Cross Border -- July 21, 2018

And so, natuloy din kaming mag-crossborder last weekend. After kong magpatumpik-tumpik, I finally gave in. Hindi ko na-resist ang temptasyon ng Purefoods hotdogs haha. Saka tutal kako I passed naman the citizenship test last July 18 kaya may excuse na na mag-splurge ng konti. We are also going to Edmonton to visit our friends kaya kailangan namin ng hotdogs pamapasalubong.

Pero dahil nga mataas ang value ng US dollars, we decided to use na lang yung remaining USD namin. Naghagilap ako talaga haha! Medyo marami-rami pa naman, pwede pang gamitin ng ilang balik hehe.

July 21, 2018 (Saturday). We left our place at around 12:45pm. Late na kasi late na kaming gumising eh. Hindi naman din kami nagmamadali. We prefer to cross the border ng alanganing oras para hindi mahaba ang pila.

Upon checking online, around 30 minutes ang waiting time sa Peace Arch at Pacific Crossings kaya dun kami sa Aldergrove as usual. Mas malayo iyon pero kesa nakapila ka sa mga "famous" borders na yun ng at least 30 minutes, idrive mo na lang yung oras na yun going to Aldergrove kung saan wala halos pila.

Whenever the Border Officer asks us kung saan o ano ang gagawin namin sa US, we would answer na that we are going to Jollibee. Gets na nila yun haha. Tatawa na sila at magjo-joke.

At dahil wala akong valid I-94, we had to stop briefly in their immigration office. Walang ibang tao dun, kami lang, kaya sobrang bilis. Kinunan ako ng finger prints at photo. Ang sabi ng Immigration Officer, I lost weight daw haha. He must have seen the difference ng current picture ko sa mga nakaraan.

I paid USD6.00 again for my 6-month I-94 validity. Hmmp, di bale na nga. This will be the last time na magbabayad ako niyan because in less than 6 months, siguro naman may blue passport na rin ako.

From Aldergrove Crossing, Westfield Southcenter Mall (where the Seafood City and Jollibee are located) is around 2 1/2-hour drive pa. Nakakainip kasi takam na takam na nga kami sa Chickenjoy.

We arrived at Jollibee ng 4pm and I wasn't expecting a long line kasi nga alanganing oras. Oh well, Sabado nga kasi siguro kaya never napatid ang linya.

We missed you, Jollibee! Noong nasa Pinas kami, araw-araw akong nagmo-motor sa Jollibee (na malapit lang samin) para bumili ng hapunan ni TanTan.

The queue was long pero mas ok na rin kasi makukuha mo na agad ang food mo after you pay. Unlike before na pipila at magbabayad ka tapos bibigyan ka nung parang alarm na iilaw kapag ready na ang order mo. Ang tagal tagal mag-antay. 

Wow, chickenjoy! We paid USD26.50 (or CAD35.78 / Php1,416.16) for these. We wanted to add pa sana spaghetti and burger after kaso pipila na naman ng mga 35-40 minutes.

One Pinoy guy handed this toy to me, baka raw gusto ng bata. Syempre I happily accepted kahit na meron na kami niyan sa Pinas.

Bakit niya binigay sa amin yung toy? Kasi "free" lang yan. Would you believe na parehas lang ang presyo kapag umorder ka ng spaghetti with drinks at kiddie meal na spaghetti with drinks? Tila USD5.99 yata. I learned about it in California kaya sabi ko sa sarili ko na kapag gusto ko ng spaghetti eh yung kiddie meal na ang oorderin ko kahit ayaw ko ng toy.

 After eating, lakad-lakad muna sa mall syempre. Ang tagal kong naghanap ng dresses sa JCPenney at Macy's kaso bigo ako. Kailangan ko kasi ng mga damit for a wedding na aattendan namin sa August at sa forthcoming oathtaking ko (naks!).

Then we went na to Seafood City to buy hotdogs and other pang-ulam. I'll show you what we bought there in another post.

