August 2009 Archives

As to be expected but never prepared enough for, so many things have happened in China in my first three days back; it is hard to imagine I was so recently living in the lap of luxury (in so many ways - you'd have to move to china all alone to truly understand). If I even begin with the story of what I refer to as The Visa Debauchery, I'll hardly even get to the part where I slept in a beauty parlor 'massage ' room (oh look, a police officer just passed me with one of the ladies of the night for a quick doughnut break) on the third night (which is as I write this) before I reach my 500 word count maximum; my attention threshold and likely that of most of the people who read this.
In fact, I think I'll keep these stories of The VD to myself for now - the last three days and likely the next few as well have been too much to even put into words - believe me, I looked in the thesaurus.
At least right now the light in the massage room is a comfortable dimness and the rhythmic squeaking sound in the room to my left is so near that of a heartbeat or clock - oh hey, the clock on the wall in here doesn't work - that I am of course focusing on all the wonderful things around me to be grateful for and thinking it is quite hilarious and in this moment finding a perfect opportunity to reflect on (more like gain comfort from) the last three weeks in the UK.

For those of you who don't know, I'll first give you a quick run down: I flew into London from Halifax early August; spent a few days getting the ZZZ's and respite I'd be longing for in Marlow and around Windsor Castle area; a quick jaunt to London; double date with 'mum and dad'; drinking with the boyz from rugby; 900 year old church; history lessons; spent an unforgettable weekend in Cornwall with Frase; 7 or so 900 year old churches and 2 stunning sunsets - Tag team on to Neil who drove me over 1000 miles in order to explore every major surf break in Cornwall: st Ives, Land's end, Penzance, Holleywell bay, etc. Western England, and Wales for a week - TO NO AVAIL; skim boarded instead; hiked and watched sunset along Llangenntih / Rhossili on the Gower Peninsula; spent a day or so around Reading and Winchester; met the fam. - Tag teamed back into the arms of Fraser just West of London; family dinner; packed all our useful earthly possessions and hit the road for a road trip up to Scotland (another +1000 mile journey); slight detour in Londond first (VD issue - visa debauchery - what did you think it stood for!~); explored the Western pieces of Scotland; Glasgow; Loch Lomond; Isle of Mull; popped into Edinburgh (900 year old church!) before heading back to the home base for a last breath of Westernness, rest, relaxation, and gratitude; busted to London at the end of August to catch the last possible plane that would let me into China with a practically expired residency permit and a pretty well expired Canadian passport. Whew!

As with much of the traveling I have done over the last few years, I find myself looking back at my most recent adventure and really noting that it is ALWAYS the people and not the place that makes it memorable (thank you for 'being'!). I have also mentioned in a recent post that sometimes things are too special to put into words, take pictures of, write notes about, or tell anyone else about. For me, anyways, I fear there is no way to explain it properly or that if explained it to you I might lose some of the memory in my breath, or even change it in my mind as I think of it again. So I'm holding a lot back on this one. But I'll share some good pics nonetheless. (though in some weird coincidence, the battery of my camera died both within the first 5 minutes in London and again in Scotland).

As I said, it all started in little ol' Marlow. A beautiful place along the Thames. More than a few drinks and walks along this river were had. Probably of no coincidence, yes, this and a few other churches in town are 900 years old.
From Marlow, a quick and painless few hours of driving (which to people in the UK is like a week long drive to us Canadians) had us out of the hustle bustle and into Cornwall; what I imagine all of England must have been like 100 years ago.
Going, going, gone.

The next three pics are in the top 5 of my whole trip. Frase and I went on a full-day walk along the coast here, and then celebrated our sunburns with just a bit of the local beer.



Coincidentally, we also had a beer across the way here in Padstow (I could live there). Fireworks, a brass band, and can can dancers turned it from a perfect moment to absolutely perfect. While on the topic, how could I forget telling y'all about the beer in England~  Well, it's good... real good... I wanna be friends with it.
Tribute, ah, Tribute (also I loved Pimm's but then found out it is a Posh English drink and if I am going to go all out Scottish I've got to pretend not to like it so don't tell anyone - damn that undeniable expensive taste of mine).

After the tag off at the end of the weekend in Cornwall, where Fraser left running for his life and Neil looked at me only slightly frightened, Neil and I set off to St Ives and Land's End (i could also live here) where we slept in farmer's fields in a self-erecting tent (why didn't I think of that!) for the week of adventure.

 
Neil and I tried our best to find something resembling a swell and waves. Neil's imagination must be better than mine (oh to be young again!), and he got out a few times.
And we did manage to both get out in this. Yep, desperation can do a lot to a girl's standards.

After a few more days of disappointing surf yet gorgeous beaches and good times, we went to The Eden Project. I can't say enough about the importance of places like this. Google it if you're interested. Me 'n Skippy had a good time.

I think we also made the best of the lack of swell when we bought skim boards.
neilskimmin.MPG
Neil was a natural, but you know what they say: those who can't do, teach. Story of my life.

We finally thought maybe it'd be better if we try our luck in another country (the 4th country Neil and I have been to together) and sadly, in this country we also failed to find surfable waves. However, we did find another great sunset along the Gower, during which I was sure to show Neil how older, more refined women like their wine.
In a bottle.

