My First Time In Canada

An Easy Flight

I recently went to Canada for the first time to visit some friends.  Not only was it my first time in Canada, it was also my first time outside of the US. Plus, it was my first time traveling alone by airplane. I don’t often use public transportation anymore, and being in an airport reminded me why.  Many people would cough without covering their mouth, which was very frustrating.  We spent several years dealing with a deadly virus, and a lot of folks seem to have forgotten that.

Nonetheless, I was surprisingly not very anxious during the plane ride to Canada.  I did take some dramamine beforehand, and I also fell asleep on the plane. I don’t really think those were contributing factors to my fortunate lack of anxiety though.  It could have been that the plane ride was only about an hour long, but I don’t really know.

Brampton & Toronto

My time in Canada definitely left me with a desire to go back at some point.  While there for a week, my Canadian friend(s) took me to a mall in their town, downtown Toronto, and finally Niagara Falls.

The mall in their town was a lot more active than the malls here in Connecticut.  Not only was it more active, it also seemed cleaner.  Nearby was a purely vegan restaurant which was a jackpot since I am vegan.  The food there was scrumptious.  There was another vegan spot in the area that I ordered from too, but I definitely liked the place first more.

We went to downtown Toronto twice, and mostly walked around so they could show me different things.  A couple of landmarks I saw were the CN tower and the Toronto sign.  Because of how late we got there both nights, there was hardly enough time to do much else.  At least I know a few places I’d like to check out again the next time I’m able to go to Toronto. Since Toronto is Drake’s territory, I also shouted “not like us” and “Kendrick is better” just for fun, but my trolling was drowned out by everything else going on.

My Last Day

On my last full day in Canada, my friend, whose place I was staying at, and I went to Niagara Falls.  Seeing The Falls was the one thing I most wanted to do. This turned into one of the most interesting days I’ve ever experienced though. 

Confronted By Mall Security

Firstly, we had to take several buses as trains were scarce due to a Canadian holiday.  After the second or so bus, we stopped by a mall for a bathroom break, and so my friend could charge her phone.  We went to the food court where my friend used an outlet behind an unplugged ATM to charge her phone. Mall security confronted us and accused my friend of unplugging the ATM, which she didn’t do. They sent us to a secluded hallway next to the food court that had an outlet my friend could use. 

More mall security arrived and were pointing and looking at us while talking into their walkie talkies.  They didn’t tell us we had to wait there, but my spidey senses told old me we should stay just in case.  I was worried they would follow us if we left.  Not only that, but I was in a foreign country and have a darker complexion so who knows what could have happened.

Finally the original mall cop came over and warned my friend not to use that outlet ever again after saying he wasn’t able to determine what really happened from camera footage.  She offered to give him her contact information, but he declined, so we went on our way.

Niagara Falls – Canada Side

Skipping forward, we finally get to the falls around 6 PM after four long hours of traveling.  The Falls itself was very breathtaking.  It wasn’t sunny, but it still looked cool.  I was okay with mist from the falls getting on me since it was muggy out.  After looking at the falls and taking a plethora of pictures, we went to the entertainment strip to ride on the ferris wheel and walk through a mirror maze.  Both activities were a blast.

I wanted to do so many more activities at The Falls. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to because of how late in the day we arrived there. At 10 PM, we had to leave to catch multiple buses back to my friend’s house. The journey back to her house took just as long as the journey to Niagara; we got home at like 2 or 3 AM.

Leaving Canada

While I enjoyed sightseeing in Canada, I was homesick by the end of my stay so I was ready to go home and see my mom and my cat.  However, what would have been three or four hours of traveling back home ended up being nine hours.  

When planning my flights, I chose a 1 stop flight plan for coming home as the departure time was more convenient. This turned out to be a mistake since the second flight from Washington D.C. was delayed multiple times. At first, maintenance issues with the plane were causing delays. Then, there were worries about the tropical storm. As time went on, I wished I had just chosen the nonstop flight, even though it was at 8 in the morning.

I finally got back to Connecticut at like 9pm and my mom picked me up.  I was very glad to see her and my cat again, and to be back in a familiar environment at home.  When, I got home, I remember hugging my bed before the night ended lol.

So overall, my experience in Canada was average.  It was cool to visit another country for the first time, but a lot happened that prevented the trip from being more enjoyable.  I talked about some of those things in previous paragraphs, but there’s a large factor that I don’t feel comfortable sharing currently.  I hope the next time I’m fortunate enough to go, I’ll have a lot more fun.