Before leaving, we bought some ensaimadas din from Red Ribbon and Valerio's Bakery. Nakaalis kami ng 7:30pm na.

Off to our next destination -- Walmart! Oo, dinayo pa namin talaga ang Walmart. Ang saya-saya kasi ng mga Walmarts sa US, ang dami-daming paninda. Ibang-iba sa mga Canadian stores.

May batang nabuhayan ng dugo haha. Ang cute nitong nakita naming work tools na trolley kaya binili na rin namin. Walang ganito sa Canada eh.

Ay syempre nagutom ang bagets kaya nagpabili ng Happy Meal. Buti na lang nakaabot pa kami sa Incredibles toy. We got Dash yipeee! (Iba ang toys sa Canada at sa US booo!).

So yun, bago umuwi, pakarga ng gas as usual. Ang laki ng kamurahan ng gas sa US kesa Canada kaya talagang doon nagfu-full tank ang mga Canadians.

Medyo mahaba pa rin ang pila sa Pacific Crossing pauwi. Pero ayos lang kasi ang bait ng border officer na babae. Ni hindi kami tinanong kung ano ang pinamili namin haha. Usually kasi tinatanong nila kung bumili ng liquor o cigarettes eh. Kapag grocery items naman o other goods na hindi naman malaki ang halaga, di naman na nila pinata-taxan.

Anyway, it always feels good to be back in Canada kahit na a few hours lang kaming lumabas. Canada is really our home.

Twelve midnight na nang makarating kami sa bahay. Hindi na nga pala kami nagdinner sa labas, yung mga tinapay na binili na lang namin ang kinain namin.

No more US trips for now

My husband went to our bank the other day to request for a bank draft because he wanted to send a little amount to his godson in the US who just graduated from high school.

Medj nalungkot kami when we learned na ganito na pala ang palitan ng Canadian to US dollar ngayon.

Waaah! It will mean one thing -- no more cross border trips for now. Naglu-look forward pa naman ako na mag-Seattle uli at mamili ng Tender Juicy hotdogs sa Seafood City dun. Saka mag-Jollibee uli syempre. Pero it's really not the best time to go out of Canada. Walang value ang datung namin.

My in-laws, who are based in California, were also asking us to visit them again (kahit kami lang daw ni Nathan since may trabaho si Ford). Ang sabi namin mahirap kasi nga ang baba ng Canadian dollar. Ang lahat ng bilihin dun parang magiging sobrang mahal ang labas, hindi ka rin mage-enjoy kapag ganun.

Hay, kelan kaya tataas uli ang Canadian dollar? Mahirap i-wish na bumaba ang US dollar eh.

Returning I-94

We were supposed to fly back to Canada on April 13, 2018 but because we already bought a house and we're just waiting for September so we could move in, we decided to just extend our stay here in the Philippines. Tutal nandito na rin lang kami. You see, Nathan doesn't want to go back to Canada na hehe. He loves it here, where there's so much space for him to play and lots of people to "entertain" him. Ako naman ayaw ko ng bumalik sa apartment namin haha. Kung pwede nga lang bang sa August na kami bumalik sa Canada eh, kaso I can't stay here longer than six months.  Si husband naman, though miss na miss na ang anak, naisip that he'll be able to save a lot pa in the two months that we'll extend here kaya pumayag na rin. Marami kasi kaming gastos na haharapin come September kaya kailangan magtipid lol.

Anyway, after rebooking our return flight (na walang any fees, fortunately!), Ford reminded me to surrender the Form I-94 that's been stapled on my passport. Kasi nga May 3, 2018 ang expiration kaya hindi na ako aabot. Kaloka, it took me a month to mail it kasi tinamad talaga akong gawin.

Ooops by the way, ang US Customs and Border Protection Form I-94 (or Arrival/Departure Record) is issued to tourists entering the US via land border ports of entry. 

