You Know You Live In Canada When...

You're pissed off that you bought the "wrong" grade of maple syrup. I'm a grade B girl myself. I've got no patience for that pansy grade A stuff. That's the early season syrup, the light stuff, the syrup for sissies. B is for badass.

Okay, so I'm exaggerating. But seriously, it's a disappointment to think you're flavoring your coffee with some hearty mid-season maple only to find out you've accidentally purchased the light stuff.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's cool. I didn't know about any of this stuff before I moved here and started flavoring everything with maple. You can get schooled here.

Other ways in which I've been indoctrinated into Quebec life?

I consider 50F and sunny to be warm. I'm talking worth a trip to the park and the ice cream store.

I occasionally say "eh" at the ends of my sentences without realizing it.

I occasionally say "oui" or "ouais" instead of yes, even when talking to Anglophones.

I think poutine is a perfectly reasonable thing to eat on a Friday night.

I don't bat an eyelash at a 9-percent beer, even before 5pm.

I know that if you miss your turn while driving, the answer is not to take the next right but to drive backwards for as many blocks as necessary until you find the street you missed.

Ditto for missed parking spaces.

I know that it can and will snow in April. And May. And June.