From Student Permit to Work Permit - Updated

I realized that I've been talking mostly about classes, research, and projects as of late.  In fact, I have about three other blog posts in the works that are all school related.  Obviously this makes sense as I am a full-time student, but I want to pause occasionally and bring up the specifically international student aspect.

As part of the Public History program here at Western, I have to complete a 12 week, full-time internship this summer for my degree.  Now these internships can be paid or unpaid (as I will be getting college credit for working) but obviously I would prefer if I could find something paid.  I have applied to programs both here in Canada and back in the States, but I would much prefer to stay here in London with Doug.  

The student permit that I currently hold allows me to attend university and work on-campus.  Since I have a research assistantship (RA) I am technically employed by Western, even though I spend my time out at Fanshawe Pioneer Village.  So I could remain in Canada on my student permit only if I take an unpaid internship.

So I have started the process of applying for a work permit in order to legally work anywhere in Canada.  (By starting the process I mean filling out all the forms and making sure I have copies of all the necessary documents.)  I went to a seminar a few weeks ago for international students about immigrating to Canada.  Though Doug and I aren't to the point where we want (or are able) to start the immigration process, I was hoping they would provide some information relevant to my situation.

I had to sit though a two and a half hour presentation (much of which did not pertain to me) but I got the nugget of information I needed.  Basically, there are three different ways I could apply for a work permit.  (These are all without already having a job lined up, which I don't, or falling under the category what Canada considers a "skilled worker.")

First, there is an option for a co-op work permit if it is required for your degree and the co-op isn't more than 1/3 of your program.  However, this permit would only be good for the length of the co-op, then you would need to renew.  That's a lot of money to spend for a relatively short period of time.

Second, I could apply for a post-grad work permit.  This allows someone who has just earned a graduate degree to get a work permit that would be the same as the duration of their program - up to two years.  So for me that would amount to a one-year work permit.  Not bad, but still not great.

Finally, I can apply for a spousal work permit.  Since Doug's PhD program is longer than my MA program (his student permit is valid until 2015), as his spouse I can apply for a work permit that matches the duration of his student permit.  Three years, now we're talking.

I talked with one of the speakers at the seminar to make sure I understood everything correctly (it can all get pretty confusing) and I've also made an appointment with a counselor at the International and Exchange Student Center next week to go over everything.

In the meantime, as I already had a planned trip to Ohio to visit family this weekend, I am going to stop by the Consulate in Detroit and try to apply for one in person, rather than mail in the application and wait to hear back.  I just like the idea of talking with someone face to face before paying the fee and possibly being rejected because I filled something out incorrectly.  If that happens, they keep our money, and we have to pay again when I reapply.

So here's to hoping I'm as over-prepared as I was when we crossed the border the first time and things go as smoothly.  I'll feel a lot better when all this government paperwork is behind me, and I can stop worrying about it for a few years! 

(Oh, and here's to hoping I get a paid internship - or better even - a job in the area to go along with my work permit!) 

Renaissance Center, Canadian Consulate Detroit

_____________________________________________________________________________



Update:

I have decided that there needs to be a special link on the Citizenship and Immegration Canada website that is specifically for those coming from the United States.  All it need say is - "whatever documentation you want to get, you can do it at the port of entry."

Much like my last time crossing the border, I didn't need to go to the Consulate in Detroit, they just directed me to the port of entry (I stopped in Sarnia on my way back from Ohio.)  Once again, I had more paperwork than necessary, and I spent about an hour waiting for the immegration officer to put all my information in the computer, and then printing out a nice work permit for me.

Though it was frustrating to go through way more work than was necessary (espcially since I was just doing what I had been instructed to do) in the end I guess it's better safe than sorry.

Most importantly, I have a permit to work in Canada through May, 2015.  Let the job hunt begin!

Veterans Day

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, found me in Victoria Park honoring veterans as part of Canada's Remembrance Day commemorations.  Military personnel - both active and retired - as well as poppy pins were plentiful.  A brisk, but beautiful morning provided a perfect backdrop.  It was a moving ceremony, much like ones I have attended in the States, with the exception of song selections.  

