“I don’t wanna say this but this time next week, you’ll be gone.” — Thanks mom for this statement that no one wants to talk about!!
My time in Canada is almost over and if you would have asked me when I first arrived if I thought it would go by fast, I would definitely say to you, “uh no way this is going to be a LONG (but relaxing) break.” Guess what! I would have been wrong. Except for the relaxing part. I really milked the whole “I don’t have a job right now so let me sleep in until the afternoon” card. Oops. But actually I’m not sorry at all because I’ve been perpetually tired since I started teaching last August. It was only fair that I had a holiday that involved just resting — unlike all of the other holidays I had this year.
Obviously I was excited to be coming back home for the summer. I hadn’t seen my parents in months and I hadn’t seen my best friends in a YEAR. But I also am pretty in love with Vietnam so I knew I would miss it. I was super “homesick” when I got back in June. I missed everything. Here’s a short list of some of the cravings I had of the Saigon life:
I missed the cheapness of food, booze and going out.
It was extremely difficult for me to justify paying like, 7 dollars for a pint of beer when in Saigon we can go to the Circle K and pay 15,000 VND for a beer (like less than a dollar people!!). Food was another thing. I went out for food so much because a) I had missed out on the food scene in Winnipeg and b) It’s always so nice to go out for a meal with people, I really enjoy it! Except… So expensive. I realized that in Saigon I never really look at the prices of food because I just assume whatever fancy meal I’m having is definitely going to be under 20 CAD, but here that is a different story. It was just difficult to adjust when you’re so used to paying nothing for everything.
I missed Uber and being able to go anywhere you want at any time without having to worry about guilting someone in to driving you.
There has never been Uber in Winnipeg, but when I lived in Kingston near the end of my years there, it started to become more popular and I was able to experience the convenience of a stranger picking me up in their car and taking me wherever I wanted to go. This was especially convenient in the winter time when it was way too cold to walk downtown to meet my friends. I got SO USED to having Uber, that there were SO many occasions here where it would have been extremely beneficial. Shout out to my mom for driving me and my friends SO many times, to SO many places, SO late at night. She is a superstar, I would give her 5 stars on Uber for sure. Hahaha.
I missed wearing dresses, shorts, and all of the summer clothes I brought back.
I don’t know what made me think that it was going to be somewhat the same weather in Winnipeg that it would be in Saigon, but when I got back I literally couldn’t go outside, it was so cold hahaha. I guess I just assumed that “summer” means “29 degrees always” but that is a wrong assumption. Thankfully I only brought one suitcase back and am bringing two back to Saigon, so it’s not the end of the world that I didn’t wear over half of the dresses I brought. Which is so crazy because I basically wear a dress EVERY day in Vietnam, so to all of a sudden wear pants everyday and a sweater, was a big change for me that I forgot would happen haha! I wish I thought about this before I came back but you know what? It’s a lesson learned for next time!
However, just as quick as I realized that I missed those great things about Vietnam, I knew that there would be a long list of things I would miss in Canada, including things I would have never even guessed that I would miss. Some of them I missed while I was away, but being back for awhile now, there are definitely more things that will be missed. Including:
The fact that you can drink tap water anytime, anywhere, ALWAYS!
What a weird thing to miss. It is so refreshing knowing that I don’t have to walk all the way downstairs to fill up my bottle, but instead, walk 3 steps to my bathroom and fill ‘er up. In Saigon, there were sometimes “water crises” where we would run out of water in our big water jug and the place downstairs would have no more jugs for the day. We had to drink bottles that we had, but it always felt like such a waste and such a hassle. In Canada, that never happens. When you go to a restaurant, they just give you a glass of water! And you don’t have to pay for it! What a crazy thing that we take for granted haha. I have loved drinking all of the tap water these past couple months. I am gonna miss it SO much, and what a weird thing to miss haha!
Clean air, clear skin!!
Being the Friday Night Lights fan that I am, this one reminds me of “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” but in my case, it’s more like “clear skin, full lungs, can’t lose” hahaha. The difference of breathing here versus Saigon is staggering. I didn’t realize how used I got to the pollution, but I did always know it was bad, but man, I didn’t think it was as bad as it actually is. My skin immediately cleared up when I got back. It felt wonderful to be outside, and after I got over my sickness (I was diagnosed with a “throat infection” right before I left to come back to Canada) I was feeling so healthy. Not so much in the eating department, but my thinking is that I would binge and indulge while I was back in Canada and then get back into the groove of eating healthy and working out when I get back. That’s future Mel’s problem! Hahaha. I truly took for granted the air and the water that Canada has to offer. I will never think lowly of it ever again. Could you imagine, showering and actually feeling clean?! After a year of not feeling that, let me tell you, it was MAGICAL. Hahaha.
This is the obvious one. My friends, my family, my home.
If you know me, you know that I own like a million and one Peace Collective shirts because I pride myself in being prideful of Canada. Such shirts include sayings as, “Home is Canada” “Canadian as Fuck” and “Canadian Babe” — all of these just really sum up who I am hahaha. After travelling as much as I have (which I know is not as much as some people!!) I have really come to appreciate what it means to hold that Canadian passport. It’s like once you say you’re from Canada, everyone wants to be your friend. It’s pretty fantastic haha. And, as much as you might think I’m a big Winnipeg hater because I keep leaving it, this time around really made me appreciate the city I’ve been able to call home for my whole life. I’m really lucky. Not only just to be from such a wonderful place, but to have wonderful people to come back to. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a million times more, but my friends are everything. My family is everything. I am blessed to have such an amazing group of friends and family who have always supported my crazy dreams and decisions. Honestly, it’s pretty tough to stay in contact with people once you move across the country and/or across the world. I’ve lost some friends through the process, but I’ve also kept so many that mean so much to me. It’s exhausting keeping in touch, but as it always happens, when I come back, it’s like no time has passed and we start where we left off. They’re always my favourite hellos and my hardest goodbyes. I said this last year before I left, and it rings true today — I am so lucky to have people in my life that make saying goodbye so difficult. So here’s to you, each and every one of you who has stuck by my side through the years and currently. This is definitely the winner when it comes to things I’ll miss when I’m gone.
A close second and third to things I’ll miss about Canada are my bed, and caesars. Again, if you know me you know that either I haven’t stopped talking about my bed since I’ve been back, and if I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about how much I love caesars and my plan to bring back so much Clamato hahaha. I am so Canadian, I LOVE IT!
I’m so sad to leave (as I always am) but I am truly so excited to start my second year of teaching. I’m more prepared, there are less unknowns (except still not sure if we will actually have our apartment when we get back LOL typical Mel and Lucy problem we didn’t pay rent) and I know what kind of routine I’ll get into. I got so comfortable so fast last year, and I am excited for that again! I can’t wait to see my old teacher friends and make more new ones this year! I can’t wait to go to all of the breweries and dance the night away at Lush, and of course go to Donkey (LOL I can’t believe I just said that). I can’t wait to breathe dirty air and be sick every month!!! Hahaha kidding so much because no, I am not excited about that. I wonder how soon until the people at the hospital know me on a first name basis? It’s like when regulars at Starbucks would come in and I would memorize their drinks and barely know their name, maybe the people at the hospital will just know what I’m always sick with but never actually remember my name hahahaha. Ugh. You guys, I WISH I was kidding about this. Maybe I’ll break my record of 6+ hospital visits this year!!! We can only dream.
So here’s to being a proud (travelling) Canadian!







