a change will do you good

i was more than ready to come home when i was in thailand.
falling asleep at two in the afternoon on a beach off the west coast of thailand, listening to the waves crash at my feet. an ederly thai woman shouting "coke-nuts ICEY creaaaam".
i dreamt of walking my dog through the trails around my house while the autumn leaves fell. the season changed in fast forward in my head, the snow began to fall and i was bundled up in a cozy winter parka with a toque on my head.

play time with mom

it has been three months.
i am full of snuggly lovins, homemade favourites, and daytime television.
my days repeat. wake at noon. optional shower, breakfast, walk dog, watch romcom, dad gets home, read with dad in the living room till mom gets home, dinner, coronation street, more reading, mom and dad to bed, and i end up awake until two or three. hitting a really strong arts and crafts frame of mind around one. modge podge and crayola products strewn a top my desk.

my puppy, anna

but i think i've had my fill. in fact i probably had my fill after the first week. but i had to give it another three months to be really sure.
and as i mentioned before i felt more comfortable coming home this time because i had a plan. well a fetus of a plan. maybe just an egg.
i knew i would come home and get comfy. full of cuddles and carbs. then i would buy another one way ticket. i did.
hello vancouver.
"well that's great emily anne! what are you doing in vancouver?!"
"i don't know"
nothing has changed i still have no clue. i have no job. no place to live. no plan.
luckily i have a good friend who lives in the city who is letting me crash with her for the first week. and if everything goes according to the fancifull dreamlike scenario in my head, i will find an apartment and a job with ease. doubtful.
vancouver is just going to be a temporary base. maybe just the spring and summer. and then i'll be off again. no immediate plans for adulthood just yet.
wish me luck :)

ballet and booster seats

for years my mother and i have wanted to go see the nutcracker ballet together.
it has remained a subject of daydreams. every year there has been a different excuse. it was on the same day as nana's christmas party, i was out of the country, my flight got in after the show stopped for the season, too expensive, snow storm, sold out, clara broke her leg.  we could never seem to catch a break.
but this year it all changed. my aunt was given tickets to a matinee showing of the nutcracker by one of the ballet's sponsors, and she gave them to me and my mom. i was thrilled.

clara and the nutcracker

when we entered the theatre lobby i was in shock. we were giants. surrounded by hundreds of little girls and their mothers and grandmothers. a generational tradition. little girls holding cabbage patch dolls in matching gowns. GOWNS. the miniature humans were dressed in lavish dresses with crinolines poofing out above their dora the explorer winter boots. i was wearing a jean jacket and red keds. the ugly 24 year old duckling of the matinee.
five minutes until curtain and we entered. on our right sat a little girl named taylor and her mother. taylor is about five years old. she refuses to sit still. her only redeeming quality is that she is tall for her age and does not require one of the brightly coloured booster seats. which the ushers seem to be handing out like candy to ever child that walks by. not taking into consideration the lap sitters, hallway tantrumer's and aisle walkers among them. we spent the entire show hearing

"taylor sit down" 

"taylor one more time and we are leaving!"

"don't lick that!"

"QUIET people are trying to watch the show"

i adapted to taylor and her wild ways. but the four eyed blonde pigtail stick figure in front of my seat was another story. she could have cared less about the ballerinas prancing about on stage. she didn't even bat an eyelid during the set changes. in fact her eyes seemed determined to stare at everything but the stage. she sat on her knees facing me for the majority of the show. her knuckles griping the chair back, her nose squished into the seat cushion so tightly that it pushed her glasses up a couple inches higher than they should be.
the families in the aisles surrounding us had lunch boxes filled with snacks for intermission, they talked about christmas concerts, led kids down to the front of auditorium to get a peak at the symphony pit, and the said countless rounds of "excuse me, excuse me, excuse me"as they squished in and out of aisles like we were at a wiggles concert instead of the ballet.
needless to say, i can understand why my mom waited until i was 24 to take me. until i was old enough to stash snacks in my own pockets, sit quietly, and hold in my pee until it was socially acceptable to relieve myself. 

saving 101

found this gem on nomadicmatt.com this week. an article about a guy named michael who wanted to travel and got thrifty with his saving techniques in order to do so. it got me thinking about what techniques i'll have to start once i get settled in vancouver.
the following article snipit is courtesy of travel blogger matt kepnes from nomadicmatt.com.

How Michael Saved $14k in 6 Months Making $9 Per Hour

By Nomadic Matt | Published December 5th, 2012

A lot of people say you need to have a well-paying job in order to afford your trip. But Michael (age 27) never had one of those, yet he still managed to save $15k in 6 months on his trip while on making $9 USD per hour! When he told me his story, I knew he was perfect for this week’s success story. He epitomized the idea that anyone can find the money for travel. Without further ado, let’s meet Michael and find out how you save so much money while making so little!

