Back in Canada?

First a little technical note: As soon as I get internet at my house I will fix all the pictures on my previous entries.

Now back to regular programming...

So what is it like to be back in Canada after my life-changing experience in Thailand. Well hmmm.... am I really back in Canada? I feel like I am still in Thailand and may be part of me is... and WHY do people drive on the wrong side of the road here?! I tried to get into the passenger seat of a taxi in Winnipeg and couldn't remember where it was.

I also have no idea where my clothes are! I have clothing from my last student teaching placement in my drawers... long pants, collared button-up shirts, and sweaters! Where are my t-shirts? What clothes do I even own?! I am so sick of wearing the same t-shirts for two months whenever I wasn't at the school wearing my uniform. I managed to find one black t-shirt to wear but my capris and shorts are still elusive.

And what did I eat when I lived in Canada? It took me 30 minutes to write a simple grocery list. I am going back to being vegetarian but I have no idea what to eat and my body is so confused it hasn't been hungry since I got back to Manitoba. So far I have ate pizza, 2 pizza pretzels and a muffin over the past 2 days... mostly because I figured I should eat SOMETHING even if I wasn't hungry! I bought orange juice. It is so nice I can get it without any sugar added in Canada! I am going to have to cook my own food for the first time in two months. Maybe I will have pasta with black bean pasta sauce, or stir-fry. I find myself looking at the food in the grocery store as if it is completely foreign.

I keep waking up at bizarre hours. There is nothing to do because I have yet to hook up internet to my apartment. I guess I can fill out my student loan application or fix my resume for job-hunting.

I came home to find out one of my roommates took my car joy-riding and the other roommate caught her and kicked her out. The pipe attached to the muffler is broken but my remaining roommate is going to help me fix it. It also was completely empty on gas. She stole my other rooomate's 2 televisions too. Good riddance! I need to also switch my car to its summer tires because there was still snow on the ground when I left! Once I get the muffler things sorted out I'll be out to Souris to fetch the tires I guess.

My remaining roommate is moving to Winkler at the end of the month because he got promoted at work. I will stay in the apartment but I am uncertain what roommate, if any, I will end up having. I kind of enjoyed living alone in Thailand and I can afford this place on my own, at least until it starts to get cold. It is a big apartment to have all to myself though! And I have no furniture to speak of. I might buy the beat up old futon off of my current roommate. Also there is either water or sewage leaking into the bathroom from the apartment upstairs. The landlord is being his usual unhelpful self. Overall, I am relieved that my car is mostly intact and that my stuff wasn't all sitting out back in the alley when I got home. I am going to have to work something out with him about fixing the holes in the wall in the living room. He needs to at least pay for the mud. I am kind of excited about the prospect of picking a new paint colour for the wall, although I don't want anything too bizarre or I'll have to redo the whole room and it would be a big and expensive job!

Well, all in all, I am feeling more confident and things are starting to sort themselves out around here. I feel the rest of the summer and the following year look promising! I have got everything sorted out for my courses for the fall and even if the electives kind of suck they are good from a business perspective and I am beginning to see the value of seeing things from a business perspective. That is something Thailand has taught me. Spending a lot of time on my own figuring out how to do things in a foreign country made me realize I really have a whole lot of power over my own life, even more than I previously thought. Right now I am working through the steps to get where I want to be, and even if I don't like ever single step I understand their merit. Step one, find a job and apply for student loans. Step two, sort out all remaining things with the apartment. Step three, pay my car insurance. Step four, complete the remaining year of school. After that, back to Thailand? Time will tell! With any luck two years from now will see me working in Thailand and planning to spend school vacation Down Under!