Elenfair

I flew in from Minneapolis on Sunday night, got to Ottawa at 11:45pm. Got to my home at 12:30. I was travelling with a service dog, so I got to go through customs pretty fast! Duff (the service dog) actually had NO SPACE to lie down in the dual prop plane we connected to in Pittsburgh, so the captain told me to take off his harness and put him up onto the seat next to me! Lucky dog. He curled up and slept all the way, only looking out the window (yes, he had the window seat!) while we landed.

The following morning, I picked up my RCMP check in Ottawa, on McArthur Street (20 minutes, 25$, really FRIENDLY staff!) then, I went to my doc's office to get my vaccination records and all that. After that, I met up with my mom at her school and she dropped me off at the train station for my 4:50pm train to Toronto.

Duff and I took the train to Toronto, and arrived there around 9:30pm. Kat met us at the train station, and we walked to her place. Stayed up and chatted until 1am. Yikes.

The following morning, we ate a bowl of cereal and headed over to Doctor Seiden's offices for the medical. The place was within walking distance of my friend's appartment, so that totally rocked. The staff at the office fell in love with the dog and stuffed him full of doggy treats. The nice thing about this office is that they will NEVER TURN ANYONE AWAY. They can make your appointment really quickly, and will squeeze you in - the reason is simple - they don't necessarily do the medical in the same order for everyone, so it saves time. One person is in doing X-rays, one giving blood, one doing the physical, one paying, etc. They truly kicked ass there!

We putzed around all day in Toronto (Duff made friends EVERYWHERE, including with a bunch of little kids at the St. Lawrence market - they were out with their daycare worker, taking pictures of what they had "seen while exploring the market". We had a nice long age-appropriate talk about service dogs, and what they do, and what *you* should do when you see one. Cute kids! They took a picture of hte dog ) We picked up results at 2:45pm. My medical was actually abnormal and the X-ray detected a problem with my heart. This did not affect immigration (THANK GOD!) but means I have an appointment with my family doctor on Monday, and with a cardiologist on Tuesday (I fly out Wednesday morning!) to determine if it's all clinically insignificant or if it means it has to be looked into further.

Anyway - we then grabbed a quick bite, and I took the 5pm express train to Montreal. (NOTE TO CANADIANS: If you are in Toronto or Ottawa and plan to bus to Montreal, DON'T. Via's current costs for travel are barely more expensive (like 14 bucks more only) and it's a much smoother, quieter ride... not to mention a hell of a lot SHORTER... And, in freezing rain like I had on Tuesday, far more certainly on time!)

In Montreal, Duff and I took a cab to our hotel (Les Suites Faubourg on Rene Levesque), which was a hop, skip and a jump away from the consulate. Friend Stephi met us there with my favourite canadian treats, n' we spent the evening babbling (and with me fretting about the interview!).

The following morning, I headed off to the consulate for the interview, leaving the Duff-man and Stephi at the coffee shop around the corner...

(next part: the consulate experience!)

Elenfair

The consulate experience.

My appointment was for 10am. I got there around 8:45, and lined up. The security guard was kinda short tempered, but okay. Some guy came by on a bike, stopped in front of the consulate, spat twice and pedalled off. I was somewhat amused.

Got into the consulate around 9:00.

Security is tighter than it used to be - you aren't allowed to bring in ANY electronics (cell phones, cd players, gameboys, etc), food or drinks into the building. They were also taking away children's toys. They didn't let me take up my Epipen... which was odd. Anyway.

Went down the stairs to take the elevator (note: the door is finicky - push, then pull!) up to the 19th floor. You can't do it wrong - that elevator only goes to the 19th and the 22nd floor (or something like that). The door opens on the side opposite the one you entered it in. Once there, I went to wicket 25 and took my number - C7.

I barely had a chance to sit down that I was called to counter 4. Talk about a confusing place! Look UP at the ceiling for the placards with the numbers and the arrows pointing you in the right direction!

I went there and was asked for my interview letter, then was told to go back to wicket 25 and pay. The really friendly lady let me leave my stuff there, run to 25, pay, and come back. It all went REALLY fast. Looked at the clock: 9:10. She asked me for all the paperwork, and since I had it all super organized, it all went really fast. The lady was in a good mood, and we joked around a bit. (Note to all: people are a lot friendlier when you treat them with respect and with humour - my first words to her were "Hi! I swear I'm carrying my life in this big folder...") She sent me to sit down and told me to wait for my number to come up, to interview room 12 or 13.

I sat down. It was 9:15. At 9:30, my number flashed! I went to room 13 and a friendly lady was there to do the interview. She was in a really jolly mood - she made me take the oath, and then when I was done I jokingly said "... and a partridge in a pear tree..." and she giggled and said "Yeah! You better tell me the truth cuz I'm gonna tell your mommy, and I KNOW WHO SHE IS!" We both laughed, and that certainly set the tone for the interview. Interestingly, she shared that she had JUST been through the process the day before with the Canadian government because she is an american citizen marrying a Canadian in Canada! So she was all excited because SHE had been approved... It was so cool! She asked how we met, and what he and I did for a living. I shared with her that Joe and I are nervous about the fact our parents are communicating with each other by email and won't tell us what they're talking about! She looked horrified and felt my pain. She then asked if we had a date and if we'd made plans. I laughed and told her about Nebraska. She then said we should start making plans, and to come pick up my visa at 3pm. She teased that I could now go call everyone and spread the good news!

I thanked her and wished her well and wished her good luck with her upcoming wedding! She was all smiles.

I went back downstairs (waited for the darn elevator)... and called Joe. I realized it was 9:45am. He wasn't at work yet (1 hour difference!) so I left him a message. I also called my mom to let her know (because she worries!)

By 10:00am I was at the hotel with Steph and the dog! We went to DimSum in Chinatown (which is really near the consulate)... and putzed around. Napped a little and then I went to pick up the visa. JUST SO YOU GUYS KNOW: When you have the little orange slip of paper, you can CUT IN FRONT OF THE LINEUP. I didn't, so I was "20 minutes late" picking up the visa (and the last one to do so). The guy behind the wicket seemed a little irritated by that, so I apologized and teased that I was canadian, and therefore when I saw a lineup I just automatically went to the end of it He grinned and told me it was okay... and told me just not to be late for my wedding! He went through the AP song and dance and told me not to leave the US, etc...

So that went great! It was really EASY. I recommend getting there early, and just taking what you need. Nothing more. And YAY! I HAVE A VISA!

souls canuck

thanks for the play by play

now I will know what to expect.. hope mine goes as smootly..

hurry up Montreal, I want my interview too