Sunday, January 09, 2005

Greener Pastures?

I would like to say that it's great to be back in Dublin, but it's not. I just came back from three weeks at home in Canada. I was so surprised at how great it was to be home. I have never felt like that coming back from a trip. I know for sure that Canada is my home. I guess the question now is when am I going home as opposed to if.

It was great to see friends and family again - to hang out at a friend's house and watch a movie, to go out for chicken wings and beer to catch up, and just to sit around with my parents watching TV. Even when I was not with friends and family, there was still a comfort level of home that surrounded my visit. When I went to Toronto for a couple of days, I went by train. I took the subway up to my cousin's place, where I would be staying. I was exiting the subway station when I saw the friend of another cousin of mine. I chatted with him for a couple of minutes. A little ways down the road, I saw someone else I knew - a guy from my soccer team a few years back was on the other side of the street. The next day, I went into a coffee shop. Not only could I get a coffee and sit down and read in peace (a rarity in the noisy, cold Dublin coffee shops), but the counter clerk was just so polite. I truly felt special, and I'm not being flippant. Being so used to surly wait staff, it was so nice to be served by someone pleasant - though I'm well aware of the fact that it's their job to be pleasant.

Canada really is a kinder, gentler place. I felt more relaxed there - like I didn't always have to be on the lookout for pickpockets and gangs of kids. I don't know if that's more due to the fact that there is just so much space in Canada, or if it's because there really isn't as much property crime. I'm inclined to believe the latter.