I think I have finally managed to adjust to being back from Canada! For a while it was sort of strange; I would be thinking of doing something that I can’t do here. Like, I would grab my ID and head downstairs, in anticipation of getting a sandwich from the cafeteria. Lame, right? Anyway, I have a few final thoughts on that whole experience, so I thought I would stick them here.

The more I’ve been thinking about it, the more it seems like I avoid the topic of what I did while I was up there. Not because I have something to hide, but because maybe I’m just not that open of a person and it’s hard for me to be like “Hey, this is how I’m feeling and blah blah blah.” So chances are, if you asked me about my time in Canada I made some remark about the weather or how I’m happy to be home because it’s warmer. I honestly cannot remember telling anyone (okay, maybe 2 people) anything differently. So here are my thoughts, and I’m sorry if I gave you a cheapo-climate-related answer.

Needless to say, it was a really interesting experience. Not exactly what I thought it would be – and that’s not bad – just different. I think going up there I had some grandeur visions of it being spectacularly different and I honestly don’t think I even really processed the idea of being that far away from home for that long. Maybe it seems obvious, but Canada is not in fact that much different than here in the US. The area I was in, was more city-like, which was a change, but the culture overall was predominantly very similar. I think in the end though, that was a really great thing for me. Sometimes it feels like here, at home, I have a tendency to just want to blend in, or to just go along with what everyone else is doing, not really taking the time to do the things that I want to do or really even stepping up and making decisions for myself. So I think being in Canada, by myself, was really good in that respect, because it forced me to kind get out there and be myself and do what I wanted and live by own rhythm. And with it being a similar culture, it wasn’t too much to handle all at once. I hope that makes sense, I don’t really know how else to explain it!

In regards to family/friends, I think that was probably the other big thing. Honestly, my closest friends live in other states, so I s’pose that was not too different. Family, on the other hand was a bit harder. Donald Miller (a fantastic author) has this quote “Everyone has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons.” I think that really is kind of fitting. I’m not saying that I didn’t love my family and my home before, but it just sort of makes you realize what you have, and maybe some of the things that we take for granted and don’t even realize it. You know, even the lamest, smallest, cheesiest things. Like, I would be watching “Heroes”, and something would happen on the show and I would go to make a comment about it to my dad. Or I would expect to hear his laugh. And it would be really weird not to. Same thing for my mom, I would be at some random store, and pick something up to show her (because honestly, I rarely go shopping alone, like, ever) and realize that she wasn’t there. And it kind made me think of all these little things that are a part of who I am, but maybe I never really even took the time to realize them. I think that is probably what I missed most. Haha, I hope that makes sense…and doesn’t sound really sappy. Haha, I really love my family.

If I had to pick one thing I liked most about the experience overall, I s’pose I would say the overall feeling of adventure. Aside from the fact that I was in another country entirely…. I went on several little side trips (to Kelowna, Seattle, & Victoria), either by myself or with friends from up there. I think honestly those trips were one the best parts. It was always this feeling of like, adventure, and not really knowing what to expect, so just kind of going with whatever. They were my opportunity to explore and to see new things for myself. I’m pretty much an introverted person, if you haven’t figured that out, so I think it also kind of shocked me at first that I was willing to go on these spontaneous trips. But anyway, they were awesome, because I saw things that I did not expect to see, which is always a really cool feeling, if you know what I mean. I think what I’m getting at here, is just reaffirmation of the fact that I really love to travel. Anytime I look at the photos I took, they actually make me really happen. So I really, really, want to do something with my life that allows me to travel and take photos and just be myself. And I think those experiences in Canada were kind of helpful in that decision. Haha, because honestly, before then I would have been a bit apprehensive of going anywhere on my own.

So there you have it. A fairly lengthy-ish collection of thoughts on Canada. Probably more for my own sake than for yours, but yeah. Haha.