Half-asleep on the bus between Barceolona and Valencia, Spain.
Listening to my music when ¨Run¨ by Snow Patrol comes on.
And then my phone rings.
My Nana passed away at night (it was 5am in Toronto) and my Dad called to give me the news.
The girls were really supportive, but crying on a coach bus is rather embarassing. Thank god I had 2 more hours where I didn´t have to talk to anyone.
Thank you to everyone i txted that day that offered their love and support. To my family. To Monica, Jen and Michelle. And to Nick and Emma and Gavin, who although they were many many miles away (and in Nick´s case, even farther), were there for me the whole time.
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The rain in spain is in my head.
So after getting home from the lakes last night at 11pm, Michelle and I had to pack up all our stuff for Spain, shower, and then leave for the bus from Victoria at 2 am... Our plane flew out at 630 am! So basically we got about 1 hour of sleep before jetting off on our next adventure.
After a long long way to get to the airport, we clamboured aboard a lovely Ryan Air flight (yeah right) that took us to Barcelona! Well, more specifically, Girona Barcelona.. 1.5 hours outside of the city centre. We got in, then took lie a 45 minute travel to our hostel (very nice hostel though) and met up with Jen (who had been here for one day already and will be traveling the rest of spain with us).
Now we were exhausted, but also hungry... and since our hostel is in the outskirts, we ventured into a little cafe where NO ONE spoke english (well, except for a like 14 year old boy who helped us out a bit). Now THIS is a traditional traveling experince... one that I had actually never came across before because normally SOMEONE speaks English. Basically, we relied on Michelle´s awesome grade 10 spanish, the broken words of a 15 year old barcelona boy, and lots of miming and bringing out dishes off other peoples tables to show us what they were!!
Somehow we ended up with some delicious food. I had some grilled chicken (super salty) and chips (err, fries) and Mon-Jen-Michelle had some rice with warm gespacho and an egg (?). They also gave us a free bottle of water, bread and then some yummy ice-cream dessert. All for 5 euros... which was cheaper than we thought. They were SUPER nice and it was amazing to interact with locals... and made us realise how awful we are at spanish.
...now for the unpleasant news.
My Nana is not doing very well. She has been sick for the past little while and now is back from the hospital, in pallative care, and such. My sister wrote me a msg explaining it better than I can so I´ll just copy it here:
¨She’s now refusing to eat anything or take her meds and she’s only drinking sips of ginger ale occasionally when her throat is dry or she coughs. The doctors think there is probably actually something going on in her body that is making her not want to or unable to eat but she has kind of given up her will to fight/live anymore so there isn’t much they can do anyways. She’s under palliative care now which means that they won’t send her to the hospital for anything but they can administer what the doctor orders which is good bc that means she can stay in her room (which is all she wanted when she was at the hospital) and they’re making sure she is comfortable.
Basically, I feel really guilty. How can I have fun and be on bloody holiday while my family is in so much pain! How can I go and drink sangria when my nana is so sick. I feel awful. I cried a bit here in the hostel and talked to my sister a bit so I know there is nothing I can do. But I just feel guitly. I won´t be flying home because of the logistics and timing, and it doesnt make much sense for me to fly home for a few days and then fly back to London when I´ll be back in under two months. But still. I feel pretty shitty.
The rain in spain is in my head.
But I know my Nana and my dad would want me to push on and enjoy my holiday. The girls know (monica is telling them) so they understand if I´m a little quieter... but the most I can do is love the life my Nana has always wanted me to have.
It´s still pretty awful to deal wtih all this without my family right by though.
Love you all.
After a long long way to get to the airport, we clamboured aboard a lovely Ryan Air flight (yeah right) that took us to Barcelona! Well, more specifically, Girona Barcelona.. 1.5 hours outside of the city centre. We got in, then took lie a 45 minute travel to our hostel (very nice hostel though) and met up with Jen (who had been here for one day already and will be traveling the rest of spain with us).
Now we were exhausted, but also hungry... and since our hostel is in the outskirts, we ventured into a little cafe where NO ONE spoke english (well, except for a like 14 year old boy who helped us out a bit). Now THIS is a traditional traveling experince... one that I had actually never came across before because normally SOMEONE speaks English. Basically, we relied on Michelle´s awesome grade 10 spanish, the broken words of a 15 year old barcelona boy, and lots of miming and bringing out dishes off other peoples tables to show us what they were!!
