com/2011/02/just-now-or-now-now/

This reminds me of my friend who is from West Africa and who says he'll be over around 7, "heure d'Afrique" (African time). Which basically means any time between 7 and about 9 o'clock.

kwoldtimer · #**143** Posted **Feb 21, 2019, 10:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by niwell

Eish! That doos in the bakkie fokken run the robot!

Sis!

niwell · #**144** Posted **Feb 21, 2019, 11:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Sis!

Nah bru, its lekker

niwell · #**145** Posted **Feb 21, 2019, 11:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

This reminds me of my friend who is from West Africa and who says he'll be over around 7, "heure d'Afrique" (African time). Which basically means any time between 7 and about 9 o'clock.

Not gonna lie, it’s extremley frustrating! Timeliness is a very Canadian thing which I think we inherited from both Anglo and northern euro factions.

My girlfriends family is Australian and is mixed between being constantly late or on time to a tee. So who knows.

isaidso · #**146** Posted **Feb 24, 2019, 1:06 AM**

I never understood what foreigners meant by the convenience of north America till I moved to London UK for 2 years .....and that's supposedly one of the most north Americanized 24/7 cities over there.

I was shocked to see busy London high street shops close at 6pm. Getting a decent burger was difficult too. There was McDonalds, Burger King, and not many of them at that. I couldn't bring myself to go inside either.

The Chemist · #**147** Posted **Feb 26, 2019, 11:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

I'm a bit of a luddite in that I use a credit card for most purchases, but can't you just use Apple/Google/Samsung/whatever Pay to pay with your phone in Canada? Some of my more technologically inclined friends seem to like doing that, although personally I haven't seen the advantage in pulling my phone out vs. just taking a card out of my wallet.

I suppose you could, but it's not nearly as ubiquitous as it is in China. Personally, I like being able to go out with just my phone and not worry that I won't be able to buy something (food, drink, subway ride, etc) if I need it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHikka

I agree with this. Spent a week in Iceland and everything is tap by default. There are no prompt screens, no screens asking for tips, just the PoS machine turned to you by the employee ready to be tapped. So much easier than having to fumble through three or four different prompts on PoS units in Canada asking if i'm sure or if I want to add a gratuity or if i'm ready.

China doesn't use tap much at all. The dominant payment systems (AliPay and WeChat Pay) are both QR code based. They even have QR code readers on subway fare gates.

esquire · #**148** Posted **Feb 26, 2019, 2:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Chemist

I suppose you could, but it's not nearly as ubiquitous as it is in China. Personally, I like being able to go out with just my phone and not worry that I won't be able to buy something (food, drink, subway ride, etc) if I need it.

If you wanted to do things that way you certainly could, although you'd come up against the odd mom and pop shop with a payment terminal that requires a physical card. Pretty well every chain store at this point and most independents can handle payment by phone.

To me it makes no difference, though... I have my wallet anytime I leave the house with cash and credit cards. Maybe I'm prudent to a fault but I'd hate to not have access to payments because my phone battery ran out or some such.

harls · #**149** Posted **Feb 27, 2019, 3:47 AM**

One of the benefits of using your phone is adding all those membership cards. PC Optimum, Air Miles, Aeroplan.. pretty much anything with a bar code can be saved. I had a stack of cards an inch thick in my wallet, and now I can reclaim that space. Most of the cards I barely use, but it feels good to have a thinner wallet.

Proof Sheet · #**150** Posted **Feb 27, 2019, 11:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by harls

but it feels good to have a thinner wallet.

Not sure George Costanza would agree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TYuGe7JaX4

jonny24 · #**151** Posted **Mar 2, 2019, 1:06 AM**

Yeah..... I "bought Canadian", and I would NEVER rely on my Blackberry's battery lasting long enough to leave the house without my wallet.

I didn't know about tap charging a higher fee- I always use it if it's there, and was just at Lowes cursing their non-availability of tap.

vid · #**152** Posted **Mar 2, 2019, 3:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonny24

I didn't know about tap charging a higher fee- I always use it if it's there, and was just at Lowes cursing their non-availability of tap.

I curse it every time I'm at Walmart.

I don't understand why they can't afford tap, they pay their employees minimum wage and have higher prices than Superstore which has unionized employees and tap.

jonny24 · #**153** Posted **Mar 2, 2019, 4:32 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vid

I curse it every time I'm at Walmart.

I don't understand why they can't afford tap, they pay their employees minimum wage and have higher prices than Superstore which has unionized employees and tap.

I knew it must be a Walmart thing too! they're the ultimate cut-throat... igagine how that board meeting went?

"They want us to pay 0.5% more for tap"

"What are they gonna do, not shop here?"

vid · #**154** Posted **Mar 2, 2019, 4:37 AM**

Last summer, Walmart in Thunder Bay actually stopped accepting Visa entirely to get a lower rate from them. Visa started offering cash back for anyone in Thunder Bay who used a Visa to shop at a store other than Walmart, but eventually relented when Walmart moved the campaign to their Winnipeg stores a couple months later.

Pinus · #**155** Posted **Mar 2, 2019, 11:48 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by vid

Last summer, Walmart in Thunder Bay actually stopped accepting Visa entirely to get a lower rate from them. Visa started offering cash back for anyone in Thunder Bay who used a Visa to shop at a store other than Walmart, but eventually relented when Walmart moved the campaign to their Winnipeg stores a couple months later.

Sorry, I don't shop at Walmart anymore (can't stand that shithole). They don't accept Visa credit cards???

vid · #**156** Posted **Mar 3, 2019, 4:44 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinus

Sorry, I don't shop at Walmart anymore (can't stand that shithole). They don't accept Visa credit cards???

They didn't, in Thunder Bay, for a few months in 2017.