the departures board at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam
…I’m finally back in Canada. For the summer at least. I loved being in Germany so much, that on the flight back to Canada, I’ve already started to miss it! And being home, these boring grey buildings and vast parking lots which makes up a typical Canadian suburb just can’t compare to the rolling green hills, castles, and cute medieval towns that are all just part of daily life in Europe.
The past month has been filled with working on and mailing in about 7 different German grad school applications, and endless bureaucratic paperwork ranging from getting a new Canadian passport to replace my stolen one, to getting a short extension on my residence permit. Luckily, all that is finished so I will definitely be updating my blog once again on a regular basis!
My to do list currently consists of:
– finish writing my posts about Spain, Luxembourg and France!
– getting a gym membership
– eating all my dearly missed North American foods such as Chipotle, all dressed chips, red velvet cakes, poutine, deep dish pizza and s’mores pop tarts (this is why a gym membership is so necessary!)
– finding a summer job
– enjoying the sun as much as possible with friends
– obsessively checking my email/mail for letters from the grad schools I applied to (fingers crossed!)
And now for a photo recap of my year!
Apartments I’ve stayed at:
Places I’ve visited:
A few of the many, many unexpected things that have happened:
And a few of the awesome people I’ve met this year!
(including my friend Miriam from home and Martin, a friend I met 3 years ago in Australia!)
Counting down the days for Europe Part II!
I’m also going home for the summer!! I know it’ll be weird to see boring buildings instead of cool, old winding streets. I hope you complete your to-do list and have a great time at home! Also good luck with grad school!
Thanks!! Hope you have fun being home for the summer!! 🙂 Are you planning on going back to Europe soon? 🙂
Good luck with your grad school apps and your summer plans! And I agree that Chipotle will be sorely missed whenever my husband and I decide to start living the expat life! :-/
They’re expanding internationally though! 😀 There’s already one in London and Paris…and soon there’ll be one in Germany! So excited!!!
Haha, I started missing Germany before I’d even gotten on the plane when I came back to Canada as well. Also, I have photos of that piece of wall art of Beethoven in Bonn too! Best of luck with your grad school applications, hope you hear back from them soon 🙂
How long were you in Germany for? Speaking of Bonn, I got an acceptance today to a university there! Very excited! 😀
3 months! Not nearly as long as you’ve spent in Germany, haha. Congratulations on your acceptance! That’s very exciting. Hey, wait – so you’re back in Canada as in back in Toronto? If you’re free/downtown at any point, want to grab coffee/froyo and swap travel stories?!
Do you live in Toronto?! What a small world 🙂 And yes, I’d love to! My e-mail is mklin89@gmail.com if you’d like to send me which dates you’re free and whatnot!
Sounds like you’ve had a great year in Germany, hope you get in to the schools you applied to!
thanks so much! 🙂
You are such a busy bee!!! I totally relate to your plans to update your blog with more content. That is what I am working on, too. If I told you how far behind I am, you would give me a blank stare, lol.
I won’t be surprised if you get an acceptance letter from all 7 grad schools. What will you do then? 🙂
Sorry your passport was stolen. That sucks like crazy.
Haha I’ve never thought about getting into all 7…that would be a tough decision! I got into one already which is one of my top choices, so I’m pretty relieved! 🙂
Yea getting a new passport was such a drag! 🙁
Back in Canada eh? Whereabouts?
Yea for the summer. In Toronto! How about you? 🙂
have a great holiday at home =)
seeeeeeee ya in germany 😉
Hi Martin 😛 I like your website 😀
Hi there Michelle I’ve been reading most of your posts and I am very delighted by your adventures and misadventures, I am an expat as well and you have the kind of lifestyle that I’ve been longing for: Traveling the world, and I have no intentions of returning to my home country, what about you?
Hey Oliver! Thanks 🙂 At the moment I’m actually back home in Canada! Traveling around a bit to the US next month, then back in Europe in September for at least 2 more years! I know what you mean though! As much as I love Canada, I really can’t imagine myself living here permanently anytime soon! Makes me feel like it’s the end of an adventure or something!