Vancouver, I'm comin' home.

Back by popular demand, I know you’ve missed me.

Well folks, it’s really happened, I survived my first semester of graduate school and living abroad in the wonderful US of A. As I sit in the Quad Cities airport, looking around at the hustle and bustle, or more accurately, the 5 men crowded around a football game and the elderly couple sitting behind me wearing matching red, reindeer sweatshirts with the words “fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la” on them (not that I’m judging), I can’t help but think about everything that has happened over the last 5 months.

The minutes seem to pass like hours and my anticipation has been growing for the last week. I have loved so much of the last few months, but Vancouver is calling my name and I am reminded of how amazing it is and how much about it I have missed. Not only has this made it impossible to get a good night’s sleep, but it has created an expectation that actual fireworks should be going off when I land at YVR in just a few short hours. Of course, by short, I mean long, painful, agonizing and probably uncomfortable. The waiting means that I have time to finally sit down and write own some of my current thoughts and let you all in on what’s new in HollyLand, which I know you’ve been missing.

Let’s start with the list of things I will be doing when I get home

1    1.Hugging Dexter (famous for his appearance on my throw pillow). This statement will shock a lot of you, based on my loathing of physical affection; however- hugging a dog doesn’t count and Dexter is everything.
2.     Ordering a double Caesar extra spicy, extra olives.
3.     Eating ALL the sushi (I’m sorry but sushi and the Midwest just doesn’t sit well with me).
4.     Probably eating poutine, and lots of it. If you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing about my favourite Canadian dish, be sure to Google it.
5.     Hopefully making my way to Whistler, my all time favourite getaway place where I will avoid any kind of snow activity (keep in mind it is a ski resort), walk the village with baileys in my coffee and shop with all the money I am not making and do not have.
6.     Watching hockey. I never thought this would be something I miss but the amount of passion for football down here has made me miss the hockey culture from my motherland. So…Go Canucks, I hear they are doing well this year, not that I would understand it if they weren’t.
7.     Spending time with all of the people I have neglected since July because it is simply not in my make-up to know how to keep in touch with people. Sorry, sorry, sorry.
8.     Educating my family and friends on the new words I have picked up, and probably receiving some flack for the accent I’ve acquired and haven’t noticed yet. Don’t worry though, process (said process, not prawcess, and sorry not sawrry are still very much a part of my vocabulary). These new words include but are not limited to:

a.     “finna” to replace I am going to or gonna

b.     “Turn up” to mean I am going to go dance and have a groovy time

c.      “Right” to validate everything that is happening even when unnecessary

d.     “Git it” to say you go ahead and do your thing

e.     “Ratchet” to mean…well I’m not even entirely sure but I know it’s not a good thing

f.      “Boogie” to mean bourgeoisie or you think you are better than you are, to which I say “git it”

g.     “STOP” or “I can’t”- to be said when something is extremely funny or just amazing in general. Both should be yelled.

I am not even sure if I comprehend how much I have grown or how this experience has already enhanced and affected my life in every way possible. Academically, I finally feel like I have found what it means to enjoy learning again. Personally, besides acquiring a new vocabulary, I have made connections with some fabulous people who I now cannot picture life without. I have learned things about myself that has given me a whole new perspective on things.  Small town America has shown me that perhaps I’m better suited for city life. Macomb is still quaint, still adorns a hidden, misunderstood charm but I will never be able to go without buying a new pair of shoes once a month. So, online shopping, I thank you for that. 

I picture more of this experience sinking in after I finish sobbing and rolling around on Canadian ground (which will occur promptly upon picking up my bag from baggage claim and walking through the doors to see the hundreds of fans there to greet me). It could be tomorrow, or the next day, or perhaps even the next one after that when I have had time to let everything sink in properly. I do know that this has been the toughest, most mentally and emotionally gruelling 5 months of my adult life. It has also been the most rewarding, hilarious, motivating and fun semester I have ever had. I call this a win.

Well, my plane is boarding and my journey home is once again moving along. See you soon, Vancouver. And Macomb, I finna miss ya.

Lincoln and Homecoming-this is real life.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to sit down and write down about some of the excitements of life at Western. The last few weeks have been full of new experiences for me. A lot of them were amazing, a couple of them life changing and some of them reminding me that life is precious and fragile. I have been looking forward to writing this blog because it always brings me back to the positive parts of my experience here in Macomb. As always, I hope it brings a smile to your faces and throws some positive vibes out into the universe. After all, we could all use a little bit more sass and a lot more laughter.

