Thinking back, for the past several months my thoughts have revolved around this sense of isolation that I had been feeling. I had blogged about it plenty, and it troubled me quite a bit. Yet, something curious has happened and for some reason it's changed. For those of you who don' t know, I'm still waiting on news about my next work visa, and during this time I can't legally work. So I went to the states for a little while. While there something strange happened, I had this sort of anxious feeling to get back to Montreal. I tried hard to justify it, it's not like anyone would be available to hang out, and how man times had I sat frustrated in the middle of french conversations that I couldn't partake in... I couldn't understand why I wasn't more ecstatic to be in the States.
Needless to say I returned last Sunday to Montreal, the day before my Birthday. Benoit suggested that he had been talking to some people from work and who we hang out with, and he thought we should have an "Apero." Which is sort of like just having appetisers and drinks and inviting people over. I wasn't sure, as I don't typically host parties, but I decided... What the hell, why not?
I spent my day doing chores, preparing Christmas stuff, getting stuff for the party, laundry... all the good stuff haha. Luckily for me it managed to snow on my birthday, which holds a special significance to me. See I don't think I've ever had a birthday in which it hasn't snowed just a little bit. While there are times I'm not too happy it's snowing, on my birthday it's different and I couldn't be happier.
That night I was so surprised to see so many people arrived to partake in the Apero, and even surprised me at my door with a cake! There were people from work, and people who Benoit and I hang out with and even some americans :) I'll be honest, I'm not sure I've ever had such a big birthday! I mean when I was a kid I think the most I ever invited over was like five kids. It was really just awesome to see everybody and have such a good night. For this, I really am happy I decided to be in Montreal for my Birthday.
I visited work today to go to lunch with a friend, and it was really fun to bump into some people, whose first reactions were "Your back?!" Which I unfortunately kept having to say, "Not yet." It was nice though seeing people be excited to see me, and all anxious to hear about my visa. The head of HR at Ludia was mentioning that I have quite the fan club, as different people on a daily basis ask her about me :)
I suddenly find myself feeling apart of a community that I've developed for myself in Montreal... one that I wasn't quite sure I had. I'm not sure how I managed it, but in the time that I've arrived here... I've somehow made a place for me here, and I already feel a bit connected to Montreal in some way. What worries me now is my visa, and if I hear no I'll be starting from scratch once more... For now though, I'm thankful for my time up here, the people I've met, and the experiences I've had.
No comments:
Post a Comment