From Canada to Connecticut

I was trying to catch up on my blog by going in chronological order but there's far too much to write about and I don't want to forget the details of recent events, so instead I'm going to write about both past and present events and adventures. I'll be sure to have the dates on each post to avoid confusion.

The morning of Sunday, July 28th, I began my journey back to Connecticut. My wonderful friend Ginelle was kind enough to pick me up from Sarah's place in Winnipeg at 5am to take to the airport for my 7:30am flight out. Ginelle knew how anxious I was about getting to the airport and the whole process of getting back to Connecticut because I told her the last few times I took a cab in the city that late (or early depending how you look at it) I had very interesting/creepy cab drivers... so creepy that I questioned whether they were taking me to the airport or not. Having Ginelle drive me, I felt much better about getting to the airport safely, plus she is a very punctual and reliable person, not to mention an impeccable driver. I always feel safe and calm when she is driving so I'm very appreciative that she drove me to the airport that morning (thanks, Ginelle!).

Once at the airport, everything continued to go smoothly.. I was the only one in line to go through security so it was really quick and easy, and the customs gentleman was the friendliest one I’ve had yet. It was a great start to my journey back to Connecticut, in addition to the pleasant drive to the airport with Ginelle earlier. I was feeling good. Before boarding my flight, which was on time (yay!), I also enjoyed a bagel and coffee from Tim Horton’s.. which was a little sad because I knew it would be the last of Tim’s coffee for a long time.. (however, I think we are going to New York City next Thursday and they have a few Tim Horton's there!).



Flying through the clouds into Chicago

The connecting flight was in Chicago which meant I didn’t have to go through security or customs again like I would have if my connecting flight was in Canada. This was especially nice because I had a fairly long layover which meant plenty of free time to explore the enormous airport, as well as time to relax before my next flight. I’m still astonished at how massive Chicago’s airport is in comparison to Winnipeg's tiny little airport. Chicago O'Hare is basically its own city! I found out that it's the world's second busiest airport and this does not surprise me at all. One time, I had to walk basically from one end of the airport to the other and I remember I almost missed my connecting flight because it unexpectedly took me over 25 minutes to get there not only because of the really long walk, but also because it was so crowded. It felt like I was having a nightmare and we, thousands of sweaty tired travels, were trapped in a never-ending airport maze that just kept going and going and going..

Nothing too exciting happened during the layover. I was aware of the enormity of the airport and knew how long it would take to get to my gate so I just moseyed about the airport with coffee in hand as I checked out the variety of shops. After I was bored of that, I went to my gate to patiently wait for my next flight and read a book. I felt a little uneasy because I don't currently have cell service in the US, and I didn’t feel the need to spend the extra money to get a few hours of Wi-Fi access at the airport. It’s a really vulnerable feeling to not have the freedom to text or to use the internet, especially in an unfamiliar place like Chicago (however, I was a bit less uneasy than I would normally be in this situation since it wasn't my first time at this airport). I often wonder how people a few decades ago managed to survive without internet, cell phones or smartphones. I barely remember those days.. pay phones? Paper maps? Talking to strangers..? Weird.

My second flight was from Chicago to New York City. Reese was driving in to meet me to take me back to Connecticut, a two hour drive away. The flight left on time and everything was going according to schedule until about an hour and a half into the flight. This flight was only supposed to be an hour and a half, so when the pilot came onto the intercom I thought he was about to tell me that we were landing. The pilot, instead, informed us that there was an intense storm over New York and we were unable to land. To allow the storm to pass, we had to fly around in the sky, I think in circles, and go through A LOT of turbulence for an extra hour until it was okay to make our descent into NYC. I wasn’t too pleased that the flight time had doubled, but when we landed at LaGuardia Airport, I was just happy to be safe on the ground and alive. I really dislike flying and don't plan on going in another plane for a long time (unless we go to the Air and Space Museum in CT!).


I had just awkwardly pulled my two fifty pound luggage bags off of the arrival baggage carousal and then Reese appeared out of nowhere to greet me! We left the airport and NYC shortly after and made it back to Connecticut without hitting any traffic on the way, then went out for sushi and called it a day.. a perfect ending to a very long day of an almost perfect day of travelling.

Fun in Philadelphia

March, 2013

As a Canadian living in the U.S., I struggle using miles instead of kilometers. I realized I was really bad at estimating times based on distance using miles when Reese was doing mental math to figure out how long it would take us to get to Philadelphia from Connecticut.

