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Well, I'm back on Canadian soil...for the next few days. I arrived last Saturday and met my mom's flight only a few hours after mine landed. In typical female fashion, we both burst into tears the moment we saw each other. Although it's only been four months, it's the longest we've been apart, so we both were extremely happy to see each other.
The next few days were filled with catching up, shopping, and, of course, indulging in a bit of Canadiana. The highlight: Tim Hortons. The lowlight: the weather. Although I was relieved to get out of the 45 degree heat, I did not plan on Toronto's little cold snap. It was 5 degrees when I first got here--quite a shock to the system. I expected a bit better at the end of May!
On Tuesday, my mom and I headed to Kingston for my graduation. We had a day to relax before all of the grad festivities. As I was planning to surprise all of my classmates, I was trying my best to avoid running into any of my classmates before the dinner on the Wednesday evening. Well, in typical Christine fashion, I ran into one of
my classmates on a sidestreet in Kingston. What are the chances? Anyway, I swore him to secrecy and continued on my little walk to the hair stylist's. I can't tell you how excited I was to go to a Canadian hair stylist who understood exactly what I wanted! As the photos will attest, I decided to go slightly darker to fit in better with those women in the French Riviera 😉
Right before the dinner, I headed over to the B&B my friends Shemina and Stef were staying at to surprise Stef. I had to let Shemina in on the secret, as I needed to mooch a place to stay after my mom left, but we made sure that Stef didn't have a clue. Poor Shemina had to endure a 2 1/2 hour car ride with Stef keeping her mouth shut about anything we discussed during our coffee we had in Toronto (as both girls are always cc'd in the e-mail updates I send, so Stef would have been very suspicious if Shem knew anything about me that Stef didn't). I knocked on the door of the B&B and Stef thought it was her parents who were supposed to
arrive around the same time, so she stared at me for a few seconds without any indication of surprise on her face. At first I was disappointed because I thought she wasn't surprised, but I later found out that she didn't understand what was going on and didn't recognize me at first because I was the last person she expected to see!
After a little bit of a visit, we all went to the banquet and the surprise visit continued. Most of my classmates were shocked that I was there and said that they definitely didn't expect me. It was great seeing everyone. We had a great turnout. Despite our class coming from all parts of Canada, 50 out of 62 were there for graduation. For a group who technically only spent 4 weeks together in a year, we are all quite close and definitely made the most of the last time that so many of us will all be together.
On Friday, my mom and I drove back to Toronto and I took her to the airport. It was quite sad to say good-bye again, but it's only for six weeks this time, so I'm sure we'll
survive. I then met up with Shemina and Stef and spent the weekend at Shemina's sister and brother-in-law's place with their adorable little girl, Mia. We spent most of the weekend just catching up with each other and shopping up a storm (I decided that a new wardrobe was justified as I can finally wear tank tops in hot weather!). Of course, like any good Edmontonian was doing on Saturday night, we watched the game. For those of you who don't know, Shem's family are the biggest Oilers fans I've ever met. The house erupted in celebration after the big win. Although I'll miss out on Oilers fever in Edmonton, being on Canadian soil for it is still quite exciting.
I'm staying at my Aunty Donna's and Uncle Randy's for the next few days and my Aunt has been a saving grace--helping me with laundry and taking care of her niece whose body decided to rebel against the smog. I'm off to the other side of the pond again on Wednesday when I head to London to stay with my friend Farooq and then I'm off to Nice for four weeks to take an intensive French immersion course. Vive
la France!
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