no one

Since Canada is much closer to the US -- I wonder if we'll have more diversity in meeting online vs. meeting in person?

The boy and I met in person as teenagers. We both attended aerospace camp at the University of North Dakota.

I was the girl with the blue hair and he was the boy with the Hot Topic clothing. Although we're both pretty introverted and, well, socially retarded, we fell in together almost immediately. I had never felt so comfortable with someone else before.

By the end of the two weeks at camp, we were known as an "item" by everyone else. (The camp ratio was two girls to 28 boys, so, yeah.) We held hands. I fell asleep and drooled all over his shoulder during a movie. The other girl at camp -- my roommate -- kept saying that I had to kiss him before we departed, but said departure was hectic and we barely got to say goodbye.

After camp, we chatted online for a few months. Then we lost contact for nearly a year. One night, on a whim, I decided to email him. By this time, he was in the states attending university. Within the month, he took the Greyhound down to see me.

He would take the bus down every six-eight weeks and stay for a few days. After I graduated highschool, I went up to be with him and we lived together for two years after that.

---

We beat a lot of odds. A long-distance relationship as a teenager? Meeting, by chance, at camp? (He was supposed to attend camp the previous year, but his parents grounded him at the last moment. When I enrolled, I got the last spot.) etc. Also, having lived together for several years, we have already conquered the honeymoon period that eventually ruins many international relationships. (In mah opinion, anyway.)

Anyway. Whatever. I want to hear ya'alls stories!

Hehe, what a great how-we-met story!

We met on the now-defunct humour website Brunching Shuttlecocks, through one of their infamous webtoys...

Hey, all. I'm hoping you can share some words of wisdom for Réjean regarding his interview at the Montréal Consulate. He's really nervous and worried right now, and I can't really calm his fears because I don't know for sure how it goes, either.

What everyone else said

Double-check all the paperwork and get there early. Réjean will be fine! I had a somewhat unusual interview last year in Montréal in that I was asked at least 20 questions (whereas everyone else had only... 2? 3??). I just answered everything honestly and had all my paperwork in order... and was approved

I have no advise on the car rental part of things, but did want to comment on your going to Banff. Banff is nothing but a huge tourist trap! I'd recommend you stay someplace other than there. I'm more of a Jasper fan anyway than Banff, and while it's "pretty", there are better/other places to go. Lake Louise is another nice place, certainly smaller in size, but maybe just as busy in the summer. I'd check out some places in BC, like Golden, or towns/cities right at the border of BC and Alberta. You're still in the mountains, and only a short drive to Banff, but not in the heat of things right at Banff. Just my opinion...

Either way, have a wonderful trip. The drive through Northern Superior is outstanding, but I don't know if you're going that way.

Carla

I've been to both Banff and Jasper, but my husband hasn't I personally love Moraine Lake... when I went there years ago, it wasn't crowded at all! We probably won't be driving through Northern Superior, but I'll definitely keep that in mind for future road trips.

Well, you're not going to get much rest that's for sure! How many hours per day are you planning to drive? Its about a one week drive each way, so if you only have two weeks, you'll be pretty rushed and won't have much time for sight-seeing.

We once drove from Toronto to South Dakota and back. Each trip was 27 hours straight and we were completely exhausted on the trip back, and I almost killed us by falling asleep at the wheel!

3 weeks would be better if you can take it.

I've never driven this far before, but Google Map says that it'll take us around 2 days of non-stop driving to get from here to T.O. Did you take shifts driving? We'll probably take turns, but stay awake to keep each other awake

What about taking the train? www.viarail.ca has a great site. This link for personalizing your trip looks good.... www.trainpackages.ca . You could also check out www.amtrak.com for American alternatives.

Friends of mine did a cross-country Canada trip. RV rentals were so high they ended up purchasing a camper van for less than a rental. Might be a thought for you.

Sounds like a great trip! Have lots of fun and let us know how it goes. Stay safe.

K

Yeah... we checked the prices on several RV rental sites and it's at least a few thousand dollars for x amount of mileage! I think we'll stick with our own vehicle after all

Very doable in 2-3 weeks. I one summer vacation for I think it was maybe 2 weeks if that, we left from Windsor, hiked down the Grand Canyon, stayed over night then hung out in Vegas, then partied in LA, drove up to Seattle, all the way through the Dakotas and back. Now other then the Grand Canyon part being a national park, I can't recall if we did any of the other parks or not. But do able if you budget your time and not spend too much in one location...

