Winnipeg!

I decided to drive through Fargo, ND on the way to Winnipeg, and per April's suggestion, got lunch in Moorhead at Grand Station Junction.  Delicious subs!

 Pembina Station - Gateway to Canada

I hit the border around 5 P.M., and I had an interesting interaction with the border patrol.  Apparently things have changed in the last few years.  No longer can you jump in your car and dash across the border for some hullibaloo without question.  Rather, I was asked myriad personal questions (with apparently not very good answers), and some are as follows:

• What are you doing here? (networking for dissertation research)
• Do you have documentation that is what you are doing here? (no)
• Who are you staying with? (Couchsurfers)
• What? (Couchsurfers)
• I'm not familiar. (You ask people in an area if they will host you, and they do)
• Uh huh.....
• Whose car are you driving? (mine)
• Are you working? (I'm a student)
• Do you have ties to Ohio? (What?)
• Do you have family waiting for you? (My parents don't live there, we're not close, but my grandma and sister are there)
• Do you have a job waiting for you? (I'm a teaching assistant)
• When does school start? (August)
• The date? (20-something, but I'm going to Uganda before the fall)
• Can I see your plane tickets? (No, they were purchased through the University)
• So you don't have any documentation proving why you are here? (No)
• You don't have proof that you are currently in school? (No.. I have a bag of textbooks in my car)
• I need to look through your car, is there anything you want to remove from it before I do? (no)
• What I'm looking for is evidence that you are trying to move into Canada. (mentally to myself -  OOOOhhhh)

Needless to say, I and my car, must appear harmless as he let me pass through eventually.  In undergrad we literally just hopped in the car and got waived on through to ol' Canada.  I am so used to the U.S. being paranoid about terrorists, I was trying to figure out the whole time what these questions had to do with me being a Canadian terrorist- nope, dude just thought I was trying to join the Canadian ranks.  Good to know.

Anyway, I arrived in Winnipeg moments before my hosts, who are thus far really nice, and really helpful.  They've suggested many fun things to do around Winnipeg and have a stack of guidebooks for the area.  Tomorrow I explore!

 My drive!