First Impressions of Canada

It's official! I'm a globe trotter! This past week, I visited a foreign country for the first time — Canada. My aunt and uncle live there, and I flew to Alberta in order to pay them a much overdue visit. Here is a brief summary of my trip, with lots of pictures.

I'll start my story with describing the baggage claim area. There was one little football display in a corner of the room, but everything else was hockey, Hockey, HOCKEY! Let me tell you, I've heard that Canadians love their hockey, but I didn't realize just how much they loved it until then. It's like you walk through customs, and then BAM! Welcome to Canada! Coming from a country that loves football more than just a little bit, this sight caused me to literally laugh out loud (in a good way...I'm easily entertained). Hope the border agent didn't hear me...

Next my aunt took me to Tim Horton's, a beloved Canadian coffee/sandwich/pastry chain, and I have to say I'm sold. No, I'm not going to go on and on about everything I ate as well as what I saw, but I am going to take a moment to say this. The food was delicious. Two thumbs up from me.

Then we went to the West Edmonton Mall, which is the largest mall in North America and the tenth largest in the world. Most of the time I'm not a mall person unless I'm with friends, but this place is almost an inclusive resort. It contains a theme park, a water park, a hotel, a movie theater, a full sized skating rink (apparently the term skating automatically implies ice there), and a lagoon with a life size replica of the Santa Maria and a sea lion show. I didn't try to count the stores. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Afterward I spent a lovely week with my aunt and uncle in their home in the country. Here are a few scenic pictures of the area. 

Even with all the fun things I experienced in Edmonton, I think this was my favorite portion of the trip. The community was tight-knit and warmly greeted me as if I was already one of their own, making me feel right at home. Even though this was my first visit and I only stayed a week, I don't think they've seen the last of me.

 

 

 My cousins' tree fort —>

  Photo credit goes to Cousin H

 

 

 

 <— Photo credit to Cousin H

         again.

Finally, my aunt and I spent my last night in Edmonton so we could have a girls' night out and see the

sights on Whyte Avenue. It's a really cute shopping center with lots of nook-and-cranny type stores, as well as cool little pubs and bars. I must confess that the latter was especially interesting to me, because the legal drinking age in Canada is eighteen. Therefore, I had the unique
experience of dining in an Irish pub for the first time. It will be a few more months before I can do that here, so I guess I'll have to exercise some patience now that I've had a taste of
"freedom." Ha ha.

Just before I left, my aunt asked me if Canada lived up to my expectations. The honest answer to that question is no, but only because I didn't have expectations to "live up to" in the first place. Canada is a country I've wanted to visit for a long time, but the draw was more my family than because I had a burning desire to be a tourist. I simply hadn't thought much about it, that's all. Well, it definitely surprised me with its beauty, and it's people doubled that beauty with their friendliness.

I think I can say that it gave me expectations by the time I left.