Nomadic Matt: Tell everyone about yourself.
Michael: I was living in Austin, Texas before I became a citizen of the world. I had always wanted to take a year off and travel the world. I had taken small trips overseas in the past and would meet so many travelers who were taking months or years off to travel. Those people put the idea in my head that maybe I could travel for extended periods of time too. When I graduated from college I spent a year and a half looking for a teaching position but couldn’t find one. I started entertaining the idea of selling everything I own and taking a year off to travel, but still it didn’t really seem feasible. Since I couldn’t find a teaching position I got a job as a cook at a pizza place in Austin. I was only making $9 per hour plus tips.

How long were you planning on traveling? 
I was just planning to be gone for a year. Once I started researching how to travel the world, I came across several blogs of people offering words of encouragement and advice. I had looked up RTW tickets and thought that would be the best way to go. I had started organizing and planning the entire year; what cities I would go to, the cost of living in each country, etc. But then I thought “how the hell can someone plan for an entire year?” I was new to planning a trip but still knew there was just no way to plan anything for an entire year. Now, I’m just going to go with the flow and be gone as long as possible.

Ok, so tell us, how the heck did you save $15k in 6 months? 
I decided I wanted to save $15,000 for my trip, figuring that could last me for a year. I only had 6 months to save for my trip so I had to work my hardest to be able to get to $15,000. I say I only had six months because to keep myself from putting off the trip and keeping myself disciplined I booked my flight out of the U.S. the day I decided I was going to travel around the world.

At first I thought I would get a second part-time job, upping my total work hours to 60 a week. I was only making $9 USD per hour so it’s not like I was living the rich life. My boss ended up giving me the hours I wanted so there was no need for a second job. On top of the 60 hours he gave me, I would eat up others people’s hours if they called out of work. On average for 5 months I was working about 65 hours a week. Life was tough, but I kept my goal in sight and fought through it. In those 6 months, I put myself on a budget; I would limit myself to drinking once a week, eat food from work as much as I could, not use my air conditioner as much (that was the worst for I was living in Texas), and try to lower my electricity bill by not using as much light. Basically, I put my expenses into two columns, wants and needs (a friend of mine came up with this money saving technique). Every time I was to spend money I would ask myself if it was a want or a need. If it was a want I would usually come to the conclusion that it was a waste of money.

Aside from working I sold stuff to make money. I sold almost every electronic item I had, like my T.V., guitar amps and such. I figured I could always get those things again later in life if I wanted them. I also sold my car.

if he can do it, i can do it...again. although i have no car to sell, no air conditioning not to use, and actually no job to speak of at the moment, but i am confident that i will get creative just like michael did. it is hard sacrificing things in the present in order to save for something in the far off future. but reading stories like these helps to keep me on the right mindset. 

low expectations

i've been home for a little over a month now. and i've already made my next move.
i bought a one way ticket to vancouver!
i leave at the end of january. no job, no place to live.

i need to save up some more money before i can head off on another adventure. so instead of staying home and working here i decided to make the process of saving money into an adventure too.
and an adventure it will be! i will arrive in vancouver with no plans other than crashing at a friends place for a week while i look for a job and a place to live.

i'm going in with low expectations. that way i can't be disapointed. well i mean if i end up getting strep throat, stung by a bee, develop an infectious rash on the back of my ankles so i can't wear shoes and i'm forced to wear flip flops all the time, then yes, i will get disapointed. but in general i think this is a good way to go into any new situation. trying a new restaurant, traveling to a new country, buying a pair of shoes that are a little to tight, but that you hope will stretch out in the first lil bit. low expectations.

through my travels i have learned one thing for certain, it is the journey not the destination. sure if your journey happens to take you through the outback of australia that sounds drastically more exciting than spending the same amount of time in your hometown while working at a restaurant and spending your nights watching coronation street with your parents. however it is up to you to make yourself open to experiences, and create opportunities for them to happen. so with that in mind i am entering this next chunk of my life with low expectations, an empty bank account and an open mind.

stewart sandwich 

me and dad

setting up nana and papa's christmas tree

i wear fake glasses and braid my hair like a five year old blonde dutch girl

returning the favour

a few nights ago i had my third round of couchsurfers stay here with me in wolfville. this was the first time my parents were home for it too. so they got to experience the joys of couchsurfing as well.
when mom found out that we had two guests on the way she went into clean up mode. she vacuumed and cleaned everything. she also began to make detailed dinner preparations as if overnight we had opened up a b&b.
so around 6pm carolin from germany and kyle from ontario arrived at our house with a bottle of red in hand. i invited my friend tippy over for dinner too. so the house filled with noise once everyone arrived and i loved it.
we all sat at the kitchen table and talked of how carolin and kyle had met at a hostel in halifax and carolin decided to travel with kyle in his car as he traveled around the south shore of nova scotia before heading to prince edward island. dad was particularlly intrigued to hear how they got started with couch surfing and he shared his expereince of hearing about it through me and not really liking the concept until after i did it for the first time. then he was cs's biggest fan.
we had a traditional maritime dinner of hodge podge, roast chicken and for dessert an apple pear ginger crisp. then tippy and i taught kyle and coralin one of our favourite boardgames before we called it a night.
and as i write this i am sitting in my living room with another couchsurfer. isabelle, she is from quebec and is spending the weekend with us. i am just thrilled to be hosting couchsurfer's again! i love getting the opportunity to try and return the kindness that was shown to me during my travels.