I would like to take a moment, on this Veterans Day, to honor and thank those closest to me who served in the military.

Private First Class Harold E. Putt - United States Army Air Corps, World War II
I do not have a photo of my grandfather in uniform, but I did manage to find his enlistment record in the National Archives Database.

Seaman First Class William L Shorts - United States Navy, World War II
I had the chance to interview my grandfather as part of the Veterans History Project through the Library of Congress. 

Lieutenant Thomas E Price United States Army, Vietnam
My godfather served in the Army with a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam.

Finally, my brother, who is currently serving as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army, safely returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan two years ago.  He continues to make me proud to call him my little brother with his service to our country.

Lest we forget

Remember to thank the veterans in your life today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Depending upon which side of the border you reside, this salutation may seem a tad late - or extremely early.

One of the questions I am frequently asked as an American living in Canada is: what differences have I noticed since moving here?  So far most are trivial.  The accents are a bit different (though the same could be said if I had moved to a different part of the States), the metric system (the U.S. being one of the last hold-outs not to make the switch), the dual national languages, and a few other small things.  For the most part is hasn't been much of an adjustment.  I'm not even that far from home, my colleagues from Alberta have a much longer journey to visit family than I do.

However, this past Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving, and what could be considered my first "culture shock."  First, I simply kept forgetting it was a holiday weekend.  Campus and Fanshawe Pioneer Village were closed, people were visiting home and discussing holiday plans, but the three-day weekend kept slipping my mind.  Second, it seems way to early for Turkey Day.  To me, Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Christmas season, and yet here we are not even past Halloween yet.  Also, it's a Monday, Thanksgiving on a Monday? Crazy!  (However, after some consideration I realized that Thanksgiving is the only non-date specific national holiday in the U.S. that I could think of not on a Monday - MLK Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day - all Mondays.)

Curiosity piqued, I decided to do a little research on the different holidays.  All I could recall from American history about Thanksgiving, was that some president over a hundred years ago proclaimed an annual national day of thanksgiving to take place on the last Thursday in November.  A cursory glance over wikipedia confirmed my recollections, and reminded me that it was Abraham Lincoln who made this declaration in 1863 during the Civil War.  (Although other presidents all the way back to George Washington declared other days of "Thanksgiving" although not always at the same time of year, and sometimes multiple times in the same year.)

In elementary school I can remember the stories of Pilgrims and Native Americans eating together and giving thanks at harvest time (commemorated with the creation of paper hats and headdresses.)  As I grew older it became more about food, family tradition, and the start of the holiday season.  When discussing American Thanksgiving with Canadians, I had several tell me that the impression they have is that it is more of a "family oriented" holiday in the States than here in Canada.  I'm not sure if there is that much of a difference, or if it is just marketed differently in each country.

My research into the origins of Canadian Thanksgiving lead me to discover it is not all that different from its American counterpart.    Similar to the history of the holiday in America, days of thanksgiving were observed beginning in 1799 but did not occur every year.  The first Thanksgiving Day after Canadian Confederation was observed in 1872, and starting in 1897 Canadians followed the American tradition of observing the holiday annually on a Thursday in November.  The date of celebration changed several times until an official declaration in 1957.  On January 31st of that year, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed:  "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed - to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October."

I celebrated my first Canadian Thanksgiving at a friends home, enjoying good food and good company, pretty much in keeping with how I would usually spend American Thanksgiving.  It's a good thing I did too - given the fact that Thursday, November 24th will find me sitting in classroom, rather than around the dinner table!

Norman Rockwell's Freedom from Want

photo credit

Doors Open London

Have you ever looked forward to a day or event so much that you spend copious amounts of time making a plan and scheduling so that you can see and do as much as possible?  That is exactly what I did for this past Sunday.  And you know what usually happens when you put that much effort into a plan - it falls apart before it really has a chance to start.  My day turned into a series of happy accidents, which lead to my conclusion that while planning may not be everything, timing certainly is.

This weekend was the 10th anniversary of Doors Open London.  It's an event that happens all across Ontario (not necessarily on the same weekend) and gives people a chance to go into some buildings that aren't usually open to the public, and those that are usually open (like museums) are free!  It also happened to be the last weekend of the Car Free Festival, and several blocks downtown were open to pedestrian traffic making it easy to get around to the different venues.  

