- Hey guys, how's it going?
My name is Micaela and I live in southern Japan.
And I really need to tell you something right now.
Come here.
Closer!
I'm actually not Japanese.
(fun, lively music)
I am Canadian.
I was born in Vancouver, B.C.
I lived in Richmond, B.C.
My family moved to Kamloops, B.C.
And now they live in the middle of the woods somewhere.
Living their dream, on their own.
And I'm here in Japan.
And over the past 10 years,
I've been making videos about Japan.
Life in Japan.
Things I like about Japan, and putting them on Youtube.
But, every once in a while
I really want to talk about Canada.
Because Canada is beautiful too.
You know, it wasn't until I started traveling abroad
that I realized just how often Canada gets overshadowed
by its big American neighbor, the United States.
When I'm meeting a Japanese person for the first time,
I would say 99% of the time they are going to ask me
where I'm from.
When I tell them I'm from Canada I often hear some
pretty interesting responses that kind of indicate
to me that a lot of people don't really have a
very solid image of what Canada is like.
(speaking Japanese)
Sometimes I will talk to people who don't even know
what language we speak in Canada,
or they will think that Canadian is a language of its own.
So to clarify, in Canada we speak English and French,
and depending on where you go in the country of Canada,
it's a big country, I would say that French is
much more prevalent in certain parts of Canada
than in others.
However, it is mandatory that we all learn French
in high school.
So, I can understand a little bit of French,
although I never use it anymore.
Another thing I often hear in conversations with people,
when I'm talking about Canada is:
It's true that Canadian winters can be very cold
and unpredictable and unforgiving.
But, it really depends on where you go,
and as long as you're not outside,
you're going to be toasty warm and having a good time.
Japan, on the other hand, feels cold all winter no matter what you do.
When you're inside your house, it's cold. When you're outside your house, it's cold.
That is why I actually prefer Canadian winters over Japanese ones.
Anyway, Canada is a huge country.
And it's very diverse and very multicultural.
But it's so big, that if you are living in one place
your whole life, you might never actually get to experience
just how multicultural and diverse it really is.
So, if you ever have the chance to travel Canada,
consider yourself so lucky because many Canadians
don't take the opportunity to travel it themselves.
Which is such a shame.
It's a really, really interesting and beautiful country.
One of my ultimate favorite places that I've been to
in Canada is White Horse in the Yukon territory.
White Horse, it's this tiny little town,
and in the winter it is very cold.
It's up north.
It's a great place to see the Northern Lights.
There's dog sledding.
There's blankets of snow.
There's wildlife reserves.
But the thing that I really liked about White Horse,
was how many people lived there that were not Canadian.
I met someone who was French, and loved dog sledding,
and moved to White Horse.
I met a Japanese couple who moved to White Horse
so they could do tours, and they liked it up there,
and that's why they chose to live there.
And I met someone who came to work on an animal reserve,
because they loved animals.
It's just, it's so interesting to meet people who are
in love with the place that they chose to live.
Another place that I've been to that I can totally recommend
is Prince Edward Island.
It is kind of a long flight from Japan.
You have to transfer in Toronto and then fly to PEI.
But, PEI, oh my God.
The east coast of Canada is just beautiful.
The beaches are bright red because of all of the iron
in the sand.
They eat lots of lobster.
When I went to PEI it was for a food festival,
and we were eating fresh lobster.
Fresh lobster that was buried in the ground
and smoked in the sand.
I don't really understand what was happening,
but it was so good.
And the whole vibe of the city feels like something
out of a story book.
So if you're planning on visiting Canada
and you need a few more ideas on where to go and what to do,
definitely check out the Far & Wide Project.
I'm going to put a link to the Far & Wide website
down in the description below.
You can find videos introducing different experiences
that you can have in different parts of Canada.
And if you see anything you like there are package tours
that you can consider joining as well.
One that I thought was really really cool
that I would love to try is the Digital Detox in Tofino.
Tofino, I have never been, but I have friends who love it.
I'm thinking, when my boyfriend gets back,
maybe we'll go on one of those ourselves.
Alright, so discussion time.
Have you ever been to Canada?
Do you live in Canada?
Do you have any good memories of Canada?
Let me know in the comments below and you might
be helping other people decided whether or not
to visit your city in Canada as well.
So that's it for today guys.
Thank you for listening, and we will be back with regular
Japan content next time.
Talk to you soon.
Bye!
(groovy music)