Stranger in a Strange Land

Above: rocky coastline two minutes from where I'm staying.

Good morning, friends!

The time has come. I've made my trip over to Victoria and have settled into my friends' lovely house, where I will stay for the next four weeks as I complete my practicum. I came over on Friday night, and have spent the last day and a half just settling in and figuring out where everything is (though I'll still rely on GPS for the first week probably).

Tomorrow is my first day of practicum! I'm excited and nervous. I scouted out the location I will be at, and it's very nice. It's within a medical office building, which I didn't realize until I got there and looked around, because there's not much signage. Good thing I figured that out before tomorrow!

Today I wanted to go find some nice woods to walk in and commune with nature a bit, but apparently it's supposed to snow... though I don't see any yet. I think if it's still ok out when I'm done this post I'm just going to go. I hate sitting inside all day and I want to get outside and start taking advantage of the natural beauty around here.

The friends I'm staying with are a military couple who live in military housing. It's a lovely area at the end of a cul-de-sac, and as you can see from the photo above it's almost right next to the ocean. They very generously agreed to let me stay here with them for the duration of my practicum. I would have had to find somewhere to rent otherwise.

I didn't bring the Fox with me; not only did I not want to impose upon my friends, he is also doing some house-sitting for my parents, who happen to be away in Mexico for half of the time I'll be gone. He has been doing a little more contract work, which thankfully has been keeping us out of the red. If I get a job right away (knock on wood) I think we'll even be ok for money.

I miss him already, though. It's always a little weird staying at other people's houses and trying to fit in with their routines and habits. Usually, whenever I stay with friends, I'm a little bamboozled by how most people seem to have their TVs on constantly, just blaring away, even if they're not really watching. I think this is a really common thing to do actually; it's just that it's something that I've never done. I think I'm a bit sensitive to noise, and obnoxious TV commercials or constant loud shows kind of set me on edge. Not that I'm complaining, I mean, I am staying in their house for free! And I have my own guest room, so it's not like anyone's forcing me to listen. It just makes for a different atmosphere.

I have my own habits that I'm sure others would find irritating, like constantly being on my computer. So I'm not passing judgement or anything; people should live their lives however they want. It's just getting used to the little differences that makes you think about why you do the things you do.

Anyway! I'm very grateful that they're allowing me to stay. I think I'll make them dinner tonight, as they've fed me for the past two evenings.

They have two nice cats -- I'm allergic to cats but my allergy pills seem to be keeping the symptoms away for the most part. They are very tidy and vacuum a lot too, which really helps I think. The cats seem to have accepted me as family already, and like to sit in my lap whenever I sit down. Makes it hard to get up and get a cup of tea!

Looking outside, it's not raining, but it seems awfully windy. I am not sure if I want to risk getting soaked somewhere... maybe I'll just wander to the shore for a minute. As long as I get some sort of fresh air. There are a lot of deer around here; they wander through the yard at all hours. Just this morning I saw two of them in the backyard, munching on grass or moss, and I saw two eagles overhead at the same time. Super cool.

I'm going to keep this short for now, because I have to pee and I am hungry! Time for lunch and the possibly going outside.

I'll update again once I've started my practicum for real!

One more note: as for the thing I keep constantly mentioning -- the whole artist-nemesis thing -- I realize now that I'm obsessing over it to an unhealthy degree. I'm not going to write about it anymore and I'm going to try not to think about it, because really there's nothing to think about. What other people choose to do should not affect me, and that's the simple truth. If I write about it again feel free to slap me! I'm going to try and concentrate on my own life and my own goals from now on instead of this constant comparing myself to others, etc.

So! That's all for now, lovely readers. Thanks for sticking with me this long (all three of you)! :)

Merry part!