Somehow we ended up with some delicious food. I had some grilled chicken (super salty) and chips (err, fries) and Mon-Jen-Michelle had some rice with warm gespacho and an egg (?). They also gave us a free bottle of water, bread and then some yummy ice-cream dessert. All for 5 euros... which was cheaper than we thought. They were SUPER nice and it was amazing to interact with locals... and made us realise how awful we are at spanish.
...now for the unpleasant news.
My Nana is not doing very well. She has been sick for the past little while and now is back from the hospital, in pallative care, and such. My sister wrote me a msg explaining it better than I can so I´ll just copy it here:
¨She’s now refusing to eat anything or take her meds and she’s only drinking sips of ginger ale occasionally when her throat is dry or she coughs. The doctors think there is probably actually something going on in her body that is making her not want to or unable to eat but she has kind of given up her will to fight/live anymore so there isn’t much they can do anyways. She’s under palliative care now which means that they won’t send her to the hospital for anything but they can administer what the doctor orders which is good bc that means she can stay in her room (which is all she wanted when she was at the hospital) and they’re making sure she is comfortable.
Basically, I feel really guilty. How can I have fun and be on bloody holiday while my family is in so much pain! How can I go and drink sangria when my nana is so sick. I feel awful. I cried a bit here in the hostel and talked to my sister a bit so I know there is nothing I can do. But I just feel guitly. I won´t be flying home because of the logistics and timing, and it doesnt make much sense for me to fly home for a few days and then fly back to London when I´ll be back in under two months. But still. I feel pretty shitty.
The rain in spain is in my head.
But I know my Nana and my dad would want me to push on and enjoy my holiday. The girls know (monica is telling them) so they understand if I´m a little quieter... but the most I can do is love the life my Nana has always wanted me to have.
It´s still pretty awful to deal wtih all this without my family right by though.
Love you all.
The Lakes are lovely (said in a british accent)
I had a wonderful weekend up north.
My night in Manchester was a blast. Met up with Dave (one of the british exchange students that lived with us in Bates in first year), had some pizza, played some drinking games, and headed off to a club to celebrate his roommates birthday. Craig met up with us too which is always a pleasure. :)
On Saturday, we (did I mention Michelle - a friend from Toronto - is visiting?) along with Dave and his gf, drove up to Dave´s childhood home in the Lakes District. He lives in Ambleside... and the town is as cute as its name implies. A small village in England´s national park. Surrounded by mountains and near the biggest lake in the lake district, it was out of a postcard of English countryside quaintness. Not to mention Dave´s family owns a toystore and THEY LIVE ABOVE IT. I have always had a dream of living above a store and this was pretty much my dream house, lol. We went for hikes and had picnics, wandered around the town (there are sheep EVERYWHERE), and enjoyed the local pubs and nightlife (although we had to travel to the next town for that). Then on Monday... we went on an alpine high ropes course in the forest. called ¨Go APE¨.. Basically, we got strapped to carabeeners and wires, climbed huge ladders and did all these cool apline tree things...like wobbly bridges, swings, jumping off the edge and flinging yourself onto a net... and ZIP LINES. I have always wanted to go on one and I went on FOUR. SO MUCH FUN. I had a blast there! Totally reccomend it to EVERYONE. There are about 18 different branches across England, so if you come visit, you should go here! ... unless you are afraid of heights. (monica)
My night in Manchester was a blast. Met up with Dave (one of the british exchange students that lived with us in Bates in first year), had some pizza, played some drinking games, and headed off to a club to celebrate his roommates birthday. Craig met up with us too which is always a pleasure. :)
On Saturday, we (did I mention Michelle - a friend from Toronto - is visiting?) along with Dave and his gf, drove up to Dave´s childhood home in the Lakes District. He lives in Ambleside... and the town is as cute as its name implies. A small village in England´s national park. Surrounded by mountains and near the biggest lake in the lake district, it was out of a postcard of English countryside quaintness. Not to mention Dave´s family owns a toystore and THEY LIVE ABOVE IT. I have always had a dream of living above a store and this was pretty much my dream house, lol. We went for hikes and had picnics, wandered around the town (there are sheep EVERYWHERE), and enjoyed the local pubs and nightlife (although we had to travel to the next town for that). Then on Monday... we went on an alpine high ropes course in the forest. called ¨Go APE¨.. Basically, we got strapped to carabeeners and wires, climbed huge ladders and did all these cool apline tree things...like wobbly bridges, swings, jumping off the edge and flinging yourself onto a net... and ZIP LINES. I have always wanted to go on one and I went on FOUR. SO MUCH FUN. I had a blast there! Totally reccomend it to EVERYONE. There are about 18 different branches across England, so if you come visit, you should go here! ... unless you are afraid of heights. (monica)
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