I've been asked a lot if I know what my next adventure is going to be and while I have many ideas it is hard to actually plan right now. I do have one, and I will tell you about it at the end. First, I want to talk a little about settling in to life in Montreal.
I've passed the three month mark here, which doesn't seem real. I think the lockdown and curfew has really effected my perception of time. I am trying to keep busy with Spanish classes two nights a week and tutoring English two nights a week. I have managed to make some friends, as you've read we get out every weekend somewhere new.
It is strange though as I haven't made it to a single museum here yet or tried any restaurants. On the one hand I am saving some money from that. However, I'm spending it on things to keep me entertained under curfew like classes. I am really hoping that since we have such a strict lockdown now that it will be cleared up by summer. I really don't think I could handle an 8 pm curfew on a beautiful summer day.
My job is going really well and I'm glad I moved here for it. Since I have worked with my boss before there was a lot of trust and I was able to settle in easily. I end up working late a lot since it's one of the few things I'm able to do right now. The company is smaller so there is a lot of freedom in projects and a lot of room for growth. Now for my next big adventure! It is something I have considered getting involved in before and I did look into it in Halifax. However, my life was a lot more hectic there. I had a longer commute, I had to pay tolls on my commute, my job paid less which often lead to me working more than one job, I had more people to socialize with...
Moving here has really let me create the life I want for myself. I'm able to start relatively from scratch with forming habits that are based on what I want not the social (or economic) circle I'm in. I'm still quite restricted with the lockdown and curfew but I'm able to choose and pursue things I always made excuses for before. I'm also much more financially stable here than I was there which makes hobbies much simpler to have.
I am officially in training for Search and Rescue!
I've had two online training sessions so far, I need to have a certain amount of in class hours and in person training before I can be active. I also still need to get my first aid certificate and pass an exam but I am very excited for it. I think it ties in perfectly for my love of the outdoors, hiking and backcountry camping. It will allow me to help my community but also to be safer myself when I'm out exploring.
The group I joined is French. To be honest, I didn't even think about looking for an English one and only found out they existed when I checked if I could do my exam in English (I can!). I don't feel like I'm struggling to keep up in the classes but I can tell that I'm going to need to work hard. I did move here to use the French I've been studying pretty much my whole life though so it is good I joined this one.
Since the class is French, I really want to do a lot of studying on my own to make sure I'm not missing anything. If anyone has any book, podcast, tv show or resource recommendations please share! I'd really love to learn more about both the technically and personal side of the community I am joining.