entering canada

well, i thought the usa is hard to get in - but only until i had to enter canada... maybe it's because the whole flight didn't start off very well. when i checked in at san diego airport i totally forgot that my plane was to land in las vegas before heading to vancouver. then i asked for my miles to put on my swiss-milage-card (instead of us airways) and finally i wanted a window seat. this was obviously too much, because the guy at the check-in printed four fat "SSSS" on my boarding pass. when i entered the security check, they explained to me that the airline wanted me to be checked additionally. so this lady groped me all over and checked my shoes and my bag for traces of explosives (haha).

then, on the stopover in las vegas the flight attendant told me i can leave everything where it is, but when i came back, my healthy and rather expensive salad (as well as my cookies) were gone ("oh, that must have been the cleaners"). so i was starving the whole flight and when i got off in vancouver i just wanted to get through passport control and buy some food.

but it wasn't that easy. since the us immigration didn't want to see my e-ticket back home i didn't think of packing it this time in my on-board luggage. suspicious? check. then the lady saw the "SSSS" on my boarding pass. suspicious? check. and finally i really looked tired and annoyed (i was sooo hungry)... suspicious? check.
so i had to answer all these stupid questions, like "wouldn't you have to be at uni right now?" -"how can you afford to travel when you're a student?" - "so you studied and worked at the same time?" - "what kind of work did you do?" - "for how long did you work there?" - "how much cash do you have with you?" - "how do you know you will be able to get cash from the atm?" goooooooooooooossssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh. i almost asked her what reason i would have to sneak in canada since i'm from a rich country (SWITZERLAND) and i'm well educated (yes, i really did my MASTER). but i managed to stay calm...
finally she told me she wouldn't send me to immigration this time (haha) but it was crucial that i bring my flight ticket with me whenever i wasn't travelling in switzerland (haha).

at least the bus drivers were very friendly... they didn't charge me for the ride into the city, 'cause i didn't have any coins yet and they gave me good tips what to do in vancouver :) so i guess canada deserves a second chance ;)