A trip back
March 24, 2020 I left Canada for the US and learned to my surprise that it was spring. The ten-day ordeal leading up to this point involved packing, fretting, and stressing. I said I would be back someday, not sure if the pandemic would last weeks or years. This weighed on my mind for a considerable amount of time.
December 2021 seemed like a natural time to make this trip back -- there were a few weeks. However, a friend cautioned me against coming due to the Omicron surge (which was a pressing issue in Oregon as well). The weather that month ended up being especially cold, leading to a Deep Freeze (of -40 Celsius) around Christmas time. My decision was probably pretty reasonable in retrospect.
Reflecting on my plans, I decided to make the trip May 5th through May 11th. This was my chance for a long-awaited solo trip. A trip where my parents would provide (relatively) minor assistance. I arranged the Airbnb, reached out to people in the area, and made preparations to finally tackle a remaining task. In short, my goals were to: 1) see old friends and places, 2) revisit my lab, and 3) address a practical matter.
Needless to say, this trip was remarkable.
Day 1
After touch down in Edmonton, my nerves refused to abate, even as the
ArriveCAN process was smooth. (All that was asked was upload of vaccine
documentation and some contract tracing information.) At customs, the officer pointed out that I had come every year *except for one. (The year should be quite clear given that I left Alberta in 2020.) Everything still
felt unusual. In the airport, I exchanged for Canadian currency
once...and then did it again. I also tried out my Canadian bank card and it did not work, which concerned me. The reality of being present began sinking
in as I sat on the 747 bus from the airport to the southernmost light
rail train (LRT) station. A Costco flashed by. At the station, I bought 10 tickets for my trip. Soon enough, after taking
the LRT, I arrived at the Airbnb and checked in without too much
hassle.
Truthfully, being back made my heart pound. My conditions of leaving had been especially cruel -- within two weeks, my plans were entirely upended, making for a strange end to my time. Not to mention, for many North Americans (including myself), masks became a normal part of life sometime in April 2020.
A glance of normal came from meeting a friend that I had first met in 2020, not long before leaving. We met in Dorinku, which is a Japanese restaurant I ate at during my original stay. The bus from my Airbnb to the place took me through the University of Alberta campus, reminding me of old routes. Needless to say, the nostalgic feelings were immense.
To make matters stranger, I had largely seen this person on Zoom in the past couple of years. We had the Japanese Conversational Club in common There were worries in my head like "what if I do not recognize her?" Fortunately, that proved to not be a problem at all. In fact, we noticed each other right away by simple virtue of eye contact. Once we started catching up, I felt completely centered for my trip. At her insistence, I tried out the Jewelry Bowl (below), which was a quite nice sashimi dish. Afterwards, we grabbed bubble tea from Gongcha, which was actually a new experience for me. The time spent together was only an hour and a half or so but my confidence began rising.
To bring the first day to a close, I stopped by Safeway to grab milk and a few items to tide me over in the Airbnb. Though my brain had not quite settled, I felt that things would be alright.
Day 2
Undoubtedly, the emotional aspect to my trip was tough at first. However, I had a very practical matter hanging over my head (think Damocles' sword) since 2021. A decent sum of my Fulbright scholarship, in fact, was still in my Canadian bank accounts. Through 2020, even after leaving Canada, I regularly checked my bank accounts there. Somehow, my access was cut off by the bank, giving me a reason to come in person to withdraw.
The day for my bank trip changed throughout my planning stages. Thursday the 5th would be the day. Then Saturday the 7th then Tuesday the 9th. While at the Student Union Building (SUB), trying to relax, I thought about when would be the best time.
Apparently, my banking card would not work even at one of the ATMs in SUB. It was time to tackle a very pressing issue and go there today. A few minutes to 2 pm, it turned out that the next available appointment as at 3 pm. This particular bank was actually located right by the previously mentioned Safeway.
