Border Patrol

Bonjour a tous!

If there's any advice I have to give about being a student in another country, it would definitely be:
"Get all of your paperwork done before leaving!"

Today I finally roughed it and made my way down to the Canadian border. What a crazy story I have to tell!!

First off, I made reservations for an amtrak roundtrip ticket to "Rouses Point, NY" (a little po-dunk town 2 miles south of the border). Peter and I made plans to go together. I got up this morning, got all of my stuff together, and got on the metro. Two stations over, I got off and waited for Peter to get there. I got a hold of him, and he informed me that his bus was 15 min late, so he would probably just barely make it. So, off I went to find the Amtrak Station. First, I walked in one direction, to quickly find out I was walking in the wrong direction. I turned around and made my way back in the opposite direction. I finally found the station (which looked like a parking garage) and walked right in. I spotted the ticketing booth and got in line, a few minutes after waiting, I came to realization that I was in the incorrect line. I jogged over to the Amtrak line and picked up my ticket. I got in the MASSIVE line (which seemed to be moving rather quickly) and got on the train. Still no sign of peter. I tried to guide him via text message to the right place, but it was just too late. After getting his ticket and running down the stairs, the train was pulling away. It was too late (sorry Petey).

On to the next part of the story. So I sat on the train for a good hour until it came to my stop (which also happened to be the stop at the border). I waited patiently and about 8 police officers boarded the train to do security (check EVERYONE's passport and what not.) They got to me, and I explained my situation. Then they said, "You'll have to come with us". A litte weary of their request, I sat in my seat and followed directions (waiting about another hour) until I followed them off the train. I then had to get IN their cop-cars (not really knowing where they were taking me) but I was assured , I had done nothing wrong. They then explained that my situation had to be dealt with at the "big" border, which was about 10 minutes away. Kindly, they let me out of the vehicle and pointed me towards "THE BORDER". It looked a little intimidating, that's for sure, but they just said "alright, you're just going to have to walk across. They have a bus you can catch back into montreal, if you want." So I said my thanks yous, and started walking. A few minutes later, I walked up to the window (where the cars drive through), showed the lady my passport, and what I was here for. She wrote me a little yellow slip and pointed me towards the immigration office. JOY! I walked over to immigrations and gave them my papers. They told me to sit down and wait. Not long after, I was issued my study permit after I had walked all over the building, doing as I was told. Then, I asked around to see if there really WAS a bus that went back to montreal. I was pointed in the right direction, across the street. A few people were waiting outside. I walked over and asked around to see what the deal was. Everyone else had a ticket and they told me I could give the driver 20 CAD and he would let me get a ride. Holding on to what others said, I had to believe that that was true. I waited for about 1/2. A bus arrived! Everyone on the bus got off and went through immigration. I was then informed by the driver that thiswas the ONLY bus coming through that was going to Montreal for the entire DAY and that I could only get a ride if there was room for me. I sat and prayed my little heart out, hoping there would be a spot left. I only had 25 dollars left on me, so I was also banking on the ride only being 20 CAD. It was true! After everyone got back on the bus, a seat was available for me. I was so relieved! I was allowed to go back to montreal (with my study permit in hand!)

So there you have it, a little taste of Canadian immigration! There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but I just sat back, took a deep breath, and went with it. Now, I'm sitting at the table in my lovely apartment.

Tomorrow, I have to go to school to get all of my schedule stuff worked out and then I'll be ready to start! It has been such a learning experience already and I've only been here for 15 days. I can't imagine what's in store for me!

If you've made it this far, you're a trooper! Thanks for reading, more updates to come!

aurevoir!