Ten Ways I Failed As A Canadian

As a Canadian living and teaching abroad, I’ve always prided myself on being able to talk about just about anything. Whether it’s politics, pop culture, or the weather, I can usually fill ten or fifteen minutes of conversation without even trying. But the past few months in my adult English classes have humbled me.

Despite being a Canadian, there are parts of my country’s culture, history, and infrastructure that I’ve never experienced, and never thought to learn about. Here are ten topics my students brought up recently that left me scrambling, shrugging, or doing frantic post-class Google searches.

Visa Types in Canada

I’m a born-and-raised Canadian citizen. I’ve never applied for a visa to live in my own country, and I’ve never sponsored anyone else to do so. When a student asked me to explain the Canadian visa system, I had absolutely nothing to offer. A quick glance at the official immigration website only made my eyes glaze over, and within minutes, whatever I had read disappeared from my brain. It was the first time I had to admit to my class: “I honestly don't know”

Canadian Children’s Songwriters

I know plenty of nursery rhymes, enough to sing ten or fifteen off the top of my head, but until recently, I’d never thought about who wrote them. When a student asked about Canadian children’s songwriters, I realized I had no idea. A quick search suggested there aren’t many famous ones, but my research was only a few minutes long. It was a reminder that knowing the song doesn’t mean knowing its origins.

Canadian Authors

I’m a bookworm to the core. I’ve read well over 2,000 books in my lifetime, often juggling several at once. I can talk in detail about plots, themes, and characters, but author biographies? Not so much. My top three favorites — The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, are all by non-Canadian writers anyway. It made me realize that I’ve never really sought out Canadian literature intentionally.

The Naval Industry and Shipping in Canada

When one student asked about Canada’s shipping yards and naval industry, I froze. It’s simply never been a topic I’ve encountered in my everyday life. I tried redirecting the conversation toward Canadian military history instead, which was a slightly more familiar subject, but it was clear I had nothing specific to contribute.

Trains in Canada

My train experience in Canada is minimal, five or six rides in total, plus one trip on the GTA metro. I got my driver’s license at 16 and preferred driving or taking buses. But when trains came up in class, I learned something new myself: Canada has been discussing a high-speed bullet train project for several years. I had never even heard of it before researching for my students.

Space Research in Canada

Ask me about living on the moon or alien life, and I’ll talk for hours. Ask me about Canada’s role in space exploration, and I’m lost. The Canadian Space Agency exists, of course, but I couldn’t recall a single mission or piece of equipment without looking it up. It’s the kind of information I probably learned in school, and promptly forgot.

Sports in Canada

I’ve never been a sports spectator. I enjoy playing badminton, swimming, and jogging, but I rarely watch games. My Canadian sports knowledge is embarrassingly limited to: hockey is popular, the Toronto Maple Leafs exist, and the Blue Jays are a baseball team (yes, I almost called them the “Bluebirds”).

The Olympics in Canada

My sports disinterest naturally extends to the Olympics. I don’t watch them and have no idea which years Canada has hosted or medaled heavily in. If someone offered me free tickets to attend, I might still say no.

Countryside Population

I’ve worked in rural areas of Canada, but I still couldn’t answer when asked about the average countryside population. I could name figures for specific towns like Chatham or Leamington, but whether they truly count as “countryside” is debatable — and I definitely didn’t have a national average ready.

Becoming a Firefighter in Canada

This one completely baffled me. A student wanted to know the process for becoming a firefighter in Canada. Why would I know that? I’ve never researched it, and it’s not something that comes up in daily conversation.

Lessons Learned

These moments could have been embarrassing, but instead, they turned into shared learning opportunities. My students got to see that even native speakers and natives of a country, don’t know everything about their own culture. It opened up discussions about what we don’t know about our home countries and how easy it is to overlook certain details when they don’t directly affect our lives.

Teaching has shown me that curiosity goes both ways. My students’ questions push me to explore topics I never thought about before, and in turn, I get to share my discoveries with them. Even if I start with “I don’t know,” we often end up learning together, and that’s one of the best parts of the job.