The trip

I started out my trip early (Saturday, August 18th 2012) morning from Katrineholm in Sweden. Did some last packing before leaving for the train station. All my documents were ready. Since I am a Swedish citizenship, I don't need a visa to travel to Canada. All I needed was the acceptance letter from Concordia University. 

Train left at 9.14. Nothing special. My flight left at 14.10. The destination was Iceland, traveling with Icelandair. I noticed that food wasn't included in this flight so I thought it was just because it was a short flight (3 hours) and then I didn't give much thought about it. The entertainment was decent since it was possible to watch/use the entertainment system mostly 98% of the time, even during takeoff and landing. The only negative with it was the headphones wasn't included. They sold them for 6€ each. Luckily, I had my own with me!

Arrived on Iceland around 13 Iceland time. Bought a pack of candy to satisfy my hunger while waiting for the food on the plane. Waited for the flight for over an hour since it got delayed. The waiting hall was crowded and very few chairs so lot of passengers sat on the floor.  So then it was time for boarding. It was also Icelandair so the routine was the same, which means the food wasn't included but the prices were okey. One baguette costs 5€ and the other meals was around the same. Juice and soft drinks were at 1€. I've got a feeling that Iceland is not a very rich country and that they are trying to make as much money as possible or maybe it's just the airline. This flight lasted 8 hours. Watched 3 movies during that time. I arrived at JFK airport in NYC. Check the time and had 2 hours for my connecting flight. I had plenty of time, it's what I thought. But then I realized that I was wrong. The immigration/customs in U.S. was sooooo long. Not many booth open and there were 3 flights in the customs' hall. Not to mention that I had to claim my luggage after customs. Which made me miss my flight... I should've just asked the officer earlier if I could pass since I had a connecting flight. Who would've thought that they worked so slowly in the U.S... But, they rebooked me and gave me a new ticket for Montréal for tomorrow morning at 9.20. Don't be afraid to speak with the officers next time if you have a connecting flight!

I spent around 12 hours at JFK airport. Didn't sleep much. Slept for like 2 hours + 2 hours. Tried to call my landlady while I was there. Bought 2 phone cards to call since the the PIN-code was so blurry on the first card >_> Most of the time there was dead time. Didn't do much. Just waited and waited... At least they had a lot of old cool arcades! Made me happy to just watch.

One of the arcades at the JFK airport

After all these waiting, I was finally on my way to my destination again! It was 1 and a half hours flight and I slept through most of it. No entertainment. The plane was very, very small. First time seeing it, the American Eagle.

In Montréal, I went through the customs and immigration. Quite smoothly actually but the staff there wasn't very nice... felt like they have been sleeping less than I did. One of them in the immigration booth were very anti against Asian or Chinese people. Very stingy (he was assisting another Chinese man denying his entry and such). Look strangely on me when I stood in line and checked the front of my passport to see which nationality I belonged to. He also gave me a number for the queue and then asked what number he gave me liked he wanted to prolong the current passenger he was helping to skip me (since I was next in line). A lady assisted me there and it went smoothly. Claimed my luggage, got them checked and went to the arrival hall. Remember: You are not allowed to bring meat to Canada, apparently. If you do and don't declare it, they will bill you with the cost of 800 CAD @__@ I had a sandwich with me but the nice officer said it was okey, didn't bill me and threw it away.

At the arrival hall. I went to the booth called Accueil Plus Service which is for all international students. They guided me, gave me some paper and show how I could find my apartment. Very nice and friendly!

 Subway at Lionel-Groux

With the helped of the information the gave me, I rode the shuttle bus and subway to Villa Maria located in Monkland. My apartment was not far away and I was finally there!