And than...

As much as I enjoyed all the experiences I made in India (Hey I got to teach!! How awesome is that!? And I faced so many fears that I feel like there won't be any left...I'm already proven wrong but I still faced all of them!) and as much I grew with it, I didn't stay for the two and a half month I had planned on staying.
(Ugh, other fear faced. Here we go with truth)

There are a lot of personal reasons involved which I'm not going to share on my blog. India taught me the lesson that there are differences between going through with things and accepting that everyone has certain limits. It also showed me that there is no point in running away from things.
Anyway, I found my personal limit for now.
I'm sure that this whole topic is not closed and finished for all time but more like for now. There are other things that need to be focused on and for which I'll need some time.

I appreciate those weeks for showing me my own fears, for letting me face really difficult situations and for getting to know myself so much more. There were awesome moments and really hard ones. I'm thankful for all of them.

And what it taught me most than everything else is: To appreciate all the things I have, the people who surround me and the possibilities I'm facing. Because even if I knew I had it good, India took my understanding of it to a totally new level.

And thank you for your comments and for reading all the things I wrote. Getting your feedback meant a lot to me and I'm happy that I was able to share everything with you!

Q/A for India {Und FrageFotoFreitag}

4 days to go and I feel fine (Jeeks...I don't...but oh well. Giddy, excited...I did mention that before, didn't I?!). But I have pretty much all of my things and now I'm just curious (mainly). However one thing doesn't stop. All those questions in my head! I thought I might just write them down...

There are the obvious main questions:

1.   How does the thing with the food work?

• What do they eat?
• Are there enough vegetable options?
• Gaining weight?
• Getting sick? (How to prevent that?)

1. What to wear?
2. Medication? What should I bring? (What was necessary?)
3. Internet? Electricity?
4. Cultural differences (e.g.: How do you greet another person? What is new? Different ways to act?)
5. Teaching! How is school? What is different?
6. Normal daily routines (hence: No shower!) what else will be different?
7. What does a "normal" day look like?
8. How will I do my laundry?

And than all those smaller in between pop-up questions...

1. How will my flight go?
2. Will I have to stop?
3. Will I be able to teach?
4. What's the climate like?
5. Did I pack the right stuff?
6. ...

The list goes on and on and on and on...you get it. I already talked to quite a few people who either live or have been to India recently, many many good tips came out of that. But after all: India is huge. And so much things also depend on where you are going to stay. I hope I'll be able to answer all my questions in the end (hopefully with a positive sort-of answer!!)

And just because it's hilarious and fun: I'm really looking forward to those clothes ;) (And because it's also: FrageFreitag fünf Sachen die ich anziehe...) Here we go:

Für Indien in Zukunft das: Hose, Kleid(?), Tuch. Fertig ;)

Und noch selber genäht...weil nur eine Hose bei zwei Oberteilen dabei war...eine passende weite Hose ;) (Meine erste Hose...nur in aller Bescheidenheit mal so nebenbei hihi)

Schonmal wieder barfuß testen...geht gut. Und der Schnitt der Hose ist so(!) gemütlich!!

Ansonsten zum sporten in letzter Zeit oft das (haha aus dem Österreich Urlaub mit der Familie)

Und sonst leider: Dicke dicke Jacke, Jeans, zwei paar Strümpfe und dicke winter Schuhe *seuftz*

Life right now {whining, ups and downs and India }

Life is all but a bit complicated right now.
I thought I might just admit it. Duh!
The last half a year has brought I few major changes for me, and I find myself a bit lost when I see old stuff that meant the world to me before and which I'm more than happily throwing away now (To be honest...I've been throwing away so much stuff that I'm down to a few rare memory things, my clothes, my sewing stuff and my books. Done) and also people who I went along with so well before and now...well I feel a bit lost and out of place.
There are times where it's pretty hard to adjust back...or just accept the current situation, and times where I'm disgusted by myself (for all this self pity. Serious. I hate self pity!).

So I guess it's sort of time to get a move on.

I'm so looking forward to India as in experiencing some more major and huge changes. I'm guessing it won't be easy but I'm looking forward to it nevertheless. So ready to bring the adventure on. And I'm more than ready to bring life on after that. Major things are going to happen! Yay! (Quite major around here right now...)

