Oh Canada! A place where it never stops snowing, everything is doused in maple syrup and Justin Bieber is worshipped as a god.

Well…not exactly.

I can say that my favorite part of being Canadian is hearing what other countries have to say about us. Some stereotypes are true but others are just downright ridiculous. But I’m not here to argue about the Canadian stereotypes. I’m here to show you that I embrace my quirky Canadian heritage. Here are some super cool things that make me proud to be a Canadian.

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Camping with our family and friends has been a tradition since I was a little girl.

Canadians are super nice

If you’ve ever met me, you would know that for the most part I live out this fact. But then again, being super nice leads to being SUPER apologetic. I, like most other Canadians, am the type of person who will be walking next to someone and then all of a sudden that person decides to violently run into me (completely their fault) but I will be the one to scream, “I’M SO SORRY!!”

We have super cool chip flavors

Ever experienced ketchup on a chip? How about EVERY SINGLE CHIP FLAVOR in one bag of chips? Yup, we have that. It was actually such a disappointment when I moved to the U.S. and found out that ketchup and all-dressed chips weren’t the norm. I am seriously considering starting a petition to bring these chips to America so everyone can experience these magical flavors.

Tim Hortons

Speaking of starting petitions: the West Coast definitely needs some of this Canadian coffee goodness in their life. “Tim-Bits” are Tim Hortons — a spin on the American “donut holes” and are SO good. The average cost of Tim Hortons delicious coffee is about $1.70 and would give Starbucks a serious run for its money.

HOCKEY

Hockey is OUR sport. That’s pretty hard to argue. And we’re REALLY good at it. We do not apologize for this. It’s kind of like the way soccer is in the U.S. At the age of 5, most young boys and girls are thrown into some hockey skates and learn how to get the puck around with the stick. Even though most people do not continue on with the sport, the fundamentals of hockey are in our blood and playing a pickup game of pond hockey in the winter is no problem for any of us. Yeah, we do not all actually play the sport, but we WILL wake up at 5 a.m. for any Olympic playoff to support our team.

RYAN. GOSLING.

Yeah. Sorry, America, but he is ours. In fact, there are lots of cool celebrities who were born in Canada, like Rachel McAdams, Seth Rogan and Michael J. Fox to name a few. And as far as Justin Bieber goes, I can safely say on behalf of the entire Canadian population, thank you, America, for taking him from us, he’s all yours!

Cold winters and hot summers

Californians freak out when the thermometer hits 60 Fahrenheit (15 Celsius). Now imagine the weather hitting -40 Celsius, which evens out to -40 Fahrenheit as well. Winters in Canada can be muddy, full of frostbite and just downright miserable. However, often the winter season can be the most fun in Canada! For starters, it’s truly magical to always have a white Christmas. Activities such as skiing, snowboarding, sledding, skating, pond hockey and snowball fights are among some of Canadian’s favorites during the snowy season. However, contrary to popular belief, it does not snow year-round in Canada. In fact, summers in Canada are even hotter than the ones in California. This calls for an abundance of camping trips to the lake to spend time with family.

No ACTs or SATs.

Yes, you read that right. The Canadian education system is one of the best there is for the reason that it creates, breeds and encourages creative thinking. It is less focused on math, science and standardized testing. When it comes to going to college, it is heavily weighted on high school GPA’s rather than a stressful test.

Our national anthem

We are genuine, authentic and honest but also are leaders to the world on so many fronts. I believe heavily in the words to our anthem “with glowing hearts” and “true north strong and free.” Because SORRY AMERICA, we are the TRUE north.

The scenery

First of all, the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls is definitely more scenic. Canada is very spread out, in fact the population of  California (38.8 Million) is greater than the entire population of Canada (35.7 Million). With cityscapes that center around the CN Tower and border Lake Ontario, and beautiful sceneries such as British Columbia on the West, Nova Scotia on the East, and the heavenly Banff National Park in between, Canada offers the best of both worlds.

So if you’re ever craving some superb donut holes, a winter wonderland or just an escape from Justin Bieber, Canada is your place.