By Chaby Barasa, 14 October 2012
Ottawa — IN Tanzania you can hiss, whistle or snap your fingers to get someone's attention without hell breaking loose. But not so in Canada, Ottawa to be precise, such gesturess could land you in trouble.
Perplexed, and sensing trouble we asked him politely what had we done to deserve the hair dryer treatment from him. He only cooled down when we mentioned that we were foreigners from Tanzania and did not understand what the fuss was all about. "Okay my friends, so I will tell you..when hailing a taxi here it is sufficient to just hold your arm out, you don't have to shake or wave your hand or snap your fingers in an effort to get the attention of passing taxi drivers,' said our new friend who introduced himself as simply, Abbas.
He added that in Ottawa you can snap your fingers while enjoying your music, but if you snap your fingers at someone, to get their attention, for example, it's considered rude and unbecoming. "It is rude and undignified and you look ridiculous when you do it to get a person's attention," said he, noting that the snapping of fingers or whistling is only done when you want to get a dog's attention.
He warned that some people are more sensitive, and could punch you in the face if you whistled or snapped fingers at them. Old habits die hard, so they say. The following day I again found myself at the receiving end of sales person's wrath in a mall when I said 'excuse me' while snapping my fingers to get her attention. "C'mon, I have a name and even if you don't know my name you can always say madam.
I am a person providing a service not a slave," she remarked apparently angry. That's when I recalled my previous meeting with Abbas and the lecture I got. If proper taxi hailing techniques was my first lesson, the cautious use of Kiswahili in a foreign land was second. My colleague and I were having breakfast downtown Ottawa when he mentioned in Kiswahili something to the effect that he had observed Ottawa has a large senior citizen population.
As our discussion continued, out of nowhere a voice remarked- "Najua nyinyi mnatoka Tanzania, mimi kwetu Moshi" meaning "I know you are from Tanzania, I'm from Moshi.' We turned as a woman possibly in her mid forties approached our table and explained to us that she and her family had emigrated to Canada in 1997.
She said she still has some relatives in Moshi and was always in touch and was kept abreast of all that was happening in Moshi, which she still calls home, though she has already acquired Canadian citizenship. Now imagine how we would feel if we had bad -mouthed her or somebody else.
All in all my colleague's observation was not far from the truth. Available statistics indicate that at the start of this new century, Canada faces significant aging of its population as the proportion of seniors is increasing more rapidly than all other age groups. In 2001, one Canadian in eight was aged 65 years or over.
By 2026 one Canadian in five will have reached age 65. Otherwise I found the city and its people very warm and welcoming, a view which is however vehemently opposed by Abbas, who said while the buildings and streets were magnificent, its people are not. He claimed that most Canadians were selfish and looked down on people from the Middle East like him.
"As you can see this is a vast country with a lot of potential and therefore you would expect its government to welcome and accord equal opportunities to all people irrespective of their races," observed Abbas, who noted that he has not felt welcomed despite living in the capital for over a decade.
For Amir Bahati, originally from Tanzania, Ottawa is a unique place and melting pot of various cultures. He says he emigrated to Canada two decades ago for business and he is not complaining. "But I have not forgotten my Tanzanian roots, I expect to come and die there (Tanzania) once I'm frail and can no longer manage by business here," said Amir.
Nestled along the banks of Ottawa, Rideau and Gatineau rivers, Ottawa is indeed one of the most beautiful capitals in the world. It is a thriving technology and business centre and world class tourism and convention destination. A visitor to Ottawa can see the City's rich culture and heritage with its numerous national institutions, parklands, waterways and historic architecture.
"It is home to a large number of foreign embassies and is a recognised centre for both academics and professional training. The City offers an open and welcoming environment to cultures from around the world, providing service in English, French, and a host of other languages.
Source: Daily News
Ottawa — IN Tanzania you can hiss, whistle or snap your fingers to get someone's attention without hell breaking loose. But not so in Canada, Ottawa to be precise, such gesturess could land you in trouble.
