Mandi Comes to England!

My best friend came to visit me during my May/June holiday; she arrived on the 26th after spending a few days with her friend in Ireland.  I couldn't even contain my excitement as I waited for her at the airport, and when I saw her walking through the arrivals gate it was like a scene from Love Actually - I ran through the crowds of people (with her none the wiser) and, when she finally did see me, we hugged each other like we've never hugged before.  It was so nice to see her, and I couldn't wait to bring her to my house and show her around Maidstone and introduce her to all my friends.

I took that Friday off work and we went to London to Camden Market for most of the early afternoon.  She loved it there, which I knew she would.  We then took the underground to Westminster so she could see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abby.  We walked to St James' Park and took an hour to "recharge our batteries" - the weather was absolutely gorgeous so we threw down our pashminas and had a little nap in the sun.  After we were "charged" we walked to Buckingham Palace, took some more pictures, and then had dinner at Zizi, a restaurant I have wanted to go to since I moved here and that totally exceeded my expectations.  It was marvelous.

That night we rented a horror movie and stayed in - I was super excited about this because none of my friends here like scary movies and it makes me sad because I never get to watch any (I am obviously not watching Freddy slice people up all by myself).  So it was a nice treat to enjoy some horror with my best friend.

The next day Britny and I had a party at ours for our friend Claire's birthday.  Her birthday was in March and she didn't bother to tell any of us, so we forced a party on her as punishment.  It worked out because I wanted to take Mandi out in Maidstone anyways.  We went to Strawberry Moons (our favourite) and danced the night away.  When our feet were too sore to dance anymore we picked up some Subway (an after-the-bar staple) and went home, anxiously awaiting our adventures planned for the next day.

Best Ever

What I am about to write here may seem kind of obvious to most of you, but I am actually having the time of my life here in England.  This is hands down the best decision I have ever made and I'm going to tell you why.

When I was still living in Canada, before I moved to England, I had a very uninteresting life.  Every morning I would wake up at 6:00am, go to work, work at a job I had been doing since I was sixteen and absolutely hating it, come home at 2:30 or 3:30 and do basically nothing all night (unless it was a weekend) and then repeat it all again the next day.  Sounds boring eh?  That's because it was.  I had graduated teacher's college which meant I finally had the education I needed to have the career I have wanted since I was a little girl, but I couldn't get a job...at all.  My school board wouldn't even put me on the occasional/supply list.  Life was lame, and I remember thinking to myself, "am I going to wake up one day and realise that I'm fifty years old and I haven't done anything memorable in my life?"  That thought scared me; I had a genuine fear of regretting my life.  

That was when I knew I had to do something big.  This scared me even more, since I was not really the type of girl to do something as big as this.  I was and always had been comfortable in my little "box" of home - I lived at home all through university and things were just easy there.  But really, it gets to a point when you don't really think living with your parents (no offence mom and dad, you rule) is something you want to do anymore.  But still, the thought of leaving, and going so far away, made me a little nervous.  But, like I said, it was the best thing I ever did. I mean, look at what I have been (and will be) doing!  By the time I have been here a year I will have travelled to Holland, France, Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Prague and Ireland.  I can't even believe I just wrote that about myself!  My love of music and theatre, too, has definitely been let loose - The Tragically Hip, Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Wicked, Billy Elliot, Blood Brothers, Sister Act, Priscilla...and I'm sure more will be added to that list at a later date.  Not to mention all the fantastic friends I have made, some of which I know I will remain friends with long after we all go back home to our regular lives.  And that is an incredible feeling.  Oh!  And I get to teach and have that career that I have been dreaming about for so long (even if it is at a ridiculously challenging school).  So, again, and even though you may have already guessed it, I am putting it in writing: I love my life.