bittersweet goodbye

I know this blog was supposed to be about Europe, but I thought I should at least document me officially being done university, since it's the first step in my travels. I did it. I finished. I have to pack up my room later this afternoon, and say good bye to everyone that have become my family over the past four years.

I was so excited to be finished school, getting tired of the same routine, the same venues, the same stories, but now that it is finally over, I have been hit with a wave of sadness. When in my life am I going to live only minutes away from all my friends, sit in a house with a group of girls my age, and walk into a bar or party and know everyone there. Probably never. I guess that's the experience though, and now it's time for the next thing.

I'm going to miss student life A LOT. I have learned so much and grown as a person over the past four years. I don't even think the me of 2006 would even recognize myself today. So much has happened in the past four years, some of it changed me for the better, while other things were tough to get through, but in the end made me a stronger person.

I feel like my experiences at university outside of the classroom have gotten me a little more ready for the "real world", whatever that may be. So here's to change, and here's to beginning the next chapter in my life. Scary, but it had to happen eventually.

I will miss you McMaster University - the people, the falling apart student house, and the smell that distinguishes this city from any other one I have lived in (ew).

Next stop: Oshawa for a month of work, then Europe!

continue the countdown

ONE EXAM AND ONE DAY - that's all that's between me and my degree and a European summer. I am shaking with excitement. I am clearly procrastinating by looking at pictures of all the places I am about to go.. AH.

It seems that the ash is clearing from the volcano, which is AMAZING news... I was a little worried for a bit.

All the tutors have been talking though, and it sounds like my first two weeks in Nice and San Remo are going to be so much fun. Training is supposed to be the best experience of the English camps, so I am really pumped to meet everyone, and be in the Italian sun.

The weather here is finally picking up too, which is making me even more anxious... I need it to be summer. Patios in Canada are fun, but patios in Greece... that's another story.

So much to do in May... EUROPE 40 DAYS... hope you're ready!

overwhelmed

AHHHH. Less then a month and a half away. I'm actually starting to feel the stress of it all though... SO MUCH to get ready. Need to pay off some debt, get a credit card, get some traveler cheques and go to the bank to transfer some money into Euros. Flight to Switzerland from Paris needs to be booked, need to buy my EuroRail pass and book ferries for Greece. Never mind the necessities; hats, sunglasses, shorts, sundresses, and I guess a legit backpack.

In other news, a volcano erupted in Iceland, canceling all current flights East out of Canada that require flying past that area AKA Europe, so let's hope that smoke is out of the way in 44 days time, and everyone over in Iceland is safe & sound.

Two more exams left of my undergraduate career, then it's full sailing ahead!

is it too early to start the countdown?

As I sit here, writing my LAST essay of my undergrad, I can NOT focus. In less then two months I will be sitting on the beaches of Nice, France. School is the last thing on my mind. It's all becoming so real now!

A facebook group was started for all the tutors coming to Italy this summer, and it seems like we are all coming to Nice the weekend before. We are going to try and stay at the Saint Villa Exupery Hostel in Nice and get to know each other before heading off to San Remo together! Everyone seems like a lot fun, and really excited to travel. We also found out we will be staying at a hostel called Blue Beach while training in San Remo, Italy. It's right by the coast. It seems my summer is going to be filled with white, black, and red sand beaches - I am not complaining.

We also found out the locations of the camps. I will either be spending two weeks teaching in Milan or Rome! I have been to Rome before, and there is SO much to do there, so I would not mind going back at all, even though I know Bre and I will end up back there during our travels, since Bre has never been. Milan would also be interesting, since it is such a well known location in Italy, yet not somewhere I would go on my own. Milan also makes it a lot easier to start traveling from Venice and southwards in Italy. Rome would require a little backwards traveling. So it's a win-win situation really. I am sure there is a lot of Italian culture to pick up in both places!

It's kind of crazy thinking I am going to have to pack up my room, knowing someone else is going to be moving into it, about to embark on their university career. I have had an amazing experience during my undergrad, but now I'm dying to see what else is out there. Nineteen days until exams are done, and fifty-seven days until I land in Paris, France... but who's counting??