stranger in a strange land pt 2

yesterday, i spent the day in north dakota with sarah and hayley. we woke up before 7am, were on the road by around 730 and drove for a few hours south. our goal: find new (and hopefully cheap!) formal attire for the winter formal.

something i like to do when i go to the states is do things that are un-canadian, so with that in mind...

our first stop was in grand forks (population 51,216), where we had breakfast at denny's (just like in the commercials!). the food was good enough, but it was freezing. everyone was wearing their jackets. not impressed grand forks...

after breakfast, we left for target, which is basically like wal-mart, except less evil. i bought new socks.

after that, we left for fargo (population 95, 551), which is actually also somehow apart of minnesota. anyway, they had better shopping and indoor heating, which was a major plus. picked up a pokemon tshirt, some new plugs, and more socks.

after checking out another, smaller (lamer) mall, we left.

lesson learned: bring someone who knows the city and can show you around. it will save you on gas.

back in grand forks we had supper at place called 'space aliens', which is basically a chuckie cheeze that serves alcohol.

back at the border, i told customs i spent $40. which, okay, is a bit of stretch of the truth, but i'm not really down with paying more. i'm sorry workers of canada.

we arrived back at prov around 10pm.

so, all-in-all, day trips are fun, but staying the night is probably the thing to do. except not so much in fargo.

anyway, pce.

stranger in a strange land

i went to the states for the first time in... ten years? eight years? this past month. wow, what an experience.

my friend graeme and i had a few observations once we crossed the border (wow, by the way! those guys...). first off... nice roads! when people critique winnipeg roads, i'll now know better than to stick up for them. second, road kill ALL over the place. does no one clean it up? maybe canada is just better at that. i don't know. third, the speed limit is like, 35km. felt like we were crawling all the way to bemidji.

during our stay, we went to an american football game, purchased some drinks measured in 'oz', and took note to all the new last names. also, being "from Canada" was kind of excited. i've never really felt like a minority (well, there was that time i went to a black club), so that was i felt a bit alienated for sure. also, thoughts like "what if something happens to me? what happens then?"

i gotta say, i have a lot more respect for all of Prov's international students. all the koreans, chinese, indians, and all others who is able to do that for eight months out of the year.

also, can't wait to go back. and travel beyond.