Although I didn't take photos of everything, here is a brief pictorial post of my day.  Call it an "afternoon in the life" if you will.

I started my day at Metropolitan United Church.  Now it wasn't a stop on DO (although it was a beautiful building), but it was a Sunday and I had yet to visit this church.  I figured it was a great place to start downtown.

Metropolitan United Church

Just across the street was the site I was most excited about seeing, the London Life building.  For the first time they had their auditorium open to the public.  This is where the London Life Troupers would rehears before touring to entertain the Allied troops during WWII.  I was very impressed with the knowledge and enthusiasm of the volunteers here.  They did a wonderful job of presenting some very interesting photos and artifacts.

London Life

As I exited the building, I heard music playing and what sounded like a parade coming down the street.  I wasn't aware there was a parade affiliated with DO, so I watched to see what was going on.  Turns out it was part of the Walk A Mile in Her Shoes Campaign, which raises awareness of violence against women, as well as funds for a local women's shelter.  It was a parade of men walking around Victoria Park in red high heels.  An entertaining way to bring awareness to an important cause.

Walk A Mile In Her Shoes Parade

There were several men in uniform marching.  Kudos to them!

From here I rode my bike down to Dundas street that was closed to vehicles.  I walked along the closed street - which was much quieter than I was expecting, perhaps it was busier on Saturday - and took in all the buildings and booths on the street.  My favorite stop was the London City Planning offices.  The city had taken two buildings - previously a theatre and restaurant - and merged the inside to create a cohesive office space.  However, the facades were restored to their original splendor.  My historic preservation professor at EMU would have approved.

London city planning office

I stopped by an art gallery across the street.

The Arts Project

Finally, I decided to end my afternoon at a historic base ball game at Fanshawe Pioneer Village.  The London Tecumsehs played a fantastic game with an impressive 15 - 3 victory over the visitors.

Historic Base Ball!

 It was a nice end to a wonderful day, where nothing went according to plan!

Get Fuzzy Cartoon

I couldn't resist...

Social Insurance Number

Aka: If the U.S. government is “big brother” does that make the Canadian government “step-brother?”

One of the great things about moving to London a month before classes begin is that we have a lot of time to get all the “red tape” out of the way.  We have been using the International Student Handbook as a guide, making sure we accomplish everything needed.  Our student permits granted to us when we crossed the border allow us both to work while in school, but only on campus.  When reading up on working on campus, we realized that we would have to get a social insurance numbers from the Canadian government in order to be paid.

As I mentioned in a previous post, this is where the International & Exchange Student Centre was a huge help.  After reading through the handbook, we were still a bit confused about the employment contract we needed for the SIN.  At this point, we had still been going to our friend Don when we had questions about the moving process.  However, Don is Canadian so he was born with a SIN.  I suggested we stop at the IESC with our questions.  That is what they are there for right?  It was a slow day, since it was still a couple weeks out from the start of the semester, so we were quickly assisted with getting our paperwork together.

To apply for our SINs we needed to go to a Service Canada Centre, which is located in downtown London in the Dominion Public Building.  We decided to make a day of it and walk downtown to familiarize ourselves with the city and enjoy a warm summer day.  Having chosen one of the “off-peak” times to go, it was a minimal wait after checking-in until being called. 

Dominion Public Building

The woman who assisted me was nice and helpful.  Although, she opened by telling me that a SIN was very different from a Social Security Number, but her description of a SIN made it sound exactly like a SSN.   However, she is the expert, so I will just have to take her word for it.  One of the differences is that if/when we move away from Canada, we are still entitled to the money we contribute to Social Insurance out of our paychecks.  The government will give us that money; we do not just lose it.  That was a bit of a pleasant surprise.

Our trip was efficient enough to leave us plenty of time to do some other things while we were downtown.  We stopped at the London Public Library to get cards, I checked out a couple running stores, and we stopped at Smoke’s Poutinerie for lunch.  For those of you not familiar with poutine, it is a traditional Canadian dish of french fries with cheese curds and brown gravy on top.  Since I had never experienced it before, I opted for traditional poutine.  Doug was a bit more adventurous and had the triple pork poutine with Italian sausage, smoked bacon, and chipotle pulled pork on top.  It was delicious and very filling.  We both had to take half of our “regular” sized portions home for dinner!