coralin, kyle and me

me and mom and our valley

halls harbour

me and isabelle at halls harbour

hodge podge

ten small things

i recently was reading an article written by one of my favourite travel inspirations, alastair humphreys.
after reading the article i saw a post he wrote called 'ten small things i wish i did more'. he followed it up with a 'ten things i waste time on' list.
a simple list. a lot of what he wrote i could relate to. it made me want to make my own list. so i did.
i encourage you to make your own. post it on your fridge, in your journal etc. then check it out a year from now and see if the list remains the same.

10 things i wish i did more:
1. walk
2. wake up early
3. swim
4. socialize
5. yoga
6. read books
7. wear sunscreen
8. write blog articles
9. call my grandparents
10. floss

10 things i waste time on:
1. facebook
2. horrible tv shows
3. deciding what to wear
4. worrying
5. trying to solve simple technological issues by reading or watching tutorial's for dummies
6. emails
7. brushing my hair. (i'm dangerously close to chopping it all off or just accepting dreadlocks)
8. stumbleupon.com
9. fantasizing/daydreaming
10.

10 things i am happy with:
1. family & friends
2. being in nova scotia until christmas
3. being creative
4. not having a clue what i will be doing next year
5. the amount of traveling i have done
6. my money saving skills
7. my routine of keeping a journal
8. how long my childhood was
9. my level of french proficiency
10. the fact that i couldn't think of a tenth item for the above list

happy with #1

happy with #10

downtown in my home town

my 10 year old puppy, anna

looking over the valley where i live

one hundred

when i left on my trip i told my family i would be home for christmas.
but in the back of my head i kind of knew i wanted to come home before that. i wanted to be able to spend the whole month of december at home. be able to make short bread cookies with papa joe.

who once when asked how to make his secret recipe of short bread cookies answered,
"take a pound of butter and add flour till it feels right"

then once i started traveling i chose a page at the back of my journal and formed a list. a list of things i missed from home, and wanted to fit into my stay when i returned. most of the list ended up being food.

the list: 
frenchies with mom (frenchies is an amazing used clothing store)
oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
mom's pancakes
borscht with a dollop of sour cream and fresh chives
long walks with my dog along the bay of fundy
read anna karenina before the movie comes out
hike cape split
nana's spaghetti
nana's sweet and sour chicken
make a photo book of my trip
watch dad coach at some end of season football games
cuddly sunday mornings
pineapple on pizza
make homemade christmas cards
play catan with tippy and alicia
watch ted talks with mom
garlic fingers
bubble baths
go ice fishing
make perogies at ukrainian christmas

after i started adding to the list. and i watched it grow and consume the page, i thought that maybe going home earlier wouldn't hurt. i thought a lot about it. i was worried that if i went home i would instantly regret it. i would get back to wolfville and daydream about how i could still be on a beach in southern thailand. but this time it felt different that when i left new zealand and came back to canada two years ago. this time i felt ready. i felt confident in my decision.
my nana kept pestering me.
"emily anne when are you coming home, where are you going next? you know nanny's 100th birthday is in october, you know you're named after her, it would mean so much to me, everyone is coming to celebrate her birthday, you'll meet so many cousins..."
nana wanted me home bad. which is exactly why i didn't tell her when i booked my flight home. i love a good surprise.
bangkok - seoul - toronto - home
i arrived home, attempted to adjust to the ten hour time difference, enjoyed what i believe was the longest shower i have ever taken, and then drove to cape breton with my mom. the surprised went off without a hitch. my nana was more surprised than my nanny. i guess not too much shocks you after once you turn 100. but my nana made up for it. when i ran up the porch she was just coming out the door, i whipped off the fleece blanket that i had wrapped around me and said BOO!
she stumbled backwards, her mouth was literally gaping open.
"YOU ASSHOLE! you you you little shit!"
those were the first words out of my nana's mouth. lovely little thing she is.
the weekend went by in a blur. i saw many family members and received so many hugs i actually think i developed subtle rib bruising. it was an explosion of irish relatives; the quantity of liquor consumed was a direction correlation.

cousin saki passed out on mom

cooper family

my aunts

skipping stones

more stones on the atlantic

mom and nanny

josiah, jordan, me, jacob

nana and her three children

four generations
emily, annetta, suzanne, emily anne

so for now i am home and it feels right.
i don't regret coming home when i did. i am happy right where i am.