It seems I let this blog fall to the wayside for the latter half of 2015. After returning home to Vancouver in June, things really picked up for me and I found myself constantly struggling with the feeling of exhaustion. I thought I'd throw together a summary of the last half of the year because it was a pretty incredible one. Although I was busy with work, I did my best to strike a balance. It was so important to me knowing that I would be back in school this year to take the time to satisfy my desire for the unknown.
I returned home in June and attended my university convocation. I finished my classes the previous December, but officially walked across the stage and received my degree then. It was straight back to work a few days after returning home, and things were pretty much non-stop from then.
I worked all through July and August, but managed to get some exploring in during this time. We took a summer camp group to San Francisco for a week and had a chance to visit some of the major landmarks there. I definitely did not feel as if I really had the chance to see the city, so I'm hoping that I'll get a chance to visit again in the future. There's so much I'd like to do without having to manage 45 youth. It was also nice to be a tourist in my own city. I love Vancouver (even if my constant need to be elsewhere begs to differ).
In September things settled down only slightly, and we visited Victoria for a weekend getaway. I love Victoria and find it such a quaint and peaceful little city. We didn't do anything spectacular, just walked around a lot and tried to take advantage of the fact that it wasn't raining. It was nice to have a super relaxing mini-vacation that did not require lots of planning.
October was spent at home. I had finally grown into a regular work routine and felt slightly less frazzled than I had since arriving back here. We took a day trip down to Seattle to celebrate my nephew's first birthday. We made the obligatory stop at Pike Place Market before making our way back to the ice cream party. It's always lovely to be able to spend time with family. At the end of the month, I headed out to Regina to visit with the other side of my family and help out a little where I could. We even journeyed out to Saskatoon for a day while I was there. This was definitely the most chill trip that I've taken all year. It was fun to drive around the city with my cousins and just spend time together; as we get older we have fewer and fewer chances to all be in the same place.
In November, I set off to Europe with just a backpack and a rail pass. My first stop was London, where a spent a few days with my great aunt. She's a sister with a church in Wealdstone and it was such a fun experience staying with the sisters. It was an incredibly warm and homey atmosphere and I wished that I had dedicated more time to being there. We visited the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, and Buckingham Palace among others. These places were all so incredible and I feel as if I haven't done them justice - another trip is definitely in order. I moved on with my journey as I headed out to Reading to visit with more family and we spent a day in Oxford as well.
My next stop was Amsterdam. I boarded the train at King's Cross Station and ventured onto the solo part of my adventure in Europe. Amsterdam was such a beautiful and historic city. I spent hours upon hours walking through the 17th century canal ring. I also did a guided walking tour that did a wonderful job of explaining some of the history and culture of the city. It definitely felt like a place that people went to have fun; there was a serious party atmosphere almost everywhere that I went.
I had intended to visit Brussels and/ or Bruges following this, but do to the heightened security and lockdown being experienced after the Paris bombings, I decided to skip Belgium altogether. The entire city of Brussels was basically shut down, and I was already feeling the tension passing through days earlier. So, I changed routes and ended up in Lille, just on the border in the north of France. Lille was such a beautiful little city. I loved that a lot of it was based around the older city structures, such as the train station and the citadel. The weather was far more agreeable in Lille, which made it perfect to walk and explore every day. I loved visiting the zoo in Lille, as it's just open and connected to a park in the heart of the city.
My fourth and final destination was Paris. I stayed in the Montmartre district just a stone's throw from the Sacre-Coeur. Paris awed me, and I fell in love almost immediately. I could not get over how breathtakingly beautiful the entire city was; there was so much history and grandeur everywhere I went. I spent the very first evening walking, talking, and having pastries with a stranger from my hostel until we reached the lookout point at the Sacre-Coeur where I got to take in the city lights of the first time. I could not have asked for a more perfect introduction to this magical place, and every moment after that was equally as inspiring. I got to see the city from the top of the Eiffel Tower, strolled down to to Moulin Rouge, dipped my fingers in holy water at the Notre-Dame, and spent hours exploring the Louvre. It was hard to say goodbye to Paris, and I'm certain that I will return.
I came home in December ready to settle into the holiday season. To me, Christmas is about family and friends and coming together with people to share in the spirit. There's a lot of baking, present wrapping, and holiday music that happens. To my surprise however, I ended up being asked to go on a last-minute work trip to China! We left on Boxing Day and were there for less than a week, making it home just in time to ring in the new year. We spent the trip in a smaller city north of Shanghai called Xuzhou where we did presentations, ran activities and worked with students there for three days. Although I was incredibly hesitant about the trip prior to leaving, it turned out well and I was glad to have been able to spend time doing something that I love.
2015 was truly a year of adventures. I could not be more thankful for the opportunities and experiences that I have had, and would not change a single thing about this past year. I am even more thankful for the family and friends that support me and love me unconditionally (and always keep their arms and doors open for me). I've started 2016 with a lot of thoughts and questions regarding the future. I know that this year I'm locked down in Vancouver as I embark on my second educational journey, but there are so many options available for the future and this excites me so, so much.
xx.
