One thing that I’ve always been a bit defensive about is the perception that Canada is really cold.  The stereotype of course is that in summer Americans show up at the Canadian border in parkas with skiis.  Of course the truth is somewhat less than that, though still even people as close as Seattle often seem to think that Vancouver is going to be remarkably colder than their own climate.

So it kind of knocks me down a peg or two when I bring the wife up for US Thanksgiving, and it snows.