Over the Border

I am an avid game player as most people know.  Being one has helped me expand the amount of people I know on a global scale.  I have talked almost daily at some point to people in Japan, Mexico, Venezuela, Australia, and other countries across the globe.  Because of the tight community of gamers that I am apart of, I have gotten to know quite a few of these people on a personal level instead of just inside a virtual reality.  The few online gaming friends I have met were mostly from the US, however I have gotten to know quite a few Canadians.  With them, the added fact that we are from two different countries seems to lend us endless opportunities to make fun of each others culture.

Politics are generally avoided while remarks of "When is the US going to learn to play hockey?" and "I swore that Boston just beat the Canucks into a riot." are common remarks. One recent discussion ensued about home grown products.  "Canada doesn't export anything but snow and syrup, and they only make a profit from one of them." Which is shortly followed by "Well if you keep importing the snow from us like dummies, we will keep sending it."  Nothing is ever meant to hurt as I have enjoyed my friends from Canada.  "You know what I'm saying, eh?"

I have to say with some luck, I was able to have my friends C and T come out to visit my home in "The Middle of Nowhere, NJ".  Card games, great BBQ food, and late night s'mores roasting in the backyard made for lots of fun.  Helpful suggestions for upgrading the comforts of life made us feel like family.  C recommended to me upgrading my lawn furniture, from http://www.canadapost.ca/shopper/outdoor-patio-furniture/pc/40, while I taught his wife T how to BBQ American style. None of us slept til about four in the morning.

I was sad to see them go when they left the next day.  I can call them true friends.  I smile and laugh because of them on a near daily basis. The banter will continue, and I hope it always will, with my friends from over the border.