Waking up to the skyline of Detroit, while still being in Canada is normal in Windsor. But today was the day that we would cross the border into the US – a country that is known for having a very tight border security. And a country that is also known for not selling the “Aeros” chocolate, which is why we had to find a shop in Windsor to stash up on it before crossing the border – of course, with the US in the background.

Crossing the border was even more difficult than expected – after the routine passport control the officer told us to follow him – we then had to park the car, leaving everything (including phones, keys and computers) in the unlocked car and then go into a building, where we were individually processed one by one. We got a piece of paper stapled into our passports and stamps and after about and hour were sent away again. When we got back, it was clear that they had searched through our car – mainly because things were not in the places we left them – and the engine hood was open.

After hours of driving – many of which were spent in the traffic jam around our destination – we finally arrived in Chicago. Welcome to the United States of America.