Since I seem to be too wired to sleep today due to my three cappuccinos I might as well just use my time and write. This past weekend was my eight month anniversary back in Canada. I thought I should take some time to write down how I ended up in the North lands of Canada!
Once upon a time (because every good story begins like this) I wanted to experience life in a different country, so I went for an interchange in the US for high school and fell in love with English, so everything in my life pretty much revolved around it, I started my major in University in Arts and Languages and also started to teach. A little later I wanted to travel again (because just like a tattoo once you set foot in a different land you can never stop) so I started to look into many au pair programs, because all I wanted was to spend a year away from home and by myself.
I found a website, nowadays known by many, and started to browse for families all over the world, I didn’t really have a specific place I wanted to be, I just knew I wanted to go. Finally I decided I was going to New Zealand to spend a year with this super cool family, I was very excited and making plans, it was kinda hard to choose, I was between Auckland, London or Melbourne. But I had made my decision and the family sent over half of the money for the airfare.
Then all of the sudden I get this e-mail, “family from Canada has just added you to their hot list” (I bet now you know what website I’m talking about) I knew nothing about Canada, apart from the fact that it was cold, and above the US… I already had a position so I didn’t pay much attention to it. So I opened my e-mail and there was an e-mail from the same family, talking a little about their family, their life and at the very bottom there was a picture of a little girl.
Now, needleless to say I sent the money back to the New Zealand family and took a flight to Canada. And it was far the best decision I’ve ever made. I stayed in Canada for a while and it changed my life. It changed me for better, my way of see the world, my attitude, my goals in life; it opened my eyes to a world that I didn’t know it was out there.
Eventually I had to go back to Brazil to close some doors I left opened, and although against my wish it was good to go back, to make sure this was really what I wanted. To finish what I had to and give it another start.
So after three long years, after having Canada coming my way by accident, I am back for good. Back to where I always felt I belong to, to in my opinion the best place on Earth. I am back where I always wanted to be, and even if sometimes I doubt this and that, the core of it is never changing. I love Canada and always will.
Few words: Now after my open letter, lots of things changed in my life during my time back home, and although Vancouver is still the same (except now we have Canada line and the Olympics!) I am not. I changed, I learned and grew up in many ways, and I just found out about it when I was back here. What use to be essential now is a choice, what used to be ideal now is a point of view, so much less mean so much more nowadays, I’ve seen more and I learned how to find the good everywhere you are. I’ve also learned in a very hard way that once you go wherever once you come back it’s never the same, and you will always, without a doubt, miss someone all the time. But that should not stop you from going. You will always have sunshine but also the days you cry with the rain, nothing is certain in life but are the product of your choices.
Few things I am sure in life, one of them is CANADA!
Once upon a time (because every good story begins like this) I wanted to experience life in a different country, so I went for an interchange in the US for high school and fell in love with English, so everything in my life pretty much revolved around it, I started my major in University in Arts and Languages and also started to teach. A little later I wanted to travel again (because just like a tattoo once you set foot in a different land you can never stop) so I started to look into many au pair programs, because all I wanted was to spend a year away from home and by myself.
I found a website, nowadays known by many, and started to browse for families all over the world, I didn’t really have a specific place I wanted to be, I just knew I wanted to go. Finally I decided I was going to New Zealand to spend a year with this super cool family, I was very excited and making plans, it was kinda hard to choose, I was between Auckland, London or Melbourne. But I had made my decision and the family sent over half of the money for the airfare.
Then all of the sudden I get this e-mail, “family from Canada has just added you to their hot list” (I bet now you know what website I’m talking about) I knew nothing about Canada, apart from the fact that it was cold, and above the US… I already had a position so I didn’t pay much attention to it. So I opened my e-mail and there was an e-mail from the same family, talking a little about their family, their life and at the very bottom there was a picture of a little girl.
Now, needleless to say I sent the money back to the New Zealand family and took a flight to Canada. And it was far the best decision I’ve ever made. I stayed in Canada for a while and it changed my life. It changed me for better, my way of see the world, my attitude, my goals in life; it opened my eyes to a world that I didn’t know it was out there.
Eventually I had to go back to Brazil to close some doors I left opened, and although against my wish it was good to go back, to make sure this was really what I wanted. To finish what I had to and give it another start.
So after three long years, after having Canada coming my way by accident, I am back for good. Back to where I always felt I belong to, to in my opinion the best place on Earth. I am back where I always wanted to be, and even if sometimes I doubt this and that, the core of it is never changing. I love Canada and always will. Few words: Now after my open letter, lots of things changed in my life during my time back home, and although Vancouver is still the same (except now we have Canada line and the Olympics!) I am not. I changed, I learned and grew up in many ways, and I just found out about it when I was back here. What use to be essential now is a choice, what used to be ideal now is a point of view, so much less mean so much more nowadays, I’ve seen more and I learned how to find the good everywhere you are. I’ve also learned in a very hard way that once you go wherever once you come back it’s never the same, and you will always, without a doubt, miss someone all the time. But that should not stop you from going. You will always have sunshine but also the days you cry with the rain, nothing is certain in life but are the product of your choices.
Few things I am sure in life, one of them is CANADA!
