Imagine having to write weekly discussion posts, research and refine the direction of your honours thesis and keep up with six-credit elective courses. This is the chaotic beauty of being in my final year of university, with a full course load and a busy schedule.
Amidst this brouhaha, I hopped on a 48-hour trip to Cancún, Mexico for an escape. Hold that thought! ’Cos the border officer in Winnipeg gave me that stare and her questions felt like a UMLearn quiz while she searched my bag.
“That’s what you do when family calls,” I said.
Going to celebrate my aunty’s birthday/a family reunion in Mexico, for someone who lives far away from home, is surely a good way to get away from all my UMLearn notifications.
To travel is to learn, first of all, about myself. With my luggage left in Toronto after arriving in Cancún and the party starting the following day, I couldn’t survive Cancún’s heat in the thick clothes I wore from Winnipeg. I had to go find clothes and toiletries, and struggled because the stores I went to had no large shoe sizes. My bag finally arrived on the evening of the party, and I could wear my shoes and some makeup.
With a 48-hour trip comes the best part… drum roll… DUFRY! A funny abbreviation for duty free shops, if you ask me. Here’s my tip — know your limit and stay within it when shopping at Dufry. Make sure your items are packed and sealed in a Dufry bag. If immigration officers open it for inspection, make sure they reseal it with their tape marked “INSPECTED.”
