​Hibernation makes sense when its this cold (-10 to -30) and its barren (the plants die :( - for a 5 month period, with no food growing. 
Now, add in the late sun rises and early sun sleeps - all contributing to animals seeking shelter in caves or warm nests and sleeping for months - only to emerge in the spring. Hibernation

I’ve decided I am most definitely an animal - A bear in fact. All I want to do is eat and stay indoors and not emerge until spring :)
And a lot of us do ;) - gorging on high fat foods, hot chocolates, and running Netflix marathons so we don’t have to leave the comforts of our nests. Leaving only to work and or to stock up on groceries for maybe two weeks at a time. 

Lots offer advice to pick up skiing or skating or some other winter sport - but really then for us hibernating types our feet and hands would freeze, so no.....

So I’ll stay indoors, reminiscing of beach days gone by, and planning trips to new exotic locales, perhaps even figuring out a new place for a third home - so that instead of hibernating for half a year I can frolic in the sunshine :) 

Long ramble ahead. I had a nightmare last night and woke up a little angry. What about? ... Outward Bound. Outward Bound is a out door survival program started by a German Fellow many years ago. It teaches hard learned life lessons and survival skills to youth. Unfortunately my experience with them was a nightmare. 

I looked up "Outward Bound cruelty” on Google curious to see if I could find anyone with a similar experience to my own - interestingly quite a bit came up... 

THIS POST SHARES MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH OUTWARD BOUND.

My experience with Outward Bound was 17 years ago. At that time, I was a pretty normal teenage girl with regular hormonal mood swings, and an enormous appetite for chocolate. Other than that I was one of those artsy kids - never really partied, played soccer, danced, crafted, painted, and read a lot. 

• It was my summer holiday just before high school was starting - and my parents put me in a 21 day survival camp. It came out sounding like a mix of camp and fun camp. I loved camping as a child, and I was excited to go, stay in a cabin, make friends, make crafts, learn some survival skills…. ohhhhh how wrong I was… :( 
• We were taken to a clearing, given each a small 3 litre bag and told - “please change into pants and a top” after changing “please put only one pair of shorts, one more top, three pairs of socks, two underwear, your tooth brush and tooth paste into this bag”. I did - but also snuck my period pads, and a bar of chocolate :I
• Then they searched our bags :( - they took away my pads and chocolate - I started to cry.... but it I should've saved the crying until things got worse... much worse... nightmare like... horror story like... 

After a year of being in my second home, Peru, I am back in the city from where I come - Calgary. It is familiar and foreign all at once. So this blog post will be rather more self reflective, talking about change, home, and of course the things that were really different to come back to here in Canada.

Changes - I know I've changed, a lot and that is, I suppose, a good thing. I feel like I am more me - more confident, more willing to fail, more willing to not care about thing I couldn't be bothered about. For once I actually feel a bit more mature, but in a way that is more carefree than ever before - if that makes any sense.

Home - The idea of home is tricky, people keep asking if I am glad to be home and it's confusing. There was home; here is home; the world is home. They say that "home is where the heart is" - who is they, and honestly, at least for me my heart is always with me - so technically I am home everywhere. They also say that home is where family is, but what if you've got also a family of non-blood relations - all over the world - scattered - then home is where they all are too. But back to that question of am I happy to be back? - Yes, I am happy everywhere - I will make it work and be happy wherever I end up - I think the bigger question is, is will I stay - and to that... I say... Nothing is constant and that I may always return 

Birthdays are funny things - a milestone of how far we've come but also reminder of that sneaky passage of time.

I left a comfortable, fun and challenging teaching position in Calgary, Alberta last year and moved to Cusco, Peru. I had lived as a volunteer in Urubamba many years ago, which was more akin to a volunteer holiday position just out of high school.
This time, I was 30, and wanting to transition into art as a more full time career, and instead of doing I suppose what most would do, and start sending work to galleries, and in competitions and getting shows together, etc. I did not. And in a time where almost everyone I know is getting married and having babies and settling into lives in their cities, I ran away to the Andes to "rediscover myself" and also of course to work. I worked with an NGO doing a photography project with children, designed curriculum, and did a little marketing and research, and then after that stint was done, I started working at the Art School of Cusco as an animation and graphic design teacher and also taking courses in painting - which is where I think my true passion lies. I just love the colours and textures, and the mixing of paint and seeing my ideas and visions come to life on canvas. I love that I'm not in front of a screen, and that the work is hands on and messy and that I can be as detailed or sporadic as I want.

So I had a million ambitions coming down here and lost myself in the process, and then re-discoved many things apart from my true passion. 

Some of the things I've learned and re-learned are that:

1. Setting up a new life somewhere is not always roses and especially when you are coming from a place with many comforts like hot showers whenever you want them, or well set up systems - you appreciate home so much more. 
2. Living a new culture and eating new foods is amazing, but that you really begin to miss other things from back home - Nani's samosas and a good Albertan steak 
3. The lives of friends and family, just like mine, move along and so, even though here is amazing for me and where I need to be at the moment, it feels sad to miss out on their milestones and celebrating their successes with them - Tomorrow my brother will turn 30!!! And I am so proud of him! Wishing I could be there to celebrate! 
4. You learn what you are good at and also what you really need to work on - There are a lot of things I am good at, but I also know that I need to get a lot better a dealing with rejection and in persevering with goals and dreams.  
5. You feel like you're living two lives, and at times feel stuck in limbo - the life here, and the life back home that you continually relate back to. 
6. It is all about making connections, keeping them up, running with opportunities, and showing up - Mural painting, teaching Uni courses, meeting great art mentors. 
7. A good support system and great friends make a world, no... many worlds of difference. A BIG shout out to my Peruvian friends and family, and also to my home friends and family. 
8. Family is the most important thing ever - they know you and your quirks, and more so they get your humour because it comes from the same place - I miss you all. 
9. Cooking with fresh produce and tropical fruits is the best - I am going to miss the fresh passion fruits and papayas and chirimoyas when I come home 
10. Coming home is exciting and happy because you see and connect with everyone again, however its also sad for those you leave here and the new friends and family you've made, but its also a bit of a learning curve and at times even daunting as everyone has moved on and so have you - things have changed. 
11. Finally, starting over at home again can be a challenge - but you know after this, that you can handle about anything 

I made the decision to leave my job as a school teacher and move to Peru to work with an NGO not that long ago. As the time for me to move to Peru - (or what I like to call my other home) - came closer I was wracked with emotions of excitement and awe, but also of nervousness and for the first time in my life a bit of - "I can't believe I really am doing this." Saying goodbye to family this time was tough... maybe it is because I know in my heart that I may not return to Canada for a long while this time, and maybe not especially to live for...                perhaps years. 

As I said goodbye to my mum yesterday, tears welled up as I realized that I will not always be there for her when I want to be, nor she for me. I realized that I would not be able to thank her or my dad enough for the opportunities they have afforded me. On the other hand I am blessed to be going to a wonderful place, where I can help others, and also work on my art and writing, and so the parting is bitter-sweet. 

I was full of nervous excitement yesterday as I sat in the Houston airport waiting for my flight to Lima, Peru. As I sat on the plane - I thought "Ok, this is it.... Am I ready?"

7 hours later... I step of the plane and just like that I feel at home - back at home in my second home. Full of excitement for what is to come - ready to run into adventures. I know I will miss Canada - its open skies and wondrous towering mountains - my wonderful family, and great friends. I also know that even though I have moved, that I will always go back to visit.