A Week Back Home

I’ve been home in Canada for a week, after returning from one year of academic exchange in the Netherlands for a “Surprise The Guys” mission – objective: show up unexpectedly for Ezra and Will’s shared birthday. The mission was a success. Neither of them had a clue I was arriving and you should have seen their faces. There was much hugging and excitement, and then Will disappeared for half an hour to clean out his van before I could see it. ;)

The jet lag was killler – all in all it had been a 30 hour travel day and I did NOT sleep at all during that time. I was out of it for about four days. Honestly, I’m still tired, but at least my internal clock has finally adjusted.

Culture shock, however, hasn’t been a problem! For the first time ever, I’m not super overwhelmed by the Western world upon re-entry. Sure, for the first day it was a little weird – the scenery was different, everyone around me was speaking the same language, strangers were far more likely to strike up a conversation with me, and the stores were HUGE. But instead of feeling overwhelmed like I usually do, I was excited! I bought stuff I shouldn’t have at the huge stores, gorged myself on Canadian treats, and enjoyed riding around in a car instead of walking or biking. I still miss the Netherlands, but I’ve been surprised by how many things I was secretly missing. Yay, Canada.

It’s been a wild week. We had a birthday party for Will and Ezra, and then my entire extended family on the Sutherland side showed up for Gramps’ 75 birthday party. I still have too many thoughts and feelings rolling around in my head from that event to properly write about it. The man has meant so much to my development and life. He’s the one who started the travel bug in our family. He taught me that living with a disability doesn’t mean a life devoid of adventure. He taught me the names of the trees on our property – the ones he planted when my mom was just a kid. There have been so many lessons learned, so many moments of growth and discovery with him… The thoughts are still percolating, but I feel a post about it coming on soon.

There’s no rest for the wicked… Tomorrow my Dad and I set off for Indiana for a packed week of family time with the Miller side of the family. I have a new baby cousin to meet, grandparents to hug, and my closest cousin to track down. After that, I’ll pick up my bestest buddy and head for Ohio for YET ANOTHER family reunion – this one at Cedar Point. Roller coasters, here we come!

Finally, I’ll head back up to Ontario in August to move into a new apartment with Will. We are completely unprepared. We have no furniture, no pots and pans, no wifi router, nothing. I have a plastic bag of bedding in my parent’s attic along with a cardboard box stuffed with the things I just couldn’t bring myself to donate or sell before I went on exchange. And that’s it. My parents bought a few kitchen supplies for me for my birthday, which is amazing, and I guess we’ll pick up things as we go. Our next adventure awaits! This time, it’s a nesting adventure. I’m beyond excited.