On to the really importing things!
India (as mentioned above) is getting closer ans closer and I'm starting to really get into the whole packing, list writing, buying, planning, freaking out...nah I'd NEVER would do that, right...?, organizing kind of trouble.

That's going to be it

Adding to that I just got an email informing me that there might be a general strike in India right around the time of my arrival. It could either effect my flight from Deli to Calcutta or me travelling from Calcutta to my village. So right now I'm preparing myself to a) a stay in Deli for one or two days or b) a stay in Calcutta for one or two days or c) traveling by myself with a taxi to the village (which would be the best option after all).
I do admit this makes the whole thing quite more...well...uhm, interesting. But since I got the message early I'll have time to prepare myself mentally for the whole thing. Preparation! Do it! Now!...anyone wants to come along with me? 

And while all this is bugging my mind and keeps me short on sleep time will just move on and before you know it I'll be posting happily from India, informing you all that it was a piece of cake and I'm enjoying my time. Right? Right?

Otherwise, I've been... 

...been shopping for some plants with my mum (love those shops...maybe I should change my career plans...just kidding)

It's too cold for running right now (well, at least it's too cold for me) but it's just right for long and beautiful walks

Past little frozen ponds (Can you see those amazing snowflake patterns...I actually don't even think it's a snowflake but more just like a frost flower)

And more wonderful snow flowers (but don't let you trick into believing the sky is actually blue...it was...for like 10 minutes. But who doesn't love this all time consuming dull gray we're sporting right now...psh)

And Mr. Peter the plant is adjusting quite well I'd say

 
So much to my home/mind state and current situation!

A sneak peek on reality {and some color}

One of my friends made a comment on how my blog doesn't reflect my real life right now. Apparently I'm 'ways' (sorry for little insider grammatical mistakes) more down than I pretend to be.

Ok. I'm probably quite a lousy person to be around right now. All whiny (I hate whiny people). So I guess pretending I'm not on my blog just helps me focus on what I should actually focus on (that means: I'm still looking into a lot of Visa stuff and possible solutions to work abroad, I'm taking a closer look into TESOL diplomas, at the same time I'm also looking for Universities in Germany (and possible cities I could also be happy with), I got my India Visa today (and I'm starting to seriously freak out about that! Seriously! One second I'm so excited and can't wait to go, the next I'm freaking out and asking myself why I actually ever signed up for this. Why did I? Ah right...all this self experience thing....)) And all in between I get weak seconds and just start crying. Let's put it all on those female hormones. Right.

So here you go with a more honest post on what my life actually looks like right now.

And because the weather (with all this gray) doesn't help to improve things, I made myself some edible drinkable color ;)

Energizing color smoothie

Blend together in a mixer:

• 1/2 pear
• 1 handful fresh pineapple
• 1 cup mixed frozen fruits
• 1/3 cup orange/mandarine juice (mine was freshly pressed. Normal one works as well)

Soak up some vitamines and color and keep your head up! ;)

I want to...

Instead of going through my daily morning routine of reading all my blogs on my blog list while I'm having breakfast, I just turned of the light and watched the sun rise slowly over the mountains. See the sky turn from black, to gray to a burning orange-red. Because...in just 10 days I won't be here anymore. I wont see those mountains, and the fog which hovered over downtown and made everything look gloomy and sinister. Fog with glowing mountains above...

I want to hold on tight and never let go

My Christmas 2012

Sorry for no posts last week but finally getting better also meant I got around to do all the stuff that I couldn't do the weeks before...in other words...I was super busy and around all the time last week ;)
But: here goes the super long Christmas-week post!

Well I obviously survived the 21st (as we all did) Soooo... here we come with some new Christmas traditions! (Apart from all the Egg Nog I got introduced too (I never ever had it before!...) And it's seriously seriously good!) here is what my Christmas week looked like.

I just mentioned the Egg Nog and as it turned out: That one is pretty awesome for french toast too!

Just combine:
2 1/2 cups Egg Nog
2 Eggs
Cinnamon
Dip/Soak your bread. Fry it in a pan with a bit of butter. Sprinkle with icing sugar and (as for me) soak it in maple syrup. Yumminess!
(Makes a comfy breakfast and even better with a cozy Christmas movie!)