You may be surprised to find out that Wales is not all sheep and cliffs (though there are plenty of both); there's also the odd castle. And a lot of cold wind.

All in all, Neil, I guess we should've been there yesterday; or the week before; or maybe the month before. 

This is surfing in the UK - In August!~!
#$%^. Put a jacket on!

After some time with Neil's family, and just enough time for Fraser to forget the pains of being with me 24-7 ( don't women say that about giving birth~), I was allowed back to Marlow for a family gathering then we started our journey to The Mother Land. Wow, Scotland.
It is tough not to go into detail about the history of this place. I am going to assume it is all quite familiar to you. And by now you know there are a zillion or so 900 year old churches. Hadrian's wall was a pretty exciting little find on route. For more info check out: http://www.aboutscotland.co.uk/hadrian/index.html 

Scotland is by far the most all-encompassing place I've ever been to. It's culture and history coupled with the people, food and natural scenery by far rival any place I've been in my life. It's got it all. And I want more!

Going back to your own country isn't easy. Most of you reading this have no idea what I mean by this; what it is like to reject your own culture, language and essentially family and friends for another form of all of these things. In this rejection it is not the environment that should be considered that which is rejected; rather, it is the rejector that is receiving the rejection. Right, that doesn't make sense. But it is the best I can do to explain the confusion I felt for my entire three week trip back 'home'. Couple this confusion and rejection and distaste for everything around you (and for no real reason) and then imagine yourself with your two parents, at any point in your adult life, just the three of you. Then, put the three of you into a car and drive for 3000km through an area none of you have been. I think it is safe to say that most of you at this point can at the very least understand a bit of the potential for my discomfort; most of you understand you would not be all too settled, nor ecstatic to say the least in this situation. That's not to say my parents aren't the coolest out there. They are amazing human beings and I am fortunate to have any moment with them.

But I'll tell you, due to all the previously mentioned environmental factors, it wasn't an easy trip. Unfortunately as it stands right now in my mind and where I'm at right now in the process of processing this trip; this is what I will remember most about it.

There have been many times in China this year where I was smiling and laughing so much my face hurt. I'd smile so much during a week or month that I started worrying about the wrinkles I will (and do) get at the sides of my eyes. These last few weeks in Canada I noticed my face making quite a different set of wrinkles; those ones between the eyebrows; finding my face in a worried-scowl. Where I grew up and should feel most comfortable and at ease, I suddenly remembered how to worry; suddenly remembered how to make a face that at points this past year I'd not have been able to make if I tried for days. Was it not only 3 posts ago where I wrote a long-winded letter home saying how much I missed it~ Always wanting what I can't have. Can I get over that already!~ So why, then, once I am back home and with people who love me, (and of course I love them!) am I so unhappy and unrelaxed~ DO I regress back into some state or states I've endured in the past - or do I just not belong~

While I was back in Canada, I felt like I was out running beside a partner - but we're both running at different paces and both trying to accommodate one another - in the end neither person has a good run (one too tired, one not at all or a variety of consequences) the footsteps the entire time never connecting; never in synch. I wrote in my traveling diary that "I am not myself here in my own country. I am a lesser person - I say things I don't mean; I say mean things. I do not feel settled. I do not feel happy. I feel like I am handcuffed, blindfolded, and being pushed into a cage.I don't want to communicate with anyone here. They can't offer me anything and I don't want them to suck all that I can offer them out of me."

Wow, intense, eh~ It is no wonder I felt a little less than my happy-go-lucky self. However, it would be very uncharacteristic of me to not only start but also leave on a negative note. So I must say that it wasn't ALL bad!

Halfway between the equator and the north pole, my mum and dad and I explored (read: ate, drank and drove our way through) Nova Scotia and PEI. The culture and history in the Maritimes blew my mind. For example, Samuel de Champlain actually landed on the very land I bought when he first arrived to the new world!

On our second day exploring my property (called "the cling" by the locals) we brought a box of goodies (axe for the trees, chissle for the gold, matches for the cold, etc) and hid it on my property for the next time. And I wrote in my first ever 'cabin journal'.


We had some good times, most of which involved beer and the occasional Pourd.


But as the wise Homer Simpson once said: "alcohol - the cause and the solution to all of life's problems."
And maybe one day someone will quote the wise Phil McGrew as saying: "You've gotta watch out for those Fisticuff's."

 
Besides my gorgeous property and all the gold on it, we saw some of the more beautiful parts of Canada, like Cape Breton, for instance.

We found things we planned on finding (like peggy's cove, the Halifax citadel, a unesco heritage site or two and some fossils in the side of a cliff); and other's we'd have ever expected to come across; both of which made for some great photo-ops.

 

We did things I'd never thought I'd do (um, a bus that turns into a boat then back into a car!) and we got to see and learn about most of Nova Scotia, which at times made me proud to be Canadian as I learned about some of the history; but more often embarrassed about the way things were - and are still being - done (google: Mi'kmaq).  Oh, wait, trailing down the dark road of cynicism again... And how could I forget the food! (phewf! back on track!) 2 lb lobsters, a bowl of mussels, lobster rolls, nachos, nachos, nachos, nachos.


I also took a side trip or two while home. The highlights were seeing my Granny in Ontario.

And chillin with Gina and her peeps in New York.

All the while, finding beauty both in simplicity and chaos.


And mostly trying not to go crazy.