Were there many of you taking turns driving? :-P I'm beginning to feel more optimistic about doing a roundtrip road trip... we'll just have to pick one or two major spots to stop, and then speed through the rest.

How about driving a rental car to Spokane, dropping it there, flying to Calgary and then renting a car for the drive to Pigtown?

Admittedly, only advantage of this is keeping the drop-offs on one side of the border.

The only reason we want to drive back from Toronto is because I still have tons of books to pick up from there I think the hassles with a different drop-off location might not be worth it after all!

I drove from Houston, Texas to Arthur, Ontario in 2 days, picked up Nancy, spent a week in Canada, and then drove back with her via Chicago and St. Louis which took us 3 days. So 2 - 3 weeks is more than enough time are you driving your own vehicle?

Ramos

Did you stop anywhere enroute either way? I think we'll spend a day or two at Yellowstone Annnd... after reading everyone's comments, I think we'll stick with our own vehicle and do the roundtrip road trip after all!

Thanks everyone for your replies!

Not sure how much this helps but you can do pick-ups and drop-offs between Toronto and Buffalo for free through the major car rental companies (Hertz, Avis, etc.). If you go this route, you'd have to pick up in Toronto, drive to Buffalo, drop off that car, get another one and then take it back home. You'll also have to check if that rental company will charge you or not from Buffalo to your home state for drop off.

This is pretty much what we had to do when I moved here. Rented a car from Toronto, dropped off in Buffalo, picked up another in Buffalo and then dropped it off in Virginia when we got here. It was the only way we could avoid a $1,000 non-refundable drop off charge.

Eeps, $1000 drop-off charge is pretty steep!

Doable with some rest in 3 weeks; 2, you're pushing it.

Have you considered the idea of driving to Spokane (WA), then flying to Calgary and then driving across Canada to Pigtown?

Hmm... we'll have to see if we can somehow scrape together more vacation days then.

The only reason we want to drive back from Toronto to California is because I still have tons of books to transport here. Didn't want to ship them over because they're heavy and I'm not in a great hurry to get them Just wanna kill two birds with one stone!

Im really confused about this. My fiance is coming in September. We are planning on getting married as soon as possible, but Im not sure what all these fee's are. Will we have to pay for all these papers to be filed? I thought it would be only the AOS that we have to pay for, and Im confused about how much that will be too. Can anyone give me some help figuring this all out. My math skills are horrible...and Im really worried about all this.

Thank you so much!

Oh yes...

AOS means you have to file the I-485 ... which now costs $1010

Then, two years after that... you have to file the I-751 to remove conditions on your permanent residence card ... $545 + $80

These prices are very steep

No time to be "addicted" to it, but it's a great way of keeping in touch with friends and acquaintances... I was even re-acquainted with numerous people from elementary school!

Jason and I are in the preliminary stages of planning a cross-continent road trip for next summer.

It'll be from northern California to Toronto (Ontario, Canada), and back.

Problem is, we have only 2-3 weeks to work with.

We want to hit Yosemite, Mt Rushmore, and maybe Banff (staying 1-2 days at each location, max). And of course, visit my family and friends in Toronto

Is this roundtrip do-able, or will we get no rest at all?

Yosemite's relatively close to where we live, so we *could* save that for a later date...

We'd love to fly to Toronto, and then rent a vehicle to drive back, but it seems that most if not all RV / car rental places do not do one-way Canada/US rentals (pick-up in Canada, drop-off in the States). Does anyone know of companies that do this sort of rental?

Any advice?

Jason and I are in the preliminary stages of planning a cross-continent road trip for next summer.

It'll be from northern California to Toronto (Ontario), and back.

Problem is, we have only 2-3 weeks to work with.

We want to hit Yosemite, Mt Rushmore, and maybe Banff (staying 1-2 days at each location, max). And of course, visit my family and friends in Toronto

Is this roundtrip do-able, or will we get no rest at all?

Yosemite's relatively close to where we live, so we *could* save that for a later date...

We'd love to fly to Toronto, and then rent a vehicle to drive back, but it seems that most if not all RV / car rental places do not do one-way Canada/US rentals (pick-up in Canada, drop-off in the States). Does anyone know of companies that do this sort of rental?

