kristy_sea

Albertan's have accents? o_O Could I have an example please? I've only heard of East Coasters with accents. Like my father is from Newfoundland and it's like another language. Oh, and people in eastern canada talk a LOT faster compared to western canada in my experience.

I think folks from Toronto / Urban Ontario sound more "American" than folks from Vancouver / Calgary do. So it would stand to reason that to an American, us Western Canadians would have a stronger "accent". It's all relative.

I'm from Kitchener (near Toronto) and my partner is from Northern Minnesota... this year when we made a bunch of friends from Europe they REFUSED to believe that HE was the American and I was The Canadian...

Thanks for the awesome suggestions so far, I'm really looking forward to the trip!

I'm planning my first three month visit to Minnesota (where my partner is originally from) and we've been joking back and forth about my teaching the natives the enormous health benefits of poutine, wearing head to toe 'Canada' themed clothing and speaking French as often as possible..

It has become a bit of a competition to find new outrageously Canadian ways to irritate Americans.

Any suggestions?

(Obv 'The war of 1812' and ' "free" healthcare' are tossed around liberally. )

I am pretty sure I'll always say 'zed' ... it feels weird to say 'zee', just as it feels weird to spell words with just an 'o' instead of 'ou' (i.e. honour, favourite, etc).

[i think I might be responsible for bringing this debate back into the present, I didn't realize when posting that I was commenting on something a few weeks old. Sorry! Amazing site so far, I'm so glad I found it]

I also intend to continue spelling it 'cheque' in informal writing..just because we plan to/live elsewhere doesn't mean that we have to lose our Canadianisms! I've also told my fiance that I'm having a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner as well as an American one, no matter where we are!

Is it really true that you can't find decent cheese curd in the states? (I'll make my own poutine if I must..but grated cheese is where I draw the line! )

Weighing in on the Guelph zee/zed debate a few pages back. I'm from Kitchener (Guelph is about 20 mins from here) It is definitely still "zed" here!

My partner is from MN and I think a few of his words/pronunciations are specific to that state, but they always make me laugh:

"Oof da" (exclamation for surprise)

"Sow-na" (sauna)

"Ruff" (roof) "rut" (root)

And he lol's whenever I mention "cottages"..according to him they are places to make lumpy liquid cheese, not holiday homes. And the perpetual teasing over our "U" words. (colour, favour, neighbour etc.)

The first time he saw Canadian Tire money he laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes, he says he likes it better than our 'monopoly' money.

Thanks for the suggestions and welcomes! I'm esp. glad to hear from someone who has completed the process, having a small ceremony first and a traditional style wedding in the summer is a great idea!

Did you feel completely overwhelmed and intimidated by the process at the beginning? So far the more I read, the more I realize how lost and clueless I am about this!

(I should probably add that I did read the FAQ's and K1/k-3 process, I'm just having trouble figuring out if what we'd like to do is even possible so I can figure out what step 1 would be.)

I'm a Canadian who has recently gotten engaged to an American. He had been living here, but has now returned to the states for work. We're hoping that I might join him in January without an immediate wedding. (we're not planning one until at least summer 2010) And I'm here trying to understand the visa process and our options.

I figure that this must be a fairly common occurrence, since planning a wedding in the 90 days allotted by the k-1 visa (if I'm reading it correctly and that is the time frame?) is not really possible.

I've been trying to search through the forum and find answers, but the set up seems geared towards those who already know which visa they need and/or will be living apart until the marriage. If anyone has any suggestions of where to start reading, and learning; I'd be really grateful for the help!

Other possibly important details:

I need to be able to come home to Canada regularly, I do not need to work, and I am interested in taking a course at an American University eventually which I could do sooner rather than later if it would uncomplicate the process. (student visa?)

Should I give up and hire a lawyer?