Being home

So we kind of disappeared there for a bit, part of "life" happening I suppose but let me get into it below...

Lynn Valley in North Vancouver

We have been home for just under 2 months and let me tell you, it has been an absolute whirlwind! Before we left Barcelona we had discussed what we wanted our days to be like when we got home. Wake up early, read, yoga/workout/hike, work on some hobby projects, explore the city, cook at home, sleep.  We got the sleep part right.

Upon arriving in Vancouver, we didn't account for the necessary things required for a typical functioning home: groceries, phone lines/cell phones, internet access, etc. It all swept us up and got us back into "busyness" (oh the joys of trying to set up a phone and internet when you do not have a phone and internet to begin with! Thank goodness for free wifi @ McDonalds and Starbucks!)

Baden-Powell Trail, North Vancouver

Within the first week we realized we were getting frustrated and up tight, the mental load of such basic Canadian tasks overloaded us, in fact Rhonda & I were getting snappy at one another and it wasn't until we spoke with her cousin Sherry that we were told we've been experiencing "Reverse Culture Shock!" WTF??? How can you have culture shock to your own home??? But sure enough, reverse culture shock is such a significant phenomenon that the US Department of State has a website dedicated to it: Link to Reverse Culture Shock

To quote the above page:

"The essence of home can be described in three key elements: familiar places, familiar people and routines, and predictable patterns of interaction."

The best, although nonsensical, way to interpret this from our experience is, "We have been so used to being in unfamiliar places, dealing with unfamiliar people, with no routine, nor predictable patterns of interaction that coming home to the exact opposite turned our world upside down." We were scratching our heads about it too.

We had been so used to doing very few things and doing them very slowly that when we jumped into the hustle and bustle of Vancouver, plus the tasks of a home that required re-setup...ack!! Everything in Canada moves and happens so fast, there is a constant bombardment of information, choices, decisions, overlapping and redundant options. "Can I have some sugar please? White sugar? Brown sugar? Dark brown sugar? Honey? Sweet 'n Low...? Just get me some effing sweetness!"

After realizing this and taking 5 steps back, several deep breaths, and a quiet moment, we said we'd space things out, do one to two necessary things a day, and dedicate time to continue "traveling" at home...this has been met with varied amounts of success. We had forgotten that during summer, the entirety of Western Canada comes to Vancouver (ok that may be slightly exaggerated), and we had lots of friends and family wanting to catch up (locals and out-of-towners). Don't get us wrong, we were so excited to spend time with familiar faces and missed everyone a lot but it literally meant we had events going on everyday for the first 30 days of being home! Contrast that to MAYBE talking with friends/family once every 10-14 days via Messenger/Skype/FaceTime when we were overseas.

The docks by our place :)

So now that we've been back for a little while, after having mostly re-established our home (the Canadian internet + cellular market is beyond ridiculous), buying a car (more on this later), and 3 road trips spanning 5000 km across Western Canada, we are slowing down a bit. We're reminding each other that the first things we do upon waking up is read, then breakfast, exercise, and do ONE thing a day that we WANT to do. This inevitably builds internal momentum and we end up doing several things but at least we feel it is purposeful and directed, not the proverbial "chicken with its head cut off" type of day.

With that said, it's my wish to continue with this blog for as long as it makes sense. We chose the name "Lui Living Life" because we wanted it to be more than JUST about travel (although that being the main catalyst) and hoped that it would encompass "life" topics as well. I've got some other online projects going as well, so hope those will pick up steam but stay tuned for more!!