Ciara in Canada : Greetings from Canada!!

Hello, hello everyone! The very warmest of greetings come all the way to you from Calgary, Alberta, Canada! Apologies, it's been over three weeks since my last blog post but, you're going to have to forgive me this time guys. It took me a while to get set up with internet, I've had several appointments that had to be attended to first before I actually find the time to sit down and write a blog post for you guys! That being said, I am back! Reporting to you live from Canadian soil! Man, does it feel good to actually say that!

The last three weeks have been nothing but chaotic to say the least. Once I finished work, I had 10 days, 1 working week, left on Irish soil before my flight to sort my life out, that included packing. I was crazy busy! I had been in the post office more times that week than I had in my entire life! I had something to do everyday between posting things, sorting insurance and sadly, having to bid my last goodbyes too close friends and family. In saying that, one piece of advice I would give to you guys is to give yourself more than 1 week to have everything sorted. In hindsight, choosing to leave so close after Xmas was also, not the best decision. Because I was working so much right up until Xmas, I had no time to wrap my head around what I wanted to pack, what I needed to do in preparation like sorting our my international health insurance as I mentioned earlier. One minute I was working flat out, the next thing my notice was handed in, next thing I knew I had managed to give myself practically no preparation time.

People kept asking me "has it hit you yet" and it honestly, it didn't properly hit me until the night of our going away party. That night, when friends and family decided to head home and, I was saying goodbye, I knew in my heart it was the last time I was going to be seeing many of them. There was a tear or two, I had to hold them back, I'm not going to lie! I didn't want to be an emotional wreck, that's not what that night was about. I wanted it to be fun, a good send off! In the end, I had a fantastic night and was genuinely shocked to see just how many people took the time to see us off and wish us well! People might not always express how they feel towards you but when they do, it's really nice to see! Very heart warming!

The tears really started to flow the night before we left, I had to say goodbye to my aunt and uncle and my aunt got upset so, I got upset and that was the start of it. I knew I was going to break down having to say goodbye to my immediate family. My mum and dad drove us to the airport but, there was no room left for my brother so, I cried saying goodbye to him. The day of the flight, I felt physically sick with nerves, I couldn't eat anything. I was shacking with nerves! I broke down saying goodbye to my parents, I didn't realise how hard it was going to be and how hysterical I would become. I even cried as the plane took off because I knew in my heart it would be several months before I would be back on Irish soil. For those of you who are waiting for your departure date or are thinking of applying for a visa, take it from me, the goodbyes suck.

Thankfully, myself and Larry made it Toronto without a glitch and were greeted by my family who we stayed with until Saturday January 24th when we flew to Calgary to be greeted by my lovely sister. Our time was very limited in Toronto, in hindsight I should have stayed longer. It's not that often I get to see my family and they also had to work through most of the time that we were there but, hopefully now that I live on the same continent, trips back and forth will be slightly more frequent. Over the few days we had in Toronto, I must have walked 1000 miles! Myself and Larry walked into Milton town centre where my family lives on the first day (got lost, of course!). Second day we managed to make our way into down town Toronto, met up with my friend Mark who I have mentioned on this blog before. He has been living in Toronto since October and loving it! Great to see a familiar face and that he is doing well.We took a trip to the aquarium,which was actually really cool! Saw some great sights and ate some delicious food but, before we knew it, we had to repack our bags and catch our ongoing flight out west to Calgary!

We've only been in Calgary a few days, still finding our bearings here. Lovely city, lovely views and skyline. Nowhere near as big as Toronto so, definitely think I'll be more comfortable here. Already finding it way easier to navigate! I'll write a more detailed post about Calgary for you guys soon! So far, all I've done is set up my phone, bank account and gotten my SIN (PPS) number....

Here's a few snaps of my first week in Canada!

Thanks for reading,

Ciara