During my whole gap year, I kept a photo album about my whole North American trip with short posts on Facebook for some friends and family at least, but not with everything I wanted to say (which I wanted to keep for this blog). Yet, at least it's something and the main things that were immediately going on in my mind about my experiences are all there. So the posts I'm going to share here now are based on the Facebook posts and photos, my camera roll with thousands of photos from that time 😀 , and my own memory (and I can tell that I still remember most of all the events very well even after two years packed with lots of issues). So let's dive into this adventure now together! ❤
One of my latest posts was about moving from the U.S. to Canada, so I find that the most obvious point where I'll continue telling my story is how things started for me in Canada.
The rollercoaster of covid testings
For the record: It was January 2022 and in the middle of a new covid wave, the huge one with the Omicron variant. Not that it was highly dangerous, but does everyone still remember those crazy times? – it feels like a lifetime ago, now that we all have our more or less covid-restriction free everyday lives back –: Omicron was more infectious than the previous variants, though much less deadly. So the number of corona-cases skyrocketed, but proportionally, there were not necessarily more deaths. Yet, because scientists still didn't really know much more about the possible long-term consequences of the Omicron variant, the public was acting more cautiously than before when the wave was smaller, and thus there were more restrictions again: I remember restraints on flights, countless mandatory tests, and time restrictions before travels or border crossings, different rules in different countries as well as a lack of available appointments in the testing centers. Overall, not the best time to travel at all! But what could I do, my classes in Canada were about to start! 😀 And, as I mentioned in a previous post, I couldn't book a straight flight to Toronto, because it was expensive as hell! So I had to detour over Seattle and Vancouver by planes and a bus, whether I wanted or not. But the trip proved to be beneficial, as I saw more things along the way! However, the chaos already started in San Francisco: In order to be able to leave the U.S. and cross a border, I seem to recall that one needed a negative PCR or NAAT test (so not even the quick one was allowed) up to 48 (or was it 72?) hours before the border crossing at the maximum. But there was one huge issue in San Francisco: Finding a place for testing in the whole city was an absolutely impossible task at the time! My mom and I spent 3 hours from 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. the last night before packing (after a whole day of road tripping, so we were dog-tired) together looking for a goddamn test center appointment. Let me tell you… EVERY FRICKIN' CENTER IN THE WHOLE CITY, EVEN AT THE AIRPORT, was fully booked 
Moreover, many test centers opened only for a mouthful of hours each week, like one day a week for 2 hours. What the hell!
After 2 years of a pandemic!
People were going nuts…
And because of course many people needed to travel at that time of the year, the few spots that were free were quickly taken. I kept thinking, what the hell was I gonna do? I needed to get to Canada right that weekend! So we considered other options, and my mom came up with the idea to check the availability of testing appointments in Seattle. And there it looked much better, thank god, and I finally found and got an appointment in Seattle. Not at the airport, though – even there it was completely full – but in downtown.
Not to mention the stress I already had with packing for Canada! I was about to embark on a 6-month stay in Canada, for the Canadian winter AND summer… I almost thought that with that luggage, I will never make it to Toronto, and then the covid testing issues that went on top. Hell, what a nightmare 😀
So after I said goodbye to my mother and little sister who embarked on a flight back to Europe, I took a plane along the Pacific Coast northward. Here are some pictures of the amazing coast and ocean with forests and mountains surrounding the area which was visible thanks to partly clear skies that day!
Snowy Oregon
I think this was Mount Rainier…
Landing in Seattle
Then I arrived in Seattle and was mesmerized by the coziness, beauty and familiarity of the city – it looked sparklingly magical – and by how different it was compared to San Francisco! SF feels so cold sometimes even though it's often kinda warm and sunny, but it's so humid there, and the humidity creeps under the clothes when in town, and it never gets really hot, no matter the time of the year. Seattle was also at the ocean and cold but it was in the winter and it was drier. The Christmas season was over, but the city was still full of lights everywhere, as it was getting dark early. This reminded me of my hometown in Germany. During Christmas time, it also gets dark early and there are Christmas lights all over the place. Also the streetcars looked very similar to the ones in the town where I grew up. Somehow, the whole vibe of Seattle felt like Europe. It was a breath of fresh air after the unfamiliar exotica of San Francisco. I slept in an HI Hostel in Seattle (I can recommend those!).
In the evening I went to do a bit of shopping, because I needed winter clothes for Canada among others (as I saw in my weather forecast app about Toronto that it was freeeezing out there and I didn't have any thick gloves, or a winter scarf, or even a winter hat yet. So I bought some at Nordström Rack. I also discovered an Amazon basics shop in downtown Seattle and bought a mobile powerbank for this long trip (very, very useful when on long trips!). And at the end, of course – in the city where it was founded –, I sat down at a Starbucks Coffee that was super luxurious to get warmed up a bit from the cold weather outside ❤ By the way, the address is: 425 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101. It's close to the Westlake Center. On the way back to my hostel I also passed the amazing Public Library building!
