A Cancelled Flight

  After flying for awhile, I just couldn't wait to get home! When suddenly...

Figure 71.1: Oh dear heavens...

__________________________
  No time to panic. My phone is low on battery, my charger stopped working, what's the first thing to do?

  Went to the counter, go get my flight changed!

  They changed it till the next day!... That's it.... I asked about if there's accommodation or something but turns out there isn't. Apparently when it's weather related, no compensation will be offered. Oh that's okay! I'll just sleep in the airport! Nope you can't sleep in the airport. You are not allowed to sleep in the area past security. I don't understand that. If I were to stay overnight in the airport publicly, I would want to sleep in a place where someone must go through security to get in. If one wants to sleep in the airport, one could only sleep in the area outside, the area before security.

  Okay... I have cousins in Toronto! But agh! I have not contacted them since forever. Won't it be weird for me to suddenly say "hello~ I need a place to stay!"

  Agh, if I want a nice place to sleep (for a low cost), I need to swallow my pride. I don't have their number! I don't have the Facebook app! Ah well, I could just go install it. My battery is too low! Bought a cable in the airport, charged it till ~15% and then contacted my cousins. Obviously she did not reply immediately, so I just checked around the couchsurfing app, when suddenly my cousin replied!

  Moved the conversation to WhatsApp, and promptly deleted the Facebook app again. She recommend using Uber. Ah right! Uber! Never used one before! There isn't any Uber in anywhere I lived (except Malaysia but I have access to a car so why would I use the app), so this would be a new experience. $41++ from the airport to her place! Madness! Planned to use the public transit system instead then. Went out to the information booth, and the lady helped me out using google maps.

  I do not have mobile data in Canada, so I have to pay extremely close attention. I needed to take this bus to this place, then change to the subway, then change subway lines, then go up to this station and take the bus and walk for a few minutes to the place. Easy! I told my cousins my plan, and how long the journey would take (~100 minutes).

  It was 1830. I was hungry. I didn't know if one is allowed to bring food up into public transit, so I didn't. My cousins did asked me if I ate and I said I didn't. Welp, I followed the instructions to the tee.

One place got me super confused though. Apparently, the station where I have to come out of the subway and change to the bus, there were lots of bus stops at that station. The maps they provided were useless since all the bus signs only marks their last stop, which I have no idea what is my. I kind of just winged it and I got it! Whew!

  Went to my cousins. They greeted me with a towel and a Vietnamese takeaway. Oh it's extremely lovely. Oh yeah, we took a selfie together and they sent the photo to their dad (my uncle). Also, before all these happened, when I was still in the airport, I told my parents that my flight was cancelled till the next day, and I never did update them on this plan.

  My cousins asked me if I wanted the wifi password. I said later, because I feel like the moment I turned it on, it will be spammed by texts of my concern parents. So I slowly ate my dinner.

  Did you know, when you reach a point of hunger, anything you put into your tummy would give you tummy aches. That was what I was experiencing that time. I was ridiculously hungry that it was painful to eat. Crazy. While I was eating, my cousins were asking me if I should tell my parents that I'm safe. I told them that I had not tell them that I'm staying over the night at their place, and I joked that your dad (my uncle) probably sent a message to my parents already, because that's what the adults do, they have insane speed when it comes to information and gossip alike.

  Turned on my wifi. Greeted with missed Whatsapp calls from my mom (she should know that I don't have data, I don't have data since late 2016), a bunch of concern texts in the conversation, a brief period of silence (as in, there was a 40 minutes gap between the text), and then a forwarded text from the uncle. I was right.

  Told them I was fine. Stayed for the night, and left promptly the next morning. They told me to tour around downtown Toronto before leaving, and I didn't do it. I was happy I didn't do it because if I did, odds are I would have missed my flight. The commute from their place to the airport was longer than expected; because everything looks different in the day, I couldn't orient myself at the start. But now, I'm home, safe and sound, nicely showered, and very tired. Will update whatever I did in between sometime soon!

  Happy New Year folks!

Figure 71.2: Toronto's grid like city structure.

Figure 71.3: On the way home.

Figure 71.4: Something positive from Duolingo!
PS: I still practiced Duolingo everyday!