Packing and moving day! Woah! (Note: not moving to Canada, but into a friend's apartment for a week and a bit until I head off to central/eastern Europe with Mish.)
So that's fun. . . . (inte). (Here is something of what my apt. looks like! Yikestown!)
In the process, I am giving, selling, donating (trying not to throw), eating, and fretting over all my temporary belongings.
I said to a friend at work yesterday, "Isn't it so weird that in a month and a bit, my current life won't exist anymore." Now, I realize this is the kid of pot-induced statement one might make while eating entire bags of potato chips, but this was at 13.00 at work. It is weird. I wonder what it does to you, completely uprooting, and shifting into a new 'path' of life. I did it when I moved here, but there is a difference this time.
When I moved here, I was alone. It was agiant step, and when I landed, I did not know a soul here. I took the bus from the airport with all my suitcases, barely knowing where to go.
I had so much time to write and think, and contemplate, and so much time to walk around alone.
This time, it’s a crazy whirlwind, as I previously alluded to. I’m stepping back into a life where there are always people (family included, I am not saying I am miss popularity 2011), things to do, places to work, responsibilities, fun engagements, shows, etc. Compared to my relative solitude here, when I get home, it’s a different pace of life.
Does one just snap back into old patterns of lifestyle? Of course it’s only been a year, and I surely have not dramatically changed in a year, and I know that my Sweden life,’ is not necessarily what I want out of life, hence part of the reason to return home.
Bah. Someone just tell me to shut up.
Otherwise, I’m already thinking of where I can go next. Living in a foreign place certainly has perks, ups and downs, exciting moments, and moments of WTF.
Students have now mostly heard through the grapevine that some teachers will not be back. Of course there are students I’ll miss, but I also think it’s good for the giant sentimentalist in me to not get too sappy about anything, because life goes on, and every connection with a person that changes you for the better is never lost.
I forget who said ‘I am a part of all that I have seen,’ or something like that, but it’s true. This ‘journey’ into Sweden was certainly not all roses and butterflies, (read: the absolute and total DARKNESS of the winter; people who snarl and stare; people who push innocent little Canadians) but it is a part of me, and I do not regret coming here. Would I ever come back? Sure, who knows? But very soon, I will close the door on this chapter, and immerse myself in the familiarity of home. Until I get bitten by the urge to throw myself into something new (which, knowing me, will not be very long!)
(Note: this blog is almost finished. I'll write about my upcoming trips, and maybe conclude with a few final thoughts. If you've read through the long-haul, you can collect your prize this summer. Congrats!)
P.S Here are some photos from the second IES camp I went to, in Karlstad.
We built rafts, and then paddled down the river for 4.5 hours.
We patrolled students as they tried to sneak around at night, and got to do zip lining courses. We also took a hike and saw a dead cow in a stream, and the decomposing carcase of a moose. Sick.)
And here is the photo of the dead cow. Sorry cow, I don't mean to disrespect your memory, but. . . here we are.
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