Your cultural interpreter was born in Kingston, Ontario the oldest of two children. She was raised in Ottawa for the most part, although her family moved back and forth between Ottawa and a variety of other countries, returning regularly to visit family in other parts of Canada. She started secondary school in Switzerland and returned to Canada at age 16 to complete her studies. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Economics at McGill University in Montreal and then moved to Austria to study German and work. She later returned to Ottawa to study International Relations at Carleton University. Afterwards, she went to Chile on a CUSO-NetCorps internship to help a Chilean non-governmental organisation with its computer training needs. She has since returned from Santiago and is working in Gatineau with a consulting firm. She is not married and does not have any children.

General observations: For the purposes of this Cultural Insight, the local interpreter is a non-Canadian. The Canadian response was written by a Canadian with the intention of highlighting cultural traits that distinguish Canadians with respect to other cultures.