The Quirky Canadian Customs and Habits That Outsiders Find Baffling (4 of 5)

A regular coffee isn’t a regular coffee

If you’re unfamiliar with the lingo used for ordering a coffee in Canada, you might need to ask a local to act as an interpreter. Visit any Tim Hortons (which is completely unavoidable, by the way), and you’ll hear patrons asking for double-doubles, triple-triples, and regular coffees, which aren’t what you’d assume they are. To be clear, a double-double is two sugars and two creams. A regular is not black coffee but is served with one sugar and one cream. Understand? No? Good.

You never wear your shoes inside

The first thing you’ll notice when you enter any Canadian’s house is all the shoes spread out on mats. That isn’t their weird way of showcasing their extensive shoe collection; that’s where all shoes go when you come inside. In the US, enforcing a “no shoes indoors” rule is regarded as a quirky homeowner preference. But in Canada, it is a cultural expectation that is so deeply ingrained that if you enter a home and you don’t immediately remove your shoes, prepare to hear a chorus of gasps.