One unavoidable aspect of traveling is going through customs security. Most of the time it is a simple but annoying process. Then there are those times that customs and security are so mind-boggling frustrating that I am tempted to say, “ Can I see what’s in YOUR bag”, or “I just went through security, what could you possibly find that team didn’t 5 minutes ago?”. I also have a fantasy of throwing my belongings at the airport security and yelling, “I don’t need to take this, Jaz out!” I understand that these people are just doing their jobs. However airports and train station security have given me experiences that I will remember for a life time. I give you the ongoing series: Customs.
Canada edition: Yeah, Canada.
After a wonderful trip to Italy my friend and I were regretfully flying back to the states and our normal lives. We had two stops in Canada before flying back to San Francisco and our first stop was Montreal International. Since we already gone through security in Rome and were riding the same airline we only needed to go through customs/passport control to fly back into the states. We decided only to bring carry ons for the trip. Most airlines allow one carry on for the overheads and one to place under your seat at 22 pounds each (so basically two items). After getting off our flight we walked to passport control and presented our passports to the officer. He told us since it was now a domestic flight we would need to re-check any luggage we had (not true, but it didn’t matter). I told him we didn’t have anything checked in and only had carry ons. He stopped what he was doing and said “Two women, and you don’t have any checked luggage?”. I ignored the sexist part of that statement and replied, “No, it’s easier without it”. He says again, “But, Two women..”. I kindly replied, “Well people back pack through Europe all the time so it’s not that crazy”. He looked at us skeptically and instructed where to walk after we had gotten our stamps. We followed his directions and found ourselves at a security line. I was confused since we already went through this in Rome. Since we weren’t leaving airport grounds we should not have to go through a check twice. The guard looked at us and directed us to take off our shoes and brings our bags up. He told the employees we were sent from the passport control line. The woman from behind the scanner (who never smiled) came up to us and said, “We need to open your bags”. We of course said OK and they began to search. This woman proceeded to use some sort of scanner on everything she touched and asked me what each item was. Even though she was clearly holding a shoe she would ask me what it was. About half way through this I started to connect the dots. The man at passport control perked up when we said we didn’t need to check any bags. The people in the security line knew we were coming. One employee during the check was smiling at our clear confusion. It dawned on me that we didn’t look our best either. We had our sweats on, hair in messy ponytails and no makeup. I didn’t think we looked THAT suspicious though.
I looked at my friend and whispered “I think they are searching our bags for drugs”. She looked at me and said, “Yep”. I was tempted to ask the lady if there was a problem but talking to her didn’t seem like the best idea. I also wanted to point out that there wasn’t a drug in Rome that I couldn’t possibly get in San Francisco, and of better quality. (Please note, I do not use or endorse drug use. I am merely stating a fact). After we were deemed not to be drug lords we were allowed to catch our flight. An awesome chain of events followed this that included us ending up getting first class but I will save that for the next entry.
Tip for traveling: I recommend using the two carry on strategy for two weeks or shorter trips. You don’t really need a whole bunch of clothes and it’s OK if you wear repeats. You won’t be seeing the same people day after day anyway. This also saves the hassle of checking in luggage and picking it up. Of course you might be suspected of smuggling drugs overseas but whatever. It will make for a good story.
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