STEINBACH, MB
Even though their families came from the exact same colonies in Russia, for some reason the Mennonites who arrived in Canada a few decades earlier referred to the newcomers in the 1920s as “Russlanders.” Well, 90 years after this mass migration, Mrs. Reimer, a “Kanadier”, still refers to her friend Mrs. Ens, as a “Russlander.”
“Oba, that Mrs. Ens, she’s been in Canada since she was an infant and she still doesn’t have a proper Plautdietsch accent yet,” said Mrs. Reimer. “Plus she’s make her vereniki all wrong!”
Mrs. Ens claims she doesn’t even speak Plautdietsch anymore and can’t get why Mrs. Reimer can’t accept her for who she is.
“Ach, the Reimers came from Molotschna just like my family did,” said Mrs. Ens. “Oh, those Kanadier, always with the false sense of superiority yet.”
Mrs. Reimer says Mrs. Ens has a lot to learn about “Canadian ways.”
“She’s only been here for ninety years,” says Mrs. Reimer. “Typical Russlander. They don’t want to adapt to Canadian life.”
Mrs. Reimer is particularly upset over Mrs. Ens’ refusal to do her hair in a proper “Kanadier”-style bun.