So it begins

Homeward bound

Published Date : June 4, 2001

After arriving in London this morning, I made my way back to International Student House, the same hostel I had stayed in when I first arrived a year ago.  There are plenty of other hostels in London and some are cheaper, but this one served breakfast.  It also helped that I was familiar with the area.

My first order of business was to see about changing my ticket home.  My original return ticket from Vancouver had expired two weeks ago.  I can still get a refund on the unused portion when I get home, but I can no longer use it.  So my mission was to change my multi-stop flight to Sydney into a one-way ticket to Vancouver.  Luckily it didn’t cost me anything to change it, but unfortunately I didn’t get any money back either.

The important part taken care of, I now have two nights to kill in London.  After paying for tomorrow night’s accommodation, I will have only £20 to my name and I’ll need half of that to get to the airport.  With my breakfasts taken care of, I only have two meals to cover.  It’s a good thing cheap food is easy to find here!

Home sweet home?

Published Date : June 10, 2001

My last two days in London passed slowly.  There was no lounge or book exchange at the hostel and I couldn’t afford to go to an internet café, so my only entertainment was to explore the city.  Being broke, I didn’t have enough money for even a single bus fare, so all my travel had to be on foot.  Of course, Murphy and his darn law ensured that it rained for two days straight.

Eventually the time came and I caught an AirBus out to Heathrow.  Apparently there had been a fire a day or two prior so the airport was in a state of organized chaos.  At our gate, instead of directly boarding our plane, we were bussed over to another terminal.  We boarded our 737 from the tarmac then proceeded to sit there for an hour.  After finally taking off, the flight home was uneventful.  By 5pm Pacific Standard Time I was walking through the gates at Vancouver International Airport.

I’ve been home for a couple of days now.  Boy does it feel strange.  After a year of living on my own halfway around the world, being back under my parents’ roof is going to take some adjustment.

I have just over two months until school starts.  That time will be filled with finding a job, buying a car and reconnecting with friends and family.  I’ll also have to start going through the boxes of photos and belongings that I shipped home along the way.

I’m looking forward to school, but I’m of two minds about being home.  I know finishing school is the right thing to do, and that putting in the two years now will pay off in the long run.  It’s tough to adjust though when only two weeks ago I had a plane ticket to Australia in my hand.

Rather than flushing the travel bug out of my system, the last year has only inspired me to travel even more.   I don’t know when or how I’m going to do it, but I know that at some stage I will definitely be picking up where I left off!

A promise kept

Published Date : May 18, 2003

Two years ago when I cut my travels short to come home for school, I promised myself that if the opportunity presented itself I would pick up where I left off.  While my chosen field is in high demand, there are no jobs locally at the moment.  My options at the moment are northern Saskatchewan, Toronto or somewhere in the US.  Not really liking any of those choices, I elected to go for Door #4 instead.  I’ll be returning to the UK as soon as I receive my diploma.

Promise kept.

After working my butt off to maintain a high GPA for the first three semesters of my program, I had some breathing room for the last 4 months.  Due to the demanding course load, I hadn’t been able to keep my job past the first semester.   I probably should have tried to pick up some weekend work again to fund my early days abroad.  Instead, I used my new found free time to spend every available moment reading round the world (RTW) travel blogs.

Thanks to my obsessive reading, I have more than a few ideas of where I want to go once I build up some savings.  Therein lies the method to my madness in choosing to move back to the UK – the British pound stretches a heck of a lot further internationally than either the Canadian or US dollar ��

My classes finished a month ago and now I’m counting days.  I have 5 days until my mandatory 5-week work placement is finished and 32 days until graduation.  I don’t have a plane ticket yet, so I can’t count the days until I leave.  So now, the waiting begins.

Organizing

Published Date : May 23, 2003

My work placement is finally finished, and now the errands begin!

I’ve put my car up for sale; it goes in the papers next week.  I’m picking up an International Driver’s Permit at BCAA tomorrow.  I have a dentist appointment on Monday.  I need a new passport, so I’ll be taking my application for my dentist to sign while I’m there.  I’m seeing the optometrist on Tuesday.  Wednesday it’s out to the passport office plus trying to squeeze in lunch with friends. I’m headed to the DMV on Thursday to renew my driver’s license – hopefully they’ll let me get away with renewing it early.  Friday and Saturday I have the joy of tidying the house before my parents come home on Sunday.  They went to Ireland for two weeks without me…not fair!

That leaves only one big item left to organize.  My plane ticket!

Ticket booked

Published Date : June 4, 2003

Wow! I’m actually doing this.  I bought my plane ticket today (only CDN$399 to Glasgow with Air Transat – what a deal!) and it’s all starting to sink in.  I’m actually leaving the country with no money.  I still haven’t sold my car, so my parents took pity on me and forwarded me some cash for the plane ticket.  I leave Sunday 22 June…18 days away.  The flight is gonna be brutal – 12 hours on an airbus with a stop in Manchester– but what do I expect for a $399 ticket!

Things left to do are few and far between.  I’m still trying to unload my car and cell phone, but all I can do is wait until they sell.  Otherwise I’ve just gotta sort out my things and figure out what I’m going to take with me – no easy task!