translation from Canadian to American

So i've spent a lot of time in the US prior to my adventure to New York, but i've never come across so many differences and NY isn't that far from Toronto...here are some of the words that have come up in conversation.

litre- clearly there is a difference for canadian's and american's but i never realized people would get so confused when i said i was going to buy a 2 litre container of milk...ounces and quarts...what the hell join the rest of the world please (yes i'm being culturally insensitive, i just slapped myself on the back of my hand)!!Oh and litre is written on the milk containers, but it's written litER and not litRE...why even bother

lanyard=gimp- so there are some words that translate and others that people are mystified. Lanyard/gimp is that plastic string stuff that kids use to make bracelets, key chains (Napoleon Dynamites little girl friend made gimp key chains for those familiar with the movie and not gimp). So gimp just might be a "slang" word because i heard someone call it, boondoggle...yeah really boondoggle...but hey, gimp...that's pretty dumb too

plasticine=playdough (expect Waaaay better!it's firmer, dyed great colours with acrylic paint). So this one came up in my block building class, the teacher was discussing how kids use plasticine to make realistic objects when he stops mid sentence to explain to a bunch of teachers/child lifers what plasticine was. I leaned over to my friend and jokingly said, "so what you guys have never played with plasticine before and need a break down". She looked at me and said, "Um yeah, pretty much". Ahhh, oops. okay. Oh and did you know you can be allergic to plasticine...no idea what is in it to make someone allergic, but yeah you can be.

Pancake Tuesday=Day before Ash Wednesday or Mardi Gras (but really means nada here). So of course since i'm soooooo religious (read: not religious at all, but takes advantage of certain things) i need to celebrate one of my favorite Catholic days, Pancake Tuesday(Which i learned is just Canadian, Australian and British...huh, surprising). Basically i eat pancakes for dinner (this may have just been me and my family doing the dinner thing, but i looooove breakfast for dinner). So when i went to wish my friends happy pancake tuesday(i do these type of things) i got a few blank stares and a response of, don't you mean happy mardi gras? Ummm noooooo comeon of all the days the US should have taken from the Brits this wasn't one!! Oh and for your information IHOP referred to it as "National Pancake Day"...nice try IHOP

Franglais=French and English at the same time. So i've got this bad habit of talking and every so often throwing in a french word. IE: "Shannon you there?" "Oui Oui" or "call before you come up SVP"...of course it has no meaning here, but i never realized it until once again i got blank stares. Also how can people use RSVP and not know what it means...IT'S FRENCH!! But don't worry a little drinking=shannon whips out the spanglish, oh and that makes sense here...but just barely.