The first couple days back were rough, mostly because the cold I boarded the plane with got a lot worse midway through the flight, and it didn’t help that I forced myself to stay up a full 24hrs (until 10pm PT) so I would be able to get used to the time zone here more quickly. It worked for the most part, in terms of being able to sleep until a reasonable hour in the morning, but the first 3 nights I kept crashing by about 9:30pm.
One of my best friends, Grace, got married on Saturday (doesn't she look gorgeous?!); the wedding was fantastic fun, but the reception was rough because we had to stay to the end for cleanup (after midnight) and I was thus completely useless from 9:30 onward. It made the gift opening yesterday a tad rough too, since I was even less well-equipped than usual to deal with a large family gathering (I have a small family and rarely see them, plus I didn’t grow up going to such things so, frankly, I find them thoroughly overwhelming). Regardless, it was fun and we all left full of tasty Portuguese desserts. And, I’m now en route to Courtenay to see a friend, before heading to Victoria to see more friends, before heading back to Vancouver on Friday. I think it’s going to be a great week!
Despite all the fun over the past few days, I’ve had some rather melancholy moments of missing life in the UK. In response to the list I made in my last blog post, I’ve decided to make a list of all the things I miss. Here it is:
1. The kickass friends I made. I miss you already!
2. The urban planning. This might sound like a strange choice, but after spending a couple days in the pastel cookie-cutter labyrinth that are the ‘burbs of Vancity, I am more convinced than ever that I never, ever want to live in a place like that.
3. The comprehensive train, tube, and bus system – it’s ridiculously superior to the public transit we have here. I mean, I did get to drive briefly yesterday, and that was great, but having to worry about finding rides to and from transit-inaccessible wedding venues was no fun.
4. Hearing accents wherever I go. It always sounds like something's missing here... (and yeah, I know we have an accent, but you know what I mean!)
5. All the tasty things made with ginger that I can't get here.
6. The amazing, numerous, and free museums. Yep, one more excellent reason to immigrate, especially given my choice of career. :D
7. How green everything is, all year.
8. Pay-as-you-go for pretty much everything. I especially miss my internet dongle. (And that word still makes me giggle every time I say it!)
9. The landscape - that everything is rather small and close together - the narrow roads, histor
ic buildings, cute little houses.10. The green spaces in cities. Why do we have so few parks in N. America? And why do so few people remember to use the ones we have?
11. People wearing hats. I wore my new fascinator to the wedding, and I was the only one there with a hat. That would definitely never happen in England.
12. Tea. Everywhere.
13. The good pubs, and great local beer. There are some good local brews here as well, but there aren't as many and they're not often found on tap at the pub.
There are other little things too. sigh.
Anyway, aside from travel and socialising, I've been busy worrying about finding a place to live (sight unseen, of course) for when I get back to TO - I'm just hoping that something good works out! I do, of course, have work I could be doing too, but I think maybe it's important to just enjoy the summer right now, and the little time I have before the full insanity of the fall semester kicks in.
No comments:
Post a Comment