I returned home in June and attended my university convocation. I finished my classes the previous December, but officially walked across the stage and received my degree then. It was straight back to work a few days after returning home, and things were pretty much non-stop from then.
I worked all through July and August, but managed to get some exploring in during this time. We took a summer camp group to San Francisco for a week and had a chance to visit some of the major landmarks there. I definitely did not feel as if I really had the chance to see the city, so I'm hoping that I'll get a chance to visit again in the future. There's so much I'd like to do without having to manage 45 youth. It was also nice to be a tourist in my own city. I love Vancouver (even if my constant need to be elsewhere begs to differ).
In September things settled down only slightly, and we visited Victoria for a weekend getaway. I love Victoria and find it such a quaint and peaceful little city. We didn't do anything spectacular, just walked around a lot and tried to take advantage of the fact that it wasn't raining. It was nice to have a super relaxing mini-vacation that did not require lots of planning.
October was spent at home. I had finally grown into a regular work routine and felt slightly less frazzled than I had since arriving back here. We took a day trip down to Seattle to celebrate my nephew's first birthday. We made the obligatory stop at Pike Place Market before making our way back to the ice cream party. It's always lovely to be able to spend time with family. At the end of the month, I headed out to Regina to visit with the other side of my family and help out a little where I could. We even journeyed out to Saskatoon for a day while I was there. This was definitely the most chill trip that I've taken all year. It was fun to drive around the city with my cousins and just spend time together; as we get older we have fewer and fewer chances to all be in the same place.
In November, I set off to Europe with just a backpack and a rail pass. My first stop was London, where a spent a few days with my great aunt. She's a sister with a church in Wealdstone and it was such a fun experience staying with the sisters. It was an incredibly warm and homey atmosphere and I wished that I had dedicated more time to being there. We visited the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, and Buckingham Palace among others. These places were all so incredible and I feel as if I haven't done them justice - another trip is definitely in order. I moved on with my journey as I headed out to Reading to visit with more family and we spent a day in Oxford as well.
My next stop was Amsterdam. I boarded the train at King's Cross Station and ventured onto the solo part of my adventure in Europe. Amsterdam was such a beautiful and historic city. I spent hours upon hours walking through the 17th century canal ring. I also did a guided walking tour that did a wonderful job of explaining some of the history and culture of the city. It definitely felt like a place that people went to have fun; there was a serious party atmosphere almost everywhere that I went.
I had intended to visit Brussels and/ or Bruges following this, but do to the heightened security and lockdown being experienced after the Paris bombings, I decided to skip Belgium altogether. The entire city of Brussels was basically shut down, and I was already feeling the tension passing through days earlier. So, I changed routes and ended up in Lille, just on the border in the north of France. Lille was such a beautiful little city. I loved that a lot of it was based around the older city structures, such as the train station and the citadel. The weather was far more agreeable in Lille, which made it perfect to walk and explore every day. I loved visiting the zoo in Lille, as it's just open and connected to a park in the heart of the city.
My fourth and final destination was Paris. I stayed in the Montmartre district just a stone's throw from the Sacre-Coeur. Paris awed me, and I fell in love almost immediately. I could not get over how breathtakingly beautiful the entire city was; there was so much history and grandeur everywhere I went. I spent the very first evening walking, talking, and having pastries with a stranger from my hostel until we reached the lookout point at the Sacre-Coeur where I got to take in the city lights of the first time. I could not have asked for a more perfect introduction to this magical place, and every moment after that was equally as inspiring. I got to see the city from the top of the Eiffel Tower, strolled down to to Moulin Rouge, dipped my fingers in holy water at the Notre-Dame, and spent hours exploring the Louvre. It was hard to say goodbye to Paris, and I'm certain that I will return.
I came home in December ready to settle into the holiday season. To me, Christmas is about family and friends and coming together with people to share in the spirit. There's a lot of baking, present wrapping, and holiday music that happens. To my surprise however, I ended up being asked to go on a last-minute work trip to China! We left on Boxing Day and were there for less than a week, making it home just in time to ring in the new year. We spent the trip in a smaller city north of Shanghai called Xuzhou where we did presentations, ran activities and worked with students there for three days. Although I was incredibly hesitant about the trip prior to leaving, it turned out well and I was glad to have been able to spend time doing something that I love.
2015 was truly a year of adventures. I could not be more thankful for the opportunities and experiences that I have had, and would not change a single thing about this past year. I am even more thankful for the family and friends that support me and love me unconditionally (and always keep their arms and doors open for me). I've started 2016 with a lot of thoughts and questions regarding the future. I know that this year I'm locked down in Vancouver as I embark on my second educational journey, but there are so many options available for the future and this excites me so, so much.
xx.
