1. I learned that getting to the airport form University City = cheap and easy! From 40th Street to the University City Septa station was only a fifteen minute walk, and the ride to the airport on the R1 only cost six dollars! Woot!
2. Air Canada is super cool because you can watch movies and TV on demand at no (additional) charge. I watched as much of the Sex and the City movie as I could manage during my fifty minute flight.
3. In Toronto, most people speak English! Who'd have thought? I was expecting to feel like an outsider for not speaking French...on the contrary, I felt pretty super Canadian! I loved the climate, and the fact that everyone and their mother was wearing mountain clothes! Fleeces, durable hiker-ish footwear, khaki shorts, etc. I LOVE mountain clothes. Call me crazy...
4. Pretty much every street in Toronto has a sausage vendor, who sells sausage from a multitude of countries...Poland, Italy, Germany, and America (American sausage = hotdog). As hard as I tried to avoid the temptations of buying and consuming one of these not-so-healthy treats, I had to succumb to the pressure. Everyone was doing it! And who knows if I'll ever be back in Toronto? (Oh, and for those of you who are curious, my sausage was of the German variety!)
5. The University of Toronto is BEAUTIFUL! The buildings are gorgeous and appear to be steeped in history. It's also super HUGE! And the edge of the university is located in a block's proximity to a museum entirely devoted to shoes. To my dismay, I didn't have time to go inside, but I have high hopes of returning if for no other reason than to see the world's greatest and craziest footwear!
6. Graduate fairs are really fun for the people who sit behind the tables! Free dinner was a lovely thing, and while you'd think it would get boring to answer the same questions about 5276 times, it's repeatedly fun because the people asking are so uniquely...unique! I met this one girl who told me she wanted to pursue education so she could "give back to the world," and that made my heart happy! I sort of wanted us to become best friends at that point...
7. If the Canadian girls working in the bread bakery are any indicator, Canadians are good people. When I first arrived in Toronto, I took 20 Canadian dollars out of the ATM machine, and by the end of the night, I had spent it all on food, transportation, etc. So after the grad fair, I was hungry, but I had zero Canadian dollars, so I went to this bread bakery and said to the girls working there, "I know this is a weird request, but can I use a debit card to buy a baked good? I'm trying to avoid having to take out more Canadian money." They tell me that it's no problem, so I point out the scone that I want, and one of the girls puts it in a bag, and as I'm getting out my card, the girl says, "Please take it. You can have it for free." I'm pretty sure that she thought I was impoverished and starving, but it was nice in any case. And quite tasty!
8. Never underestimate the amount of time necessary when taking public transportation to an airport. And don't forget that flights from Canada to the US are technically "international." Arriving at the airport 45 minutes before takeoff is not permissible, and might perhaps cost you 50 extra Canadian dollars and the necessity of taking a later flight. Don't ask me how I know this...
9. Not ALL Air Canada flights have free on-demand TV and movies. Choose your airplanes accordingly.
10. Canada has a coffee house chain called Second Cup. Dare I say it is better than Starbucks? I think I dare. It's BETTER THAN STARBUCKS!
11. Have a great friend meet you at the airport when you get home. It's so lovely to be greeted by a familiar face!
Fun times! I'm looking forward to my next business excursion!
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