Mustering up my courage, I went to the bank, fearing for the worst. Though not far, the distance felt immense. Sitting in the office of a banking agent, I tried to conjure up every idea of what could come up. Every other time, my parents had been with me and could help. I shared my bank card, my passport, and whatever other information I could. Turns out my ID on hand was a card out of my reach at the moment. I had to hurriedly go into my Google Drive to show an image of the necessary document. That worked for one problem.
There were multiple concerns to work through. First of all, my two accounts had to be identified and their statements printed. Secondly, I had to withdraw my money. Thirdly, apparently the Canadian dollar account had closed due to overdraft protection. It took a few times for the explanation to take. Somehow, someone had used my account for several hundred dollars' worth of Twitch subscriptions, depleting the account. Clearly, this was fraud but I had to address it by calling up the bank fraud line. Furthermore, my bank card no longer linked to the Canadian dollar account, which is why it never worked there. Still bewildered, I arranged to withdraw all of my money. That left one other issue: that Canada does not use pennies. To get around this, I left a small and uneven sum of money to convert into Canadian currency. All in all, this ordeal took a solid two hours and with only marginal help from my parents.
Despite these issues, I was able to procure most of the money and stow it safely for my trip. Despite the length of the ordeal, there was something special coming up. That day we held the first Toastmasters social since December 2019, inspired by my visit to Canada. This trip to Earl's was actually meant to originally happen in mid-March 2020, so it was absolutely a long time coming. Half of the people in attendance were members back then and the other half were not. This meant that a solid 3 attendees I had never met in person, adding in excitement. With this energy, and some money to spend, I got myself a relatively expensive item. Though only an hour and a few minutes, the experience was nice, especially after a 2 hr banking adventure.
One of them lived near my Airbnb so we walked back together. This was our first time talking in person. Ironically, we lived near each other when I was on campus -- but this was revealed over a year later. On the way back, she mentioned the Strathcona Farmers Market and the River Valley, which helped me plan my remaining days. We split up, and I went back to my place to rest. By now, the feeling of being in Edmonton began to feel far less strange.
Day 3
The first day without worrying about banking (too much). As luck would have it, I had a Saturday morning free before meeting my dad's colleague, a long-time resident of the area, for lunch. The Strathcona Farmer's Market was a natural place to see. Whether it was peanuts (which I am allergic to) or cheese, there were many items to gaze at from afar. A bout of feeling overwhelmed reappeared. In the end, I purchased a croissant for tomorrow's breakfast and a hot chocolate. In this semi-chaotic environment, that calm was sorely needed. In followup: a cinnamon roll to relive old times. There was a rather impressive bagpipes player standing right outside the market as well.
By contrast, seeing my dad's colleague again led us to a place new to me called the Upper Crust. Feeling adventurous, I ordered a Thai chicken curry. Though not the most eye-popping rendition, it was tasty.
Following this experience, the colleague gave me a driving tour of the sweeping River Valley in the city and the ever-beloved Hawrelak Park. Apparently, according to him, Hawrelak was a mere gravel pit until it was redeveloped as a park in the 1960s. Surprisingly, a lake sat at the center, surrounded by Canadian geese. Small wonder this park is so well liked by the city's inhabitants.
The rest of my day was unmarked by a particular social engagement. I rested before an idea came to mind. What is an easy summary of Canada? Of course: Tim Hortons. Admittedly, I intended to revisit the Second Cup but it was closed. This gave me the chance to rest at Timmy's with a hot cocoa. To round out the day, I grabbed nearby poutine. Though the cheese was not entirely melted, this served as a rather nice (if unhealthy) dinner.
Day 4
If day 3 was calm, day 4 felt more adventurous. Today I essentially spent the day with friends, both of them present at the Toastmasters social.
With one friend, we took a trip starting from Starbucks, where we both got hot drinks of course. Surprisingly, she took me to her special look out over the River Valley, giving me a chance to see the forested beauty across my eyes. Given the biting winds, we were not out there for a very long time.