The next day, I went to the covid testing appointment first. Then I still had some time to discover the city. Now the sun was shining and I walked around to see so many Starbucks Coffees! I also went to have a glimpse of the very first one from the 70s. It's so tiny, and so crowded, there was a long-ass line all the way out on the street, so obviously it was impossible to get inside. But at least I took some photos 🙂 Next to it is the famous Pike Place Market where I also took a stroll through the aisles. Here are some pictures from Seattle ❤
First glimpse of Seattle from the highway in a Uber
HI Hostel in Seattle
View towards the Chinatown
Coming from the covid test appointment, with the Space Needle in the background ❤
And these were the amazing lights ❤
Just look at that! ❤
It makes me think of "Christmas Lights" by Coldplay immediately.
Finally prepared for the Canadian winter 😀
Capital of Starbucks 😀
Starbucks Coffee in Pike St!
Seattle Public Library!
The very first Starbucks from the 70s!!
The Pike Place Market
Black Lives Matter sign
A couple of funny Canada memes I found on the internet back then 😀
😀 😀 😀
It was also in Seattle where I wrote the little funny anecdote with the Uber driver while I was trying to get all my luggage to the bus station 😀
Then I finally got on the bus to Vancouver! It took about 3 hours to get there, a half hour more due to the waiting time at the border checkpoint. Of course, because it was an international bus trip, there were passport controls and also covid regulations to be taken into account. All passengers were asked to get off for the control at the Canadian border, show their passports, testing results, and obviously I had to show my Canadian study permit as well. In the end, all was alright. But guess what! The border policeman thrusted yet another testing kit into my hand – I had been randomly selected – and told me to do another test within 24 hours upon entering… That was where all the real covid chaos began… Canada's covid regulations? They were insane!
In Vancouver I slept a night at the Samesun Hostel (address: 1018 Granville St, Vancouver, BC V6Z1L5). It was a good hostel for downtown Vancouver! The next day, I met a friend from the old days back in Iceland again and we were planning to spend the day just driving through Vancouver and visiting places, as well as spend some time in the nature of the surrounding area. But I also yet had to take the covid test. It worked with a QR code registration. There was a hotline on the kit where it was possible to make a video call with a trained technician who would explain the exact procedures so that the test would stay valid. In the end, the whole procedure took us 3 hours!! Thankfully, the friend worked in a testing center for employees of a clinic, otherwise it would have probably taken me at least 6 hours, hahaha, for reeeeal!
Now here's the story: At first, I registered on the Life Labs site (British Columbia testing company), then tried to book an appointment with them, but somehow it didn't work. Then I contacted EF in Toronto, they told me I should do the whole thing on Switch Health's site (Ontario company). So I registered there too, but all these sites ask such dumb questions that take forever… (For example, what is the exact time that I crossed the Canadian border? Holy cow, how was I supposed to remember that? 
) Then it needed the serial number of the kit sample, and it took us ages to find any number that would fit, and at the end, we realized it won't work because it's a different company so the serial number would never match… So then we got back to Life Labs, somehow did manage to find the buttons for the booking of video appointments… again a million questions you needed to get through.
When we finally got an appointment for 30 mins later, we went for a walk and then got back to the car to do the testing. The kit box has even an extra hole for the phone to put during the video call, see photo below. Can you believe it?? I put my phone there, and my friend all the box's contents for the testing between us in the car. When we got through, the lady asked for the box. We were so stressed, it took us legit 5 minutes of searching the whole car until we realized that the damn box was on the dashboard in front of me with the phone. The lady also asked for a pen and the form that was inside to fill in… So I started filling it out and finished, then she asked for a special label. We could not find it anywhere. No label in the box or among the contents whatsoever…The lady said: "Oh, okay, so that means the kit is not complete and that makes it invalid for the testing. You can throw it away. We either have to get you another one or you go straight to the testing center."
(……
Well, thanks for nothing
)
"Um, okay! Well, I'm flying to Toronto this evening, so I don't have time for another kit. If it's possible I'd like an appointment at the center right away."
"Okay, then you have to book the appointment. Call them, they are near the airport, they are called [XY] you can google it and there is the number."
"Ok thanks!"
So we dialled the number, and off we went to the airport, almost an hour's drive. No chance to get through to call the test center the entire time
"Okay, forget it, let's just walk inside and ask if I can get tested", I said. Got there, and the test was done within 10 minutes! Plus, I didn't have to send any stupid kit anywhere!
