(no subject)
This past week has been a whirlwind! On the evening of the 18th I touched down in Vancouver International Airport. I felt obliged to tell customs that I had been on a farm in Poland in the past two weeks, and consequently got my boots scraped (while I was still wearing them) by a very gentlemanly customs officer. Having passed this test I proceeded to the Arrivals area to be greeted by… no one. My parents had been so excited to see me that they popped a tire on their way to the coast. I made my way to the faux English pub and was caught up on all the Canadian news by a friendly barman. Eventually my lovely parentals did make it to the airport and we drove to Ocean’s place on the island in their newly acquired camper van.
The next morning we were up early to get to the wedding on time. Yes, wedding. My cousin’s wedding on Hornby Island was a great time. The Van Vugts as usual made up 75% of the crowd and 90% of the noise. Suddenly, after 5 months in Europe I was plunged right into the heart of a full swing family reunion. The effect was a bit bewildering but very enjoyable. I dandled babies, told stories and got enough hugs to hopefully last me until November. After the wedding the whole family moved up to Miracle beach on the north of the island where we played Frisbee and ate and generally took a long time to do anything.
One of the highlights was that on the last day (well, last of four, but still) everyone got together to celebrate the life of my Gramma, who passed away while I was abroad. It wasn’t a funeral, and there was a lot of laughter, and I learned a lot about who she was before I was born.
That night a couple of cousins and I went for a polar dip in the Pacific. My last for the year sadly. We screamed and fell about, but finally got in the water. It was so cold!
Yesterday my darling friends met me for a few short hours in the airport before my flight back to the great Europe Adventure. You’d think we were just meeting for coffee at the local, not at an airport, after 5 months of not seeing each other. I’m sure we’ve changed in someways, but not enough to see when we’re together.
I climbed onto the plane watching the exits, wondering if maybe no one would mind if I just decided to stay in Canada and not go back into the wide world. But of course, here I am, on a ferry headed for France and I think I’m glad I did.
The next morning we were up early to get to the wedding on time. Yes, wedding. My cousin’s wedding on Hornby Island was a great time. The Van Vugts as usual made up 75% of the crowd and 90% of the noise. Suddenly, after 5 months in Europe I was plunged right into the heart of a full swing family reunion. The effect was a bit bewildering but very enjoyable. I dandled babies, told stories and got enough hugs to hopefully last me until November. After the wedding the whole family moved up to Miracle beach on the north of the island where we played Frisbee and ate and generally took a long time to do anything.
One of the highlights was that on the last day (well, last of four, but still) everyone got together to celebrate the life of my Gramma, who passed away while I was abroad. It wasn’t a funeral, and there was a lot of laughter, and I learned a lot about who she was before I was born.
That night a couple of cousins and I went for a polar dip in the Pacific. My last for the year sadly. We screamed and fell about, but finally got in the water. It was so cold!
Yesterday my darling friends met me for a few short hours in the airport before my flight back to the great Europe Adventure. You’d think we were just meeting for coffee at the local, not at an airport, after 5 months of not seeing each other. I’m sure we’ve changed in someways, but not enough to see when we’re together.
I climbed onto the plane watching the exits, wondering if maybe no one would mind if I just decided to stay in Canada and not go back into the wide world. But of course, here I am, on a ferry headed for France and I think I’m glad I did.