Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
Ahem…*taps mic* is this thing on?
I have an announcement to make: I’m moving back to England.
This Brit is fleeing to the homeland y’all.
There was a time when I never thought I’d say that. But I’ve come to realise, as it turns out, homesickness is a pretty darn hard thing to fight.
My gypsy blood has had me galavanting around for almost 6 years. I started on this journey when I left university and got on a plane bound for New York City with no idea what the hell I was doing. I spent a year and a half there flying by the seat of my pants, living hand to mouth, marveling at the disproportionate amount of crazy people and overall, having the time of my life. Talk about a learning curve.
From there, Japan came a-calling. And I went, neglecting to learn a lick of Japanese beforehand. It’s a whole other kind of learning curve when you can’t even speak the language. And it makes for some ridiculously comical moments.
At the end of my year there, I decided to move to Canada and Toronto has been my home for almost three years now. I have loved it (nothing beats the summer here) and I have hated it (nothing beats the winter here. Seriously, if anyone finds my nipples that froze off in the harsh winter of ’08, please return them to me).
I went home this past Christmas, having not been home during Yuletide for three years and it was like being wrapped in a big bundle of love. My family is officially the coolest family on the planet and my old time friends came out and reminded me of things, places and jokes that I’ve missed.
When I landed back in Toronto, my reasons for being here just made less and less sense. I’m in a job that doesn’t have anything to do with my career goals, just to keep a roof over my head (and it doesn’t even do that very well. Luckily, I have a delightfully understanding transsexual landlady/man). I have no family here and due to the harsh winters, you end up basically hibernating for four months of the year. I’ve been trying to fight this feeling of something not quite clicking for a long time, convincing myself that I have to stick it out and I can’t keep moving. But then I realised, who said I can’t? It’s my life and I write the rules up in here!
So, a few weeks ago, I called my parents and I wasn’t even sure I was going to say it, but before I knew it, I said ‘I think I want to come home.’ And once I said the words, it was like a giant weight just lifted off me.
I handed my notice in at work yesterday and in mid-September, I’ll be on a plane back home. Home. *sigh*
And for once, it feels like the right decision.
I started this journey at 22. I’m now 28. Older, definitely wiser and with some incredible memories and irreplaceable people who’ve come into my life and will hopefully stay in it. Who knows if England will be my last stop on this train. I go where the wind takes me. And right now, it’s blowing me back home.
But my real reason for leaving….I just can’t stand the way North Americans say ‘aluminium.’ I mean Jesus, get it right!
Oh and don’t worry, I may be on a different continent, but this blog will continue to be in your face every day no matter where you are in the world.
Tags: canada, personal matters, the brits, travels
Posted in life | 12 Comments »