Arrival

Apr 25 2009: Most people when flying from South East Asia take the trans pacific route. I didn't. My flight to Canada went west, stopped at Abu Dhabi then straight to Toronto. After 8hours flying, 4 hours layover and another 15 hours on the plane, I arrived in Toronto, half way around the world from the country I call home.

What can I say about the airport? It wasn't much. I just noticed that it took quite a while for my box to finally get to the conveyor belt, which by the way broke down twice. Not exactly the first world country welcome I was expecting.

Before leaving the baggage claim area, I changed my US dollars into Canadian. The weird thing though, I was expecting the immigration officer to stamp my passport or at least have a look at my credentials before letting me out of the terminal. Instead, he just asked me to open up my passport, glanced at my picture and waved me through. 10 seconds tops. That I'd say was the fastest border crossing I've ever made. I guess it does pay off to be a citizen in this country, I couldn't understand why at home when reentering it takes way too long, sure I use a different passport but my girlfriend with a Philippine passport just waits as long. Oh well.

Now I walk out of the terminal where my two aunts are happy to see me. After some hugs and kisses, I get my first taste of winter wind, 12 deg C. Good thing I was wearing my leathers.

On the cab ride to my aunts' place, I sat up front, keenly observing and noticing the road, the cars the weather, the temperature, the behavior of motorists on the highway. I can honestly say that on the ride, I forgot all about the anguish and grief I experienced on the plane. I was grinning like a dog, eager to explore this new land.

When Filipino balikbayans come home, the first thing they eat is a Filipino dish. Now here I was, a Canadian balikbayan technically coming home, and the first meal I get: sushi. Now the sushi wasn't bad at all, I only found it ironic that after walking more than a kilometer looking for something to eat, we ended up in a Japanese restaurant. Sad thing is, there apparently is no such thing as a Canadian restaurant! Everything's from somewhere else. Still, I did enjoy that sushi.

A year prior to my arrival, I've already detailed what I was going to do on my first day in Toronto. Just as planned, I filed for my social insurance number at the federal building a couple of blocks north of the condo I shared with my aunts. That afternoon, I went downtown and got me laptop. It may seem simple and straightforward but you have remember that this was my first day in this country. Most newcomers have no idea where to go or what to do when they get here and there I was taking the public transit, walking through unfamiliar neighborhoods, shopping in stores I never knew existed. I have to admit, I was proud of this first day I had, a year of research, mapping and calculating travel times and distances from satellite images have finally paid off.

And so my first day came to an end, I had my new laptop, and called home. In an instant, I was back to reality, all my excitement faded as I listened to my family eat breakfast over the instant messenger.