I just got back from the States. I unexpectedly decided to follow the band Wilco around for a few of their new england dates. More than anything I just wanted an excuse to visit the U.S., because it's pretty easy for us Canadians to just think of it as this weird, culture-spewing thing that we live near. I wanted to see it up close, maybe hear what real Americans were talking about instead of just trusting the CNN News Ticker.
A woman on the Gryehound had a stamp for Jordan in her passport, which delayed us for about 2 hours at the border. Each passenger was questioned seperately. They asked me if I had spoken with the woman, if I had observed her acting suspiciously, etc... it was surreal. I was grilled by a fairly young border guard, and he let me go after he flipped through my CD wallet. Once I was safely inside the land of the free, I noticed that I had a pack of ZigZags in a pocket of my camera bag. That could've been trouble.
Vermont is a really strange state. The people are remarkably friendly, and the politics plenty liberal. I had nowhere to sleep, and a 16 year-old girl I met at the concert - with "Jailbait" tattooed accross her lower back, nonetheless - let me crash on her parents' couch for a few hours. Pretty random.
In western Massachusetts I spent a night outside the greyhound station on a bench. I was dressed for the cold, but the Indian man in his 40s on the bench beside me wasn't. I walked a few miles (that's what they call kilometers!
) to some space-aged gas station to get something hot to drink for us. Americans, your gas stations are cathedrals of consumption. I didn't realize that so many snack choices existed anywhere in the world. Clean bathrooms, too.
Over tea, Sumeet told me his story. He had saved money for 26 years, hiding it under a false floorboard in his Bombay jewelry store. He spent $20,000 dollars to be smuggled into the US illegally. He was making his way to New York where he hoped to find a job.
He said I was the first person to speak to him since he had snuck over the border a week before.
I was blown away by his story. His English was broken, but he spoke with the universal language of gestures and nods. I was even more blown away by the idea that even today, illegal foreigners can find away over the most heavily defended border in the world - as long as the have the cash.
I was glad to have met him.
I didn't really sleep for three days, but I did manage to make it home in time to see the Weakerthans and the Constantines burn down the house back here in Ottawa. I might not go to school much this week.
So, Americans, I think you're doing okay. Even if things don't go well in November, I'm glad that a few hundred million of you feel the same way the rest of the world does. Just be sure to vote.
A woman on the Gryehound had a stamp for Jordan in her passport, which delayed us for about 2 hours at the border. Each passenger was questioned seperately. They asked me if I had spoken with the woman, if I had observed her acting suspiciously, etc... it was surreal. I was grilled by a fairly young border guard, and he let me go after he flipped through my CD wallet. Once I was safely inside the land of the free, I noticed that I had a pack of ZigZags in a pocket of my camera bag. That could've been trouble.
Vermont is a really strange state. The people are remarkably friendly, and the politics plenty liberal. I had nowhere to sleep, and a 16 year-old girl I met at the concert - with "Jailbait" tattooed accross her lower back, nonetheless - let me crash on her parents' couch for a few hours. Pretty random.
In western Massachusetts I spent a night outside the greyhound station on a bench. I was dressed for the cold, but the Indian man in his 40s on the bench beside me wasn't. I walked a few miles (that's what they call kilometers!
) to some space-aged gas station to get something hot to drink for us. Americans, your gas stations are cathedrals of consumption. I didn't realize that so many snack choices existed anywhere in the world. Clean bathrooms, too.
Over tea, Sumeet told me his story. He had saved money for 26 years, hiding it under a false floorboard in his Bombay jewelry store. He spent $20,000 dollars to be smuggled into the US illegally. He was making his way to New York where he hoped to find a job.
He said I was the first person to speak to him since he had snuck over the border a week before.
I was blown away by his story. His English was broken, but he spoke with the universal language of gestures and nods. I was even more blown away by the idea that even today, illegal foreigners can find away over the most heavily defended border in the world - as long as the have the cash.
I was glad to have met him.
I didn't really sleep for three days, but I did manage to make it home in time to see the Weakerthans and the Constantines burn down the house back here in Ottawa. I might not go to school much this week.
So, Americans, I think you're doing okay. Even if things don't go well in November, I'm glad that a few hundred million of you feel the same way the rest of the world does. Just be sure to vote.
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alisa:
faye:
Woah it sounds like you had a really awesome trip. There have been times when I have met the greatest people in the world on the bus and other times it's like gross creepy old me and I get scared. 