Rough dag (Rough day)

Remember a while back I talked about the homesickness bomb that is supposed to unexpectedly drop when you enter a new country?

It dropped today.

I don't really know why. Maybe it's because I'm coming down off the high of Edinburgh or that I just have a lot of travelling coming up, but today has definitely been rough.

I woke up this morning just feeling tired. Tired of hearing five hundred different languages and none of them being English. Of having to think before I say certain things so that when I say them people will know what I mean. Tired of not knowing how to cook pre-made pasta packets because I can't read the instructions on the back.

A lot of this homesickness does have to do with language. Maybe I had forgotten how great it is to converse with native English speakers and when I was in Edinburgh I got too used to that feeling again. Because now I miss it. I was sitting at lunch today with the group and on one side of me there was a German conversation and on the other side the girls were speaking rapid French. And I just kind of sat there wishing that I had someone to share this kind of conversation with, one where we actually understand each other and can carry on without having to stop and make sure we both know what we're actually talking about.

And I know I sound a little melodramatic. I mean, I should be appreciative of the opportunity I've been given here. And I am. Most of the time I'm incredibly happy and the culture shock barely bothers me. But just today, I'm tired.

I also went today to buy all the toiletries that I had taken away from me by airport security and when I went to pay, neither of my cards were working, which frustrated me. But more than that, neither of the cashiers could speak English. I was so mad I almost walked out without my stuff, but I ended up paying cash. Again, this kind of a situation should not elicit anger and it's in no way the fault of the cashiers for not speaking English, it can just be trying sometimes. And I'm starting to understand what my exchange coordinator said about this during our Exchange Orientation last February. He said that we would have these feelings of anger and frustration, and I didn't really believe him. But that's how I feel right now.

So to make myself feel better, I'll probably do what I always do when I'm in a mood, head off to the gym to take my mind off of it and then come home and snuggle up with some dinner and Grey's Anatomy. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

PS. The rain is also driving me crazy. I thought weather back home was wild, I literally wake up so a cloudless sky and then leave school pedalling like mad through the pouring rain.

PPS. I really don't mean to sound all complain-y. I just need to vent and since I'm the only Canadian here, the only way I can vent is to the blog...