Cultural inductions

Over the past few days I've been having some true Canadian experiences.
Mt first trip to Tim Horton's was yest. and was everything coffee places look like in the movies, complete with 20min queue for the drive thru (I kid you not) and the police officer coming in, and having coffee and donuts. I made the comment that I used to think that the movies were stereotyping until moving to North America and discovering that they are in fact real life.By the way TH is a coffee chain that is Canadian and not an American import like the rest. To have a complete experience I really should have had a double double which the natives understand is a double sugar double cream, but I was confused about till someone helped me out. I did however have a donut and stayed clear of the steeped tea! What kind of advert is that offering steeped tea! There's a reason that the word is brewed.....it makes it sound drinkable. A box of Timbits to take into the office completed my education. They're the little bits out the middle of the donuts. Good marketing hey?
Then my friend told me that they had seen some loons on a walk, not too strange yet, but these loons were on a lake....so I did ask what they were. A national bird, on my dollar coin and the reason that the dollars are called loonies (and the two dollars are called doonies!!!). The thing is that grown people really do ask you for loonies which is still making me smile.
My final education was getting registration today for our new car. Yes our car. How cool is that. We have had a tiny(!) car donated to us, so if any of you need a ride in a Lincoln Continental please do come and pay us a visit. Anyway I had to go today to register it, with my insurance card and a bill of sale aka receipt (for a donated car, but we got around that!).

I hand over the paperwork (plus ID and the fee as always) and she pulls out a registration plate and we're all happy. It's bizarre walking out with a plate in your hand. And it's only one on the back....you can add all kinds of happy or tacky messages to the front by yourself. I actually forgot to hand over the fee, collect my new plates thanked her and turned to leave, when she had to rather embarrassingly remind me that it's 80$ thankyou :) I'll post pics soon. Remember donated...not bought!

So we're off to watch Tom play soccer with some guys from church tonight, in our limo. Fun!