Vancouver!

We're finally in Vancouver!

We had a few adrenaline-packed arguments with an uptight security bloke at Heathrow, because he insisted that we check in our carry-on bag that had all of our most valuable fragile items in it. If any of you have ever been to Heathrow, then you know what it means to have only an hour to run from one end of the terminal to the other to catch the plane - it's basically like crossing a small city. It's mind boggling how this insane asylum sustains itself.

8.5 hours of cheesy blockbusters later we finally arrived in Vancouver. Prior to our descent, I was beginning to get really worried that I would just fall flat on my face in front of the immigration officials - the 20hr journey was really catching up with us. However, as soon as I saw the city from the sky, I instantly woke up. This magical city REALLY exists - complete with the fairytalesque mountains, the beautiful hilltops and bridges, and the sparkly downtown! WOW!

The first customs guard we came across was really REALLY nice to us, so it felt like everything was going to be okay, despite the fact that the ground was wobbling and I was seeing little gremlins all over the place. After picking up our luggage, I was directed to line up to speak with an immigration official. The lineup was really the most difficult part of the process - I felt like the ground was banking and I hadn't fastened my seatbelt. At one point we were approached by an uber friendly guy, who showered me with information + two really useful pamphlets containing info on EVERYTHING - from service Canada addresses to info on how to use a computer:) I bet even Canadian citizens aren't this properly equipped for their lives in the country.

Upon exiting the airport, we were greeted by an awesome taxi traffic guy, who hooked us up with a maxi cab in a matter of minutes. Before we knew it, we arrived at our temporary residence in Mt. Pleasant.

We already knew that our landlord was going to be a cool guy, but we didn't know whether he was really real. The man was really understanding of our poor, greasy condition, and provided us with only the bare basics, as to not overload us with information. (Not like everything in the apartment isn't self-explanatory anyway.)

After he left, we did the sketchy thing that we had planned on doing all along - ordered Domino's pizza. We managed to down a few slices and passed out shortly afterwards. We then woke up at 4am, wide awake, and had a few more slices of pizza, and proceeded to fall asleep again. Woke up again at 9am, and went to the Service Canada center, where I was once again greeted by ridiculously friendly people who gave me a social insurance number.

I gotta let Mike on the computer and buy myself my own laptop. We're too hooked to be able to share the same one. I'll write more later.