"No, I am not an American!"...

...is something I am sure every Canadian in Germany has had to explain. I realise that with Canada being in North America, Canadians are, in a sense, American. Following that thought, however, would lead to the assumption that one can call everyone in North, Central and South America an American, which we all know nobody does. I am referring to the seemingly widespread interchangeability of Canadian with American.

I can see where this might stem from. The US has played a big role in recent German history. From the installment of the Marshall Plan up until the departure of the Clinton administration, the US was seen as a shining beacon and as THE ideal to be emulated. With all that PR, I am not surprised that Canada was viewed as not much more than 'the neighbour to the north'. I already foresee disagreements with my children's future world history teachers over things like the War of 1812 (if I am not mistaken, it is also known to non-Canadians as the American-Indian War).

Bottom line? Stating that a Canadian is practically an American is something you do not want to do, just as you would not call the Scottish practically English, or the Austrians practically German. For a crash course on what Canadians are proud of, please watch this brilliant commercial:



(Photo from freefoto.com)