This town is CRAZY.

Here in Sumas, I cannot go to the bank to exchange my money. I have to do it at the grocery store.

Odd.

Sumas

I made it back from a cabin on the Spokane River in Idaho, which was a really awesome place to spend Christmas.

Sumas for two more sleeps, then I get to go back to Calgary! I'm so ready to go back.

Tomorrow is going to be SWEET! I am getting a visit from my favorite creepy friend!!! We are going to have Tim Hortons and do all sorts of other things to make Sam and Jen wish they could have been here, too.

Way to go, Idaho!

I'm going to Idaho for Christmas! I'm leaving today, in about 20 minutes, and coming back on Boxing Day. My grandma rented a cabin in Coeur d'Alene and a bunch of my family is going out there for the holidays. Should be fun!

The transition continues...

Yesterday was my last day at work and it went pretty well. I was working at a daycare, so I tried not to get too attached to the kids because I suspected I wouldn't be here for very long. I managed to make it through three months of work with only one kid that I will miss A LOT - a 4th grade troublemaker of a boy who also happens to be the only other Calgary Flames fan that I know of in this city. We've had lots of fun talking hockey and sorting out all of the trouble this kid gets into.

Wrap-Up

Things are starting to wind down here in the US of A. Today is my last day at work - I have a sneaking suspicion that the kids are throwing me a going-away party that has so-far been disguised as a Christmas party. Kids aren't the awesomest at keeping secrets, haha.

On Tuesday I'm leaving Seattle and heading to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho for Christmas. It is a little random - my grandma, who lives in Palm Springs, CA, rented a house there for the week for all of us to stay in. I'll be back in Sumas late on the 26th, then I fly back to Calgary on the 29th.

I will miss my friends here, but I'm really excited to go back to Canada and back to school!

The official "I get to go back to Canada" blog.

There is a Canadian Consulate General in Seattle.

Yesterday I woke up at 5:30 and left the house at 6:45 so I could be downtown before it opened at 8:00. I was the third person there and the eighth person to get a number. I was very prepared and had a pretty good idea of what to expect.

I waited for my number to pop up on the screen, then handed my application to a lady who said that another lady would call my number so that I could pay. So, I sat down and waited for my number again.

When the screen flashed my number, inviting me to give money to Canada, I went to the cashier's counter and was informed that the price had gone up $10 since I last checked the website (two days ago!). There's a bank machine downstairs, she told me, and agreed to wait for me.

I went downstairs and paid a $3 fee to take out some money. The lowest denomination the cash machine gives is $20 and I needed $10, so I also had to go buy a juice. The Canadian Consulate does not give change.

I went back upstairs and paid the lady, who told me to sit down and wait for my number to be called AGAIN. When my number appeared on the screen for the third and final time, it directed me to interview booth 7. Interview booths in Seattle are not as friendly as interview booths in Calgary. In Calgary, the interview booth's are nice little desks with boxes of tissue in case you cry. In Seattle, the interview booth is a small room with some chairs, which is separated from the interviewer by glass. No boxes of tissue.

In interview booth 7, I was told that I had not been out of Canada long enough to be eligible for a study permit.

I sort of "went off" on her, quoting Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and basically refusing to accept her reasoning. I couldn't help it, I love Canada and the words just started spewing out of my mouth. After I was done talking, I immediately became really scared that she would not like my attitude. Maybe she'd rip up my passport right in front of my eyes or tell me that I was never allowed back into Canada.

Instead, she read the portion of IRPA I had quoted and agreed that I had, in fact, been out of Canada for long enough. After the technicalities of the law were sorted out, she asked all of the normal study permit questions and issued me an acceptance letter (I get the actual permit when I cross the border).