Rebecca the bride to be and moi

Rebecca and her fiancee, Brian

My cousin Janice and I

Janice and Jon

My ladies Annie and Sofia

Sofia and I

Stephers and I

I flew back into Ontario on August 16th. But since I have been back, I have been out and about all over the place which is the reason for my absence on the blogging scene. The 19th of August was the day of Beck's and Brian's engagement shindig so I made my way to Kitchener for a few days to help them prepare for their (second biggest) day. It was a solid night of wine-tasting, mingling, and of course celebrating. I tried some incredible white wines from Pelee Island. My favourite being the Gewartztraminer of course. Rebecca's mother and I had a great bonding session over the German wine. A bit of background on Rebecca and I: We have been best pals since Grade 6. She is my partner in crime and someone who I totally respect and admire, as much as my own mother. I have seen her grow up into such a brilliant and strong young woman. Brian is one lucky guy, but he recognizes that. They deserve each other wildly and I couldn't be happier for them. It was a solid weekend with the newly engaged couple and I look forward to seeing them in October for Oktoberfest!

After my visit to Kitchener, I made my way to Toronto for a week long adventure. I first met up with my lovely lady pal Sofia who picked me up in her new ride, courtesy of her parents. She was recently hired as a film teacher for schools across Toronto, which is the reason for her parents' generous gift. This is an incredible opportunity for someone who just graduated from a post-secondary institution. I am so proud of her. She will make an excellent teacher due to her zest and passion for film. That same day, I met up with my good friend Annie. It was pretty amazing seeing these girls since I hadn't seen them for almost 9 months. Annie has introduced me to some pretty awesome places around the city, including eateries, book and music stores, and concert halls. Basically, places that a newcomer to the city would not be able to find on their own.

My cousin Janice had me over for a few days as well. Janice and I are about a month a part in age and we literally grew up next door to each other until about the age of 5, but that bond was ever-lasting. While we have had our differences, ultimately we cannot deny the internal bond that only family members share. It was great seeing Janice and her partner Jon. We had some good evenings and daytime buffet-runs. I look forward to our next visit.

Probably one of the highlights of the week was going to visit my maternal grandmother at her nursing home with my brother and Janice. Everytime I see her, my heart lights up because I know how happy she is to see us. My halmunee ("grandmother" in korean) cannot verbally communicate due to a stroke she suffered from over a decade ago, but she finds other ways to express her love to us. Whether it's through smiles, laughs or hugs, it is so endearing and rather refreshing to receive love in such a simple, yet understated fashion. These are the moments that you realize just how much actions really do speak louder than words.

Last, but not least, I must mention my good times with Suleiman in the city. Our first night out was my first night in town with my ladies Sofia and Annie alongside. We met up at The Green Room, where we all shared a pitcher of Amsterdam. Suly and I reminisced about the good ol' days in NZ. It was nice to see a familliar face from the place that I called home not so long ago: Toroa. Near the end of the week, Suly and I met up for a bubble tea, which I missed dearly when I was in NZ. We people watched until it got unbearably cold outside and decided to say goodbye...for now. Although, I didn't get to see Suly for a long time during my week in T.O., I can't complain considering I saw him just a couple months back.

All in all, it was a solid week in T.O. but I couldn't help but notice my feelings towards the city itself had changed. While I have never really complained about the noise, busy streets, pollution or people in the big city, they stuck out to me like a sore thumb this time around. The constant movement, noise, and obnoxious crowds really began to test my patience this week. I really don't consider myself a small-town girl and I do enjoy the excitement of being in a big city, but Toronto lost a lot of its appeal for me this past week. As I said to many of my friends that week, when I arrived into Toronto from a refreshing weekend in Kitchener, it was as if a cloud shadowed over my head and stayed there all week. Luckily, this cloud didn't take away from the time spent with my friends and family, but it sure affected my appreciation for Canada's largest city. For a while, I contemplated moving to Toronto, either for school or work, but after spending more and more time on the West Coast, I think it is becoming pretty clear to me where I will end up. However, that will be the topic of another blog post somewhere in the further future.

I finally arrived back into London on August 26th, refreshed and ready to plant my feet in one place for a while. Seeing my lovely roommate Steph again was pretty fantastic. A few hours after I got into town, we attended Western's Charity dinner, which was pretty amazing. It was great seeing a lot of familiar faces and rekindling friendships. I look forward to doing that for the next little while as I slowly reunite with old friends.

I should be quite busy for the next few weeks preparing for classes and my last year of undergrad, and most likely at Western. I have a renewed energy and enthusiasm to tackle my last year, which I look forward to. I doubt I will have anything too exciting to share over the next week or two, but I promise to keep you updated on a more regular basis. Thanks for reading : )