Canadaa.

This summer, I had a blast. Like literally a blast. It was the best summer so far. Went to Canada to stay with my cousin sisters that I haven't seen in half my life and I actually miss Canada. I met some awesome people there and came back with an equally amazing experience.

My cousins were amazing (psst. I have a feeling you're reading this Srinz). We did fun things - go to the library, go to Tim Hortons, ride a bike around the neighbourhood, see gangs in the dark and just pedal faster and many more. All those might not sound very satisfying, but over the course of the summer I learnt some things that I might probably keep for life. They were mainly based on quotes that I found on my cousin's Pinterest when I was mocking them. 

It's not about the places you go, but the company you keep.

Yes. That's pretty simple to comprehend. It isn't like something foreign that you cannot understand. But when I was there, it hit me hard. From just walking around the neighbourhood to sitting in the back of a car for 8 hours, it just isn't fun doing it alone. The right people make it the best, ever. From the backseat selfies to the 'where in the world are we' moments, it was just amazing to be with people who can make the best out of the worst; make lemonade out of lemons. I mean, who would've expect sitting on the porch at night to be enjoyable regardless of the countless mosquitos bites I endured. You know as they say - "I would rather be in the dark with someone than be in the light alone." Or don't they actually say that? Well go figure.

There is no time like the present

This might seem obvious, but I feel like it is understated. There have been many times that I had to pester my cousin to actually take me to 'le centre-ville' and everytime I did I had an amazing time. From eating authentic street food to getting lost in Chinatown, it was simply an experience as a whole. When I first landed, I felt like I had all the time in the world. Looking back, I didn't - but whatever time I had I'm happy I spent it with them.

Check everything more than once before you bounce

I'm really bad at rhyming - I made that up. I felt like this story had to be mentioned cause I learnt this in the course of 24 hours, not 2 months. It is something that stands out when I look back at my summer. It all started with my parents coming after me staying there for a month and a half. We planned to go to Chicago by car and left the house as early as seven. It was almost a 3 hour drive to the border and an hour wait time to reach the immigration offices. We had our passports ready to be stamped and they asked us to go into the office to get it stamped (I didn't need it cause I went to New York prior to my parents arrival.)  The officer scanned mine, finished mine. Scanned my dad's, finished his. Scanned my mom, stopped. He started flicking through the pages. She had a thick passport and he took a couple of minutes flicking through it. He gave up and gave it to us to find the visa for America on my mom's passport. We flicked over the passport. Once. Twice. Thrice. Once more than thrice. We couldn't find it. We couldn't find her visa. Then it struck her. She had her visa in her old passport. The passport which she left back home - in Dubai. So basically we tried to smuggle in an illegal immigrant into the US. That's a crime. They asked us to go into this room. An enclosed room with cameras and locks - just like the movies. We didn't have a phone, no nothing. We were in the room for three hours. It was probably the longest three hours in my life. There were other people in the room as well. One guy who was held up because he had some charges in 1984. That's almost twice as old as me. Anyway they gave my mom's passport back and told us to head back into Canada. Our trip was cancelled. We had a very quiet ride back. But atleast my mom came back with a slip saying "Refusal of Immigration to the United States of America."

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

That is something I learnt after a week of coming back. It was surreal to be back in my actual home compared to my temporary residence in Toronto. It was so different there. I miss their overused and lame jokes, their mediocre insults, stupid sense of humour and the awful bragging after I lost ONCE against them in table tennis. It was those little things that pulled a long way and made a huge difference. And I'm happy I went to Canada. Thanks Srinz and Reman for that 'awesome' prank call and the bullshit you told me after. Thanks Svetha for those amazing bracelets  and those unforgettable times we played ping pong in the basement and (even though I was the clear winner) I let you win. I also cannot forget those times we sat and watched those make up tutorials on your YouTube Channel. If you're reading this again, it was me who subscribed you to those weird South Indian singers channels (especially Vennu Mahesh - don't unsubscribe). I still miss you're stupid jokes and now, I don't know if you know it or not, but I'm addicted to saying 'maaan' after everything. Best sister I've had (better than Srinz). It was an amazing summer. It really was.