Any advice?

echomyst,

Hey so you were born in HK? heehee then do you know how to speak Cantonese? I have never been back to HK since I came here. I may go back X'mas this year. Let's see...

it's good to hear that you have found a TA job! you know i want to be a TA too! but I didnt see a lot of TA Jobs. I saw a few on Craigslist and sent my resume to them, but I got no response! Do you know where else I can find such kind of jobs?

you know I also think that getting a teaching credential here is such a long process. So I don't think I'll ever start all over and study for that again. Besides I don't even know what subject I can teach here. I taught English in HK and English is my second language. So I really don't think I can teach English here... sigh...

I thought about teaching in a pre-school here as it seems that the Early Childhood Education course is not as long. I however don't know if I really can handle small kids. I'm also not sure if I can find a job after studying. I saw a TA post in a pre-school few months ago and applied. At first I was told to go to the interview but it was later cancelled... I also applied some TA posts in some elementary schools but again no resonse. You know it's not a high-paid job but still people just don't consider me.... well maybe they think I don't have local experience and English is not my native language? Also I see that some schools require TAs to have credential/ ECE units too...

And you talked about being a SAT tutor? You know after I posted my resume online, a few tutorial centres sent me emails too... but the same as you, I haven't taken any SAT exams and I don't think I'm qualified.

Right now I'm just selling stuff online to earn a little bit money. Sometimes I really want to give up finding job cuz it seems to be impossible. For whatever job I applied, I just got no response or rejected...

Yeah, I speak Cantonese My language skills are deteriorating because the only people to whom I speak Cantonese are my parents!

The best way to find TA jobs is probably on individual school districts' websites. There are so many different school districts in each area. In my town alone, there's something like 5 districts?

It sounds like most pre-school jobs require only 12 ECE credits, but you're right -- little kids are a whole different ball game than older ones!

You know, homesick_american mentioned that you can take SAT exams and that the upcoming one is in October. Maybe you can give that a shot? It'd be a quick way to get into SAT tutoring, which is lucrative especially if you work for yourself instead of through a tutoring centre.

Do you play the piano? (It seems that most HK'ers do haha). I've thought about teaching piano too. It pays well, but I'll need to re-learn a lot of things and practise like mad In time, perhaps...

What about starting up your own business? In my town, there isn't a whole lot of Asian people, never mind Chinese. I can see that there are niches that could be filled, such as opening a Chinese vegetarian restaurant, or a more expansive Asian grocery store, etc. I'm not an ambitious business person though, so I'll stick to my humble sector of education, but it could be an option for you or other people

speaking of job i got a call from a community which is i am very interested to work with. they we're looking for a bookkeeper. they want me to come to there office the other day for an interview...they offer a good salary like 15 to 16 bucks an hour. i found this job in one of the local website in our area. the result of the interview was very possitve the only thing is... i am committed to watch my daughter and step son for the whole month of august and they want me to work right away. child care center in our area are occupied now. i am only 4 months in this country and i thought the job interview here is very difficult like what we have in the philippines. anyway...they only asked me about my previous job experiences. i have a 10year work experience as a bookkeeper in one of the biggest company in our country. we are almost done to get the license of our child care business but i want to work in the office....lol ..i got bored in the house. what you think my fellow vj's?...what good decesion to take a child care or office job???....i am not yet decided what to do. for now i have our 2 kids to watch but by september they gonna be in school and i dont have a call yet from other parents. ooohhhh...i dont want to stay again in the house alone this coming september it makes me crazy.....

jazzy

Tough decision! Are you equally passionate for both fields of work? It sounds like you'd like to get away from your house, so maybe you should go for this bookkeeping opportunity. There are tons of private child care businesses willing to take in kids short-term

So take the SAT. It's offered several times a year...the next test is in October.

Ummm... well, I already have a job, albeit one that doesn't pay overly well in monetary terms. I'm not the OP who's looking for a job, so I'm not sure why everyone's telling me to get an SAT tutoring job?

I'm actually planning on taking the CBEST in Oct/Nov so I'd be eligible for substitute teaching as well as teaching credential programs in the future... just in case I get sick of my present job.

You seemed interested in SAT tutoring jobs; I was just trying to help.

Sorry if I'd given that impression...! I was just trying to help someone else by explaining that there are loads of SAT tutoring jobs out there, except that in most cases, one of the criteria is that you must've taken it yourself. Congrats on getting your $80K job, btw! That's much more than any teachers (in a traditional setting, at any rate) can ever hope to make

I'm looking into my options, neutralization for me then moving back to Canada possibly (legally I will need to confirm it). I've also entertained the idea to just THROW everything out the window and move - my future and happiness is more important than money spent.

