Friday, January 30, 2009

Immunization shot

We got a letter from the Ontario health dept saying that our eleven year old son had to have one more immunization shot to be allowed to stay in school. In India kids get one MMR shot, but here they get two.

So one Saturday morning, I took him to the nearby Walk -in- Clinic. These are clinics that you literally walk in to, and after showing the receptionist your Health Card..she asks you to wait to see a Doctor depending on what your problem is.

These clinics are free if you have a health card.
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A resident of Ontario must have a health card to show that he or she is entitled to health care services paid for by OHIP. (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care pays for a wide range of services, however, it does not pay for services that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery.

Most of your Ontario health benefits are covered across Canada.The province or territory you are visiting will usually bill the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care directly for hospital and physician services.
Eligibility

Ontario residents are eligible for provincially funded health coverage (OHIP). To be eligible for Ontario health coverage you must :

  • be a Canadian citizen or have immigration status as set out in Ontario's Health Insurance Act, and
  • make your permanent and principal home in Ontario, and
  • be physically present in Ontario 153 days in any 12-month period.

OHIP coverage normally becomes effective three months after the date you establish residency in Ontario. The ministry strongly encourages new and returning residents to purchase private health insurance in case you become ill during the OHIP waiting period.

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We waited for half an hour before we were called. The waiting room was FULL of kids waiting to get flu and immunization shots.

They asked us to wait in room 5, (they had about seven or eight rooms). A nurse came in and double checked that we were there for the MMR shot. She filled the syringe and then we waited for the Doctor. He turned out to be a young Indian Doctor, who asked us routine questions like, if my son was feeling fine, if he had any allergies etc.

Then before we knew it, he had given the shot....and we left. A family with three children had come in without health cards and they were told that they would have to pay $50/- per child. This was the Doctors fees as the immunization shot was free. I guess they were new to Canada and had not received their cards yet. This takes about two to three months after you get here to come to you in the mail.

Kids from the Middle East end up taking about three immunization shots here. So depending on which country you are coming from, you will get a notice from the health dept as to what shots your kids have to take.

The Doctor filled in a form, we faxed the same to the health dept and they inform the school.

That was our first experience with the Walk in, and now we're waiting for the letter to come for our eight year old daughter. She has to take the same MMR shot too!

The Indian Embassy in Toronto

About three weeks ago, we had to go to the Indian Embassy in Toronto, as we had to send some signed documents to our bank in India..which had to be stamped in the embassy here.

We drove to the address in Toronto (given at the end of this post) and spent twenty minutes looking for parking. They have public parking places on every other street in downtown Toronto. Just look for the huge green signs that say 'P' on it and follow the arrows. You just have to drive in, get a ticket and park. On your way out, you give your ticket to the person at the exit, and he will tell you how much you have to pay. Just look for the huge green signs that say 'P' on it and follow the arrows

I was imagining a big building, with the Indian flag flying proudly on top and us finishing our work and leaving in max half an hour. No such luck....

First, the embassy is one of many offices, shops and apartments in a huge block building. It is on the 7th floor and when you get there...no signs or flags! So initially you don't realize that you have come to the right place.

There is a door for you to Enter..and you walk through the security frame that beeps for everyone, and no one in particular is paying attention. There is another door for the Exit, and at sharply eleven am they close the door where you enter. (The embassy timings for accepting forms is from 9 to 11AM). If you do reach say at 11 sharp and the door is closed, just wait near the exit door, and when someone opens it to leave, you enter that way. We saw at least fifty people do this...we Indians always find a way!!!

We stood in line for information, and we got a token number instead and told to get two more copies of our passports, PR card and to make a money order.

There is one huge hall with chairs all facing one direction, you sit there are wait for the number from your token to show up. Then you go to the counter and give in your papers.

In case they tell you to make copies of your passport, pr card etc and to pay some amount for processing fees (like we were asked to do), there is a post office on the ground floor where you go to get the copies made and to make the money order. They charge 25 cents per copy.

After making the photocopies and making the money order, we came back to the big hall (through the Exit door) and as we were number 67, we waited and waited for our turn. Finally forty five minutes later, we gave in our papers and they asked us to come back after three pm to pick it up.

We left, paid 15 dollars for parking!!, went home...the kids would come back from school at three. My husband went back to the Embassy at four to pick up the documents.

The staff there are polite, courteous and try to answer questions patiently..but there are so many people coming in and out not really knowing what to do. They also had many non-Indians there trying to get visas for India, who came in late and were turned away and asked to come back the next day. So this was one more good thing..no favorites here!!


CONSULATE-GENERAL OF INDIA, TORONTO
Suite 700, 365 Bloor Street East,
Toronto, Ontario M4W 3L4
Tel: 416-960-0751
Fax: 416-960-9812
Email: cgindia@cgitoronto.ca
Website: http://www.cgitoronto.ca/



Wednesday, January 28, 2009

U.S trip part 2 :Christmas in Ohio and New Years in Nashville

Thanks to all who wrote to me after I changed the blog format! Glad you like the change...