In typical fashion, my objective of this blog is to share with my Canadian peeps (read: fan base) some of the hidden gems of Illinois. By the end of these next 2 years, the Illinois tourism board will be paying me for bringing in so many Canuck tourists. The beginning of fall has shown me what it means to live in the Land of Lincoln and that Homecoming is not a joke, it’s real life. 

Recently my cohort and I took a field trip to Springfield, the capital of Illinois. We went to hear speeches from the Illinois Board of Education and to learn a bit more about current topics in higher education for the State. So that was fun, and we spent the morning doing that, followed by a tour of the parliament building. Both were interesting and beneficial, but neither compared to the excitement of eating Chipotle for lunch. Neighbouring cities of Macomb be warned: if you have a Starbucks, a Chipotle or any other chain fast-food other than Taco Bell or McDonalds, Western students will swarm. I have recently been exposed to Panera, a Tim Hortons-esc comfort food restaurant as well as Portillos, where they serve poppy seed muffins as a side dish to your salad (out of fairness, they’re famous for hotdogs).

I digress, so after stuffing our faces with burrito bowls and guacamole, we headed to the Lincoln Museum. For those of you who don’t know, Lincoln was born in Illinois and is nothing if not a National Treasure. I will admit that I was a bit sceptical about the museum since history has never really been my thing and all that food had made me sleepy. Not to mention my first experience was trying to get through the revolving door (I don't do revolving doors). I was completely surprised to see that this museum is what can only be described as a mini-version of Disneyland for President Lincoln fans. This place is complete with shows, interactive Lincoln trivia, wax-figures, recreations of the white house and Lincoln’s childhood home and memorabilia from the President’s life (..and that's not even half of it). This place was seriously extravagant. I learned a lot, mostly reinforcing that Americans continue to be far and away more patriotic than Canadians. Could you imagine anyone ever building a museum about a great Prime Minister? What would that even consist of? These questions are still running through my head and it makes me laugh just thinking about a wax figure of Stephen Harper. Land of Lincoln, love your style.

Homecoming: not just a football game. This is a serious, week-long competition between campus organizations. This year, the theme was "A Hero’s Homecoming: Who’s Your Hero?. A glimpse into the week: there were a lot of tights and capes, camouflage and fire fighter costumes. For those of you, like me, who were not familiar with homecoming except for what Hollywood has shown us, here is a list of the events:

·      -Paint the Paws: Paint giant yellow paws on the roadways around campus.

·      -Spirit Game: Wear purple and go support the WIU Women’s Volleyball Team.

·     - Paint the Town: Paint the window of a business in the square, representing your group and the theme.

·      -Rocky’s Boat Regatta: Build a cardboard boat that can support 2 people across a lake, twice.

·      -Dec the Campus: Paint the window of a building on campus, representing your group and the theme.

·      -Variety Show: Essentially a talent show

·      -Yell Like Hell: Come up with a cheerleading routine, and yell like hell.

·      -Homecoming Parade: Build a float, work it out

·      -Homecoming Football Game: This is what I’m used to.

Yup. This is real life. Students put hours and hundreds of dollars into this week, organizers and participants alike. 

It was an amazing week for me that demonstrated so much student pride for the institution. I should also mention that  at every event there was a philanthropy project happening called Rocky’s Jail Break. You could pay to put people in jail in order to raise money for a charity called Fallen Heroes-supporting families of those who have fallen in the line of duty. If you paid extra, you could also have people wear costumes, such as a taco, a hot dog and a princess. I was put in jail twice, the first time for being Canadian. I apologized repeatedly for this and they let me out early for good behaviour. Both times I had to wear a princess costume, luckily I obviously came prepared and was already wearing my ball gown so I didn't need a costume. Story of my life.

A special shout out to J-Anne who came to visit 2 weeks ago and experienced the Macomb nightlife first hand. She also cooked a delicious thanksgiving dinner. For everyone who doesn’t know what Canadian thanksgiving is for, because I didn’t- it is simply because we are thankful for veterans, for each other and the blessings of life in Canada. This day wasn’t actually fixed until 1957, either. Yup. I’m learning more about Canada than I have in years. Who would have thought. J-Anne, thanks for always being ready for anything and embracing all life has to offer. Macomb misses you already.