I think a fair question to ask in addition to my nice rant is - Do you miss Canada? Would you move back if you could? What do you enjoy about living in the States?

I hope things will work out for you and your husband (they always do, in the end! )

Since I've just moved here last Autumn, it's safe to say that I'd move back in a heartbeat if my husband should lose his job and not find another one (for us, it was also mostly a financial decision)... in fact, due to union rules, I'm still guaranteed a teaching job back in Ontario for another year should I decide to move back.

I think as the years go by though, my roots here will become deeper (better job... starting a family of our own... buying a house... etc.) and it'll be harder to move back. But still, my family and friends are in Canada, so if anything should go wrong, it'd definitely be a strong option for us to move there.

I agree with everyone else here about making sacrifices. I gave up my steady, well-paying career with great benefits... I left my family and friends... I left a city I love... but I'm happy because I'm with my husband and in-laws who are all wonderful to me. It's very tough starting from square one, but with enough support from you -- and with enough determination on her part -- your fiancée can rebuild a happy life for herself.

It wasn't easy for me (or for many other VJ'ers!) to decide to immigrate. It took me a couple of years to finally make that decision, and even then, many tears were shed, and many nights were spent lying awake thinking about all the sacrifices I'd have to make. Your fiancée will have to decide for herself if this is all worth it to her. Just remember that nothing in this world's really permanent... if she does take the plunge and tried her best to rebuild her life here but doesn't like it... there's always the option of both of you moving to Japan. Or maybe she'll end up loving it here. You never know.

I also agree with the other person who'd advised for you not to add crazy Florida driving to her worries ;-)

So take the SAT. It's offered several times a year...the next test is in October.

Ummm... well, I already have a job, albeit one that doesn't pay overly well in monetary terms. I'm not the OP who's looking for a job, so I'm not sure why everyone's telling me to get an SAT tutoring job?

I'm actually planning on taking the CBEST in Oct/Nov so I'd be eligible for substitute teaching as well as teaching credential programs in the future... just in case I get sick of my present job.

http://www.volunteermatch.org is a good place to start, as well as local volunteer websites/organizations. Check in the local newspapers and Craigslist too!

As long as you're not getting paid (monetary) for your volunteer work, you should be okay.

There's a high demand for SAT tutors (the jobs pay very well!), but since I have never taken SATs, I'm not well-qualified for the jobs

Have people told you that? The Americans that have taken the SAT usually haven't taken it more than once or twice and it has changed enormously since then anyway. It's only a standardized test and not even a difficult one at that...the math on it is incredibly easy. I took the SAT most recently in 1992 and haven't seen it since then; I doubt I'm more qualified to tutor for the SAT than you are just because I took it 15 years ago. Keep trying!

The SAT tutoring places I've checked out all want proof of my SAT scores. I'll keep looking, as tutoring is a pretty flexible and lucrative job option In the meantime, I'm loving my Spec Ed teaching assistant job.

Can't you take a, let's say a GRE prep class, then you definitely have all the skills to prep kids for their SATs.

Possibly, but the tutoring places I've looked into all want proof of my SAT scores.

Hi,

I'm curious too. I'm also from the Bay area (San Jose). But I've started to find jobs really hard since April this year (I got my green card in Dec last year). You know I have tried all but I didn't even get much response.

I've posted my resume on Yahoo hot jobs, careerbuilder, monster and bajobs. but only a few employers approached me after they read my resume on careerbuilder.com. I never got any response from any other websites. I've to say though, all these jobs are sales related or insurance agents, or some weird jobs that I don't think I'm suitable even I go to their interviews.

I'm really lost now and feel unhappy. My husband told me many companies' entry level posts are filled by internal referral. So far I only got one interview cuz my husband's co-worker referred me to that company. But then they wanted me to work in the sales department and do cold-calling, which is imossible for me. You should be able to tell that English is not even my native language!

Worse still, I don't think I can work in the same field as I did in my own country. I was an English teacher in Hong Kong and have a Bachelor and MA degrees. I also had one year of office admin experience in HK. But even so and I'm now only finding some office assistants, sales or teaching assistants jobs (for private schools only cuz I don't have the ECE units), no employers even considered me. I only got 3 responses so far. But one cancelled the interview before she even sees me! then the other one, the manager at last told me 'we have too many applicants'... so i only went to ONE interview so far. sigh... it's like they don't even want to schedule an interview for me.

and yes, craigslist is more down-to-earth, but what one of the members said was right, there're far too many people finding jobs there. The one which the manager told me they have too many applicants and can't schedule me an interview, i found that post in craigslist and they just posted for one day. Besides, I think that since there're not too many Non-IT/ Engineering posts here, so once there's one 'normal' job, millions of people will apply- I really wonder when I can find a job. Or what I should do now...

