Memory Lane: January 1, 2006. First trip back home.

briefing my winter break

-waking up the day after i finish my last exam, the first term as a law student felt like a blur, or maybe that was just the after effects of the section b party. its a forgotten feeling to be able to wake up without an alarm, not having some case on the mind, or wondering if today is going to be the day i'm called on when it just so happens that was the case i didn't get to. of course i haven't packed yet, and my flight back to toronto is only a few hours away.

-i like it how me, being an "international student" i'm supposed to get to the airport 2 hours before my flight. i'm pretty certain that my flight time back to the foreign country of canada is shorter then most people going home. i basically sleep through the hour and 45 min flight, declining the stale orange juice and dissapointed that they don't even give the headphones out anymore. can i even get a pillow?

-my first strange moment, i'm given one of those customs cards to fill out. i can't figure out if i'm a resident of canada or a visitor to canada (i don't know if i can use the domicile test from civil procedure). ah who cares, i fill it out like i normally do, putting the good ol markham address.

-upon landing the customs agent ask what i was doing in the united states, and with confidence i can say i'm going to law school (i wore my newly purchased minnesota golden golphers sweater just to prove it). she seemed impressed and then showed me how to correctly fill in the custom card "visitor" section, as i will only be visiting canada from now on. interesting...

-after four months in m-town (aka minneapolis, i don't know if anyone calls it that), i suddenly realized i was going to have to adjust back to the canadian culture (more on this later). its not exactly like when i came back from south africa and thought it was totally acceptable to run red lights (because i might get hijacked) or making sure i locked the doors, not once, twice, but three times, and made sure i tucked my money in my socks. no i didn't have to go to these lengths. but it took me a few days to get used to the things i used to be used to.

-getting picked up from the airport, i'm handed the keys to the black lexus (aka. 1994 pontiac sunbird). mind you, i haven't drove in over 4 months, sure no big deal when you're the self proclaimed michael schumacher of milliken. but driving around here is kind of like going through daily obstacle courses, only all the drivers are playing bumper cars, and you are not. i still know the toronto streets like a human version of mapquest and rip home in record time. in my mind, i'm thinking if any local cops try to test me, i'll tell them that their canadian law doesn't apply to me, quote them something from marbury v. madison, then show them my minnesota law school sweater as my id. maybe i'll try that next time.

-i get home and i begin telling the first story of what would become many resposes to "so how is law school in minnesota?