One Week Later...

Similar to how I felt when I arrived in the Dominican, I feel like I've been here forever already.  So far, the adjustment has been good and the "reverse culture shock" hasn't been too strong.  The biggest adjustment has been the cold.  Living in 30 degree weather for an entire year, and then having to come home to -25 (-35 with windchill) was a huge adjustment.  However, I am happy to report that yesterday, it was about -14 and it felt bearable to me!  Hurray for becoming acclimatized!

The thing I miss most so far are the people.  Oddly though, I still sort of feel like I'm on vacation and that soon I will be going back.  I think I'll actually go through a much harder time in a few weeks.  Since I left, I've also gained a new friend I didn't know that I had back when I was there.  One of my coworkers just started talking with me during my last few days in the country and then sent me an amazing email earlier this week in which I learned just how much we have in common.  While it was sad to think that we could have had this friendship for longer and in person, I am happy that it was able to be discovered, regardless of the timing.

I am definitely more aware of my surroundings and how crazy we Edmontonians are to live in such a climate.  While driving over to Bart's place yesterday, I started laughing about the size of the snow piles on the lots of the houses.  I just thought about how ridiculous this would seem to most of my Dominican friends.  I made sure to snap some pictures to give you an idea.

Also, when I'm out driving with Bart or my brother (I've yet to put insurance back on my own car) I keep thinking to myself, if we were in the Dominican, we could totally run this red right now, or we could totally decide this was a turning lane... But at the end of the day, I am comforted by the order and all the rules we have here.

I've also been working hard to push myself back into my old life - but only into the parts of my old life I want to keep.  Bart and I went to the symphony last weekend, I've done a bit of shopping at some of my favourite stores, attended my first committee meeting in a year for Encore, and tonight, we went to the Art Gallery for the new exhibition opening and a lecture on Emily Carr.  I get really excited by these things, it is like the parts of me that had to be suppressed before, for survival, are able to be freed again.

I've been spending most of my days at the condo, organizing and unpacking, although it is slow going.  The job search is still happening, with more applications going out every few days.  I have also been making a lot of time for my goals, especially the cooking one.  Bart has been spoiled by lots of homemade meals and treats!

I also got my hair cut yesterday.  It feels quite different, especially after going for a year without one!  I am also taking every chance I get to drink water straight from the tap and, slowly, I am becoming less paranoid that every little tickle I feel on my arm is an ant or a mosquito.

So overall, lots of little changes, but so far, things are going rather smoothly!  It will be interesting to see what the next few weeks bring!