What I Will Miss about BC

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where Loki features prominently: @sydneejc

There are a few things that I will miss about British Columbia. My family for one. My poor mom has already had one child move out, and in a few weeks I’ll be off to Ireland for a year. My next sister in age is thinking about moving out, and my youngest sister is heading to Wales in January for a semester abroad (and for the summer that follows). Okay so maybe it’s temporary, but that’s a lot of kids to fly the nest within one year. I’m really hoping to have visits in Ireland to keep the family-withdrawal at bay. For all of us.  Like I said, there will be Skype chats, but that doesn’t put us all at the little church on Mary’s Street for Christmas Eve. Once upon a time I would sink my teeth into the pew in front of me because it was level with my mouth. I can still taste the pine, hear the little crack of the malleable wood as it gave, and smell that odd perfume that always floated around the Romanesque building. I’ve never missed a Christmas Eve there, and never been able to stifle giggles with my family while we sang carols. That might be a tricky day for me. I may have to drag Dale to church.

I will also miss Loki, our cat. Mostly he’s Dominique’s cat I suppose, but still. He’s only just over a year old, very orange, damn giant, and quite a loudmouth. He has a ton of personality, and as someone who can’t remember life without a cat, or at least one pet, that’s going to suck. It’s not like I can explain to the poor guy that I’ll be home in just a year. And he certainly can’t visit me. I hope I’m not too miserable without a cat to cuddle.

I’m interested to see whether it rains similarly in Ireland as to how it rains in the Fraser Valley. People here like to complain about it, and all you ever hear about Ireland is that it’s always raining. Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is. Rain is rain. However, I will miss our hot summers, and our huge mountains and forest hikes. I include my occasional outdoor buddies Aasma and Brandie in this one! I will be scoping out natural scenery since I’ve been spoiled with the outdoors here at home. I hope big-city life doesn’t make me claustrophobic; I really do need to be outside. Dale and I will be starting in Dublin if not making ourselves at home there, so it will be an adjustment. Dale’s SWAP guidebook says that most people find jobs and a place to stay in Ireland fairly easily after they have arrived. So apart from comparing hostels, which are cheaper than in London, we have not done more than browse www.daft.ie, a reputable housing website. We have also stopped applying for jobs on www.jobs.ie, which offers a fill-in-the-blanks CV (Curriculum Vitae, or in our land, a resume). I also have checked out websites suggested in Lonely Planet’s The Big Trip, but most of them seemed to be for Americans. However, I think I’ll get back to applying for jobs soon. The only reason I stopped was because I was looking for temporary work in Canada as well, and then I became preoccupied with Irish real estate.

I will miss the kindergarten class I volunteer in  every week. I’ve also started volunteering at the Community Centre thanks to a connection I made at the elementary school. Luckily for me, one of my relatives in Dublin is a teacher and he has asked his principal if I could come and volunteer at his school. As long as we stay in Dublin through September that will be great! I will get plenty of experience—which always looks better when it’s from another country—and this will help me in my application for the Teacher Education Program at my university. I also found out that I will not need Garda Vetting to volunteer, which is similar to a Criminal Record Check, but that I will need Garda Clearance, which should be an easier process.

By the way, I packed my bag back in May. Yesterday I was up until 3:00am re-packing it, as well as my carry-on. I've been determined to live in the leftover clothes so that I don't get sick of what it's my suitcase over the year I'm away. I'll miss some of my clothes, if I'm being honest. Yet my bag is stuffed full. So full that Dale has kindly offered to take my flats and a pair of shoes in his suitcase, which we packed on the weekend. I have read multiple times on Pinterest that you shouldn't pack much, and that you will buy clothes abroad, but I am disregarding that. I hope I won't regret it. The fact is, I don't have spare money to spend. So if by some miracle I land a sweet job, I'll ship any new belongings home or throw old stuff out.

What won't I miss, you ask? Easy: school. I get to write for fun now! For two years in a row I have written novels for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, in November. It was insane to be working, volunteering, going to university, and writing 1667 words every day. But it’s such a fantastic way to force yourself to work, and you have an end product in only a month rather than saying, “One day I’d like to write a book…” for the rest of your life. I have never known such a feeling of accomplishment before. I can’t wait to completely finish the second novel, edit the crap out of both of them, and get somewhere with publication! Then I can start a new story this November! I also want to try writing a short story or a poem for the Louden Singletree this year. I was the Webmaster last year, so I wasn’t eligible, but I want to give it a shot now. I’m very excited to write in my free time. And I’m not going to lie, I haven’t read a novel for fun in ages. Harry Potter is calling my name for the…fifteenth time, maybe? I think I lost track after eleven.