After those very long hours on the plane from Cairo to Edmonton, I finally arrive in Edmonton International Airport. Biiiiiiiiiiig sigh, this is the start of a journey I was looking forward to. A new country, a new work environment, new friends....a totally new life. Why Edmonton you ask? Well, I applied to University of Toronto and University of Alberta, didn't make the cut that year in Toronto and got that long-waited for letter from the University of Alberta. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay, oh happy day! I received that letter in May and was supposed to pack my life in a little box in 2.5 months. Passport renewals, Canadian embassy appointments, resignation procedures and the dreaded goodbyes. Looking back, I barely remember how those 2.5 months passed, everything was happening too quickly and I wanted to treasure every moment I had left in Egypt. My friends threw me an AMAZING farewell party at the University where I worked. My mom and my fiancee at the time threw me another BIG farewell with many of my friends before I left..tears were shed, hugs were hugged .....and bags were packed.
It was 5:30 AM Cairo Local Time, time to go. My luggage was carried to the car downstairs, my friends drove to my house that early, and we were off to Cairo International Airport. Over there, I ran into a friend that I didn't get to see in those couple of months I had. Spotted one of Egypt's top male actors, hugged family and friends, teared up, but as you know....big girls don't cry (yeah, right!)
So, what have we got here, 6 hours to London then 8.5 -9 hours to Edmonton. Piece of cake...sure , especially if you can't sleep on planes and even better is when you're about to, this adorable 70 something-year old German lady sitting beside you seems to be happy that a German-speaking person is sitting beside her and starts telling you her life story. To tell you the truth....it was pretty interesting and she was so sweet.
I researched (and by researched I mean googled) Edmonton before I left and learnt that it got really cold in the winter. Whatever, I grew up in Moscow, what's -20 C....oh, was I wrong. In Moscow, when the temperature hit -25 C, we wouldn't go to school and my parents wouldn't go to work. Here in Edmonton, we experience as low as -47 C, and there's no reason for you to not go to work (lab in this case). The idea is we're all in it together, this is the weather and we can't change it...deal with it! First snowfall was sweet, but that year it was crazy cold! Then it got milder over the past couple of years, the first day of snow doesn't bring joy to me as it used to, oh well........ big girls don't cry!
It was 5:30 AM Cairo Local Time, time to go. My luggage was carried to the car downstairs, my friends drove to my house that early, and we were off to Cairo International Airport. Over there, I ran into a friend that I didn't get to see in those couple of months I had. Spotted one of Egypt's top male actors, hugged family and friends, teared up, but as you know....big girls don't cry (yeah, right!)
So, what have we got here, 6 hours to London then 8.5 -9 hours to Edmonton. Piece of cake...sure , especially if you can't sleep on planes and even better is when you're about to, this adorable 70 something-year old German lady sitting beside you seems to be happy that a German-speaking person is sitting beside her and starts telling you her life story. To tell you the truth....it was pretty interesting and she was so sweet.
I LOVE your blog!!! this post reminds me so much of my own experience too, especially the big girls don't cry part haha
ReplyDeleteHey Jen! Thank you so much for your comment, I'm glad you could relate to this post. I'm also guessing you're a big girl who never cried too :) Keep on dropping by!
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