A year and a half in Canada. A year and a half without returning to France, to spend some time with my friends and family. God knows how fast the time has passed and at the same time, how long it has been.
As I prepare to take the plane for a family reunion that will be powerful and very short at the same time, I'm taking some time to write and share with you a little bit of my life in Canada.
On the agenda today : a summary of these last six months between autumn and winter in the Kootenays, a return trip to Quebec for the end of year celebrations, my birthday in Revelstoke, an express trip to Banff and Calgary for some language tests, a few words about my daily life after 18 months in North America and a glimpse of my projects for the future.
So, shall I take you along? Let's go!
HIKES FOR MY HEAD
In the last article, I left you with pictures of my road trip on Vancouver Island in September, so here I am again with pictures of the West Kootenays. After the summer heat and the unbreathable smokes we had to endure during the whole month of August, I must admit that I spent my September and October months dreaming of hiking and nature, in total freedom.
First hike: GIMLI RIDGE located in the Valhalla National Park, 2h30 from home. It was by far one of my favourite hikes of this summer in the Kootenays. I don't know if it was the breathtaking views or the mountain goats that blew me away the most, but I was over the moon that day.
The second hike I wanted to share with you is Monica Meadows. It is one of the most famous in the area, especially when autumn arrives in September/October as the landscape is full of golden colours that will make you dream! In town it still felt a bit like summer, but once we got to the bottom of the trail, it was a whole different season. I don't think I've ever seen such a brightly coloured autumn landscape. This is due to the many larch trees that adorn these mountains, which take on a flamboyant colour at the end of the summer. It was also my first snow of the season. What a way to mix emotions and make the experience even more magical!
This is the second time I have found myself living in the heart of the mountains. There was Voss, in Norway and now Nelson, in British Columbia. In both cases I have to admit that there is always a moment when I end up feeling oppressed, almost as if I am locked in, at the bottom of the mountain. I then forget far too often how great the landscapes I live in actually are...
In Nelson, we have three short hikes that allow us to gain height in any season: Pulpit, Lyon's Bluff and Flagpole. I often drag my feet on the first few metres but I must admit that each time I reach the top, I enjoy it... It's amazing how much of your life is put into perspective when you feel like you're on top of the world.
SECOND WINTER IN THE KOOTENAYS
Spending a second winter in the Kootenays, in Nelson, but this time without working at the resort, has allowed me to enjoy the ski days more. If I was a bit obsessed with going skiing for days on end last year, this year I was much more relaxed. Half a day of skiing here and half a day of skiing there already felt good! It's funny the difference that can be made when you decide to take it easy!
QUEBEC FOR THE END OF YEAR CELEBRATIONS
For the holidays, I went to the province of Quebec with John, to visit his family. It was a 7 hour road trip to Calgary and then a flight to Montreal. It was the first time I discovered the plains of Alberta and even though everyone makes fun of it because they think it's "flat", I loved it! It's a nice change from our mountains and forests and I have to admit that it gave me the strange feeling of breathing!
When we left Nelson, more than 20cm of snow had just fallen and 3 days before we came back, they had almost a meter of additional snow. I was gutted to have missed out on this amazing time in Nelson, but Calgary and its -30°C had its charm too. (Especially because when we came back, we still had the not fun part of it, meaning we had to dig out a spot for my car in the street while both being sick with covid. It was a great time.)
Once we arrived in Montreal, we drove to Lake Brome, where John's mother lives and where he spent his childhood. It was funny to be back in the flat country, not so flat after all, for the northern girl that I am. It's funny how we all have our own scales of what is flat, hill or mountain.
It was the first time I saw frozen lakes like these. We had the chance to explore the snowy beaches and small woods of Quebec. We also ventured into the Eastern Townships "Les Cantons de l'Est", as they call them, and enjoyed the shops, bars and restaurants as best we could before they closed on New Year's Eve because of another Covid Lockdown.
It was great to discover a completely different province, to find bits of French culture (I found some Quebec reblochons aka a french cheese!) and to be able to speak both languages, despite myself. For the little anecdote, the Quebecers didn't understand my French and thought that I was an English speaker who was trying so hard to speak French... No, no it's just that I could not find my words in French ^^ Fortunately, John has a better translator integrated in his brain than for me and to understand the Quebecois French, he manages! So at the restaurant, we spoke a bit of all languages with the waiters, not at all confusing for me ^^
Since we were in Quebec, I took the opportunity to motivate John to visit Quebec City, located about 4 hours from where we stayed. It was a nice discovery because this city reminded me a lot of Lille (a city in north of France), in a way. It was quite pleasant to stay there and the restaurants made me salivate each time I was reading the menu. We also went to see the impressive Montmorency Falls, I was able to taste my first maple syrup lollipop (called sugar on ice) made directly on the ice, and simply enjoy walking through these streets that invite you to stroll, almost like the french way.