GGLI,

hollyd

Right where I need to be

With everything from residence life, getting organized for classes, making sure I manage to do laundry on occasion and of course scheduling all of this around fun, which consumes my every waking thought, I have no idea how it is already the end of August. Where this month went, I have no idea but I will tell you one thing, I know I enjoyed every minute of it.

It has been about 6 weeks since I moved to Macomb and while things have been a whirlwind lately, I figure now is the perfect time for me to add a post (mainly to make sure Grams stays up to date- but actually).  This is mainly due to the events of the past week that have shown me definitively that I am in a completely new mindset as well as a new environment.

This past week has been challenging…to say the least. It has tested my patience and forced me to get creative in pretty much every aspect of my life. This is not due to the fact that I’m homesick. This is not due to the fact that I’m overwhelmed with classes and work. In fact, I’m feeling pretty solid in both those areas. It is however, because being Canadian is hard sometimes. Brace yourself for some slight whining, all with a comedic twist of course. 

This week I learned that sending mail requires secret added fees that one can never quite predict. This may also require you to borrow cheques from your supervisor. I learned that sometimes you simply cannot use Canadian credit cards to pay for things, like student fees. I learned that putting things into your tote bag at Walmart to avoid using plastic bags will get you called out by a security person who is accusing you of shoplifting (I promise that in this instance, I had a receipt and fully paid-for items).  I learned that metal seat belts are very hot in the sun and hitting on will result in spilling beverages all over your newly washed dress (of course these last two are more to do with being Holly and less to do with being Canadian- but then again the arctic tundra and my igloo never prepared me for hot seat belts so there’s that). Needless to say, it’s been quite a week. Some of you might be cringing as you picture me throwing one of my classic “diva dip” tantrums. I am proud to say, however, that I pretty much laughed my way through all of these. I owe a big part of this to the people in my life who have quickly become a support system for me. While they can’t always help, they are there to laugh along with me or listen to me vent before trying their best to come up with solutions. No matter how frustrating things got this week, I went to bed every night feeling happy about being in Macomb. Which brings me to my main point (because I’m over this whining business and I know you’re over hearing about it).

Something else that has been at the forefront of my mind lately is how comfortable I am at WIU. And by comfortable, I mean like hundy-p, I do not want to be anywhere else. Macomb and WIU has won me over, I was inclined to use the phrase “captured my heart” but that suits me as well as a tiara on Honey BooBoo so let’s not. Since I realized this last fact (about loving Macomb, not Honey BooBoo, that one was never a secret) I have been trying to figure out why this is the case. I have been thinking a lot about my experience at STARS College last year, when we were sitting listening to current and past graduate students talk about “finding your fit” at a graduate school. They claimed “you wouldn’t know it until you knew it”, which at the time I, maybe too obviously, rolled my eyes at because I wanted to be told where the best school was. I didn’t want to be responsible for picking a school where I was uncomfortable and homesick for the entire 2 years. When I returned from my interview at WIU, I had a good feeling about this, but I assumed my close attachment to my family and to Vancouver would bring me inevitable homesickness for my first semester in Illinois.

I have been asked a lot lately by different people in Macomb and from back home, how I’m doing about being so far from home. I think about this a lot because I feel like I should be missing it more. I feel like it’s almost wrong that I’m not missing Vancouver, even a little bit (sorry sorry sorry to those who just read this and are now contemplating deleting me forever). Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of people I wish I could see everyday, a lot of things about BC that I am excited to one day see again, but I’m absolutely 100% content at WIU.  I am engrossed in the environment, the culture and in getting to know the people.

On some deeper level, I think I was yearning for an experience to have on my own. I owe a lot to UBC and the people I met there, but being so close to home I never really found my independence. That’s something I’m finding here, and I’m loving it. I literally can’t think of any other way to describe where I’m at except in “a really good place”. When people ask, that’s always my response and I have yet to be able to explain it in more depth. Despite my meagre attempt on this blog, there are still so many thoughts rushing through my mind about how unbelievable it is that I am not homesick at all. For me, Macomb is home right now. I’m right where I need to be, doing what I need to do, meeting who I need to meet and that feels amazing.

GGLI,

hollyd

Diva Dips and Chicken Lips

So I’ve been in Macomb for just about a week and I know there are so many who are like “has she survived?” I promised to blog about my experiences, and while not every one will be weekly, I’m taking advantage of this free time while I have it!

I thought a lot about how I can accurately describe my first week living in McDonough County-I hope this is to your liking.

