15
Jul
Friendships ~ Home and Away
Filed under What's next, North America, Canada |
So here it is folks…I’m actually jumping back into the cyber world. When I first began blog writing, I was living out of a backpack and discovering my passion for writing, for travelling and for life outside of my normal routines. Launching into stories about scam artists in Chile or drinking fresh coconut milk was easy. It entertained me and it entertained my readers. But upon moving back home to Vancouver, I held back on the blogs thinking I had nothing to amuse people with. Could I really find something to write about in my new routine, settled-life in Canada? The fact that I’ve moved into my mothers’ basement, I’ve gone back to university and working a retail job…isn’t that boring?
Well, the ‘Babe with a Backpack’ can never be boring. I just needed some time to regroup. So here I am. If people can write blogs about why they enjoy picking their nose so much, than I can comment on how overwhelming I’ve found Vancouverites obsession with yoga (don’t get me wrong though—I’m all for it!).
There are many things about life in Canada that took me by surprise when I first moved back. For starters, the politeness of most bus passengers, the notorious ‘eh’ sentence endings and the natural beauty of my city… even during the rainy days. But as I have now been here for 21 months, my perceptions really have nothing to do with Vancouver, but with friendships.
The friendships that travellers develop when living on the road, are quick. You meet the people sharing your hostel room or signed up for the same safari, and the next thing you know, you’re inseparable. You’ve shown your true character because you’re having fun discovering new perspectives, and you’re able to share the exhilaration with your new mate. The significance of the friendship becomes equivalant to a friendship developed over years of knowing one another, even though it’s been only a few days.
It’s quite often the same with relationships on the road. Although I never found love, I met many couples in various stages of their union. This is how they tend to breakdown:
Monday=Introduction. Met in the hostel kitchen. He ran out of milk for his breakfast cereal and secretly took some of hers. Then he noticed how cute she was and asked to borrow some milk…for his second bowl of cereal.
Tuesday=Romance. Past the questions of where you’ve been and where you’re going, they discover they have so much in common (they both miss spaghetti bolognaise and life back home)
Wednesday=Moving in together. Bunk beds in an all girls room is limiting to finding alone time. The honeymoon stage of sharing a same bed will also save on money at the hostel.
Thursday=Thoughts of separation. The sex wasn’t as amazing as the original personality and she has a nasty habit of moving his backpack so she can spread out the contents of hers. Mmmm, maybe she’s not the one.
Friday=Divorce. He has a really annoying laugh and was planning on going east, so she calls it off and heads west. Or vice versa of course.
This is the dichotomy of relationships on the road. Friendship or romance, it all breaks down to a quickie.
And then there are the friendships back home. I am currently at a friends cabin on Gun Lake, north of Pemberton for a girls weekend. I met this friend in grade eight cooking class trying to create more trouble than a perfect pastry. We shared a stage in life that began molding us in to who we are today, and that can never be forgotten. I may have been away from home for many years, but it’s the connections with these people that’s the everlasting significance of life. I do not share the same tales of waterskiing on local lakes or drinking in the outhouse but these friends know me and respect me for who I am, whatever I’ve done or wherever I’ve been. It’s the best feeling in the world, to not have to explain where you are from and exactly how you got to be the person you are…they just know, ‘cuz they knew you in the beginning.
There were other girls at the weekend of hikes, hoolahooping and skinny dipping in the lake, that I had never met before. Sometimes meeting new people can be daunting, even for outgoing personalities. But because I shared similar likes and backgrounds, it was easy. The gals rocked, and I now consider them all dear friends.
Then there are the friendships developed through work. Sharing daily tasks can bond one another, often depending on the joys or hates of the job at hand. Recently, I showed a ex colleague from England around Vancouver. We don’t have a life altering connection, but we laughed and appreciated our time together, which is of course, the basis for any friendship.
I am currently working at a travel bookstore, and as a result of sharing a passion for global adventures, my co-workers and I have developed very meaningful friendships. I am able to be my true self and still be respected. Putting yourself in a work environment that you actually enjoy, certainly gives back in the value of relationships developed. It becomes a domino effect, good leads to better, better leads to great etc. etc. Just keep surrounding yourself in your own joys and the connections will come. Why don’t people slaving themselves in jobs they hate, get this simple fact? Frustrations and hatred in one area breed frustrations and hate in other areas.
And lastly for this entry, their are the friendships developed through family. I never thought in a million years, that I would find best friends in my parents, siblings or cousins. Of course, they annoy me and frustrate me and make me want to pull my own hair out at times, but at the end of the day, they all have such strength in different areas of their lives. I value these characteristics and feel such pride in my connection to them. Family is key, and coming home has certainly reminded me of that.
So I think it’s finally time to ‘call it an entry’. I guess getting back into blog writing isn’t that hard after all. Next entry will be even better though…I”M OFF TO AFRICA!!!
Thank you to my friends from everywhere, always and forever, you know who you are.
Fiona