Walking back, we made the decision to go do groceries together. Thanks
to her advice, I got a small shampoo from the dedicated travel section
in Shoppers. Then we went to Safeway, across the road. I grabbed
blueberries, she grabbed bread.
We split up, and I rested for a short while. Then I headed to a friend's place for the evening. Being in someone's place was still quite surreal. That said, we quickly decided on video games to break the silence. The Scott Pilgrim game, with its many glitches, gave us a source of bewilderment. After some mostly good frustration, my friend ordered food for delivery. On chance, I suggested a restaurant near the university called Kyoto. Despite all my intentions, I never ate there during my original stay. The food proved to be thoroughly alright, which was a relief. That fit my expectations entirely. The udon? Basically, chicken noodle soup oddly with a touch of oil in the broth. With my fill taken, I played some of Pokemon Legends Arceus, which allowed my friend a rare glimpse into my silly side. Towards the end, she provided me with delicious chocolate chip cookies, giving me the energy for a trip back to my place. The bus dropped me off there just around the sunset time of 9pm (or so), giving me great satisfaction over this day.
Day 5
A piercing breeze continued across the area, reminding me that Spring was just barely starting here. Not to mention a day with a densely packed schedule, even with a meeting cancellation. I waited at the University station for my friend -- inside for the weather. When she came up the stairs, my nerves lightened again. We made our way to the Tasty Tom's bistro for my heartiest breakfast in ages. While she got a schnitzel, I ate a Montreal-style reuben, which hit as hard as one could expect for breakfast.
We braved more of the chill to travel to a Cat Cafe. The hour went by incredibly fast. This was my second time to a cat cafe -- the first in 2016 -- and I found the cats more amenable. One kitten in particular sniffed my jacket and shoes and had to be convinced off the table. Many of the other cats stuck to their area. One cat, weirdly enough, liked to gently bite and had to be coaxed off.
After cats extravaganza, I went to the university area for a trip down memory lane. In particular, I looked at the Central Academic Building (CAB), where the Japanese conversational club used to meet. The Business building, where Toastmasters meetings are still held, as well. My old dorm, along with a selfie outside of it. These were nice memories to draw on.
The main event, however, involved seeing my labmates. A very reminiscent simple alternating tile pattern -- indeed, this was my old lab building. The professor and the postdoc had helped me safely travel out of Canada, which added weight to this meeting. Speaking with both of them one-on-one helped ground my current path. Hearing about their current work reminded me of my trajectory away from Edmonton. Next, I went on a Tim Hortons trip with the lab -- with my hot chocolate in hand, I was given the attention of the group. They asked to hear about my current situation, as a former member of the lab, and I spoke about my program. The lab had changed in composition but we were both moving onwards.
There was time for more fateful rendezvous. The University has a really handy meeting spot in SUB. I actually saw four people I knew during my time at the UofA -- two who lived in the same dorm, and two both involved with Toastmasters. This was by and large another catching up session -- and that was still plenty grand. If anything, this confirmed that, even with time, we still had plenty to share. (Clearly a major theme of this whole trip.)
Feeling daring, I took a trip to Nando's, another echo from before. Given that I left at 8 pm, I worried about arriving too late. Fortune was thankfully on my side: I managed to order their peri-peri chicken and eat there. A dab of the extra hot sauce lit up my evening, leaving my itch satisfied. That heat was necessary for me to return home. Temperatures dropping fast, and the threat of a (light) snowfall. Again, I returned at the time of sunset, another day well spent.
Day 6
This day should have been easy. The day started gently with a coating of snow that melted away within an hour. However, in regular me fashion, I changed my plans once again. The impending end of my trip instilled a "make good use of time" philosophy. Unfortunately, I ended up resting in the morning, entirely skipping a planned trip to West Edmonton Mall. Instead, I traveled to the university area to continue the reminiscing process. Actually, an important thing was left off from the previous day: taking a photo with the professor and the post doc. My timing ended up being reasonably good as I caught them and a particular labmate. We had devised a plan but cancelled the plan because he had a busy experiment. Even if that plan was a trip to Khan Kebabs, the best Pakistani food in Edmonton (decided by myself). Though it was sad to let the plan go, we both likely needed that extra room to attend to matters.
