Next Steps
I have been back in Canada for 2 weeks now, and I am finally feeling relaxed and like I am finally on vacation. But it is a double edged sword! Now I am trying to find ways to combat boredom. I have gotten into the bad habit of watching a lot of TV... I am back at my parents house, and they have many more channels on cable than I had before (even if I no longer have Netflix)!
Being back has been good, although I don't yet feel settled in. It is hard to adjust to the idea of not being abroad. I think my biggest concern is feeling like I have settled, which has always been a fear of mine. Today, I had a chance to talk with one of my friends from Colombia, who is also moving on, and she verbalized what I was feeling. If we were going back, we would be back now, and getting ready to start the next school year. But we are not, and now it is sort of like a "limbo" period, where we feel like we should be doing stuff (and I feel a bit out of the loop, because I want to know what is going on with the new staff in Barranquilla, but am not involved anymore). At least these feelings have helped me to start researching other opportunities for work, so that I can narrow down my focus. I have put in an application with the City of Calgary, for a water-wise educator position. It is an on-call position, but it would still be in the realm of teaching. I have also decided that I will try to get on the sub-list for this year, so that I can hopefully have some income, but still have the flexibility to travel and do other things.
At this point, I would like to thank everyone that has been keeping me in their thoughts and looking out for opportunities for me. I am very fortunate to have so many people keeping my best interests in mind, and trying to help me out.
I have also signed up with the gym that my sister and mom both go to. (I have signed up for month to month, so that I can cancel it more easily). I decided to bite the bullet and get some personal training/group training sessions as well, so that I can work on increasing my muscle density and tone. My measurements are pretty good right now, but I am lacking that toned look (I am still quite "soft"). I know what training can do (I just need to look at my sister and mom), so I am excited. I also realize that I need someone else to push me when it comes to weights; I will gladly go to zumba and other cardio classes, but what I really need is not what I want to do! I had my first group session with my mom's trainer yesterday, and today I am a bit sore, but not as bad as I thought I would be. I am impressed that I still have a reasonable amount of strength, but it can always be improved. Today driving home, I had a vision of myself as super toned (I would say ripped, but really, I don't want to be too muscular), and I am impressed that I can actually visualize it. I am also becoming a bit more vain, and like looking at myself in the mirror more! (Still not really onto the selfie bandwagon though... It just feels so unnatural).
And along the lines of setting myself up here again, I have a new phone, and have discovered that cell phone plans in Canada are highway robbery. What I have paid 20$/month for in England and Colombia, is a minimum of 50$/month here in Canada. And the pay-as-you-go options suck. There basically is no option if you want to have data. So, I currently don't use data, and will use up the money I have and then try to figure out what to do... But I do enjoy a phone that isn't really slow to do everything!
In other news, I am getting my travel plans in place (so the pressure is on to get the funds!). I will be going to Regina in August for one of my best friend's birthdays. I will also get to see my god-daughter, Cara, for the first time in years. Thankfully I get to see pictures of her, otherwise I wouldn't recognize her. Then, in September, I will be heading back to the UK for 2 weeks. I will be spending some time in London, and then I think I will head up to Scotland. I am realizing that 2 weeks might not actually give me enough time for everything I wanted to do, but oh-well! Then, in October, I might be heading State-side for a little travel reunion with a group of girls from my Scandinavia tour 4 years ago.
So, that's what's new with me. Also, I now have a Canadian phone number (so my WhatsApp has also changed). I am slowly going through my contacts to let people know, but if you have been messaging me and haven't gotten a reply on my Colombian number, that would be why. My Colombian number has been cancelled, so if you want to get a hold of me, let me know, I and I will send you my new number.
Cheers! Enjoy the rest of the summer, and I will try to post again later.
Being back has been good, although I don't yet feel settled in. It is hard to adjust to the idea of not being abroad. I think my biggest concern is feeling like I have settled, which has always been a fear of mine. Today, I had a chance to talk with one of my friends from Colombia, who is also moving on, and she verbalized what I was feeling. If we were going back, we would be back now, and getting ready to start the next school year. But we are not, and now it is sort of like a "limbo" period, where we feel like we should be doing stuff (and I feel a bit out of the loop, because I want to know what is going on with the new staff in Barranquilla, but am not involved anymore). At least these feelings have helped me to start researching other opportunities for work, so that I can narrow down my focus. I have put in an application with the City of Calgary, for a water-wise educator position. It is an on-call position, but it would still be in the realm of teaching. I have also decided that I will try to get on the sub-list for this year, so that I can hopefully have some income, but still have the flexibility to travel and do other things.
At this point, I would like to thank everyone that has been keeping me in their thoughts and looking out for opportunities for me. I am very fortunate to have so many people keeping my best interests in mind, and trying to help me out.
I have also signed up with the gym that my sister and mom both go to. (I have signed up for month to month, so that I can cancel it more easily). I decided to bite the bullet and get some personal training/group training sessions as well, so that I can work on increasing my muscle density and tone. My measurements are pretty good right now, but I am lacking that toned look (I am still quite "soft"). I know what training can do (I just need to look at my sister and mom), so I am excited. I also realize that I need someone else to push me when it comes to weights; I will gladly go to zumba and other cardio classes, but what I really need is not what I want to do! I had my first group session with my mom's trainer yesterday, and today I am a bit sore, but not as bad as I thought I would be. I am impressed that I still have a reasonable amount of strength, but it can always be improved. Today driving home, I had a vision of myself as super toned (I would say ripped, but really, I don't want to be too muscular), and I am impressed that I can actually visualize it. I am also becoming a bit more vain, and like looking at myself in the mirror more! (Still not really onto the selfie bandwagon though... It just feels so unnatural).
And along the lines of setting myself up here again, I have a new phone, and have discovered that cell phone plans in Canada are highway robbery. What I have paid 20$/month for in England and Colombia, is a minimum of 50$/month here in Canada. And the pay-as-you-go options suck. There basically is no option if you want to have data. So, I currently don't use data, and will use up the money I have and then try to figure out what to do... But I do enjoy a phone that isn't really slow to do everything!
In other news, I am getting my travel plans in place (so the pressure is on to get the funds!). I will be going to Regina in August for one of my best friend's birthdays. I will also get to see my god-daughter, Cara, for the first time in years. Thankfully I get to see pictures of her, otherwise I wouldn't recognize her. Then, in September, I will be heading back to the UK for 2 weeks. I will be spending some time in London, and then I think I will head up to Scotland. I am realizing that 2 weeks might not actually give me enough time for everything I wanted to do, but oh-well! Then, in October, I might be heading State-side for a little travel reunion with a group of girls from my Scandinavia tour 4 years ago.
So, that's what's new with me. Also, I now have a Canadian phone number (so my WhatsApp has also changed). I am slowly going through my contacts to let people know, but if you have been messaging me and haven't gotten a reply on my Colombian number, that would be why. My Colombian number has been cancelled, so if you want to get a hold of me, let me know, I and I will send you my new number.
Cheers! Enjoy the rest of the summer, and I will try to post again later.
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