Pictures of our road trip are after this post:)

Since we reached Ohio late after that twelve hour plus long drive.....we woke up late the next day...giving us only half of the 24th to get ready for Christmas. Lucikly my friend is someone who was super organised and had cooked all the meals for our stay a head of time, had decorated the house for Christmas, put up the beautiful tree, wrapped the presents and had planned a party with friends, karaoke and great food!

We went for the midnight Church service on the 24th/25th, and returned home for some yummy hot chocolate. The next morning, we did some shopping in the morning while my friends husband cooked the main dish for that nights party...Lobster lasagna..which included other types of seafood as well. YUMM!

The kids opened their gifts and settled down to play some game or read one of their new books.

About three in the afternoon, the first guests arrived and they brought the entire Karoke system with them. Mixer, mikes, speakers..the works. At first it took some time for everyone to feel comfortable enough to sing...in public....but soon we were all crooing hits from the '80's and 90's. It's a good thing no one paid tickets to come and hear us...but we really had fun!

After an evening of singing, dancing, playing 'Dance revolution', eating....eating and even more eating....we called it a night.

The next day we out for lunch and in the evening took the kids to play Laser Tag. All the adults played too...it brought out the kid in all of us..as we ran around the small space, trying not to get shot and trying to shoot as many people from the other team as possible. We played about three rounds of this, ordered some pizza and went home for another late night of my friend and I staying up till three in the morning..talking. We did a lot of that...we had four years to catch up on..and even more years of, 'Remember whens'.

The morning of the 27th, we drove out to Nashville. The drive...simply wonderful. Sun shining, no rain, no snow and no black ice.........

We reached Nashville at about eight in the night....had a wonderful home cooked dinner and caught up with my Sister-in-law and her family on the latest.

We then spent the next few days eating out, celebrating birthdays (my husband and my daughter), visiting the Jack Daniels distillery, the Science Center, boat ride through the Opryland hotel, celebrating the New Year, meeting new friends, dinner invites, meeting friends who drove down from Atlanta to see us, a couple of meals at Cracker Barrel (one of my favourite places to eat), shopping and eating. Did I mention eating? We did a lot of that....and probably put on some weight...but who cares....it's the season to be jolly, right?

It was the most relaxing holiday we've had in a long time....spending it with friends and family. But all good things must come to an end....(me and my sayings) and on Jan 2nd we said our goodbyes and headed out to Ohio, to spend one night with my friend again before the long stretch to Toronto.

The kids took the drive well. They were used to going on long drives, as we used to do this in India too. We have driven from Chennai to Nagercoil and back several times, sometimes via Ooty or Kodaikanal. One holiday we drove from Chennai to Chicmangalur to Coorg, to Ooty, to Salem and back. We were so happy at the end of that holiday to get out of the car!

We reached home at about eight pm on the 3rd, after another nice drive. The weather was perfect and we made good time. After picking up some dinner we went home and breathed a huge sigh of relief and said a quiet prayer...we drove over 2000 miles and made it home safe.

Some facts:

When driving here, the highways are more or less straight..you can drive for hours without having to turn your steering wheel......and therefore you can get bored easily and fall asleep if you're not careful.

Also, because your driving on straight roads, it is very easy to be driving much faster than you think you are. Keep an eye on your speed. Speed limits are posted everywhere.

You see plenty of dead deer, raccoons and some other animals I couldn't recognise all over the roads. Especially at night.

All the exits are clear and the signs tell you way ahead of time when an exit is coming and how far away it is.

There are signs towards the exit, telling you what restaurants, hotels and gas stations are there, so that you can take the exit ....eat, fill up on gas and then come back to the highway.

Listen to the traffic or weather channel once in a while to hear about closed roads, detours or storms heading your way.

Experience the Country driving...it is the best way to get a real feel of a place.



Until next time.................HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!

The snow storm hits Ontario as we were driving out.

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Almost a white out...could hardly see the road during the snow storm.

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Highway in Ontario towards the U.S border

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Driving through a snow storm

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Canada to the US border

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Pouring rain, black ice and zero visibility

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Intricate bridge constuction

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The other American symbol besides the dollar sign and the U.S flag!

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One of the dozens of camper vans we saw on the highway

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Beautiful sight in Kentucky on our way to Nashville

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Tunnel in Michigan

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County road in Ohio

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An interesting Church we drove past.

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The Bridge to Canada from the U.S side

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The US - Canada border

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Back in Ontario...

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Onward to the U.S -part1

We were so excited that our Christmas vacation had finally started! Being so busy the past few months, we felt like we really needed the break.

Our plan: Dec 23rd, drive from Toronto to Ohio, where we would spend Christmas with a friend. Then on Dec 27th, drive to Nashville, Tennessee where we would spend the New Year with my Sister-in-law. Jan 3rd, drive back to Toronto.

Preperation for trip:

PASSPORTS, VISA FOR THE U.S AND OUR PR CARDS.

