Comparisons...
This is the scene outside my apartment window right now. Snow, snow, and more snow. Current temperature: -7, -15 with windchill.
This was the scene over Christmas in BC. Sun, ocean, green grass. Average temperature: 6.
Does anything else really need to be said?!
Labels: BC, montreal, winter
2009...
Reflections on 2009The year 2009 was a year of growth and learning, pain and heartache, exploring, loneliness, independence, challenges, and finding happiness.
I rang in the the new year of 2009 at my friend Marja's house, with a crowd of her friends who I didn't know, which was perhaps a premonition of the year to come.
January was the second month I'd spent living all by myself in my own apartment, and I was loving living on my own.
I was broken up with my boyfriend of 2.5 years, but soon realised he was the one I wanted to be with, and we spent Valentine's Day at a secluded cabin up-island. We became inseparable again, and I was so happy, I felt like we could make it through anything.
I started feeling nagging thoughts about moving away around March. In April I decided I was going to move to Montreal for 4 months over the summer, to try and quiet those nagging feelings. I left town on May 1st and moved into a tiny bachelor apartment sublet in the Plateau area of Montreal.
That first month in Montreal I have never felt so lonely and debilitated and hopeless. I cried a lot and wondered what the hell I was doing there. I had a difficult time getting a job because my French wasn't great, and I only had one friend who I didn't even see that often. I did a lot of thinking during that month, and decided I had to change everything around, make some decisions, and break free of debilitating cycles.
In early June I started dating a guy and we had a fun summer fling, which helped to turn my mood around, and let me see more of the great things Montreal had to offer. I started feeling happier. July carried out similar to June, with beautiful weather and enjoying the city, and friends and my mom visiting from home. I found that being with someone else helped me to forget the heartache I felt about my ex-boyfriend from home. I also took some photography classes at Concordia University. In August I traveled to Jamaica with said fling, and when I got back, I decided to stay in Montreal for a while longer.
I decided to stay in Montreal for a number of reasons. I was upset that life in BC seemed to be so different - friends were scattered, my ex-boyfriend was seeing someone new, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to go back when it seemed like nothing and no one was waiting for me there, and everything had changed. Plus, I had booked 2 wedding photography gigs in September and I was really excited about that. I also finally felt stabilized in Montreal, like I'd gained that independence and confidence I'd wanted.
So, the last few weeks of August were consumed with intense apartment and job hunting. I moved into a new bachelor apartment in September, and finally landed a job a week later. I successfully photographed the 2 weddings and other photography gigs. I traveled to New York City by myself to visit a friend. In October, my fling and I broke up. I befriended a girl at work, and she helped me to keep my sanity and gave me that female friendship I had been really missing. I came back to BC for Thanksgiving on a whirlwind 4-day trip and realised just how much I missed everyone and being back at home.
I celebrated my 24th birthday in November with friends in Montreal. December it started to get cold and I knew I wasn't cut out for Eastern winters! I had some tough days at work and tried to keep my head above water. I came home for Christmas holidays and knew without a doubt that it was time to come home.
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Which brings me full circle to now. I can't believe how much has happened over the past year, how much has changed. And most notably, how much has changed within me. I've learned that I've been looking outside myself for the things that matter. I've been trying to bring the world to me. But the most important things to me are here and already inside me, like my love for my family and friends.
No more running away, no more searching. I've found home. I just had to travel across the country to realise what was right under my nose. I was so scared before: scared of growing up, of settling down, of not being sure. I wasn't sure what I wanted out of life, wasn't sure who I wanted to spend it with.
You can live anywhere in the world, you can have a house anywhere, but home can only be with people you love. And so, I will start 2010 by moving back to BC. My Montreal adventure has reached its end. I feel so confident and excited about my decision to come back; I can't wait to live here again.
Labels: BC, memories, montreal, thoughts
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!!I am loving being at home. The weather is beautiful and sunny and warm and I'm surrounded by family and friends and it is so great!
Today is my Mom's birthday and we're taking turkey sandwiches to the park for a picnic by the ocean. This is such a beautiful city. I don't really know how I left! I feel so far removed from my Montreal life, it almost feels like I never left.
I hope everyone had a really great Christmas and is relaxing and enjoying family and friends. :)
Labels: BC, christmas
Comparing Montreal with BC
I honestly didn't think the two places were that different. Probably because I've gradually grown used to how things are here in Montreal that I kind of forgot what living in BC was actually like. But I was definitely re-reminded when I came back to visit for Thanksgiving.
Firstly, people's personalities are different. People in BC are much more laid-back, friendly, and easy-going. I was actually surprised at how friendly people were being to me the first day I arrived back. Examples. I arrived into the Vancouver airport and was waiting at the bus stop for my bus, which, little did I know was not going to come, now that there was the new Canada Line skytrain. It felt so easy to approach and talk to the people waiting at the bus stop, who then informed me I needed to take the Canada Line instead.
Then, I was in line getting my ticket for the Canada Line. A girl I had been talking to at the bus stop noticed I was paying the measly $2 with my Debit card, and offered to give me a toonie to pay for my fare, since she "got out way too much change and didn't need it all." A stranger offering me free money? What?
Then, I was eating in the cafeteria on the ferry, and struggling trying to maneuver my giant suitcase and juggle my garbage and purse in both hands, and the guy sitting beside me offered to help me out, to which I said thanks, but I was okay. But noticing I was still struggling, he offered at least to take my garbage for me to throw out after he was finished eating. Wow. So I gave it to him, thanking him profusely.
Does this kind of nice stuff happen all the time? Have I just become a little hard and jaded living in a bigger city? Or are people in BC just friendlier than those in the East? Or maybe it was all karma. Who knows.
And then there's the way people in BC dress. It's definitely more casual and laid-back. I guess it just goes along with the whole easy-going, outdoorsy lifestyle. And it's so
weird that I was never really conscious of it before. So many guys in BC wear hoodies and toques and skate shoes, with brands like DC, Etnies, Element, and of course my favourite West coast brand,
Sitka. And of course girls wear their LuLu pants and hoodies too.
That kind of style just doesn't exist in Montreal. I have worn my LuLu pants outside when I haven't been going to the gym
once and it felt so wrong. People here are definitely more fashion-conscious - no one steps out of the house in schleppy clothing. Not to say that hoodies and toques are dumpy, because they're not, they're just a part of West coast fashion that does not translate to the East.
And these are only two of the differences I discovered upon returning home to BC. What an eye-opening experience... and I've only been gone for 6 months.
Labels: BC, montreal, thoughts
