Canadian/American Dictionary

Each winter we head to Mesa, Arizona, to bask in the warm sunshine and think of our poor relatives "up nort der" in the freezing cold and blowing snow. We usually stay in Arizona for at least four months, and this coming winter will be our 5th year of heading down south. We met a great group of people down there (none of whom are from Arizona), who have become our family during the winter months. The majority of the group hail from the great country north of us - Canada. We are the "token Americans" in the crowd, as a matter of fact! And although our countries touch, and our language is the same (except for Quebec), cultural differences pop up all the time. I especially like when our Canadian friends use a word that I am not familiar with - I clap my hands and exclaim that I will add it to my Canadian/American dictionary.

Last year, my friend Pat said that she wanted to make some "bunwiches" for the drive down.

"Bunwiches?" I asked. "What are those?"

"Why, they're sandwiches made on a bun," she replied with a tone like, DUH!

I LOVE IT! BUNWICHES!! Isn't that cute? And guess what? When you surf the net with the word "bunwhich" typed in google, a whole plethora of sites pop up. Who knew??

I found this on kaboose.com. I haven't tried the recipe, but it sounds good:

Bunwiches

Toasted sandwiches of melted Swiss cheese and ham with a sweet onion and mustard spread make for tasty lunches to go. They can be made ahead and frozen, then tossed into a backpack or brown bag to thaw for lunch.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• salt and pepper to taste
• 16 hamburger buns, split
• 16 slices Swiss cheese1 (2 pound)
• 2 lbs. fully cooked ham, sliced thinly

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, mayonnaise, mustard, onion, and poppy seeds (if using). Season with salt and pepper. Spread a thin layer of the mixture over the cut sides of the buns. Place one slice of cheese on the bottom half of each bun, and top with a few slices of ham. Wrap each sandwich individually with aluminum foil. At this point, the sandwiches could be refrigerated or frozen in a plastic bag.
3. Bake for about 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until warm all the way through. If sandwiches are frozen, bake for 12 to 15 minutes.





The next word I learned was "bunny hug" meaning a hoodie. Dennis told me this little gem. He comes from Saskatchewan. When I searched for information on this, it said,

"Bunny Hug"

n. A hooded sweatshirt. Some bunny hugs have zippers, but most do not.

A regional variance on Hoodie, specifically Saskatchewan, Canada.
It was cold outside, so before putting on my jacket I slipped into my bunny hug.

You have to be careful, because searching for bunny hug and bunny hugger also means naughty things. Oh the things I find out by surfing the web! It's amazing!




It was a beautiful sunny day and a group of us women were gathered around the pool. The conversation somehow turned to Lorena Bobbit.



That name should be familiar to you. You know, she's the woman who cut off her husband's penis with a carving knife, then got in her car, drove along a dark highway, and flung the organ out the window. And thankfully, it was NOT like a boomerang, folks.



Anyhoo, I digress. One of the women said that if she cut off her husband's penis, she'd throw it down the "garborator".

I said, "The carburetor?"

"No", she said, "the garborator."

"What's that?" I asked.

"You know, it's in the sink."

"A garbage disposal?"

"Yeah, like an in-sink-erator."

Ah. Clear as mud now. No matter what you call it, it would not make a pretty picture! I keep flashing to that scene in the movie Fargo. Watch it here if you dare. It's pretty gross.




The last word(s) in your Canadian vocabulary lesson is "ginch/gonch". I was sitting around with the women one afternoon, and one woman talked about the things she bought on sale, one of them being "gonches" that she picked up for her husband.

"Huh?" I said.

My Canadian friends all laughed.

"You know," my friend said, "underwear. We also call them "ginches".

Again, surfing the net, I was amazed what I found. Interesting stuff..... hmmmm... Anyhoo, there's a company out there called Ginch Gonch Boxers that sells underwear designed like "underoos" for kids. Their ad says, "Re-live the fun of wearing these
fantastic fundies!"



Here's the link to their web site, if you are interested:

"http://www.topdrawers.com/underwear/ginch-gonch/ginch-gonch-underwear.html"

So I'm really looking forward to seeing my friends this winter and adding a new word to my vocabulary, eh?