On the way back, we made a small detour to Sherbrooke to say hello to PJ and Aurélie, who some of you will recognize on these pictures! It was the first time I met friends from "ch'nord"(north of France) abroad! A moment of pure delight, especially with PJ who mixed English, Quebecois and Ch'timi in the conversations with John, so we had a good laugh!
Finally, in the last few days, just before we were confined to the last minute (thanks to the Quebec government...) we went to visit Montreal! If I loved the French side of Quebec city, I must admit that I had a lot of trouble with the very American side of Montreal! But the views were still very nice despite the grey weather and all the little squirrels we met on our way definitely made me happy. Well, we also had one or two good restaurants and I must admit that it was a pleasure too!
REVY BABY - 3 DAYS IN REVELSTOKE
In February, for my birthday, I wanted to go skiing in another resort, to try something new. So we went with the guys to Revelstoke, another small mountain town, a 4.5 hour drive from Nelson. On the way, we took the opportunity to explore some waterfalls before going skiing under the blue sky and the sun. Well it was still -25°C I think?! But the views were incredible...
On the way back, we passed by the ghost village of Sandon, which you already saw last year in one of my blog posts. This time, we were lucky because the man who runs the electric station was there and offered us a visit ! It was great to travel back in time with him.
Also, spending 3 days with friends, hiking, skiing, visiting, eating and drinking, all in a great airbnb, I have to admit it was pretty cool! and I felt very lucky to have great people in this country too to do this kind of trip :)
BANFF & CALGARY
Since we had to drive to Calgary with Alex for some damn language tests for immigration and school purpose, we decided to make it a short 4 day trip and enjoy Banff, where Alex used to live. It was great to go there with one of my very good friend, to stop in Windermere to inaugurate my ice skates and also to enjoy the return to normal, post-covid, in this province! A weekend full of fun, full of activities before getting back to our seriousness and two days of brain juice in the hope of getting our French and English certificates. (which we both passed ;)) It was also an opportunity to meet up with Annie, my friend from Patagonia, who also lives in Banff. It was great to reminisce about these pre-covid adventures!
On the way back, before leaving Calgary, we went to Decathlon (a french outdoor shop that any french person I know love), because in Nelson we don't have one, of course, and the one in Calgary is so fancy and IT, that it's really worth the detour. We are soooo French I hear you say ? Noooo. Just a bit. :)
A LOOK BACK AT THE ONE AND A HALF YEARS OF LIFE IN NELSON
Walks, hikes, skiing, mountain biking, kayaking in January, concerts, restaurants, circus, outings with friends... If it took me almost a year to get my bearings in Canada, I think that this winter, I enjoyed it as it should be!
I did have a few setbacks, like finding myself in a completely toxic situation after 3 weeks in a new apartment, but it seems that lately, life is a bit lighter! Maybe in the end, this damn covid, for the highly sensitive me, will have affected me much more than I thought... I thought I was the one who was stressing for nothing, but when you feel the world more intensely, if the planet is in panic, I might as well tell you that the sponge that I am, is completely exhausted.
I have also benefited from my few small circles of friends that I love very much and some of them have been really supportive in my lowest moments last year. And I must say that this is priceless and I thank them a thousand times over for their presence.
Otherwise, I'm still working in the leather workshop, where I became "workshop coordinator" in January. This is a good way to reinvigorate my missions and give my job a bit of a boost. Because if I had always dreamed of doing a job as a craftsman, I think that working for a business that sells products instead of a service is actually not for me. But that will be the subject of another article on the subject, probably on my other blog, where I publish one article a week (go check it out). https://en.page-emotion.com
Last but not least, about my desires for the future, they are still a bit in the works. I'm in the process of applying for permanent residency in Canada and it's one of the most stressful situations I've experienced, in terms of immigration. I'm applying not because I've decided to settle here for ever, but simply because it's the grail, when you're in your thirties, to have the opportunity to live and work in two different countries. You don't realise it until you're faced with it, but immigration is a really difficult subject. You spend a lot of energy, a lot of money, without knowing if you will be sent back to your country in a few months... When I was still old enough to have "working holiday visas" I thought that, at worst, I would go to another country. But when you're in your thirties, we are not eligible for most of these visas and being able to work abroad can quickly become an obstacle course.
Fortunately, I'm well taken care of, and I'm starting to make up my mind: if the Universe wants me to stay, then I'll get my PR, and if the Universe has something else in mind for me, well, too bad or too good! We'll see!
While waiting for the continuation of my adventures in the Caribou, I am really looking forward to seeing you again and for some of you, to hug you for real, this time!
I'll talk to you soon,
love,
Co.
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