Time and again I find writing easier than working, so thank you for your patience, and let's continue with the Canadian English. There are some fundamental differences between English and Hebrew. In English, thinking and speaking are two separate, independent processes. This enables two things: speaking without thinking (possible also in Hebrew), and thinking without speaking (…). Hebrew is wysiwym - what you say is what you mean. In English, what you say is what you think the other wants to hear. They would say anything to make you happy. And that includes avoiding arguments. In Hebrew, there is no point in a conversation if the people involved agree. Israelis always argue just to show they are smarter. They always disagree, contradict your argument to show you are a fool. I can now imagine many Israelis crying "no, you are wrong", so that proves my point.
Canada it is different. The goal of a conversation is to reach an agreement, and therefore people agree even if they are not absolutely convinced. So you need to be careful. "Sure" means something like: "It seams that you have been thinking about what you said. I never bothered thinking about that and it doesn't seem important, so I'll save the thinking effort and believe you". But is it possible that everybody is right? Sure it is. It reminds me the old Jewish joke about two people who had a conflict and went to the rabbi. The first one presented his argument, and the rabbi said he was right. The second one presented his point of view, and the rabbi said he was right. The rabbi's wife said it is impossible that they were both right, and he replied she was also right. On the same token, they would say that one place is "the best", the second is "perfect", and the third is "number one". Great. They achieved equality without sacrificing competitiveness. But can more than one be in the first place at the same time? Sure, no problem. You just learn to live with partial orders.
A large portion of the communication between Canadians is based on guesses. At the beginning I thought I don't understand something, but when Canadians started to guess what I think based on things I never said, I realized this is how the system works. Due to the way they are brought up, Canadians are excellent in guessing the thoughts of other Canadians, but non-Canadians confuse them. And they will never ask you to explain. Asking means admitting they failed to guess your intentions.
For example, suppose you correct a Canadian. His reasoning is: not only didn't you like what he did, but you also corrected him. Therefore, he will get offended. Why? Because everybody knows that if you correct somebody he might get offended. Since you must have known this, you did it on purpose to offend him. Since you did it on purpose, he has the right to get offended. Otherwise, if people will never get offended, they will lose their sensitivity. But he will never tell you he was offended. You must have known this already. And if you didn't, you might get offended, and he really doesn't want that. The result of this series of implications and counter implications without words is that his behavior will become a bit strange. And then you must at all costs avoid the temptation to correct him. It is best to shut up.
