Friday 24th November

[squirmelia]

It was 4 a.m. and less than 24 hours before, I had booked a flight to Vancouver. I ate Daffy Duck raspberry jelly for breakfast, out of a star-shaped mould that once belonged to my grandmother. I then stumbled around my flat, gathering items to stuff into a large rucksack, unsure of what was needed. I packed Douglas Coupland's City of Glass, print-outs with the addresses of goth clubs, my half-written NaNoWriMo novel, not enough jumpers, and eventually, sushi at the airport.

In Amsterdam, between flights, I bought postcards of tulips and prostitutes and sent text messages to friends and relatives detailing my current location. My black jeans became sticky with someone else's chewing gum.

I watched My Gym Partner's A Monkey and consumed more jelly on the plane. As it flew across Canada, towards Fort St John, I looked out the window and saw a landscape that looked entirely lunar. I wondered if I was flying to another planet and what was actually there on the ground beneath me. On the in-flight radio, space exploration was mentioned.

As the plane began to descend and Vancouver came into sight, the sun began to set and the snow-covered mountains, skyscrapers, sea and clouds looked dreamy, so dreamy, glowing with shades of pink and blue.

Before I was allowed to enter Canada, immigration officers asked me to name what Douglas Coupland books I had read, amongst so many other questions that made me feel scared about travelling alone.

Eventually, I found ellescriba, bickichick, wrldtravlr2, elzbthpdx, Erin and Darlene, and we drank cocktails at Cloud 9, the rotating restaurant on the top of the Empire Landmark Hotel, where I felt giddy viewing the skyscrapers, that were lit up brightly in front of me.

Comments

[pgd.livejournal.com]

The Canadian landscape is absolutely spectacular, isn't it. It looks so old and remote; pre-historic maybe. I just wish it were possible for planes to have bigger windows!

Glad you had a good time and found people to meet up with :)

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

I think I was about 583 (km?) from Vancouver when it was so grey, with strange white lines that did not look as if they were on the surface of the planet at all. I am unsure where that actually was. I would love planes to have bigger windows! At least with the online check-in, you tend to be able to choose your own window seat.

I had a great time.. getting past the immigration officers was the only really scary bit!

[mad-gemma.livejournal.com]

ooh yay! that sounds like fun :)

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

It was much fun, although very cold!

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

Hurray!

I am trying to get a job in Edmonton at the moment for some reason, which would be crazy if it does come off, but I'd definitely go for it.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

I think the gold rush may have ended. ;)

[clarehooper.livejournal.com]

Yay for adventures!

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Totally!

[clare42]

And who knew I'd end up living here, when we had this exchange over a decade ago?!

[absinthecity.livejournal.com]

So, if you can't answer the questions on Douglas Coupland do they send you packing? ;) seems like a fair enough strategy...

Trip sounds amazing, btw!

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

They asked a lot of other questions too, like was I travelling alone, what was my job, how much did I earn, did I live with my parents, what relatives did I have in the UK, what was my parents' phone number, what was the phone number of the person I was meeting (who they also phoned and asked tons of questions to), what was the play I was going to see, did I have a boyfriend, what sights was I going to see, etc, etc. It was pretty harsh and I really didn't think they were going to let me through.

Luckily, the rest of the time was cool. :)

[erestania.livejournal.com]

Woah, that's really intense. Poor you! Any idea what triggered them to talk to you, or was it just a random thing?

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Not too sure.. maybe because I was travelling alone?

[mair_in_grenderich]

You had more of an answer than "uh, actually I booked this yesterday on the spur of the moment and haven't figured out where to stay or what to see", then? :)

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Slightly more than that, but not a whole lot more than that, it's true.

[tackline.livejournal.com]

"Do you have a boyfriend? Do you want one? What sort of man are you after? How do you feel about immigration officers? Say, for instance, myself? What are you prepared to do in order to get a Canadian passport?"?

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

I didn't realise you were an immigration officer!

[tackline.livejournal.com]

The pay is poor, but the perks are excellent.

[cherielabombe.livejournal.com]

It was cuz you booked spur of the moment. They often red-flag travel booked that quickly. Also being a young lady traveling alone, you fit the profile of someone who would overstay their visa.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Ah yeah, that makes sense. They did ask me when I was expected back at work.

[mal1.livejournal.com]

Did they ask you about Douglas Coupland because you had one with you, or do they ask everyone the same question? Or maybe they rotate the selection of Canadian novelists every few days so that people can't swot up, and next week you could get Margaret Atwood or Robertson Davies or Carol Shields. Or maybe they don't limit it to novelists, and ask you to give renditions of the songs of Leonard Cohen, Alanis Morrissette or Joni Mitchell. Intriguing, anyway.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

I admit that I told them I was going to see a play based on a book by Douglas Coupland, but perhaps they do ask everyone about a different Canadian novelist or singer.

[cherielabombe.livejournal.com]

This sort of thing happens to my students all the time, so I know how it is, you see.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Do they often get turned back or is it just some kind of scare tactic?

[cherielabombe.livejournal.com]

Actually they mostly make it through but I have heard of some getting turned back. Usually if they're going to get rejected at the border their visa is also rejected before they make it to Ingleterra. But not always! Still though, be glad you don't have a Colombian passport.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Ahh, it must suck if they don't get through!

[turnedoffneon.livejournal.com]

that's so weird about the douglas coupland question. i think someone above in the posts asked whether you think they asked as he was canadian or because they saw your book... i wonder.
and i really really hate people who leave gum in places where it can get attached to me and my clothes.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

I think it was just because I said I was seeing a play based on a book by Douglas Coupland that they asked that, but it still amused me.

The other passengers who were waiting probably thought I was a bit odd to keep trying to scrape at my clothes with my watch!

[tackline.livejournal.com]

Is there a good way of getting gum off clothes that doesn't involve liquid nitrogen?

[bearro.livejournal.com]

Welcome Home Otter!

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Thanks Oscar.