On Sunday I went to see the lights in Stanley Park together with my (host)sister and some friends. It is a smaller area, which they decorated entirely with millions and millions of lights. You can meet Santa (several) and drink hot chocolate or eat organic popcorn :) And...if you're tough enough to stand in line... you can do a train ride. We were not. But the lights by themselves are already pretty enough! (And it's FREE!)

Super snowy mountain

A tiny Christmas village with twinkling lights and everything...and "If we can fit Santa, we can fit anyone" :P

Entrance...

Lights

I spent Christmas eve with my family.
My host mum made an amazing dinner and we went to see more lights after we unwrapped our presents. (Oh and I love our small Christmas tree which was not able to cover all the presents :P)

Since we don't want to waste any time (time is money, right!?) I had to do something before dinner...guess what I did :P

The Christmas tree stood on top of the drawer...too many presents :D

My host dad Ernesto, Paul, me and Pasc

Here we go tiny Christmas tree ♥

Turkey, spring rolls and more good food which was brought in after I took this picture...bummer...but oh well

Someone has to start...

Right, here we go!

After lots and lots and lots of food: Presents (and even more pictures)

On our after-dinner-light-walk

And the best host parents ever!

Christmas day was spent with my boyfriend (more Egg Nog french toast :D) and I discovered the craze of boxing day shopping on Wednesday...which I'll never do again by the way (only if I'd get up at 5AM...but who wants to wake up at 5AM on the 26th of December!?)

I'm back to work today and Friday but there is another long weekend ahead, with saying goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013.
It was definitely a crazy year but I'm stoked for the next one even more! (New Years makes me either super emotional or super giddy and active...I guess this year it's a mixture of both! :D).
So I'll spend my evening today organizing all my lists (Bucket lists, what I want to do next year list, what I did this year list...quite...list-overloaded...)

Oh! And I had a discussion over if the Grinch is green or yellow. (Feel free to leave your opinion. I think he's yellow!!) ...that totally IS yellow....right!?

And the my days in Canada section got updated finally! So more pictures over there again ;)

A good picture

Randomness on its best!

Recently I was thinking about what a good picture is about (concerning my personal believes).
There is the one which you look at and it's just stunning (and you have all those Ahhhs and ohhhs). But, and here comes the thing probably everyone already figured out (I'll just write it down! Ha!): Good pictures for me are the one's that caught something.
Like an emotion. The pictures might be blurry, out of focus, too dark, too light....whatever. But you look at them and they tell you this story, this moment captured.

You can't tell but this was a tradition captured...and we were about to run down a hill trying to avoid an enormous thunder...can you guess how exiting it was.

Randomness of the day....

Changes

With the coffee pictures from my break today (my coffee habits just got worse...because now it's not just what's keeping me awake but also what's getting me outside! Remember...I work in a basement.....) comes some deep thinking. One of my friends posted this today on facebook:

"It seems everyone I know right now is going through change in life or searching for their purpose in some way. Is this what some believe the Mayans meant for dec 21, in that we will be ushering in a new intellectual or spiritual era for mankind? Or are we ALWAYS going through change and searching for answers...and dec 21 is just another Friday?? Whatever the case, it seems that 2013 is highly anticipated :) wonder what's coming for all of us?"

We all change.
And need to readjust.
And find out what we want.
Have cool new makeover-ideas for our life (just to do two steps actually and than come up with a new plan).
That's good and it's normal.

The only difference: If we go with awareness through life, we actually notice that we change. And others do as well. But apart from that, I think it might as well just always happen.

So much for deep thoughts. Unrelated to that: I ate waaays too much stuff tonight. It was one of those days... 


 

This week {What I've learned so far}

It's Saturday morning. My heater is on the sun is shining in my room and I'm done with my week. It wasn't an easy week I have to admit. It was actually the most difficult week since I came here. But...

...life is not just always easy.
...you have to step out of your comfort zone to grow.
...it is also ok to break down and be weak and to cry.
...allow it to be shit (sorry) but also give it a new try after it. Close it. accept it as what it was and start over again. Everything should get a second chance!
...friends are the most important thing in life. They will always be there for you. They are the ones who catch you when you fall and comfort you when you can't!

...and last but not least: It's never totally dark! There is always a tiny bit of light! You just have to find it! 

 So much about what I've learned this week. I woke up this morning even before 7!! (The first day I could have slept long..and what do I do...wake up before everyone else is up. But oh well). So I made myself a healthy yummy breakfast (After I was shopping this week), started my mails, watched the sun rise ♥, started my laundry and thought things over.

