I first came to England in January 2005. When I left my home in Winnipeg in central Canada, it was snowing and bitterly cold. By comparison, England was a lot less cold. Everything seemed very green, compared to the blanket of snow on the ground in Canada. There were even some flowers in the garden.

　　The traffic in England was so confusing at first. In England, the traffic drives on the left, while in Canada – and most of the rest of the world – people drive on the right. And if you are walking, it is more difficult to cross the road in England than in Canada.

　　In Winnipeg, the landscape is almost completely flat. But in Birmingham, by contrast, there are hills and valleys – not big ones, but bigger than what I am used to.

　　Everything seems smaller in England – the cars and houses, and things like refrigerators for example. Houses in Canada are often built of timber, while in Englaand they are generally built of brick or stone. If I go to a supermarket in Canada, I can find food in really big cans and containers. But in England, even the biggest cans of food look small.

　　England is more racially and culturally diverse than the part of Canada I come from. I am not yet used to the different regional accents which people in England have – to my ears they all sound the same. People in England seem to be more fashion conscious than in Canada, particularly the young women. They all seem to wear similar clothes in the latest popular style.

　　In Canada, we are used to travelling quite long distances to go to the shops or to visit friends. In England, the distances are shorter, but it often takes as long because the traffic is more congested.

　　To sum up, I suppose I would say that central Canada is bigger, obviously, than England, and flatter; colder in the winter and hotter in the summer; and emptier – there are many fewer people per square kilometer. And England is smaller, and much more crowded; a lot wetter and greener.