Downtown Branch of the London Public Library

Smoke's Poutinerie

Traditional on left, Triple Pork on right

Overall, it was a day that went a long way to making us feel more settled and Canadian!

International & Exchange Student Centre

Aka: Sometimes I forget we’re in Canada....

Shortly after being accepted to the University of Western Ontario, I started receiving letters and e-mails from the International and Exchange Student Centre.  Their website was extremely helpful when it came to planning the move and the immigration process.   I knew I wanted to make it one of our first stops once we got to campus.

After settling in a couple days, we headed over to campus to take care of a few things.  We needed to show our student permits to the Graduate Studies office so our acceptance was “official” and no longer “conditional,” get our Western student Ids, and I wanted to pick up our welcome packet from the IESC.

So far we had been relying pretty heavily on advice from our friends who already live in London, and had experience moving across the border.  I didn’t want to burden them too much, plus they had just left for a vacation, I figured this was a perfect time to use the resource of the IESC to answer some questions.

Turns out, we were probably the first new international students to stop by, as the 2011-12 welcome packets weren’t fully assembled yet.   However, the woman who spoke with us was extremely helpful, answered all of our questions, and encouraged us to come back in a couple weeks when we could pick up the updated new student handbook.

As we were waiting while she was assembling the parts of the welcome packet that she did have, Doug and I looked around the office.   This was when we admitted to each other that even after the moving ordeal and crossing the border, we still didn’t feel like international students.  Going from Michigan to Canada wasn’t like one huge culture shock.  It has been many little differences that we’ve just been adjusting to as we go.   Sometimes when I’m riding around town or out on a run I forget that I’m even in another country.  Then I’ll jog past a flag pole and think, “Oh yea, we’re in Canada.”

Oh, hey - that's right - we're in Canada!

Even so, I think the IESC will be a great resource to deal with the technical side of the move and adjustments.  For example, when it is time for me to apply for a work permit so I can have an internship and ultimately a job here in Canada, that’s where I will go for help.  That is what they are there for, and I intend to take full advantage of the resources available to me.

Actually, it was because I anticipated not feeling like a traditional international student that I decided to start this blog.  I knew the differences might be subtle (at least after the initial adjustments of a move) and I wanted to capture and remember as many experiences as possible.

Maybe I’ll feel more like an international student once I’m actually back to going to class and mingling with the other public history graduate students.  I will just have to wait and see....

The Real Canadian Superstore

Aka:  Cheese costs how much?!?!?

Some adventures come along with a move, regardless whether domestic or international.  Once you have lived somewhere for a while grocery shopping becomes second nature.  You know which place has the best prices, best selection, is on the way home from work, etc.  Maybe you spend a few moments prior to leaving or making your list, checking the circulars to see what is on sale, but for the most part you know where to go and you have your routine.

New place means new stores and new routine.  London has Price Chopper, Valu-Mart, Loblaw Great Food, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Walmart, just to name a few.  Many of these are a short drive/ride/walk away from our neighbourhood.  We are fortunate to have friends in London who could give us the low-down on all the stores, letting us know where we could expect to get the best prices and selection.  Also, they gave us a heads up on the price difference on things in Canada, so there wouldn’t be too much sticker shock.

So the Monday after move-in day found me heading to the Real Canadian Superstore with my parents.  Let me tell you what, this store was HUGE and overwhelming.  We walked into a large open area with the ready to eat dinner section, fresh produce, bakery, deli, and seafood all together.  Dazed, I wandered around taking in the selection as well as the prices.  I decided to start over in the grocery section, just take it aisle by aisle, and then head back to the open area to get my produce.

I am so glad I had my parents with me!  Mom went off to the other side of the store to check out the home/beauty/pharmacy/clothing/etc. side of the store, and report her findings.  Dad stayed and helped me compare brands and prices, not to mention figure out some of the metric system things that threw me off! 