Sorry for my long post... just wanna share with you my job hunting experience. Hope someone can give me or someone with the same situation some light of what we should do now.

Hey Sleepybears!

I'm in the Bay Area as well and I used to teach English (and sciences) back in Canada. I've been looking into different teaching credential programs, but it makes me want to cry... it's a long, long process with tons of hoops to jump through no matter which route you take. Right now I'm working as a Special Ed teaching assistant. I love my job, but it doesn't pay nearly enough. I found my job on a local school district's website, but I'd first learned through Craigslist that this district was hiring!

There's a high demand for SAT tutors (the jobs pay very well!), but since I have never taken SATs, I'm not well-qualified for the jobs

btw, have you been back to HK since you arrived here? I was born in HK, but immigrated to Canada when I was a little kid

Hmm... if you'll be moving every three years, then that 6-9 months job is worth looking into (who knows, they may offer you other positions afterwards within the company)!

Going back to grad school is a great idea. I agree with the others about Craigslist... there sure are many job listings here in the Bay Area.

Everyone's already given you good advice. I don't have much to add except for your wife to read Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America.

It's a food memoir written from the perspective of a Japanese woman who'd grown up in N. America, but your wife might identify with the writer's parents and their struggles: all the sacrifices they've had to make, and all the cultural adjustments they've had to learn. I'm a first-generation immigrant from an Asian country (Hong Kong) and I grew up in Canada, so I can really relate to the memoir and found it to be a light-hearted look at the bittersweet realities of Asians settling in N. America.

Like others said, your Canadian credit info won't transfer here.

In my case, I first had my name added to my husband's credit card, but I don't think that helps in building your credit history.

I had an HSBC bank account back in Canada, so decided to open up one here in the U.S. too. A few months after opening a joint bank account with my husband, I asked about getting a credit card through HSBC, thinking that I'd be declined (because at the time, I had no Green Card, no EAD, no job, ... nada). To my surprise, my banker told me that I'm approved for a credit card with a $7000 limit!! I was in complete shock, but hey, I was able to start building my credit here! So, ask everywhere, including your bank... you never know if you don't ask.

I'm so glad to have stumbled on this thread too!

I know I'm a shy person, but I'm always friendly to the people I meet. I've been here since September and I haven't made a single person I'd call a "friend" yet. Lots of "friendly acquaintances" though...

I chat with my co-workers at work, but we don't socialize outside of work. It could be that I'm the youngest there and we don't have too many things in common

I've done volunteer work, but everyone were seniors who have retired. I've taken a Spanish course, but again, they were all many years older than I am and although we'd make good chit-chat in class, we don't have enough in common to socialize outside of the classroom setting.

As for my husband and my in-laws.. they have a very small circle of friends, so it's not that easy finding someone who's compatible with me (geez, I sound as though I'm trying to find a new romantic partner! Compatibility... haha).

Like some of you, I find myself spending a lot of time keeping in touch with my old friends in Canada. Good friendships are hard to find and keep, so I think the effort is well worth it even though I can't see my friends physically.

On that note... anyone in Petaluma, CA, and want to be my friend?

Why not just mention it somewhere in the cover letter?

Agreed. I did this in the last line of my cover letter, stating that I am eligible to work in the U.S.

Husband got EAD in June of last year, but his english was still so limited, he did one job interview and did not understand most of what the person was saying, decided instead to get into an intensive english course, and then really began looking in Jan of this year, he must have sent online applications to 100 jobs on careerbuilder, craigslist, jobing, dice, etc.....most of which were below what he was doing in Panama, because he wanted a job where he would speak english to co-workers etc, but not with customers/clients yet. I think he must have appeared way overqualified for most of the jobs he put in for, and got one or two calls out of all of those. He finally landed an interview with a subcontracting company here and the guy was willing to give him a chance...starts next Wednesday at a good paying job with a fortune 500 company.

Perserverance does pay off!

Wow, you can inspire others out there to do great things, you know? (And that, I think, is quite Canadian-like )

Congrats!