So I simply wondered: Why didn't the border control tell me straight away to go to this test center in Vancouver? Instead of giving me that stupid kit! That would've saved me plenty of time, energy, and stress
And them too!
It was insane. By the way, it needed to be a PCR test, if I recall correctly. So, the one that took a few days' waiting time to get the results.
Well, the most important thing is that I got the required test results at the end.
I actually needed that second test to get out of quarantine later once the PCR results where out.
As for the day trip around Vancouver that day, we first drove over the Lion's Gate Bridge to the Cypress Provincial Park scenic view over downtown Vancouver. The weather was exceptionally beautiful for Vancouver, as it actually rains almost non-stop and the sun barely ever comes out, but that day, the sky was blue and the sun was shining the whole day, and there was quite a lot of snow and ice lying outside the city that made the nature with the sun even brighter. The scenic view was spectacular! Have a look at some pictures below.
The Lion's Gate Bridge in all its glory!
Cypress Provincial Park scenic view
It was amazing!!!
Driving up north into the mountains
Porteau Cove
Squamish and the mountains between Vancouver and Squamish are an area in BC inhabited by First Nations. There were bilingual signs everywhere with their language. Awesome!
This is the stupid covid testing kit that what a terrible mess and caused trouble half of the day!!
Lonsdale Quay
Love this view!! ❤
I LOVE how those high mountains in Vancouver are right behind the city ❤
Then we drove northwards towards the mountains and in the direction of Squamish to the Porteau Cove, where we took a few pictures. Vancouver's surrounding mountains that come straight out of the ocean are breathtaking and mesmerizing. I will tell more about it in a later post as I returned to Vancouver in the summer for a week and took a day trip in that area!
In the late afternoon after we had a quick lunch in a mall, the friend took me with my luggage back to the airport where I had taken the test earlier and then I proceeded to my flight to Toronto. I was 5 hours early, though, so I had plenty of time. Canadians are said to be very friendly, and one such person was the lady at the check-in counter at the Vancouver YVR. The maximum weight of the luggage was 50 pounds/25 kilos, and I was slightly over it, if I recall well. So the check-in lady simply and patiently said in the most friendly way that I can go to an area further up to change some items to my handbag and then it would be alright, I shall take my time and then come back to check-in again. What a friendly lady! ❤ Nothing of the usual stress at other airports, everything was just easy and there was no stress.
Around 10 p.m., I finally boarded the plane.
Arrival in Toronto straight into a Covid quarantine
Once I arrived at Toronto YYZ early on that Monday morning that my language school officially started, it was about 6:30 when I got out of the arrivals and then I had to wait about 45 mins until the guy with the school shuttle finally showed up to pick up me and another student from Japan. I was so exhausted from the entire trip, the luggage, the whole covid drama in Vancouver and the night flight that I was so glad to finally be headed to the place where I would spend the next days and nights. It was at the Holiday Inn in downtown in the Lombard Street where we, all the EF students that had arrived that day, had to quarantine for at least the next 5 days, and when the results still weren't there or we were tested positive, we then had to stay for another 5 days. I think my results arrived late so I stayed about a week or so because I remember the time I was stuck in that room was really long, several days.
And this was the most bizarre situation because each of us were locked up in quarantine in one of the hotel rooms, we were not allowed to get out of the rooms, meal were brought to us and left for us outside the doors, and we already started having online classes (without even knowing each other in person yet) and everyone was in their rooms that all looked alike! It was so strange and crazy to watch that during the video calls. Moreover, we were in this huge city of Toronto with about 4 mio. of inhabitants and yet, every day I watched the streets outside the window from the 7th floor of a skyscraper that were completely empt, ,and it was dark outside most of the time, and the cold crept in into the room through the window even though buildings in Toronto are generally obviously well isolated – because it was in the middle of January and a pandemic and -20°C outside at night 😀 It felt like being in some kind of a weird horror and sci-fi movie mix 😀 At the beginning, I was actually glad I would be alone for a few days in a luxury hotel room that I didn't have to pay on my own, after all the hardships of the past trip; but after like 5 days, it started to be too much and I was already very much looking forward to exploring the city, seeing my school and meeting all the other students at EF 😀
Nocturnal flight over Vancouver ❤
😀 The first freezing temperatures I felt once I got out of Toronto's airport. I will never forget that!
❤
My quarantine hotel room in Toronto for the first week
Those January covid streets in downtown Toronto were so eerily empty! This was at 7 p.m.! Not a soul outside!
So this is the whole story about how I moved to Canada and what the first days were like. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my silly little rollercoaster tale. More coming soon! Stay tuned 😀 ❤
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