My Canadian Adventure : Part 1

An aerial view of Wild Adventure Yukon with the stunning Lake Bennett in the background

Hi everyone,

I’m tired. Exhausted actually. My mind is racing from all the things I wish I had, but may never really have.

Wow I really went off on a tangent there.

Anyway… it’s been a while 🤪 Allow me to refresh your memory!

So the last time you heard from me, I was getting on a plane to Canada and starting the journey of a lifetime. You may also remember that I’m a long term sufferer of mental illness and honestly, I think it was quite clear from the jump that this trip wasn’t going to be all sunshine and unicorns…

Well let’s start from square one. Getting there!

Wild Adventure Yukon, my workplace in the middle of nowhere for four months

When I first arrived there, there being this kinda cute little hick town called Carcross, I was faced with a tale of two halves really.

That being: the people and the animals.

I’m sure some of you can probably guess which one of those two I preferred 😂

Our little goat family, mama Waffles (middle) and babies Maple and Flapjack

My work friend Frank, daddy to Maple and Flapjack 🥰 Let’s just say he got very excited when he saw his lady, Waffles 🤣

My dog bestie, Ramba ❤️ I had more animal friends than human friends lol

From square one, I was so far out of my comfort zone it was scary. There were so many new things! New country, new job, new home, new people… you get the picture.

Me in my daily work uniform

I think one of the things that I really dislike about humanity is this pack mentality. Stick to your pack and don’t move outside of that.  A lot of people still do this, probably without even realising. I am also one of those people, so I do understand it! However, it just doesn’t make it easy when you are a major introvert trying to make friends.

On top of the social aspect, there was the fact that I was starting a completely new job that I knew very little about at that point 😅

My view from work when I first arrived in May

This is the little hill we all climbed to get away from it all

Essentially, I just muddled through those first few weeks, trying to learn on the job quickly and trying to be consistently social at the same time and my GOD it was out of my comfort zone, but I was doing it! Those first few weeks were kind of like a mixture of overthinking and the honeymoon period of a relationship- happy to be there, in a new, exciting travel destination and in a new country, but also terrified that I was going to fuck it all up and go home a failure. So there was overthinking. A god damn lot of overthinking. Standard really.

Bennett beach in Carcross. Literally one of the only places within walking distance so I would often go there on my days off

HOWEVER, things got considerably better as time went on, and with a new arrival, things started looking up! A few weeks in, there was a new arrival to my room, a girl from Quebec named Annabelle. When she first arrived, we didn’t have many lengthy interactions, as she was clearly very shy, but any time we did talk, she seemed to get my humour and found me entertaining.

That in itself was a miracle…

Every time I came home from work, I would find her sitting on her bunk bed, hibernating and/or burying her head in a book. Let’s be real here, I am also a massive fan of hibernating, however I had programmed myself to be more social, even though it evidently was a struggle. One day I walked into our room, saw her sitting in there and thought, “Shit. I should probably help this girl feel more included.” To be honest, having never been popular at school as a teenager, I know what it’s like to feel excluded and I never want anyone else to feel like that. So I invited her outside to chat to some of the others.

When I did, I saw her slowly start to come out of her shell and although she was getting to know some the others and starting to feel less alone, the key takeaway from that night was that her and I spent HOURS just talking. She seemed to get me as a person, which is more than I can say for the majority of the human population!

This girl was like my bestie and therapist all wrapped into one, thank you Annabelle for putting up with me ❤️

I also found myself making another friend whilst I was here, this rather eccentric and hilarious kinda sorta weirdo, by the name of Mitra. Weirdo is not an insult by the way, this guy is a fucking legend. It is true that people can easily get a bit weirded out by some of the random questions he asks in order to try and get to know you (“What’s your most cherished childhood memory?” after we first met being one of my favourites) however once you get past that you realise that it’s actually quite an interesting and fun way to break the ice AND he wants to get to know you- that in itself is a win!

And so with time, I found my tribe. As they do say, it only takes one or two great people to make your life better and when it comes to friends, it is definitely quality over quantity. I may not have been friends with everyone, but that is ok, because these two were part of what really got me through those first few months and I was so thankful for them.

Da squad 🤪 including my fave Québécois, Annabelle and my fave resident weirdo from BC, Mitra ❤️

Keep an eye out for Part 2 of my Canadian adventure over the next few days! I’ve been so busy, but now I have time off for Christmas to focus more on my blog 😊

Talk soon

Anneli

Xx