O Canada

So, the other day I chaperoned (!) a field trip to the Canadian Embassy (at left) here in Berlin. My 10th graders have been "studying" Canada for what feels like forever. After sleeping through a movie by the Canadian tourist bureau from approximately 1985, skimming through our tremendously enlightened textbook, and putting some already sketchy internet research through extremely sketchy internet translators, the students have been giving presentations on everything from Canadian wildlife to the difference between Quebec the city and Quebec the province. Apparently the emphasis on Canada is part of an initiative to shift the focus of non-native English speakers away from America and England. I think it's pretty interesting, but it does create a lot of confusion because no one is quite sure whether British or American English is the proper form for discussing other English-speaking countries. The greatest confusion, however, was the difference between what the students learned about Canada from their politically correct and socially conscious textbook and what they learned at the embassy.
In the 11 pages about Canada, the textbook focuses on sexual abuse in junior hockey leagues, illegal seal hunting ("Two texts about killing" - this picture is also in the book), and maple syrup. In the embassy, the presentations were all about the beautiful landscapes, diverse climates, and Celine Dion. Let's just say that the embassy people weren't quite prepared for the questions the students asked....