The first thing you’ll notice about buying anything in Canada, all the packaging is in English and French since both are national languages here.   Sometimes it’s a mix of languages all over the box, other times one side is English and one side French.  Three weeks in, I hardly notice it anymore, but at first it was a bit confusing.

Next thing I noticed was the difference in dairy.  It is much more expensive here.  Doug and I used to frequently buy cheese shredded, sliced, and in blocks depending on what we wanted to use it for.  Now, it is all blocks to save money, and we are getting skilled with the grater and cheese slicer!  The next major adjustment is we now buy milk in bags.  Four liters of milk comes packaged in three bags.  There are specially designed pitchers to hold the milk, and you snip the corner of the bag to pour.

Milk in a bag!

These are just a few of the surprises I ran into on my first shopping trip.  In all the moving frenzy, I had forgotten to bring my reusable shopping bags, which are pretty important here.  While many places in the states will give you a discount if you have your own bags, all the places here will charge you for plastic bags.  I haven’t made that mistake again.

After taking my time going down all the aisles, picking up the essentials, and getting a feel for the differences, I started to feel more at ease.  We may make a few changes to the way we shop and eat, and there may be some things we always pick up when we are visiting the states, but I am still excited about the new experiences!

Renting a House

Aka:  Look at all this cool stuff!

As many of you know, Doug and I really lucked out as far as living space for our first year in London.  The professor with whom Doug is working has a colleague who is on sabbatical for a year, and needed someone to rent his home.   So when Doug was here for a visit on his own, he met the owners, looked at the house, negotiated a price we could afford, and assured me I would love the place.

Boy was he right!

The house is about 100 years old with a lot of character, but is has also been recently renovated, so it has all the conveniences of a new home.  Top that off with an excellent location, in one of the nicest neighbourhoods in the city, and it is much nicer than anything we would normally be able to afford.  Because the owners’ main concern was having someone they could trust in the house while they are gone, they are renting it to us for mortgage and utilities costs. 

As you can imagine, since they are only gone for a year, they left most of their furnishings here and it has been an experience moving our stuff in and around their things.  We decided to sell our Craigslist couches before leaving Kalamazoo, so those were a couple items we didn’t have to store.  As it turns out, the only furniture of ours that isn’t in storage is our bed, kitchen table, filing cabinet, and trunk.  All other bookshelves, dressers, and desks are stored in the basement.  (Yes mom, we finally got our stuff out of the garage this weekend!)

We are even using most of their kitchen things.  I mean, why pack up their stuff and unpack our stuff, only to repack our things and unpack theirs in a little under a year?  So I’ve had fun playing with all the little kitchen gadgets that they have and we do not, not to mention being spoiled by a gas range.  (All I’ve ever know is electric.)

The down side is, even though we have added a few touches by putting some photos and things around, we are still definitely living in someone else's home, and with someone else’s cat!  Our cat is happily vacationing at Nana and Grandpa’s place in Ohio and enjoying the great outdoors for the first time in two years.  Meanwhile we cat-sit as well as house-sit.  We suspect that the new cat, Honeysuckle, is missing her family and demanding a lot of attention as compensation.

So far, the house is working out really well.  The location is great, a quick bicycle ride or nice walk to downtown as well as campus.  The size is more than we need, leaving plenty of storage for our stuff as well as some of theirs.  And the big pluses – a dishwasher and washer/dryer, we are being spoiled for sure!

Oh, and I almost forgot!  We have a hot tub and a guest room with a queen size bed.  Guests are welcome!  :)

Our home for the next year!

Honeysuckle "Honey" the cat

Crossing the Border

Aka: A Lesson in Over-Preparation

Hello faithful followers!  Sorry for the delay in updates, we went out of town last weekend, and apparently, I left my motivation in the states.  It finally found its way across the bridge and back to me!

I won’t bore you with too many minor details of packing and moving.  But let me tell you this, planning and organization is everything.  We had a small window of time in which to make this move and so things had to be just right.  When our parents arrived on Saturday, everything was in boxes and ready to be loaded.  We had two large trailers, and all of our things fit beautifully.   