And this is what my week now looks like: (Sorry for so many phone pictures it's just so more convenient than carrying my big camera around with me all the time. But promise: There are two posts already waiting including high quality camera pictures!)

To work in the morning...and back when it's dark...

To brighten up my mood on Tuesday...or was in Wednesday?!...Starbucks (with the Red cups!)...oh and I fell in love with those cute snowman cookies :D

Oscar ♥...this is what he does to you when you eat :D

Shopping after work on Thursday (can u tell I had a cold?!) and sushi afterwards

Waiting while my Chai is in preparation...well waiting to be done...after all the thousand customers are served who came before I did....*sight*

We found out this huge educational gap of mine at work: I didn't know Dill Pickle Chips! The guys took care of that one :D (and Ketchup Chips!)

Some Hockey on Friday! Go!

And my breakfast this morning, just because I think it's so good that it should be mentioned: Banana with Greek yogurt nuts, cherries, muesli and honey. Yummines! ♥

 It was a challenge. I took it. I survived. Bring on the next week! ;)

I like...

...fortune cookies
...the smell of freshly baked goods
...the taste of chocolate
...how a morning looks if you see the sky
...how the air smells after rain
...new colours
...friendly and open people who smile
...sparkles
...new dreams
...the sky
...fresh air

What do you like? And doesn't it make you already happy just to think of things you like?!

Growing up {or whatever}

I think the most important lessons I have learned in the last three month are:

Be honest to yourself about who you are (though it's totally fine to appear a bit different according to several mood changes. They will eventually disappear...otherwise: Sounds old and overused: But you're the most interesting if you're just yourself!)

Smile and Laugh! (It's healthy and there is no other way you'll look beautiful that fast and easy ;))

Dance and listen to (loud) music! (Brightens up any rainy day)

It's never too cold to wear shorts!

And make cozy movie evenings on rainy days! You'll forget about the rain, I promise ;)

...uh and bake!!!! (Highly recommended: bake with peanut butter!♥)

and (a second time) after all: Don't take it too serious ;)

From old routines to new routines

I was thinking of how fast something new can become routine and normal (again) in your life. A bit more than two month ago I couldn't even believe that my trip to Canada was true. I mean, I wasn't really leaving right!? And now it seems like I woke up in my bed here for like forever.

The sun flooding my room is definitely one of my favourites. During the week it takes longer now, to happen, since the sunrise is a bit later each day. But I wake up to a sun flooded room every day of my weekend. And I get to see the mountains every morning while I have breakfast in my room.

On another thing, I didn't really realize how obsessed I am with my bus stop. But I have tons of pictures of it at every imaginable weather and cloud constellation. And after all, I get to pass this spot at least twice a day.

My bus is the 22nd and it takes me about 30 minutes to go Downtown. Sometimes the bus is packed with people so you can just merely squeeze in yourself and your bag. But sometimes it's empty enough to sneak into one of the blue seats. I like the colours of the buses here (Yellow and Blue) and I love my way Downtown, first through all those houses, all a bit different from each other, than through some industry area (I always find some cool spots I'd love to take pictures in with a certain picture obsessed friend ;)), through Chinatown with all the red and the brick walls, tiny shops, a bit green from the park and sparks of different colours on every corner and finally a bit through downtown down West Pender St until it's time for me to step out of the bus.
(Jep I'm obsessed with colours...sorry...)

I love how quick you find certain places you'd always come back to (even if it start to be quite freezing...)

...or certain things you would always do again and again (Well, you need to warm up somehow, right!?)

Or some things which will never change. Like making your nails a bit more colourful each day ;)

I love the feeling to be close to the sea and close to so many huge mountains. To know that there are raccoons, skunks, bears, dear...outside there. See that autumn here is that just as beautiful as it is back home.
But also to always know, that even if this time here is beautiful and new and exciting, there are always family and friends waiting for me at home and a different but just as beloved routine as well as new challenges I will come back to when my time here ends. And I'm thankful for everything I am going to experience until it's time to go back home :)

Enough of deep thoughts for now. I'll promise!!. And (btw) if you have any questions about anything here, feel free to ask :) (otherwise I'll just go on posting in my random sort of way...)
Greetings Jo :)