So I am in the Great White North

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kc2005ptgt
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So I am in the Great White North

Post by kc2005ptgt » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:36 pm

And I got to say, being a red-blooded American, patriot, blah blah (being a bit funny, not mean!) I have to say I love this country! What a great place, it is clean, people are nice, they accept American dollars, and treat ya like a yocal instead of a tourist. I like it! Canada, you have my approval, I give ya :thumbup: :thumbup:

Oh, and I almost did not make it in here! I am in Brandon, Manitoba for a history conference. Mind you, I am an undergrad presenting a thesis at a graduate/doctorate level!! Big deal in the history world, mind you. Anyway, so I travel 12+ hours to the border and the border patrol has us pull in and they decide to check us out and turns out my DUI from 1998 still shows up as a DUI even though it was pled down to amoving violation, which also showed up on the report. So in Canada it is considered a criminal offense, and to cross over into Canada with a criminal offense I have to pay $200 for a permit for entry. So my first impression of Canada was one of intolerence... mind you I already had "preconcieved notions of Canada."

After talking with the beautiful and lovely border guard (I kid you not, she was hot) I was given the benefit of the doubt without documentation to be allowed entry into this fine country for the weekend to present my paper; mind you, a huge deal for people in my field at this level, will help me BIG TIME in the future when it comes to jobs. So they let me in,and my immediate reaction is one of "all preconcieved notions are now cast aside and I can begin anew."

Guys and gals in Canada, great job up here! Good people, good stuff, great country and wonderful time!!! Thank you for showing me that countries outside my own great one can be just as great!

Peace!
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Post by MyNeonSaysHi » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:43 pm

Very nice man! But you did have to pay the $200? Good luck with your thesis man! I wish I was in Canada now! I keep getting pulled over! 1 ticket and 1 warning within 3 days. :lol:

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Post by kc2005ptgt » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:46 pm

No, I did not have to pay. they gave me the benefit of the doubt that it was not a "DUI" but a moving violation unrelated to a criminal offense (her words, not mine :lol:)
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Post by MyNeonSaysHi » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:48 pm

Thats good! Hows the weather up there? Is it snowing yet up there already. :lol:

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Post by kc2005ptgt » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:50 pm

:rofl: No, it is quite nice, a bit cool in the morning, and does not warm up till late... but hey, not bad!
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Post by MyNeonSaysHi » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:52 pm

Well. have fun man and enjoy your time off! We gotta get a local Neon meet before winter hits.

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Post by kc2005ptgt » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:53 pm

I need to get my car enigne in first! :lol:
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Post by MyNeonSaysHi » Fri Sep 26, 2008 11:59 pm

kc2002acr wrote:I need to get my car enigne in first! :lol:
Oh yeah I forgot about that. :rofl:

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Post by kc2005ptgt » Sat Sep 27, 2008 12:04 am

I get it back this week coming up!!!!!!!! WooHoo!
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Post by dodge_girl » Sat Sep 27, 2008 12:22 am

MyNeonSaysHi wrote:Thats good! Hows the weather up there? Is it snowing yet up there already. :lol:
Its snowing here! and my pet polar bear loves it! lol sorry.. had to
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Re: So I am in the Great White North

Post by Midnight_Rider » Sat Sep 27, 2008 3:20 am

kc2002acr wrote:Guys and gals in Canada, great job up here! Good people, good stuff, great country and wonderful time!!! Thank you for showing me that countries outside my own great one can be just as great!
Now you can see why I tried to emigrate back in the 90's- several trips to Canada and I was hooked! Still a lottery dream of mine to this day so, if I disappear, everyone will know where to look for me.
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Post by Paul56 » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:29 am

Brandon, Manitoba... yep been there.

We tend to be tolerant, polite (for the most part), and not have wildly radical views.

You would need to spend time traveling across the country to get a better sense of the place... spend time in Vancouver, Calgary, Regina, Kenora, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, St. John's, etc. I can tell you the sense and feel of Canada varies wildly from Vancouver to Toronto to Montreal.

The population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. The rest of the country consists of mostly small towns with vast areas of wilderness and for the most part undeveloped areas. If you drive across the country you'll be struck by the miles and miles of undeveloped sparsely populated areas. The other thing that has struck me as I've been across Canada several times and lived in a number of places here... as you go from west (Vancouver) to east (Montreal) the general size of the waistline increases alarmingly.

A few things I've learned about crossing the border... have all your papers in order including a passport these days. Do not volunteer information, do not be chatty, look the agent directly in the eyes and take off your sunglasses. It goes a lot better being cooperative rather than being combative. Oh... and enjoy your stay! :rofl:
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Post by Adionik » Sat Sep 27, 2008 2:20 pm

I <3 Canada. Very nice, clean place. Kind of expensive.
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Re: So I am in the Great White North

Post by fixitmattman » Sat Sep 27, 2008 3:59 pm

No different going the other way, they're very not fond of criminal convictions going into the states.

But yeah, most of our border guards are highschool students, and even the ones who aren't are generally are pretty easy going, the american ones not so much. There were a few times I've had them reach/ready for their firearms on me. Probbly the most interesting was when we dropped our roomate off for a one way flight to new york :tardbang: As much grief as they give you it's still much more pleasant to drive through us customs then to get on even a domestic flight.

Glad you had a good time in canada land, even if it was Brandon MB :rofl:
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Post by rOniN » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:07 pm

What paper are you presenting? I'm quite interested in what history conference they have up there...
Congrats on being able to present as an undergrad...that will look good on your academic career.
As for Candada...it's still Americas attic. All the old athletes and things we don't want go up there :) Not really I hear it is really nice and I have not met any horrible Canadians.
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Post by Canada » Sat Sep 27, 2008 8:38 pm

You're welcome :lol:

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Post by Midnight_Rider » Sun Sep 28, 2008 6:10 am

When I was studying Canadiana back in the 90's (in case I had a chance to get landed immigrant status) I read that one of the major differences between the US and Canada is that in the US, we put individual rights first. In Canada, indivdual rights are secondary to order and good government. And like someone else wrote above, I rarely have found rude Canadians during my travels there- people seemed to always fuss over me once they found out that I was an American. :D
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