Who taught you those manners?

Canada really must be one of the friendliest countries in the world.  I haven't been to many other countries (yet) but in the handful that I've visited I'd say we Canadians are above and beyond the nicest.  I don't like to generalize because we've got our share of assholes in Canada and I've met some incredibly nice people abroad, but the cultural feel is definitely different.  And often, it just comes down to what I thought was common courtesy.

For example, I often smile and say "hello" or "how's it going?" to strangers.  In the park, on the street, in a café etc.  Over here, I RARELY get a response!  The person will look right at me and then choose not to say anything back!  It stuns me every time.  Another example happened the the other day; a young couple was walking by me and the guy sneezed, quite loudly.  I said, "bless you".  He looked at me, and then kept walking.  I stood there for a moment, a little shocked and then commented to my friends that I couldn't believe he didn't say thank you.  Then I looked down the street towards the couple and I shouted, "YOU SHOULD SAY THANKS!!!  I JUST GAVE YOU A BLESSING!"

But here's the best one:  Yesterday, I went out for drinks with a buddy from work and his friends.  It was a great night and I met a lot of friendly people.  Near the end of the night, we ended up at REFLEX: The 80's Bar for one last drink.  I walked up to the bar and ordered two pints of lager.  While I was waiting for the drinks to be pulled, a couple of nice looking young ladies approached the bar and stood next to me.  I made eye-contact with one, so I said, "Hi, how's it going?"  She replied by sarcastically mocking my Canadian accent and saying "Hi, how's it going?"  The bartender placed the tall glasses of beer in front of me and I handed him some money.  I looked back at the girls and said, "Wow, I'm sorry I bothered you."  Realizing that I really talk like this, the girl's friend asked me where I was from.  After I answered, "Canada", the girl who had just ridiculed me got all excited, touched my arm and asked (in her own Welsh accent), "Ohhh, what's Canada like?" 

I picked up a beer in each hand, looked back at the girls and said, "Polite."  

Then walked away.