Thursday, May 24, 2012

Life Update: Transitions from Lone Adventurer to Team Awesome

I have been in Vancouver for just over two weeks now. The time is flying by so quickly. I still have information I would like to document from my last weeks in Argentina, so that I can retain the knowledge I worked so hard to gain there, but I am having difficulty sitting down to put the words to paper.

What am I doing? Where am I going? What is next?

Still living out of my backpack, I am currently in Vancouver for a short visit of eight weeks. I am here because my days as a lone travelor have come to an end. Without getting into too many details, a long time friend and I started seeing each other at the end of 2011. We decided that our passions for high-adventure outdoor living, good food, great friends, art, culture, travel, education and our parallel quests for awesomeness in our own lives were something that we wanted to share with one another.

So what does this mean for the upcoming year in terms of adventure?

Starting in September I will be going to UBC to pursue an M.Sc in Soil Science. I am currently working with my research supervisor to brainstorm topics for my thesis. Though there is the opportunity for me to be involved with a project that may be starting in El Salvador shortly, I am leaning towards doing my work in BC to develop better professional networks and cultivate a stronger knowledge base for the work that is being done in soils in BC and/or Canada. There are two federal research stations in Agassiz and in Summerland that have soils labs with whom I am trying to determine a best fit for my interests as well as opportunities for funding for my research. Our soils are our future!

Since Adam is a teacher, he will have July and August off for summer holidays. We will be starting off the summer doing a week-long hike with a group of friends of the North Coast trail on Vancouver Island. Then we will quickly be changing gears and going on another travel adventure to France, Spain, Morocco and London for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. I am look forward to cheering on friends of mine that are competing as athletes, to experience London after having been a part of Vancouver 2010 and of course to see some great friends now living in the city.

Adam and I will finish in Montreal, where we will get to relax at the farm for a couple of weeks before driving my car and posessions, which my parents have kindly been minding for me during my travels, back across the country to start anew in Vancouver after having left a year and a half earlier.

Time is precious and time is fleeting. This is a reality I feel all too well when living in urban landscapes. These days I find there are many telling signs that time is passing me by: the number of friends' weddings I am attending each year, the number of my friends who have children or children on the way, the number of my friends who own their own homes and even the visible signs that our parents are getting older. Let us not forget the ten year anniversary of our highschool graduation next year or the fact that I have not lived in Montreal for eight years now.

The message I am trying to share is this: take risks on yourself and on others, learn to forgive yourself and others, never stop learning, be open and choose to be happy. These are the challenges I face most often, but they are also the ones that continue to be the most rewarding to undertake.

Until next time everyone, happy travels!

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