Things I have learned while living in Macomb, Illinois.

1. Macomb may not be Vancouver, there are no breathtaking mountains, no ocean views, and no downtown city skyline (but Walmart, or WallyWorld, looks pretty good). There are however, dozens of cornfields. Now, you may think this is a negative, but then I would argue that you have never seen a cornfield town before. Quaint heritage houses, fence-free, surround these cornfields. And, when you’re as friendly as these people are, fences would only get in the way. And these people are friendly! I have yet to encounter someone who isn’t ready to go above and beyond just to make sure I feel at home.

2.Chicken Lips are delicious. Before you judge, go ahead and check out http://www.chicksonthesquare.com/. This local restaurant serves what has to be the most delicious form of chicken I have ever tasted.  In case you weren’t able to discover, they are not in fact chicken lips but more of a boneless, giant chicken strip with the most flavourful, spicy sauce you can imagine (excuse me while I go wipe up my drool). And, if you Google it (as I just discovered) Chicken Lips Macomb is the first option you get. So I am living in a town with world-renowned cuisine. How about it!

3. I am back on the grid! Despite some initial trouble with being from Canada, and thanks to my parent’s immense patience throughout my Diva Dips (times where I can be an extreme diva, when the world obviously revolves around me), I have a new phone! It’s gold and pretty and I couldn’t be happier to be able to communicate with people without needing to truck my laptop around wherever I go. My time away from social media was fun, but I am a 21^st century girl, through and through. So hit me up for mah Illinois digits!

4. There is a name for everything here. I am learning the lingo slowly, like WalyWorld. There is a restaurant here called Buffalo Wild Wings, which is obviously BDubs. Similarly, Sports Corner is of course SpoCo. My need to abbreviate everything in my life brings a particular love for these nicknames but it will take me a while to get up to speed. So I’m also learning to ask for clarification. You might say, I’m “faking it ‘til I make it”, another fave saying ‘round here.

5. My cohort/ co-grads. I mentioned the friendliness of the town of Macomb and while this spreads through the entire town, the welcoming nature of my cohort members and co-grads has been a major highlight. There are 1^st year grads and 2^nd year “grads” (we’re all in the same academic program) in the housing program and every single one is caring, genuine, fun and welcoming. I had encountered many of them only through Facebook this summer, which is as deceiving as it gets. Let’s use the cliché, never judge a book by its cover. Not only this, but on the first night alone, sans Janne and Denis, one of our professors invited us over for a bonfire. Being someone who never really connected with my faculty, having a professor open up her home, to some people she barely knew, just to get to know us before school, was shocking. Bottom line- I can get used to this small town atmosphere.

6. I am the “irresponsible Canadian”….and I’m cool with it. People love chatting about Canadian stereotypes and the jokes have been flowing like sweet iced tea. When asked if I could drive an American car, I promptly informed them that we don’t have motorized cars, we “Flintstone” it. And, when offered to have an American phone tutorial for me, I said that would be great because we use cans and string-between our igloos. I have become known as the irresponsible Canadian due to my innate ability to put fun above everything else. Luckily, I have my two “mama bears” who are the other grads in my building. These amazing ladies are both responsible people by nature and have no problem taking on the role of “getting Holly through the day”.  This is working out really well for me!

7. Lastly, and this is really nothing new, I have the best set of parents in the entire world. No exaggeration there at all. They truly saw bringing me down to Macomb as a vacation and embraced literally every little bit of this town. We ate, and drank (GASP!) through this county and had more giggles than I can count. Despite hating shopping, Denis would smile through it, even helping to give suggestions (like getting mix matched dishes from a thrift store- proud of you!) and picking things out here and there. All he would ask is that once the shopping was done we would go get a “beer and a snack” before the next errand. This trip also reminded me of how much JAnne loves people. She oozes friendliness and can get to know anyone because she has the innate ability to take interest in everyone, asking questions about them and putting her judgements aside (sometimes only until later). She understands my need to have my apartment decorated (by understands, I mean I am my mother’s daughter) and does everything she can to make it happen. But best of all, she is the comic relief of every day and laughs along with us. Thanks for the laughs, "Julie". All the loves J & D.

So that’s my first week! Full of orientations, new friends, crafting, decorating, eating and of course some adult bevys. And I’m loving it so far. Time is already flying.

Until next time, GGLI.

hollyd

Outside one of our "beer and snack" breaks at Chubby's