This week has been quite compared to the last and has slipped past surprisingly quickly in a blur of exams and studying and work. It worries me that there have been many weeks when I have felt this happening and I start to wonder if I have wasted my time here in Canada. In light of this disconcerting feeling I have tried to sum up my feelings and experiences of the country (so far) in my blog this week.
When my plane first touched down on Canadian soil it was still summer and Canada was a land of mystery and wonder to me. The sun was shining from the bright blue sky over wide streets in a city made of sky scrapers. Summer was the season of new experiences the sunny weather reflecting my mood of excitement. I explored the city of Ottawa finding all the best places to eat drink and hang out in the city. I spent hours exploring the city’s parks from the Rideau Canal for Gatineau Park and hours more finding good places for live music. I was in love with my new city and never wanted my time there to end.
Summer turned into autumn and the trees turned into every glorious share of red and orange imaginable. As the leaves fell and crumpled from the trees, even as the world became a beautiful paint pallet I felt that feeling of wonder leave with it and as the brisk October wind blew after thanksgiving weekend I started missing home. The city so full of wonder still felt too strange and I longed for the familiar streets of Edinburgh.
November brought the end of autumn as the now bare trees were blanketed in snow and winter began in full force. Perhaps it was simply the passage of time or maybe the snow which brought about my change in mood but either way winter brought with it a sense of contentment. It could be simply that I no longer feel slightly lost as I have to fully concentrate on where I’m going far too much to enjoy shopping but in any case Ottawa became home. Of course it could just as likely be that the joy I feel in the snow and the beauty in Canada’s frozen landscape has once again captivated. I re-explored all the places I found when I first arrived and returning to them drew me back into the wondrous mindset I was in when I first arrived in Canada.
Now in March as the days finally start to become warmer, even only slightly I look towards spring and the exciting new adventures it will bring, in Ottawa and as much of Canada I can squeeze in before I return home. As I read back over what I have read in this blog I have realised that I have basically describe ‘the three steps of living in a new country’ written in the university handbook. This are ‘honeymoon’, ‘home sickness’ and ‘a new home’ I think my way sounds more exciting.
