OMG! So somehow my ticket got upgraded to FIRST CLASS! International First Class is amazing! I think there was a discrepancy and that they had a hard time finding my ticket in the first place in Portland then in Vancouver too. it was because my first name is listed last and last name first. The lady in Vancouver was really helpful and thanked me for answering the questions she had in her head about my ticket. She handed me my ticket and I didn’t even look at it.
I sat around waiting to board and then looked at my ticket to see where I was sitting and noticed that it was really close to the front of the plane. The noticed that it said executive. So i boarded first class! Got free champagne in my seat that wasn’t a seat so much as a diagonal cubical with a bed type thing that was motorized to make it fold out with my own television screen and a bag of toiletries including an eye mask and booties.
Look at how posh this was http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/media/facts/first_exec.html
There wasn’t much vegan stuff for me to eat luckily I had a HUGE soba noodle salad in Vancouver. They never brought my meal from the back but I had lots of bread, nuts, three glasses of free wine and 3 bowls of strawberries and blackberries with a glass of port. I watched the American version of Life on Mars and fell asleep buzzed and cozy in my little bed. I woke up actually refreshed. Who wakes up refreshed after a 9 hour flight and 16 hours of travel?
First class is amazing! The weird thing is that the first time I had a sleeper car on a train it was a total surprise like this too. It is going to be hard to go back but at least the stressful part of this trip was getting here. I was stressed about customs but it was a breeze! When you sit in first class they give you an expediated customs voucher where you go through the quick line. I had practiced all the ways to explain what a zine was and she just asked me what I was doing. I saw I was traveling for pleasure and going to a zine convention. She asked how long I was going to be here. I said until may 22 and she stamped my passport and I went on. The I grabbed my bags from the baggage carousel and headed out the door past an adorable drug sniffing dog. no one stopped me or asked to look at my bags. It was super easy!
I got from the airport to the Camdentown stop ok but got all confused trying to find the right bus. and ended up walking: really far then waiting on Edd’s porch forawhile reading zines. He thought I was coming in tomorrow. oops.
So, here I am. I’m not sure what I’m doing today. it is evening here the weather is similar to Portand but humid.
Alex Wrekk 