Okay, so sorry this is a few days late, but definitely had to get my bearings and get over (almost!) my jetlag before I felt like I could possibly write a post about all this. But, now that I do feel a bit more like a human being again...I am here!! Seriously, I ACTUALLY LIVE IN SCOTLAND!
I guess the main thing that I can say about this whole moving experience so far is that it doesn't seem weird. Like, at all. Flying into Aberdeen, chilling at the airport in Heathrow (and by chilling I mean desperately trying to stay awake and not miss my flight to Aberdeen), just the whole journey in general wasn't sad, or life changing or really emotional. It just felt normal. And I don't mean like I felt like I was 'coming home' or some bullshit like that because obviously my home still feels very much like Toronto and Calgary, but it just felt like I was expecting this. I think I had got all of my emotions out of my system and dealt with them mostly when I made the decision to move. After that, I became practical, decision-making Emily, and was pretty much chill with the whole thing. It was all extremely relieving.
I wont bore you with describing the long and tedious plane ride (although I DID have A Clamato Juice with Ice and a Wedge of Lemon (but they only had extra spicy :( even so I had to do it...) the man beside me did NOT know the meaning of personal space and for some reason I decided to watch the film 'Food Inc' while eating my beef plane dinner and that was really not a good decision. Great film, but don't eat anything while watching it...), so I will skip ahead. The best part ever was arriving in the little Aberdeen airport (think of the Hamilton airport but just a bit bigger) and Jo screamed and I screamed and we ran at each other hugging and screaming and shouting 'Oh my God! Oh my GOD!! IM SO GLAD TO BE HERE/I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE!' and it was brilliant. People were definitely looking at us and laughing at how outrageous we were--amazing.
Anyway, so it just felt so normal right away, being in the cab with Joanna, getting to her flat, talking about things, walking down to the pub and trying haggis (which was sooooo amazingly good! I actually can't believe why people don't like it! It tastes like Shepherd's pie but 1000 times better!!) and then passing out. We both seemed to wake up at like 4 am and talked some more and it was just wonderfully easy. I have never felt so at home! Of course at one point we went and had tea in her living room and ended up having a semi-racist conversation with her flatmate and flatmate's friend (though I feel like a lot of conversations that take place in the UK are all a little bit racist...). Also, people seem to be obsessed with the singer Cheryl Cole and if you don't know who she is I have linked it to the wiki site of her. She is famous from Girls Aloud (another brilliant rendition of the all girls brit band), though I knew her then as Cheryl Tweedy. Basically you just need to know that she is freakishly thin, can't really sing, but does have good hair. Yep, that pretty much sums up brit pop culture....
Anyway, much more to tell, but I think I am going to do this in stages.
I will leave you now with a portion of an email from my mother (she sent me some really frantic ones for the first two days when I was too out of it/had no internet access to contact her when I arrived...). Just read it while imagining a terrible, thick Yorkshire accent:
"I keep checking on skype and e-mail from you. where are you . i keep eating halloween candy left over from saturday. Im so happy that you are trying to do something with your life. We are very proud of you. Never forget that."
Love you Mum!
Showing posts with label A Clamato Juice with Ice and a Wedge of Lemon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Clamato Juice with Ice and a Wedge of Lemon. Show all posts
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A funny story about Ireland
Okay, so I need to tell you this story because it is amazing and wonderful and really really creepy at the same time.
Back in May of 09 my friend Maureen and I took a little trip across the water to visit my friend Nikita in Ireland. I hadn't actually had a huge desire to go to Ireland (my mother is staunchly British and would often wail about the barbaric and unsafeness that was 'the isle' as well as the fact that I specifically was in danger with my 'ethnic airs' as they are also a land of racists apparently. Oh mother. You are the whitest woman alive....), but, I thought that I should go and visit Niki at Trinity while I could. It's always better to see how the locals do it. This was also before I knew I was going to Scotland a few months later and could have saved a considerable amount of money on airfare.
Anyway, so off we went and got on a plane from Toronto to Dublin for the great Irish adventure. Now, our plane for some reason seemed to be filled with old people. I am not being ageist here, it was just a fact that everyone else around us seemed to be over 75. However, happenstance dictated that another twenty-something girl was also on the plane and she happened to be sitting right next to me. This girl's name was Jennifer and we began to chat (if you know me, you know that I cannot go 7 hours without talking to the person sitting beside me and because luck had it that she was born in the same cenutry as I, I couldn't very well not talk to her, now could I?). Turns out that Jen is from Hamilton, the same city that I lived in for 4 years while at McMaster. While chatting, our stewardess came by to offer us drinks (as they do) and I ordered my usual: A Clamato Juice with Ice and a Wedge of Lemon. I know, I am disgusting. But for some reason, maybe it was since I was a child or something, I have had this need to always order this drink while on a plane. And usually only while on a plane. We all have strange neuroses.