Afterwards, at SUB, I messaged a friend from the Japanese conversational club in a last effort to meet up. In my head, it was too late and walked away. Of course, on the way, a response came: the person was in fact in SUB right then. Going back we managed to meet downstairs. Because of Zoom encounters, finding her was a touch challenging; but we made eye contact and found each other. Given our common link, we spoke in both Japanese and English. The encounter was impromptu but incredible.
Not long after, I met another person from the same group. At the Southgate Mall, I looked at my phone trying to find him, but he ended up right in front of me. This particular fan is a huge fan of hockey, which gave me the clearest indication possible. After glancing at the options, we instead hit up his place of work: Gyukaku. Along the way, we caught up after two years of Zoom encounters, which was quite exciting. He was just like I imagined. At Gyukaku, we grilled up pieces of raw beef on an open air grill, warming us up thoroughly. This environment, not unlike a camp fire, gave a great chance to talk. From his suggestion, I ordered some creative cuts, including beef tongue. At first, I focused on handling one piece at a time but grew in confidence. That's right: I began to do two pieces at a time, reflecting a small character arc. The beef tongue paired well with lemon and was chewy with a hint of sweetness; definitely an unusual taste but not a bad one.
Thankfully, this friend ferried me to the Mill Woods Mall, with one last meeting. It was gracious of him given the area was a solid 20 minutes away from the restaurant. Here I met with someone who had known my mother for years, which was a pleasant encounter. Afterwards, I was dropped at Century Park and traveled home without too much hassle. This peace of mind was certainly necessary to conclude my last full day of the trip.
Day 7
The other days had their own challenges. Today, though, was a challenge of pure logistics despite being a shorter day. In short, a COVID-19 test was required to cross the border to the US; such a requirement was not even present for my trip to Canada. (Having my vaccine documentation on hand helped make the ArriveCAN process smooth.) My 9 am meeting was cancelled, giving me a chance to decompress before my 2:45 pm flight. This short respite was probably necessary before dealing with bureaucracy. I stopped by campus for a short last trip. A short bus ride from there to the pharmacy.
The idea was to take the antigen test at 10 am. Instead, Shoppers gave me an undesirable shock: that they did COVID tests only from 11 am to 5pm. Here is my mistake: I went back and finished up check out by 11 am, instead of doing so earlier in the day. I was back in line at 11:30 am, anxiously waiting for the test to happen. It occurred at 11:43 am and took an agonizing 15 minutes to give the desired NEGATIVE result (with the proper paperwork).
I rushed to the bus stop...but I arrived at the 747 airport bus stop (at the station) ten minutes too late. Waiting for the next round would give me one hour before the flight. My pride accepted the hit -- I took an Uber from the station to the airport. Those last two bus tickets were, sadly, never used. (Though, arguably they made up for my using the public transit system so often.)
Once inside Edmonton International Airport, the process was smoother...until I remembered a critical difference. The US, unlike Canada, expects customs to be completed before boarding the plane. At this point, the one food item I meant to finish haunted me: the blueberries. Turns out, because they came from Mexico, they could not cross. I asked for them back, asked the wheelchair aid to move me out of the way, and ate my way through the box in ten minutes or so. At this point in the day, I was excited to finish off the blueberries and board the plane, concluding my trip.
Reflection
On the plane, I reflected. Flying back to Oregon gave me the chance to see impressive mountains from high up, throwing my trip into relief.
That said, these were not major concerns for me. Despite minor hiccups, I found the trip remarkable in embracing nostalgia and building my own independence. With this confidence, I can continue to build upon myself and move forward.