In Canada, I never had difficulty when calculating how long it would take to get somewhere. If I was travelling 300km to another town (or city) I could quickly assume that I will reach my destination in roughly 3 hours. When you’re driving in the US, however, it requires a lot more math skills since the average speed limit is about 70mph (give or take 10mph). I did not even attempt to do the math for travelling somewhere 300 miles away at 70mph.. there are apps that can do it much faster than my mental math skills AND we have a GPS that will also tell us, or Reese can figure it out. But now I feel a little stupid and lazy for not doing the calculations on my own (thanks America), and I only know how long it takes to get to Philadelphia from Connecticut because we went there in March for wedding ( if you were wondering, it took us about 5 hours).

The hotel we stayed at for the wedding was called Loews Philadelphia, located right in the downtown area and it was very fancy. Before the wedding, we were able to take in some sights that were within walking distance of the hotel. We tried to see the Liberty Bell but the lineups were way too long and we didn’t have the extra time to wait because we had to head to the wedding at 4pm.  In addition to a tour, Reese also gave me an American history lesson and explained how Philadelphia played a major role during the American Revolution. I also learned it was where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed. We also got in a little walk and got to see Ben Franklin's grave.. (Reese got a little emotional), Betsy Ross' grave, and stopped by a gift shop.

The wedding in Philadelphia was gorgeous, the couple was stunning and the venue for the reception was perfect. It was half inside, half outside in what seemed to be a courtyard or greenhouse. It really was lovely with all the nature around and I thought it was tastefully decorated. I didn’t know anyone there but it was still a lot of fun and I was able to meet some of Reese’s friends. The speeches were interesting even for an outsider not knowing either the bride or groom, and the meal was delicious. If I were a wedding critic I would have given the wedding a pretty high score.

On the last day that we were in Philadelphia, we HAD to stop at the front entrance and steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.. the same steps that are also referred to as the "Rocky Steps" because of the movie Rocky. Reese just had to mimic Rocky's famous climb, and surprisingly he didn't look out-of-place at all since a lot of people were also running up and down those steps. I'm sure Reese was singing the song that goes with the climb but I was too far away to hear him. I didn't have the energy to join him.. and also we were parked illegally and I needed to make sure we didn't get a ticket.

Overall, the trip to Philadelphia was a blast and I look forward to going back some day!

Here are some more photos from the trip..

My First Week Living in the USA

I’ve been here in Connecticut now for a week and a half. I arrived on the 4^th, a Saturday, and we didn’t get up to too much. The following day was the Super Bowl and we decided to stay in and watch it. Prior to the start of the game, we went to Target and spent many hours walking through the aisles and picking out things we needed, including snacks for the game. It surprises me how much time we spend in that place when we shop there. That night, we watched the game and I was happy to watch my first Super Bowl in that States with a big football fan, and Reese was very excited to see the Ravens win since they were his second favourite team.

During the first week, I spent a lot of time unpacking and organizing the apartment. It was a bit odd to wake up on Monday and not have to go into work. It is a really nice change of pace, but I keep panicking because I forget I don’t have to plan or mark for school the next day.

Reese is usually home until 6pm, and while he’s at work I find things around the apartment to do. At midnight I watch his show and then make dinner/snack for when he gets back. My sleeping schedule has completely shifted, it is now the opposite to a teacher’s schedule, which I’m not complaining about.. I do not miss waking up at 5:45am to get ready for work.

When I first arrived, the weather here was warm and there was green grass on the ground. The temperature usually stays above 0 degrees (Celsius.. I haven’t learned Fahrenheit yet). I was surprised to see green grass in February and was also very excited I wouldn’t have to worry about wind chills and -40 degree weather anymore. However, I didn’t get relief from the snow.. this past Friday we received snow and a lot of it! Reese said that CT broke a record for most snowfall in one day. Late Friday night, we went to the entrance of his apartment building to look outside. The walkway to the parking lot was covered in about a foot of snow and was pushed up against the door. Also, the door was slightly open and there was snow drifting into the apartment building. It was shocking to see so much snow! The day before there wasn’t any snow in sight and now it was piling up everywhere. It continued to snow through the night and in the morning there was probably about 2 feet of it.

On Saturday, which was also my birthday, we decided to dig out the car. Since Reese isn’t used to this much snow, we had to find tools around the apartment to help us clear it away. We armed ourselves with whatever we could find, and left the apartment with a spatula and a dustpan in hand and headed outside. Luckily the walkway out of the building had been shoveled already and it wasn’t that cold out. When we got outside, there were many other residents also trying to dig out their vehicles. I’ve never seen so much snow! It completely covered the vehicles in the parking lot, top to bottom. The snow around and on top of Reese’s car was astonishing. The whole front of his car to the back window was buried in snow and we couldn’t get into any of the doors. Around the car, the snow was about 2 feet deep, or more. Shortly after we began digging it out, one of his neighbours from across the parking lot, shouted from her balcony and asked if we would like a shovel. She must have noticed our embarrassing shoveling tools and felt bad for us. Reese went and got the shovel and I thought to myself that that was very kind of the lady. Americans are friendly too! After about an hour and a lot of shoveling, we were able to back the car out of its space. We were relieved and winded, or at least I was, and went back inside.