If you live in British Columbia, para kasing part na talaga ng buhay mo ang regular na pagko-crossborder sa Washington. Ang dali lang if you are a Canadian citizen kasi dadaan ka lang sa toll booths tapos ipapakita ang passport mo. But for Canadian permanent residents, medyo hassle ng kaunti. Kasi every 6 months, we would have to go through the immigration process pa and pay USD6.00 fee. Sa immigration, may konting interview portion tapos picture-taking and finger printing churvah. Then they will issue na an I-94 that is valid for 6 months. Kapag meron kang ng valid na I-94 sa passport mo, next time na magcrossborder ka eh dadaan ka na lang din sa booth at hindi na bababa. My husband (who is a Canadian citizen already) would always tease me na ang hassle ko raw isama sa US kasi nga kelangan pang dumaan sa immigration at magbayad. Liability daw ako lol!

Anyway, my recent I-94 was issued on November 4, 2017 when we went to California to visit my in-laws. We crossed the border kasi sa Seattle-Tacoma International Airport kami lumipad. Ang mahal kasi kung sa Vancouver Airpot kasi bale international flight na yun, tapos tatlo pa kami. Kaya sulit na rin kahit na magdrive kami ng 2 1/2 hours going to Seattle dahil malaki talaga ang natipid namin.

We went back to Canada on November 14, 2018 and hindi na uli kami nakabalik ng US after that kaya nasa akin pa ang I-94 ko. We thought of returning it talaga pagbalik sana namin ni Nathan sa Canada by April, kaso nga hindi na aabot dahil sa vacation extension namin dito.

So to correct my records in their system at nang hindi ako maka-experience ng problema sa future travels ko in the US, ayun nga at binalik ko na sa kanila yung Form I-94 via registered mail (na binayaran ko ng Php175.00). Sana makarating huhu.

Nga pala, I wrote a letter to them explaining my situation (kung bakit nasa akin pa nga yung I-94) together with some "evidences" of my departure in the US. Kailangan talaga ng proper documentation. In my case, ang pinaka-strong evidence ko ay yung boarding passes ng flights ko (pauwi dito last January) at yung stamp of arrival in the Philippines sa passport. Enough proof na siguro yun na hindi ako nag-overstay in the US.

I kept a copy of the letter and documents that I mailed to them that I will bring the next time we cross the border. Naku, kakabahan ako for sure. Sana walang maging problema kasi sa Seattle (Tukwila) lang may Jollibee na malapit, I cannot live long without chickenjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving, USA!

A lot of people I know are oblivious to the fact that Canada and the US are two DIFFERENT countries. Ang akala nila porke magkadikit at English-speaking ang mga tao eh iisa na. Kaloka.

One difference between these two countries is the day they celebrate Thanksgiving. Canadians 'give thanks' on October (second Monday) while Americans commemorate this day every fourth Thursday of November.

According to my husband, who has lived in both countries, Thanksgiving in Canada is not as 'big' as in the US. Sa America, talagang humihinto "busy life" ng lahat kapag Thanksgiving Day. Everyone's into holiday mode, very much looking forward to spending time and good meal/s with family and friends.

Anyway, it is now November 28 and we wish to greet all our family and friends in the US a Happy Happy Thanksgiving Day! 

Picture taken from Hello Kitty's Official Facebook Page

Ford's immediate family (Mom, Dad, and Sis) and majority of their relatives are all based in the US. Almost everyone in my father's side of the family also lives in there. I wish I can also experience Thanksgiving Day in America someday. Si Ford kasi sawa na daw, lol!

With all honesty, hindi ko pa talaga naiinternalize ang value ng holiday na ito. Wala pang kabuluhan sa akin (sa akin lang naman) haha! Wala naman kasing Thanksgiving sa Pinas. Pero malamang mai-instill din siguro sa akin eventually. Wala namang masama kung madagdagan ng isa pa ang holidays na pinahahalagahan ko, right? Mas masaya nga eh.