Oh Canada!

Hey Friends!

I just arrived at Yale University by way of Canada! I got to New Haven, CT yesterday afternoon and will be staying here until Friday. I'm currently visiting for formal recruitment. Canada was so cool! I arrived in London, Ontario on Tuesday. The city of London is really old and pretty. There are tons of cute little Victorian style houses everywhere. I stayed at an apartment with three officers. It was really fun to get to know them and to learn more about the differences between Canada and the U.S. I was surprised to realize how different the countries actually are. Being from ND, it seems like Canada is almost just another state, not another nation completely. I know that's a very American way of looking at things, which is so wrong, but soon did I learn all about Canadian politics, economy, and health care. All very interesting topics. I also loved that all food packages were in English and French, it made me feel like I was in Europe. Another weird thing is that the milk in Canada doesn't come in jugs or cartons. Instead, it comes in little bags and you cut the corner of the bag then put it in a milk container...very strange. It was also weird to see that gas was only 98 cents. Little did I know that it was 98 cents per Liter not per gallon (duh). I am terrible at the metric system and still don't know the exact conversions! Math is certainly not my strong suite. The only bad part of being in Canada is that one of the members whose apartment I was staying in owned a cat. I am Soooooo not a cat person. I mean, they're fine animals, but to be honest they are huge bitches. Seriously, I feel like cats are the most narcissistic animals on the face of the planet. Dogs on the other hand, really are man's best friend. Oh well, I survived the ridiculous cat who sat on the fridge the majority of time then swatted at your head as you walked by (why you would want to own a cat is beyond me).

My first time going through Customs was interesting to say the least. Going into Canada wasn't too bad (apparently no one is looking to attack Canada), going into the U.S. was redic. I flew from London to Toronto and went through customs in Toronto. First I had to find Customs, which is a feet within itself. Then I had to pick up my bags and fill out a claims form. I wheeled my bags to Customs, the guy asked me what I was doing in CT (try to explain my job to a Custom's official!), then dropped off my bag and went through security again. I put my stuff in the plastic bins like I usually do before they put them through the metal detector, Helga (the mean guard) yelled at me for not taking my computer out of it's case and not putting my computer in a separate plastic bin, and was very angry when I didn't put my shoes on the conveyor belt first. Then I went through the metal detector, then had to have a full body scan, THEN one of the agents went through the entire contents of my bag AND made me turn on my camera, flip video camera, and computer. Apparently, I was suspicious looking. I had about 2 hours to board my next flight, so it really didn't bother me going through this much security, more than anything I was just shocked at how detailed they were. I'm really glad they are though! I would do it all again twice if it means keeping crazies off of the plane. I guess the next time I fly internationally will go much more smoothly now that I know what to expect.

Currently, I'm in "Gun Wavin" New Haven, CT. I was told that it's pretty safe around campus, but not to go beyond campus in any direction. The member that picked me up was like, "Living in an unstable neighborhood is kind of great because it gives us an opportunity to do a lot of service work." I guess that's a positive way of looking at it. I, on the other hand will be sticking to the campus boundaries. I have two meetings left tonight, then hopefully I can catch the Vikings/Saints game! I'm rooting for the Vikes! I don't think I have ever really cheered on any football team besides the Patriots and I don't think that this type of cheering was for the right reasons (let's face it Tom Brady is Deee-lish), but I'm breaking out and going for the "hometown" team! I love how the state of ND is pretty much equally divided in cheering for either the Vikes or the Broncos because it is the closest metropolitan area 10 hours east or west of us! But anyway, SKOL VIKINGS!

Later!

Lyss
(Not too shabby at keeping my resolution huh?!)