How to speak Canadian: vol. 4

Hey gang. I haven't done one of these in a long while! This particular volume is going to focus on grammar rather than vocab, some of which is specific to the cape.

First of all, there's a loose grasp of prepositions here, especially in relation to the word "done." When someone is done with something specific, people will often skip the preposition "with." Here are two examples of how we (I) would say it, followed by the way my Caper buddies say it:

"What time are you done with work?"

vs.

"What time are you done work?"

"You're almost done with your beer."

vs.

"You're almost done your beer."

This is not a drastic change. I didn't even really notice it until recently, but once you pay attention, it's there. I'm not sure if this is only a Caper thing or not. My friend Mark, who is from the Cape, does this most often, but Maile, who is from Alberta, does it from time to time. I'll have to ask around.

My second tip is also going to involve beer. This is a very small grammatical thing, but I'm not sure if it's Cape-specific. When referring to multiple bottles/cans of beer, the word "beer" is treated like "sheep" or "fish." It's not pluralized with an "s." Example:

"I've had two beers tonight."

vs.

"I've had two beer tonight."

I haven't picked up on this with anything else so far, so I'm not sure if it's specific to beer. I have friends from Ontario, Labrador, and the cape who pluralize beer in this way, so I think it's more than just a Caper thing.

Last but not least is a Caper thing, 100%. I've been told that grammar in the cape and in Newfoundland and Labrador is treated more loosely than Minnesota and other parts of our two countries. Now, there are quite a few ways in which my Caper and Newfie friends disregard their grammar, but there is one consistent phrase that I hear from all Capers:

"I saw your parents," or "I have seen your parents."

vs.

"I seen your parents."

The use of the verb "to see" is almost always used in this way by my more vernacular Caper friends. This is so common that it was actually mentioned to me when I first arrived, an explanation along with "by" and other localisms. This little Caper quirk makes my ears itch, but I can't deny the endearing local flavor.

So there you have it. A few brief grammar lessons from your favorite little expat.

Keep reading!

Love,

Maggie

Dominion Beach

This is what we call a Historical Post, in which I give y'all some pictures from the past. When I first got to the Cape in late August, my friends and I made quite a few trips to a local beach in Dominion. Want some pictures?

Beaches here are different from beaches at home. The first and most obvious difference is the salt water, seeing as Cape Breton is perched on the edge of the Atlantic. Our dear friend Tim, from Ontario, had never seen the ocean before. I've never seen someone dive with such enthusiasm! He made it 25 years before seeing an ocean!

Another difference is the weather. In Minnesota, August means high temperatures and blue skies. The weather was beautiful in its own way, but I'm not used to seeing so much gray!

This photo features Maile and Paige. Paige is from the valley, which is at the other end of Nova Scotia.

We played in the waves for a long time. Seeing as our voyage took place around the time that a hurricane was tearing its way up the east coast, we enjoyed some seriously impressive waves. We've actually enjoyed the effects of several hurricanes since my arrival, usually manifesting as rain and severe wind. My teeny little Swiss roommate has been physically lifted off her feet several times from the force of the gales!

However, eventually the cold drove even the toughest of us to shore. After his leap into the ocean, Tim decided that he wanted to be buried in the sand. So, being girls, Paige, Maile, and I made him into a mermaid.

He took to the role quite well, I think. If you look closely, he even has scales! We combed the beach for flat rocks and decorated him. An integral part of any trip to an ocean beach, I think. Right?

I think we spent two or three days bumming around on the beach like this. We played in the waves and the sand and walked along the beach and skipped rocks and gossiped. I might've made more more if I'd stayed a bit longer in Minnesota to work, but I definitely made the right call in arriving early to the cape. I've never had so much fun!

Pictures from Headphone Disco, Mabou, and Tight&Bright are on the way!

Love,

Maggie

Funny stuff my professors say: vol. 4

It's back.

[Mark Silverberg]

"I've had two daughters. I've lived through all the princess stuff."

"There's all this gross language about him. He's just... gross."

[Jan Curtis]

"Hello, scalliwag." "How are you scalliwags?" "Two scalliwags in this row." (and so on...)

"I caught someone else's bug. It's not mine, but the frog keeps threatening."

"I seem to have suppressed my frog for a little while."

"Yeats's son was a tall, strapping man who had no idea what his father was talking about."

"I wander around Wikipedia and find it useful. I also enjoy finding their mistakes."

"The more you disagree, the more I like it."

"You don't have to believe what I'm saying. Argue with me. Tell me I'm all wrong. I love it."

"He's kind of a Terminator figure in Irish myth. Beowulf is the Terminator for the Anglo-Saxons."

[Todd Pettigrew]

"We hope it wasn't the last thing he wrote, because it kinda sucks. It's pretty lame poetry."

"The rumor is that he partied too hard at his daughter's wedding and got sick from that and died. Let that be a lesson to you!"

"They cut off your head and put it on a spike on the London Bridge as a warning to other criminals coming into the city. Don't f*** with us!"

"Pasta is a dough that you boil. It's awesome! It's ground-breaking!"

"It was a dirty world, Shakespeare's world."

"Of course it all goes to hell, but that's history for you."

"Between knockin' up Anne Hathaway and striding the London stage, Shakespeare must've been doing something."

"He's a bad man because he's being dominated by his wife. This is a renaissance view. This is not my view. Anyone who knows my wife knows that."

"He falls asleep on the street. We've all been there!"

"Now we're on to anal sex jokes! Oh, Shakespeare."

"That came out slightly dirtier than I intended."

"It was like, 'Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?' 'F*** yeah!'"

"As I'm fond of saying, there's no such historical period as 'back then.'"

"A little homophobic joke there."

"Whoa... where's the voice coming from? Oh, the door's open. I thought I was losing my mind!"

--

This is after only three weeks of class. It's only going to get better.

Love,

Maggie