Ottawa-panorama
My colleague and I were recently in the Canadian capital learnt this important lesson after we attempted to hail a taxi down by hissing and snapping our fingers to get his attention. The taxi driver, of Palestinian origin stopped alright, but no sooner had we got in than he started berating us.Perplexed, and sensing trouble we asked him politely what had we done to deserve the hair dryer treatment from him. He only cooled down when we mentioned that we were foreigners from Tanzania and did not understand what the fuss was all about. "Okay my friends, so I will tell you..when hailing a taxi here it is sufficient to just hold your arm out, you don't have to shake or wave your hand or snap your fingers in an effort to get the attention of passing taxi drivers,' said our new friend who introduced himself as simply, Abbas.
He added that in Ottawa you can snap your fingers while enjoying your music, but if you snap your fingers at someone, to get their attention, for example, it's considered rude and unbecoming. "It is rude and undignified and you look ridiculous when you do it to get a person's attention," said he, noting that the snapping of fingers or whistling is only done when you want to get a dog's attention.
He warned that some people are more sensitive, and could punch you in the face if you whistled or snapped fingers at them. Old habits die hard, so they say. The following day I again found myself at the receiving end of sales person's wrath in a mall when I said 'excuse me' while snapping my fingers to get her attention. "C'mon, I have a name and even if you don't know my name you can always say madam.
I am a person providing a service not a slave," she remarked apparently angry. That's when I recalled my previous meeting with Abbas and the lecture I got. If proper taxi hailing techniques was my first lesson, the cautious use of Kiswahili in a foreign land was second. My colleague and I were having breakfast downtown Ottawa when he mentioned in Kiswahili something to the effect that he had observed Ottawa has a large senior citizen population.
As our discussion continued, out of nowhere a voice remarked- "Najua nyinyi mnatoka Tanzania, mimi kwetu Moshi" meaning "I know you are from Tanzania, I'm from Moshi.' We turned as a woman possibly in her mid forties approached our table and explained to us that she and her family had emigrated to Canada in 1997.
She said she still has some relatives in Moshi and was always in touch and was kept abreast of all that was happening in Moshi, which she still calls home, though she has already acquired Canadian citizenship. Now imagine how we would feel if we had bad -mouthed her or somebody else.
All in all my colleague's observation was not far from the truth. Available statistics indicate that at the start of this new century, Canada faces significant aging of its population as the proportion of seniors is increasing more rapidly than all other age groups. In 2001, one Canadian in eight was aged 65 years or over.
By 2026 one Canadian in five will have reached age 65. Otherwise I found the city and its people very warm and welcoming, a view which is however vehemently opposed by Abbas, who said while the buildings and streets were magnificent, its people are not. He claimed that most Canadians were selfish and looked down on people from the Middle East like him.
"As you can see this is a vast country with a lot of potential and therefore you would expect its government to welcome and accord equal opportunities to all people irrespective of their races," observed Abbas, who noted that he has not felt welcomed despite living in the capital for over a decade.
For Amir Bahati, originally from Tanzania, Ottawa is a unique place and melting pot of various cultures. He says he emigrated to Canada two decades ago for business and he is not complaining. "But I have not forgotten my Tanzanian roots, I expect to come and die there (Tanzania) once I'm frail and can no longer manage by business here," said Amir.
Nestled along the banks of Ottawa, Rideau and Gatineau rivers, Ottawa is indeed one of the most beautiful capitals in the world. It is a thriving technology and business centre and world class tourism and convention destination. A visitor to Ottawa can see the City's rich culture and heritage with its numerous national institutions, parklands, waterways and historic architecture.
"It is home to a large number of foreign embassies and is a recognised centre for both academics and professional training. The City offers an open and welcoming environment to cultures from around the world, providing service in English, French, and a host of other languages.
Source: Daily News
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