This has a happy ending. I promise.
It's been just over a month since I left home, and this time around it's been really difficult. (You know that thing Claudius says? "When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions"? Yeah.)
Things that happened? Alpha happened. You know, Alpha never turns out like I expect it to. I apologise if I came across as distant or distracted this year. I was terribly homesick. (I still have no idea why; I'm never homesick.) I feel pretty stupid that I let emotions get the better of me (especially when they didn't make sense); Alpha's amazing, and I wish I had been properly present for all of it.
Something that didn't help: during Confluence I discovered that my grandmother had suddenly become very ill. She had cancer, but I thought that she still had time -- I thought that I'd see her again when I got home. She died about a week later. I was in Toronto. I still feel guilty that I wasn't there to help. I don't think the fact she's gone will sink in until I get home.
At the beginning of August I took the train up from Toronto to Montreal and went to Osheaga to see The Killers. That was -- at last -- a day of awesome. The Killers aren't exactly suited to wide open spaces, but I find their music ridiculously happy and Mr. Brightside made everything worth it for a while.
Then I started looking for an apartment.
How do you look for an apartment? You spend hours on Craigslist trying to distinguish terrible places from awesome places. You email a lot of people. You call a lot of people. You walk the length and breadth of the Plateau visiting different apartments, most of which are completely unsuitable. (They have weird plumbing or weird people or they're dirty.)
You have to not be depressed when every place you fall in love with turns you down. You have to believe that some place with decent people and decent plumbing will, eventually, take you. You have to convince yourself that it isn't a good idea to take the next cab to the airport and spend the rest of your savings on the soonest and quickest flight back to New Zealand.
There were about ten days which I really do not want to repeat ever. But! I did find a place; I moved in; things are looking up. McGill seems really cool. I aced my French placement test, which means I may never need to take another grammar class again. I found an amusing shop called Jolis Fruits at which I can buy strawberries.
Now that I'm no longer such a stranger here, I think I may actually like it.
Things that happened? Alpha happened. You know, Alpha never turns out like I expect it to. I apologise if I came across as distant or distracted this year. I was terribly homesick. (I still have no idea why; I'm never homesick.) I feel pretty stupid that I let emotions get the better of me (especially when they didn't make sense); Alpha's amazing, and I wish I had been properly present for all of it.
Something that didn't help: during Confluence I discovered that my grandmother had suddenly become very ill. She had cancer, but I thought that she still had time -- I thought that I'd see her again when I got home. She died about a week later. I was in Toronto. I still feel guilty that I wasn't there to help. I don't think the fact she's gone will sink in until I get home.
At the beginning of August I took the train up from Toronto to Montreal and went to Osheaga to see The Killers. That was -- at last -- a day of awesome. The Killers aren't exactly suited to wide open spaces, but I find their music ridiculously happy and Mr. Brightside made everything worth it for a while.
Then I started looking for an apartment.
How do you look for an apartment? You spend hours on Craigslist trying to distinguish terrible places from awesome places. You email a lot of people. You call a lot of people. You walk the length and breadth of the Plateau visiting different apartments, most of which are completely unsuitable. (They have weird plumbing or weird people or they're dirty.)
You have to not be depressed when every place you fall in love with turns you down. You have to believe that some place with decent people and decent plumbing will, eventually, take you. You have to convince yourself that it isn't a good idea to take the next cab to the airport and spend the rest of your savings on the soonest and quickest flight back to New Zealand.
There were about ten days which I really do not want to repeat ever. But! I did find a place; I moved in; things are looking up. McGill seems really cool. I aced my French placement test, which means I may never need to take another grammar class again. I found an amusing shop called Jolis Fruits at which I can buy strawberries.
Now that I'm no longer such a stranger here, I think I may actually like it.