With the one year anniversary of my first foray into the independent, adventure seeking life, I put together a few numbers/facts that shed light on my journey.
14…Between May 10, 2013 and May 5, 2014, I flew 14 times. It averages to one flight every 3.5 weeks. Lots of safety demonstrations! I flew with Air Transat, RyanAir, IcelandAir, and WestJet. For in flight entertainment, IcelandAir was perfect. I watched Blood Diamond, and a few Friends episodes on the flight. Lots of options. No meals though, even for flights over five hours.
May 10, 2013…The day I hopped on the plane at the Edmonton International airport and moved across the country to Montreal, Quebec to live for the summer.
3620 rue Lorne Crescent…The address of my first apartment. It was right along McGill University campus, and a block away from Stade Percival, where the Montreal Allouettes play.
906…My apartment number.
280 rue Notre Dame Ouest…the address of le Chateau Ramezay, the museum I worked at in Montreal. It was in a perfect location, right across from Montreal's Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) and in the heart of the city.
90…I lived in Montreal for 90 days.
2…I visited Quebec City twice in that span. Both great times, including watching Stevie Wonder play at the Plains of Abraham.
September 23, 2013…The day I arrived in Paris, France. A teacher at my school picked me up from Charles de Gaulle airport, and drove me to another teacher's house, where I had an amazing French dinner (meat stew, baguettes, cheese, wine).
Conflans Sainte Honorine…The town I lived and taught in. It is a 25 min train ride outside of Paris.
7 rue Buoysell…My address in Conflans Sainte Honorine. I lived at Lycée Jules Fery, the highschool I taught at.
12:40am…The last train from Gare St Lazare in Paris to Conflans Sainte Honorine. I definitely caught it a few times after some amazing nights in the city!
313…Over the course of 360 days, I spent 321 of them (88%) away from home. It was an incredible experience, but did take its toll at times.
76 rue bis Beaubourg…This was where my office in Paris was. It was along the same street as Hotel de Ville, in an arts oriented neighborhood called Le Maurais. Very neat to think that I've had offices along the same streets as the city halls of both Montréal and Paris.
?…A sad question mark, but I think that over the course of the year I was away, I lost a number of friendships. People move on, and you go from being Our buddy Salim to Salim, that guy we used to hang out with to Salim, oh yea I remember him. It's interesting to notice how relationships changed as my time went along. I kept in touch with some people, including many who I didn't really talk to much while I was in Edmonton. And the reality is that I've changed too. I dress differently now, talk differently, appreciate different things. So have others.
?…A happy question mark, as I became That Crazy Canadian in many a person's life story. Meeting people, making friends, forming relationships really was one of the best parts about that period. I had a family of a few close mates, and with those mates we met other people at cafés, bars, etc. There were some really memorable interactions I had, and I can't say how much I learned through those conversations (and pints).
224…I was in Europe for 224 days. Most of it (95%) was spent in Paris, and I was able to travel around as well.
300…By my estimation (and this may even be conservative), I spent at least 300 hours on public transit (not including flights/train rides/intercity bus rides) during my time in Europe. That equates to over 12 days. There were some days where I was in Paris and would be on the train for four hours. That happened a few times. Île de France (Paris and its surrounding areas) is an ENORMOUS region.
Rejkavik…Iceland is the most expensive country I visited, and Rejkavik made Paris look like
a flea market. If you know Paris, you can find decent food at reasonable prices (hello 3 euro pints!). Rejkavik, everything is just plain pricey. A filtered coffee and muffin will cost $9 CAD. Wow.
Lyon…Cool and Bed in Lyon was easily the best hostel I've stayed at. For the city, it was reasonably priced (France is more expensive than other countries, I find). The hostel had its own bar (which adds a great deal to the environment), had comfortable beds, very wonderful staff, and was an environment where both young people and older travelers could stay.
Rome…Of all the places I stayed, I bonded the most with fellow travelers at The Yellow hostel in Rome. The boys in our room got along great and were all fairly easy going and up for a party. There were some fun nights there. The hostel itself was great for the price (13 euro/night).