We decided that crossing the border on a Sunday morning would be the best timing.  Turns out it was even better than expected.   The Monday after our move was a civic holiday in Canada, which meant that traffic on the bridge was even slower on a Sunday morning than it normally would have been.

Now here is the kind of scary part.  Many people have asked us what kind of visa or permit we would need to live in Canada.  Well, since we had both been admitted into the university, we could apply for study permits for the duration of our education.  Since my program is significantly shorter than Doug’s, I will have to apply for a work permit later to remain in the country and get a job.  After perusing the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website, checking the UWO international student handbook, and even visiting the Canadian consulate in Detroit earlier this summer – we decided that the easiest way to get the permit was to apply at the border when we were crossing.  Now since this is what everyone was telling us to do, we knew it was our best bet and it was unlikely that we would be denied.  But there is still this nagging voice in the back of your mind saying “you are here at the border, all your stuff in trailers, no where to live in the US, and technically they could deny you entrance and turn you away.”

So yes, I was a little freaked out.

We crossed over the bridge in record time, and approached the booth as a convoy.   They directed us over to the immigrations and customs building, were we all went inside.  Doug and I were prepared with work permit forms, letters of acceptance and financial aid from the university, passports, passport photos, a list of everything we were bringing into the country, and our fees.  We had gone over the CIC website repeatedly, and were sure we were all ready.

The guy at the desk asked for three things: our letters of acceptance, letter of financial aid, and the list of all our stuff.  As it was a slow Sunday morning, he spent half the time he was helping us talking to the person sitting next to him and ordering fresh Timmy's.  Half an hour later, he stapled a piece of paper inside each of our passports, showed us where to pay and told us to have a good day.  I was puzzled.  What about our forms, photos, and all the other stuff I had spend hours completing and compiling?  Didn’t need it.  As US citizens, they only needed letters from UWO and the inventory.  He didn’t even read it, or check the trailers!  For all they knew I gave them a list of our stuff, but the trailers actually contained guns and drugs! (For any Canadian government officials reading this – trust me, it was just our stuff….)

So after less than an hour total we were cleared to go and off for the last hour of our drive from the border (we crossed at Port Huron/Sarnia) to London!

Epilogue:

Although we weren’t given any trouble at the border, Doug’s parents were actually stopped on their way back the same day!  Apparently, the boarder guards didn’t believe that they could have moved us and not needed to take anything back in the trailer with them.  They were flagged, pulled off to the side, and asked to open the trailer.  Who knew it was harder to get out of Canada with an empty trailer, than into it with a full one!?

Welcome!

Aka: Heather Finally Stops Procrastinating

I do not know how many times I have mentally brainstormed, written, and rewritten entries, topics, and photo ops for this blog in my head.  Somehow, my procrastination has gotten the better of me, as I have been relishing my time off and completing only the bare minimum of tasks.

But with grad school looming mere weeks ahead, I decided it was time to tackle the writers block that materialized whenever I attempted to put my thoughts onto paper (or word processor, as the case may be.)  Procrastination will certainly not be my friend in the upcoming year, and I could sure use the writing practice on a friendly audience!

As I mentioned, I have a multitude of ideas about which to write, so (hopefully) for these first few days the entries will be plentiful.  Moving in and of itself is a big ordeal – especially the first move after you get married - who knew two people could acquire so much stuff in less than two years?!  When you are moving to another country that presents a completely new set of hoops to jump through, not to mention dealing with the back to school run-around of being a new student.  London is a big city, and I hope to take full advantage of living in a metropolitan area, perhaps even provide a few attraction suggestions if any readers should decide to come for a visit (hint, hint…)

Also, if there is anything in particular that someone is curious about – the move, Canada, being an international student, the university, weather, etc – I’ll accept topic suggestions as well.  Those will be great when the writer’s block hits hard core – when I am eating, sleeping, and breathing the War of 1812 or SoHo architecture, and am dying for any sort of respite.

Finally, I think this blog will be a great way to chronicle what I’m going through.  There have been so many emotions – excitement, fear, anticipation – and I don’t want to forget what a wonderful time and experience this has been so far (and hopefully continues to be!)

So, once again welcome, eh!  ;)