When you are driving across a border it is easy to forget that you need passports and visas. Don't forget...on your return back to Canada, you have to show them your PR Card. Once you have these, then you:>

Check car, check tires, fill tank, get antifreeze for the wipers (a liquid added to the water in a cooling system to lower its freezing point or to the water for wiper blades), load the car with water, food, coke (I have two kids you know!), charge both cell phones, charge cameras, take extra warm clothes in case of emergency and we have to leave the car, take down phone numbers, addresses, plug in the GPS, lower the heating in the house (to save on power), check all outlets, check the stove and make sure everything is off, take out all garbage,tell the neighbor you're leaving, lock the front door, close the garage, re-check the front door....and leave!

Finally after all of the above we headed towards the U.S border via Michigan. The Ambassador Bridge was where we would be crossing the border and go through customs and immigration.


First we checked the weather report...clear until the afternoon and then some light snow. Sounded fine...so we left around ten thirty in the morning, after some last minute phone calls and kids finding their ipods and video game cartridges for the long car ride.



The 'light snow', soon turned into a snow storm that we drove straight into after about three hours on the road. Too late to turn around and too early to stop anywhere. The roads soon became slippery and it looked like someone had whitened out our windshield. We drove at the speed of 20 miles per hour for about three hours and ended up taking a detour which added another two hours to our already delayed drive.



We reached the U.S border, after a lunch halt at Tim Hortons...their chili is just awesome!



At the border, we didn't have something called the I-94 form. So they asked us to get down from the vehicle and go into the Customs office and get the form signed and stamped. This was the interesting part....like something out of the movies....four or five big hulky men, with black uniforms (border cops) asked us to turn the cars engine off and except for our purses and documents, to leave everything else in the car and get out leaving the car unlocked. We had to leave our cell phones in the car too. They stare you down while you do this and totally intimidate you into feeling guilty. You have no clue what for............



Then we got out of the car, the border patrol (more like the men in black) making sure we didn't take anything out....and then as we made our way to the customs office, we noticed that they quickly searched our luggage and the insides of our car. The only thing missing here was Bruce Willis.



Once in the customs office, th y intimidate you even more. I guess they just want to make sure you are a legitimate tourist and not a terrorist! After asking us questions like, how were my husband and I related, if the kids were ours etc, they cleared us and told us to have a nice day, and Merry Christmas! They collected six dollars for each of us and then we were on our way.



From KM in Canada, everything becomes MILES in the U.S. So if and when you drive across the border, remember that the speed limit of 60 now means miles and not km.
1 miles = 1.609344 kilometers
1 kilometer = 0.621371192 miles



We had our handy GPS with us, so knowing which direction to take was not a problem. We knew exactly how many miles, what time we would reach our destination and if there were any road blocks on the way.

We stopped for some much needed coffee at at Wendys, while the kids had some milk shakes. Then, that is when the weather really turned bad! It started to pour, and it was already dark (about 7pm). We were supposed to reach Ohio by this time by our initial calculations..but because of the earlier snow storm and detour...we were not anywhere near Ohio!

Here we were, driving on the highway, pouring rain, dark roads, almost zero visibility..and suddenly we see bright blinking red lights. Drastically slowing down, my husband who was driving...says, 'Oh oh, the car is not stopping!'. Luckily, we had a huge gap from the car in front, and we managed to slow down in time. Then we noticed total chaos. There were at least twelve cars off of the road, all of them had slid off the sidesw and were now in ditches and some had slid all the way to on coming traffic on the other lane! It was again...a sight straight out of the movies.

Novices that we were..we had no clue what was happening. Then we realized...we were all sliding on black ice! This is when the roads get coated with ice, you can't see it because it is the same color as the road.............and when you step on your brakes...the car just slides. It does not stop! This is something we don't experience in India..and when you see it here it is just unbelievable. Cars literally slipping and sliding all over the place, not able to steer or stop with any control.

What do you do in this situation? Turn on your hazard lights and drive at the speed of ten miles per hour.....or slower! As we drove, we saw more and more cars that had gone off the highway and were now stuck in the ditches and grass. Police cars, fire engines and ambulances were all over the place with their sirens and lights, rescueing stuck drivers. If you start to slide, start pumping your brakes and blow your horn. If you hit something, or go off of the road, call 911 and the rescue team will be there before you know it to help.

About two hours of this...and the car in front of us suddenly spun around ( I don't know what he was trying to do) and went into a big ditch on the right side of the road. My husband immediately told me to call 911 and report the incident. So I picked up our cellphone and dialled 911. A lady operator said, 'This is 911, please state your emergency.' I told her what happened, and gave her the nearest exit number to where the car had slid off. She asked if anyone was hurt..and I told her that I didn't know. Then she put me on hold while she spoke to the highway patrol...I could hear the guy in the background saying that all his cars were already out and he would contact the next county to see if they had patrols available. So, our first and hopefully last 911 call!

The rain finally stopped and by the time we drove through Michigan, through Ohio and reached our friend who lives in Morrow..it was past midnight! It was such a relief to reach her house, and her kids were still up so we spent another hour chatting and eating a light bit before going to bed for a much needed rest before the next day.

The price of gas really varied betweent the countries and it was much cheaper in the U.S. You have to keep converting gallons to litres, so don't get confused!

One liter is equal to 0.2641721 gallons
One gallon is equal to 3.785412 liters

Will write about Christmas in my next post and some of the fun things we tried for the first time.