The Travel Journal

Author's note:

Everything you read here are from experiences, but just little details of my travelling endeavors.

Chapter 1 - Moving to Canada...

It was 6AM in the morning, May 19, 2006. I remember eating a cheese sandwich with chocolate milk. My mom and dad were getting ready, while my brother, sister and I were still eating. I remember wiping myself with a hot towel and change into my travelling clothes. I also remember thinking about how my life is going to change in Canada. I kept thinking to myself "It's for the best", but at the same time, I thought to myself "What about my grandma, grandpa, my friends and my aunt? Will I ever see them again?" I just didn't like the thought of leaving my childhood in the Philippines behind, but it's for the best.

It was 6:53AM. We were at the curb, waiting for our relatives and friends to pick us up to and drop us off at the airport. I should have mentioned this before, but we had a load of boxes with items in them. I didn't know why we packed them, but now I know why. Just a few days back, we sent to airmail, I'm guessing, to fly them off to Canada where my aunt and uncle will pick them up from there. Enough with the boxes though. My relatives finally arrived, but there were 2 cars coming with us. I thought it was only 1 car that was going to pick us up, but the other car was meant for my grandpa, grandma and aunt. After putting our entire luggage, other boxes and settling down, we drove off to the airport.

7:03AM, sunrise in the Philippines. We finally arrived at the Nino Aquino International Airport. The sun was starting to peak out of the horizon. My family got out of the car and took out our luggage and boxes. I helped a little, since I was still 6 and my muscles were still developing. I came up to my friends, which were actually my cousins, and hugged each one of them. I forgot what I had said to them because at the same time, I was crying. It was so hard leaving your other life behind, but you know you will start a new one. After settling, we all got into the airport. We said our goodbyes and said "I will miss you so much.", and waved goodbye. Looking at my family, I knew it was also hard for them to leave their other life behind. I will regret leaving my Filipino life.

7:34AM, daylight morning. My family and I went to a kiosk to check in to our flight. I was still in daze of what happened. After checking in, we got 3 plane tickets: Philippines to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Vancouver and Vancouver to Winnipeg. After getting our plane tickets, went through security and checking in again, but with our passports, we finally make it to our "flight waiting" area. We waited around 2 hours for our flight. It was so boring.

It was around 8:46AM. It was time to board our flight. Our flight was Cathay Pacific Airways. It was a huge plane. Going in was a piece of cake. I got my ticket checked, went through the gate and looked for my signed seat. I remember that I was seating next to my sister and saying to her "I'm sad". It was such an emotional departing for me and my family, but we got through it together. After 30 – 40 minutes, our plane was finally moving, ready for departure. I remember the anticipation of what's going to happen, but all that happened was flying….for 4 hours!

It was just getting to 12:30PM. We finally arrived in Hong Kong. Never in my life that I was happy to be getting off a plane….and have I loved planes for crying out loud….I guess it was just I never rode a plane before. After going through security, and checking in again, we got to our next flight, which was a flight to Vancouver, Canada.

My family was still waiting for dang flight. But, before we got on, we bought lunch because we were hungry as a dog. It was around 3:22PM that we got on the plane. What surprised me about this flight was that it was overnight!

I remember getting bored….don't know what else to do. But I remembered bringing my favorite kids magazine with me. I was so relieved that I didn't have to die of boredom on the plane. After a few hours, maybe, I finally finished reading the magazine. I didn't know what the time was, I knew it was sunset, and it was time to sleep. Sleeping was so uncomfortable…..I hope I never have to experience that ever again!

It was morning and we finally arrived in Vancouver where we had to go through the same thing all over again! But good thing this was the last one we had to go through. Our next flight was our final flight. This plane was departing to Winnipeg, our last stop. I checked the time and it was 10AM, but it was around 11:30 where we got into the flight.

It only took 2-4 hours to get to Winnipeg! You know that feeling when you're just like "Wow, this place is so beautiful."? That was the feeling I got when I saw so many sights of Winnipeg after going through all that.

It's now November 4, 2014. It's been 8 years, almost 9, since I've lived here. This is a new story for me. My life changed so much over the years. There were struggles along the like hearing about my grandfather's death after 1 year of moving to Canada, making new friends and getting used to different sights along the way, but other than that, I was glad that I moved to Canada, but I still regret leaving my relatives behind. I pray for them every night and hope that they would too come to Canada, someday.

I never told you what my age was when this happened. I was actually 6 years old, turning 7 that year. Today, I am 15 years old, going to high school and having the time of my life in Winnipeg. My story doesn't end here though. So many new chapters are to be written. One from the past and the future. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much I enjoyed writing this.

Chapter 2 – Los Angeles Adventures…