Deer Alan,

Isn't this the most ausome postcard from the areport? I picked this one becuz it has pengwins, and pengwyns are from the north poal, and the north poal is in Canada, right? I shuld sine off, Mary Anne wants to trade seets.

Luv, Claudia

I put my pen and the postcard into my carry on bag (which was white denim covered in beaver shaped appliqués and totally fresh red sequins), and unbuckled my seatbelt. My friend Mary Anne was feeling planesick, and didn't want the window seat anymore. I, Claudia Kishi, was on a flight to Canada with seven of my closest friends, and my sister and her friend. We were going to have nearly three fun-filled weeks in Vancouver, and I was dressed for it. I had on a red wool coat, reminiscent of Mounties, and a pleated miniskirt made from a Canadian flag. I wore a garland of maple leaves wrapped around one leg. My hat was the best part. I took a stuffed polar bear and ripped the stuffing out before sewing ribbons to each of its legs, so I could tie it down under my chin. A lot of people can't wear unique outfits like that, but I'm an artist with silky black hair, and gorgeous almond shaped eyes. My boyfriend Alan once said I had a nice rack, but I'm not sure if he meant my chest, or the dish rack that I had incorporated into an outfit meant to show the true struggle of housewives. It was a great ensemble, I even had a fur trimmed apron and earrings shaped like spatulas.

I was going to miss Alan while I was in Canada, but I promised to write him postcards, even though I'm not too good at spelling. My sister Janine is the genius of the family. Her IQ is 180, and she's in university, even though she's only sixteen! In fact, Janine's brains are the reason we're going to Vancouver. She and her friend Caro (I think it's short for Caroline), were invited to a series of math seminars at the University of British Columbia. When our Dad found out, he called up his cousin Kenzo, and asked him to show Janine and Caro around town. Kenzo did better than that, he invited them to stay at his downtown penthouse! He's even richer than my friend Kristy's stepdad, who is a millionaire. I was jealous of Janine until Dad told me that Kenzo had invited me, too, and I could bring a friend.

Choosing a friend to take along was the hard part. When I was a member of the Babysitter's Club, I would have been expected to find a way to invite everyone. We had seven members, and even with my poor math skills, I know that's a lot of people. Finally, I decided to ask Mary Anne Spier to come along. Mary Anne is shy and really sensitive, but she's good to travel with even though she sometimes sounds like a walking travel guide. Her family's house burned down this year, and I figured that she needed to get away from all the stress. My grandma Mimi (who passed away last year), always said it was a good idea to relax and take care of yourself. I really miss Mimi, and how she used to talk slowly to me when I didn't understand things. Mary Anne talks slowly to me, too, so it's nice to have her around.

Inviting Mary Anne had its downside, though. She told her step-sister Dawn that we were going to the West Coast. Dawn lives in California with her dad, and is really a West Coast girl. She has long blonde hair, and blue eyes like the ocean. But don't talk about eating things from the ocean to Dawn, she's a vegetarian. She nearly flipped out when she found out that I hid beef jerky in my room, behind my collection of Nancy Drew mysteries. Dawn said that Vancouver was only a two-hour flight from California, and maybe she could join us. I asked Kenzo if I could bring two friends, and he said that it was okay.

Then Mary Anne told her best friend, Kristy. Kristy wanted to come and does not take no for an answer. I swear, that girl came out of the womb with a whistle in her mouth. Kristy also has a habit of inviting herself along on other people's vacations. This time, though, she invited members of the Babysitters Club, both past and present. Somehow, she managed to talk my dad into talking Kenzo into letting us all stay at his condo. Kristy is a born business woman, with a way of getting anyone to do anything. That's how I ended up on the plane with Kristy, Mary Anne, Mallory, Abby, Jessi, and Stacey. (Dawn would be meeting us at the airport in Vancouver).

I didn't think that Stacey would come along. We used to be best friends until we had a falling out over a guy, Jeremy. I broke up with him, but Stacey still seems annoyed with me. I think she just came because Canada is one of the few countries where she hasn't found LUV yet. She can get a little boy crazy sometimes.

The plane landed, and we all got ready to disembark. Janine tapped me on the shoulder. "Aren't you going to be a little warm in that wool coat?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Sure, I was sweating at the airport in Stamford, but this is Canada. It's going to be freezing! I checked the weather, and it said that Vancouver was going to be 29 degrees this afternoon." I looked smugly at Janine, who was wearing a little yellow t-shirt. The genius hadn't been smart enough to check the weather so she could dress appropriately.

Janine gave me a smug look back. "Claudia," she said sweetly, "Canada uses Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. 29 degrees in Canada is like 85 back home."

I scowled at her. I can't believe she was already trying to ruin my vacation with math. If this was any indication of the rest of our trip, three weeks with Janine the Genius was going to be boring.