EDMONTON!

The trip to Edmonton was fairly uneventful - which was good.  I made it alright to the bus station in Santo Domingo although I forgot my bottle of water in the fridge at the apartment.  That sucked, but considering the bus didn't have a washroom anyway, it wasn't that big of a deal.  When I got off at the airport stop, I ended up overhearing this older lady mention that she was Canadian.  I quickly jumped on this and we ended up sharing a taxi to the airport - which turned out to be much cheaper than expected!  Turns out she also lives in the Dominican but is also from Edmonton.  She does missionary work though and has been there for nearly 2 years.  She wasn't very chatty though - kind of stuck up, which is weird for an Edmontonian.  The check in counter didn't open until 12:00, and I arrived at 11.  I was the first one in line though so I was able to get the coveted emergency exit row window seat.  I had some issues going through Dominican immigration.  Turns out my visa is only good for getting into the country without paying, but I'm still only allowed to stay a month before paying taxes.  This doesn't make sense to me.  I have a student visa, which student who has to prove that they are coming to the country for "study" purposes is only going to stay a month.  Regardless, this is not what the Embassy in Ottawa told me.  But as much as I argued with immigration (probably not super smart on my part) they insisted that I pay them extra money.  Luckily I had brought some US$ with me, as they needed $30.  Also very glad that Paula was able to take a call from me and do some translating.  Following that, I did some more chilling at the Punta Cana airport until the flight left.  The place was filled with tourists!  Kind of annoying actually - since so much  cheesy Dominican culture was on display which made me sad.

The flight to Toronto was good.  I slept a bit off and on.  In Toronto, I was a bit disappointed when the Customs Agent didn't welcome me home.  Nothing feels as good as a cheerful customs agent who says, "welcome home."  Seriously.  I made it through customs easily but the luggage took forever to come out and the security line was long so I didn't have a chance to grab supper prior to the flight to Edmonton.  On the next flight, I had another emergency exit row window seat, except on this plane (which I have never seen before) there was no seat in front of mine, so I didn't have a tray table and had to put my luggage under the seat which was the equivalent of two ahead.  Sort of annoying, but AMPLE leg room.  The highlight of the flight was when the pilot came on the speakers and said, for those of you on the right hand side of the plane, there is a great Northern Lights display happening right now.  I was so happy to be on the right hand side of the plane.  It was so beautiful and was my first real welcome home.

Northern Lights from the Plane

As we began the descent, the pilot mentioned that it was 8 degrees in Edmonton.  I had a minor freak-out about this.  I was already freezing on the plane and wasn't looking forwards to being in 8 degree weather.  When we arrived, Bart was no where that I could see.  I stood and waited for my luggage, hoping that he was just in the wrong area and that nothing had happened on his way to the airport.  After I had my luggage and had plunked myself down on a bench to wait, he arrived looking really apologetic.  He had been waiting at the other domestic arrivals area.  He was such a dear and gave me his jacket to wear and also bought me a sandwich from Tim Hortons.

On Tuesday, we got up early since Bart had to work and I had an appointment for an oil change for my car at 8.  Unfortunately, my car battery had died again and Bart didn't have the cables to boost it since he was driving his parent's car.  So I had to call AMA to get them to come and boost it, which they did, but it made me a bit late for my appointment and thus even later for my coffee date with Leslie.  I had yet to find my cell phone yet at this point so I couldn't even call her to tell her what was happening.  However, when I arrived at Starbucks she was happily reading the newspaper while waiting.  It was so great to see her!  We had a nice chat and enjoyed some free food samples that the staff were bringing around.  It felt just like it used to.  I was so surprised at how quickly I remembered everything.  Driving was so simple and wonderful feeling and being able to trust the "walk" signal while crossing the street was like second nature.  I did keep wanting to give people the cheek kiss though - but I caught myself and refrained.  The morning was quite chilly but so refreshing.

After coffee with Leslie, I walked over to Churchill Square to meet Karen at 3 Bananas.  On the way I stopped in to see my Uncle quickly too.  He seemed a bit surprised to see me walk through the door!  Coffee/Tea with Karen was lovely - it was so great to catch up with her and just have a wonderful chat.  When she had to go back to work, I stayed at the cafe and did a bit of work on my laptop before heading over to the Art Gallery of Alberta for lunch with Bart at Zinc.  I adore that building so much.  I also love their food.  We were given a small appetizer which was an avocado and goat cheese mousse.

Avocado and goat cheese mousse.

I ordered a glass of wine (malbec) and their fish and chips.  Bart had their steak sandwich.

Bart jealous that he couldn't have wine.

MMM Wine

Fish and Chips

Steak Sandwich

After lunch, I walked Bart back to his office and then took a couple shots near City Hall before heading back to the AGA to meet Tiarra.

Pool at City Hall

City Hall

Churchill Square

Art Gallery of Alberta

I enjoyed several of the exhibits, especially the The Art of Warner Bros. Cartoons, M.C. Escher - the Mathemagician and Piranesi's Prisons.  Reframing a Nation seemed very typical to me, although I did enjoy seeing a few 19th century Canadian landscapes that I hadn't seen before, and Celestial Bodies and Timeland were cool.  But most of all, I enjoyed hanging out with Tiarra again!

Me and Tiarra

After the Art Gallery Tiarra walked with me on my way to pick up my car.  We parted ways about a block before I reached my destination - it was sad to say goodbye again.  I was happy that the guys at Fountain Tire said my car was in excellent shape and that the battery was all charged up and ready to go!    I headed home for about an hour and did some updates on my computer.  I was so excited to have super high speed internet again!  I was also able to finally find my cell phone too!

When Bart was done work he came by and picked me up for dinner.  We headed to Famoso (my favorite pizza place) and enjoyed another tasty meal!

Bart's pizza.

My pizza.

After Famoso, we made a quick stop at my condo to grab a few things and I also got to give Bart his early birthday present - a Nikon Coolpix S3000 camera.  He really liked it!  We then made a stop at Vi's for Pies to grab some dessert (Peanut Butter Mousse Pie!!!) before going to see his parents.  When we arrived at their house, I was greeted with lots of big hugs!  It was so wonderful to see them again and they were so happy to see me too.  The A/C on the bus and the plane has left me with a bit of a cough/croaky voice so Mrs. Szopiak was quick to bring me inside and make me tea with lemon and honey.  We had a nice chat with them before heading over to Bart's condo for the evening.

Selection at Vi's for Pies

I am currently enjoying my usual morning coffee from Starbucks and getting a bit of work done.  I have lunch plans with some of my coworkers from the City at Hundred.  Can't wait!  And then coffee with Lara this afternoon.

Overall, being home has made me incredibly happy.  It's like I get to be myself again for a little while.  Everything seems so beautiful and wonderful and the smallest things, like walking on carpet barefoot or the familiar smells of my house, make me oddly happy.