So, I landed today!
And my god, what a day. I set of from my pad in Toronto to get the GO Train which should take me straight to Niagara Falls. Sounds simple right? Turns out I got on the wrong train. Hardly my fault when you consider that they don't say where they are going when you get on. It showed up 16:21 so I assumed it was my train...
But I digress. So, after about 5 stops the driver comes on and says "oh by the way, if you were trying to get the Niagara train then you're screwed TROLOLOLOL. You'll have to get off at Burlington and get a bus."
I'm a well travelled guy (just one continent left to visit) so I wasn't phased. I thought, screw it. I'll go get a beer and a bite while I wait. NOPE. I'm not in Europe anymore. Rather than being in the centre of town like I thought it might be, Burlington GO Station is in some sort of motorway bubble in the middle of nowhere. Oh well, never mind. It's only an hour. I'll just sit and wait. And wait I did. For a bus that didn't show up. For no reason. Along with about 80 other people. So, we wait for the next one. All is well. At this point I'm about 2 and a half hours behind schedule.
So, the bus takes forever but it gets me there eventually. So, I can see the bridge to the US. Perfect. Oh wait, I can't walk over that because I don't have a Nexus card. Great, time for a 4 mile hike to the other side of town (which I've never been to!). My walk taught me that Niagara Falls is AWFUL! The worst small town I've ever seen in Canada. Anyway, I finally get to the Rainbow Bridge and jaywalk on over to try and get through. Oh wait, there's a turnstile that needs 50 cents for me to get through. And it only takes quarters. Perfect. Ok, backtrack. I head back over the road to get a coffee from Starbucks and some change. The coffee costs 8 bucks instead of 5. Why? BECAUSE NIAGARA.
When I got the US border I was met by a reasonably pleasant woman who understood what I needed to do and asked me to go have a seat for a bit. She was very nice, but she too offence to my middle name and questioned me about it before asking me to sit back down again (my middle name is Guevara by the way. Thanks mum and dad.) She also asked me a lot of questions about my lost passport. Anyway, the whole thing took about 40 minutes. Not the end of the world, and I was prepared for a lot worse really. You never know when it comes to entering the US.
So, I head back over to the Canadian side. The chap there is also very nice, but he informs me that there are no landing officers working. He says that i'm too late. It's 8:30. I start to crumble. He fills out a bit of paper, tells me that he's only kidding, and sends me off to another office looking rather apologetic.
The actual landing itself was fine. Very quick. She tried to trip me up, asking me where I was working. I told her that I wasn't, because I don't have a permit. She nods, knowingly. She also asks where my other half is (she was at work). After that, she just said, "ok you're a permanent resident now".
Done!
I headed off to catch the last train back to Toronto which was full of lunatics including a strange pink haired gentleman who I made the mistake of acknowledging and who would not bugger off and leave me alone for the entirety of the 2 hour traint journey. This also included him sneezing and coughing all over me. Good times.
Oh, and when I got off the train at Exhibition Station, I was greeted by about 500 inebriated and half naked teenagers who were out for the Digital Dreams festival.
I'm not gonna proofread this because I want it to be as crazy and rambling as I'm feeling right now. Bottom line is, I'm a PR of Canada with a good job lined up and a fairly intact marriage to boot. I don't know what else I could ask for really. I hope that those that are still waiting get to this stage really soon.
Much love!
Danny
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