We weren’t able to go out for my birthday Saturday since there was too much snow, so we decided to go out Sunday instead. We went out for a nice dinner to a nearby restaurant and I was thankful that the waitress said they can’t sing happy birthday songs and make a big commotion, despite Reese’s efforts.  They did give me a carrot cake cupcake though. Back at the apartment, Reese had baked me my favourite kind of cake and it was very delicious. I was mostly impressed that Reese was baking, and I think it made the cake even sweeter.

I had a lovely birthday and I appreciate all the birthday wishes I got from family and friends. There’s still snow on the ground but it’s melting more and more each day. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and Reese has the day off since he will be in New York on Friday for work. It’s time for my late night coffee so I can stay up with Reese when he gets back.

(Oh ya, I refuse to switch to American spelling.. )          

Moving to Connecticut from Canada

February 4th, 2013

My recent flight to Connecticut was the worst flying experience yet. I had been anticipating this flight/move for weeks, full of joy and excitement to be finally moving in with Reese and starting a new life in a new country with my incredible boyfriend. I was startled awake at 3am the night of my flight with a pre-recorded phone call telling me that my flight, which was supposed to leave at 6:30am, was changed to 3pm! I was horrified!

I quickly texted Reese and told him about the switch. He was able to calm me down and I ended up phoning the airline to see if I could get on an earlier flight. Luckily, the airline was surprisingly accommodating and changed my flight to a 6:40am flight with a different airline. All was good.

I got to the airport and made it through security just fine. The plane was leaving on schedule, but as we pulled out of the airport, the pilot announced that there was something wrong with the breaks and that maintenance would have to come examine the issue. Great. Everyone on the plane let out sighs and grumbles and seemed very unimpressed, including me. We sat there waiting not knowing whether we would be taking off shortly or if we would have to get off the plane and board a new one. Again, luck was on my side, the pilot announced that the issue had been resolved and we’d be taking off shortly.

After about an hour, we were in the air and I treated myself to a romantic comedy to pass the time. Arriving in Toronto, many of the passengers were frantic to get off the plane since the delay caused them to be late for their connecting flights. My layover was supposed to be two hours, and even with the delay I wasn’t worried about making my connection since I still had an hour or so to make my flight. I wasn’t worried, that is, until I had to go through the new Toronto baggage system which doesn’t allow you to go through security or customs until your bags have gone through first.

After waiting a half hour or so I was able to pass through customs. No issues there, thank goodness! I had the ‘funny guy’ at customs.. He asked where I was going and why, I told him to visit my boyfriend in Connecticut, he asked how I met him, I told him we met at a comedy club, he was performing.. Then he accused me of being a stalker and told me to have a nice trip. I laughed and gathered my documents and I was on my way. I only had about 5 minutes to get to my flight, and when I arrived they were starting to board the tiny plane.

Taking a plane from Toronto to Connecticut means you take the smallest plane possible. The plane we were on sat 18 people and the pilots also assumed the duty of flight attendants. There was a total of 6 people on the plane which meant you had the option to sit anywhere.. Except me. I was assigned ‘emergency exit duty’ and had to stay where I was.

The flight in general was smooth. Despite this, the lady in front of me obviously didn’t like flying and she was noticeably uncomfortable. I was about to offer her a gravol or even the book I was reading to ease her nervousness but her husband took out the iPad and was able to calm her down with a movie. I tried reading for about an hour but then I began to get incredibly cold and my focus switched from reading to trying to warm up. I looked out the window and was relieved to see the ground and tiny houses, which meant that we would be landing soon.

15 minutes later we began our descent, a very rocky descent! The plane felt like it was swaying quite a bit.. Too much. I was pretty anxious about the landing, but it turned out fine and my anxiety quickly turned into excitement knowing my trip was finally over and I’ve arrived at my much anticipated destination.

Being such a small plane with very few passengers, my luggage made it to baggage pick-up faster than me.. If only I could say the same for Reese! Haha. He did finally pick me up, a bit late but he did pick me up and that’s all that matters. I’ve only been here in CT for a few days, I’ve unpacked and have started to claim space in the apartment. Reese has been very generous and making me feel at home.

My friend Ginelle encouraged me to start blogging as a way to keep in touch and also as a way to pass the time. I’m going to try to update every week or so for all who are interested to hear about what I’m getting up to here in the States.