So anyway, I turn to the stewardess and say "Ah, yes, I will have A Clamato Juice with Ice and a Wedge of Lemon." The stewardess gives me a look (as they do) so I feel the need to apologise to everyone around me: "I know, it's gross, but I only ever order this drink when--" and here Jen interrupts me (or finishes my sentence, same thing) and says "WHEN I FLY!?! ME TOO!"
And there you have it. Jen from Hamilton also orders the exact same drink but ONLY ON PLANES. It was fate. It was serendipitous. It was kind of gross but to me we were basically soul mates. Bosom buddies. Whatever. That sealed it. Sooooooo, Jen traveled around all of Ireland with us for the next two weeks and we had a blast. But that isn't even the beginning of the weird freaky serendipity iceberg. Not even the tip. Not even just to see how it feels.
We go back home, while Jen stays in Europe for the whole summer. She goes to Scotland and ends up reuniting with an old flame from days gone by and decides that she is going to move to Scotland to be with him. Yes, you heard right. So last month, Jen and I have coffee (2nd Cup, in Hamilton, right in Westdale--my favorite....) and she tells me the sordid tale (not really sordid I just like to throw that word in whenever I can) and that she is moving to Scotland at the end of October. Yes people, she is moving to Scotland 5 days before me and that's not all! What you say?!? What could be crazier?!? She is moving to Dundee! This probably means nothing to you. However, Dundee is like a 45 minute bus ride away from Aberdeen! CRAZINESS!
So, to recap, this random girl I met on the plane going to Ireland and we became friends and toured the country, randomly happens to be moving to basically the same RANDOM place in Scotland as me just a few days before!?!?! Unreal.
So really, this story was not really about Ireland at all but about something that happened on the way there, and ultimately, about Scotland. As all good stories are.
Back in May of 09 my friend Maureen and I took a little trip across the water to visit my friend Nikita in Ireland. I hadn't actually had a huge desire to go to Ireland (my mother is staunchly British and would often wail about the barbaric and unsafeness that was 'the isle' as well as the fact that I specifically was in danger with my 'ethnic airs' as they are also a land of racists apparently. Oh mother. You are the whitest woman alive....), but, I thought that I should go and visit Niki at Trinity while I could. It's always better to see how the locals do it. This was also before I knew I was going to Scotland a few months later and could have saved a considerable amount of money on airfare.
Anyway, so off we went and got on a plane from Toronto to Dublin for the great Irish adventure. Now, our plane for some reason seemed to be filled with old people. I am not being ageist here, it was just a fact that everyone else around us seemed to be over 75. However, happenstance dictated that another twenty-something girl was also on the plane and she happened to be sitting right next to me. This girl's name was Jennifer and we began to chat (if you know me, you know that I cannot go 7 hours without talking to the person sitting beside me and because luck had it that she was born in the same cenutry as I, I couldn't very well not talk to her, now could I?). Turns out that Jen is from Hamilton, the same city that I lived in for 4 years while at McMaster. While chatting, our stewardess came by to offer us drinks (as they do) and I ordered my usual: A Clamato Juice with Ice and a Wedge of Lemon. I know, I am disgusting. But for some reason, maybe it was since I was a child or something, I have had this need to always order this drink while on a plane. And usually only while on a plane. We all have strange neuroses.
So anyway, I turn to the stewardess and say "Ah, yes, I will have A Clamato Juice with Ice and a Wedge of Lemon." The stewardess gives me a look (as they do) so I feel the need to apologise to everyone around me: "I know, it's gross, but I only ever order this drink when--" and here Jen interrupts me (or finishes my sentence, same thing) and says "WHEN I FLY!?! ME TOO!"
And there you have it. Jen from Hamilton also orders the exact same drink but ONLY ON PLANES. It was fate. It was serendipitous. It was kind of gross but to me we were basically soul mates. Bosom buddies. Whatever. That sealed it. Sooooooo, Jen traveled around all of Ireland with us for the next two weeks and we had a blast. But that isn't even the beginning of the weird freaky serendipity iceberg. Not even the tip. Not even just to see how it feels.
We go back home, while Jen stays in Europe for the whole summer. She goes to Scotland and ends up reuniting with an old flame from days gone by and decides that she is going to move to Scotland to be with him. Yes, you heard right. So last month, Jen and I have coffee (2nd Cup, in Hamilton, right in Westdale--my favorite....) and she tells me the sordid tale (not really sordid I just like to throw that word in whenever I can) and that she is moving to Scotland at the end of October. Yes people, she is moving to Scotland 5 days before me and that's not all! What you say?!? What could be crazier?!? She is moving to Dundee! This probably means nothing to you. However, Dundee is like a 45 minute bus ride away from Aberdeen! CRAZINESS!
So, to recap, this random girl I met on the plane going to Ireland and we became friends and toured the country, randomly happens to be moving to basically the same RANDOM place in Scotland as me just a few days before!?!?! Unreal.
So really, this story was not really about Ireland at all but about something that happened on the way there, and ultimately, about Scotland. As all good stories are.
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