14 - 21…My students at Lycée Jules Ferry were between ages 14 and 21. In other words, many of them were not too much younger than me. I found that my favourite groups of students were the Terminal/STMG classes, mostly consisting of 17 to 19 year olds. They were the classes writing their Bac exam at the end of the year (the equivalent of Provincial Achievement Exams in Canada). Those students tended to be the most enthusiastic and fun to talk to. I can't say how much I enjoyed teaching and interacting with students. They really added quite a bit to the overall experience in France.
Friendships…I've been thinking about this subject lately, especially after seeing my Facebook newsfeed intersect with updates from people I went to elementary school with, former Jasper Place High School peers and teachers, university friends and colleagues, students of mine from Conflans Sainte Honorine, friends I made in Paris, and cool people I have met in Parisien cafés or elsewhere in Europe.
One of the things about living in a few different places (I may be living in Halifax, Nova Scotia this summer, and will likely be completing my journalism degree at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec in September) is that you uproot yourself an awful lot, and long term friendships are harder to come by. There's something to be said about growing with someone and developing over the months or years. If you're constantly packing up and heading off, those bonds become harder to find. Sometimes, stability can be a good thing, if only for the ability to develop stronger relationships with people and get to know them better.
Roller coaster…Something I realized partway through my France experience is that, when you subject yourself to risks such as moving to an entirely different country or continent, you're really signing up for a huge roller coaster experience. While living at home may be stable, I'm not sure it offers the same rewards and excitement as living abroad. My lows (being robbed, rushed to the hospital, moments of loneliness) left me feeling quite down and needing to build myself up at times. But absolutely nothing compares to a truly great night in Paris, or watching the sunrise in Park Gueill in Barcelona, or ice skating in front of Paris' Hôtel de Ville (city hall). The highs more than make up for the lows.
Letter…An idea of how scared I was to move to France? I've got a couple of mates in Canada who are in law school. Before I left for Paris, I began writing a letter, to be distributed in the event that I didn't come out of the experience alive. I was THAT nervous.A handful of homeruns…Living on my own has allowed me to think about life in a completely different manner. One of my thoughts is that, maybe, all we really need is a handful of homeruns to have the life we want. Choose the right work/travel opportunity, get the courage to say Bonjour to the pretty girl sipping her mocha latté extra whipped cream, choosing if the married/having kids/common law, deciding to invest your life into something…after that, what else really do you need (not that those things are easy by any stretch)?
Confidence…I've mentioned it in other articles, but confidence was huge for me during this expedition. During the low times, I found myself asking the question, "Do I still believe in what I'm here for," and the answer was always "yes." You have to believe in your mission and what you're in it for, be it to learn the language, make new friends, or just have an adventure. Confidence truly is how you decide who you date, the career path you take, and the life you want to create.
Going all in…I think there are certain points in your life where you go all in, confidently pushing your entire chip stack to the middle of the pot and believing in your hand, be it two Aces, or a 2-7 offsuit (the worst hand in poker). Me moving away from Edmonton was my version of that. Without question, it paid off. Now, at 21 years old, I'm plotting my next opportunity to go all in. I've mentioned it to friends, but I'd love to live in Paris, France again if the exact same situation presented itself (teaching English at the same high school, Lycée Jules Ferry, and having the opportunity to work as a journalist). There is also a potential scenario that would see me working in London, England after I graduate. The earliest that would happen would be two years from now. Let's start scheming!
One…Ideally, I'd love to inspire one person to live abroad. Again, I can't say enough how incredible the experience was for me, and how much there is to gain from it. Mark my words…no one regrets a move like that, despite the nervousness and uncertainty.
Finding what works for you…Again, going back to being on your own and able to evaluate yourself and your life independently. You find out what makes you tick, and who you really are as a human being. For me, I've found that I like the instability that being in your twenties comes with. I want to live in different places and meet different people. Stability? What does that mean? For me, the traditional path of graduate university-->find job-->retire just wasn't appealing. Hence the decision to move abroad, and likely another stint overseas before settling somewhere in Canada (ahem Montréal).
100%…If anyone has any questions or things they want to know about my time abroad, or if they need some encouragement in finding the right opportunity, I will always be willing to help out.
À bientôt, votre ami toujours
