Welcome Back to Canada, eh?

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At this moment, I currently find myself perched quite comfortably atop a cushy bar stool, cozied up to my usual spot at the kitchen bar top, while sipping some satisfyingly bitter Starbucks dark roast in my favourite over-sized coffee mug. If it wasn't easy enough to figure out due to that slight overly-detailed description.. I'm home, back in Cowtown. And you might ask, how do I feel about that? The truth is I'm not really sure I know yet myself. When I left Italy nearly two weeks ago, I was relieved and elated to return home to my loved ones and see all their smiling faces again. And as for the part of the return, it felt even better than expected. My niece pretty much gave me the rock star welcome, smothered under a mountain of affectionate hugs and kisses and repetitive questions about Auntie's time in "It-a-eeee". I'd be a complete liar if I said that didn't make me feel like a million bucks :-)
And yes of course it does feel comforting to be back in my old stomping grounds, to recognize the streets and roads I walk through. But at the same time I am hit with a giant realization: nothing has changed at all! I mean, yes there are a few new stores popping up here and there. The artisan cheese shop down the street is now an artisan chocolatier; but nothing major! And in some ways, that is the charm of returning home. But on the other hand, it's a very strange concept to me! I guess the thing is, when I was gone for those four months, it felt like I couldn't have been farther away from all that was Canada and home. The time there really seemed to move at a considerably slower pace. And it was all very terrifying, yet all very wonderful and new. I still don't regret my decision to leave when I did, I know now it was for the best to return home at a time when I needed to do so. And I learned so much while away, created memories that I will keep fresh in my mind for years to come.
But the beautiful part of it all, is now I have the freedom and the ability to go somewhere new, and try something else! I am back at home and finding the welcome sense of embrace a warm feeling, but already I know I don't think I can just yet settle back in to the old routine. I mean honestly, I still have a full year of travel insurance to use. Why not put it to use?!
I realized that if life never really changes too much in any one place, in order to make change for yourself you either have to find it somewhere in the familiarity, or urge yourself to move forward to some new challenge. And that can be anything you chose for it to be. Whether it's a lifestyle commitment, you join a gym, a running club, or even buy a yoga mat. Big or small, life changing or moment altering, we can make decisions daily to better our lives. Anything we do that helps us grow as a person, gain new wisdom and knowledge, open us up just a little more to the possibility of all those unknown things the world has to offer us. Do it near, far, or abroad. Try the new Moroccan restaurant down the street, visit a new neighbour in your city or get really wild.. perhaps stay in one weekend, and with all the money you'll save on overly-priced beverages, take a weekend getaway to a yet unexplored North American destination.
Perhaps maybe this is another lesson I learned through the experience, I still haven't found that one place I truly belong. Maybe I have, maybe I just don't know it yet. But I don't know if I can just settle in one location until I do. That might be the problem, I may have over-stimulated the travel bug.. now all I can think about is living abroad in other places. I loved the ability to be in Italy and not just see what the average tourist sees in a two or three night stay. As much as sometimes it was hard, I really enjoyed the experience of living amongst people of a different culture in daily life. Every day felt like a Psych class. Although let me tell you, it came with much higher entertainment value as well!
I spent a week in Montreal on my return trip from Italy to Calgary. Prior to getting there I was nervous about choosing to remain for so many days, thinking the anticipation of returning home would be enough to kill me at that point. Wow, was I ever wrong. After day one I think I was contemplating moving my flight back. After day two I was starting to window shop for apartments as we strolled through the fairytale like, Old City of Montreal. And then I met some of the people. I was there visiting a friend form back home in BC, but he was spent some years there now and developed a wonderful circle of friends. Wonderful is probably an understatement. The people I had the pleasure of meeting there, made my time even that much more special. After having just been in Europe, the historic charm and beauty that is Eastern Canada was not lost on me. In fact, shame on me for not having travelled East sooner in my years! It was like I had stepped off the plane right back where I had gotten on, but yet the bright white & red flags constantly waving proudly in the wind told me I was some how actually home. I think I fell in love instantly. And it got even better than I expected. It was everything I had been looking forward to prior arriving, I acquired my delicious Vietnamese Pho. Also happened to eat the best Mexican I have had outside Mexico, and my friend & I stumbled upon a Thai place by his apartment he'd never tried.. wow. Even the VEGAN food in Montreal is mouth-wateringly, can't-be-leave-this-is-actually-good-for-me, mind-blowingly delicious. The bars all seem to look like something out of an old Gatsby film set. The local diner looks like the powder room of some high-class southern bell, dripping in diamonds and rich silk walls. Strange? Nope. Not in Montreal. It's a mix of old & new that is hard to perfect in so many other places. Where as Europe is gorgeous because it's so ancient, Montreal is beautiful because next to a quaint little brick Parisian cafe, is an all-organic wine store with exterior architecture so urban and sleek, you'd expect it to instead be the store front to some sexy modern art gallery. Very cool.
Who knows what my immediate future holds.. I am currently on the job hunt. But it some how has turned in to a nation-wide job search. I mean, if I'm going to live and work, why not live and work anywhere?! Nothing is really so permanent, and the world really isn't so big. If I can pack up and move to Italy, well then heck.. moving across Canada couldn't possibly be any harder right?

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