20 wonderful memories of 2015

Dear diary,

Another wonderful year has passed and this time I succeeded to do things I always wanted to but never had the chance: I moved out and I went to Canada! But these are only two of the best memories I gathered this year!

At the beginning of the year I wanted to be "right here, right now and enjoy the journey that goes on". I think I mostly achieved my wish and I'm proud of that :)

What happened this year?

1. We went to Baisoara to a friend's cabin right after New Year's Eve and we had so much fun!

2. I moved my office at the kidergarten from the big building where all the kids are to the small building where I felt secluded at first but where I feel very peaceful now. Changes are good.

3. I moved in with Oli, my fiancé! After amost 27 years of living with my parents, it was a welcome change. I was able to decorate the new place exactly like I always wanted and truly make it my very own cozy home. We had friends and family over for my birthday, Easter, housewarming party, Thanksgiving and Christmas and I loved decorating the place for all these occasions!

4. I applied for the Canadian visa for 8 hours on my birthday and I got it a week later! Woo-hoooo! It was a loooong and complex process that actually took months, but I did it! 

5. We had Oli's family over in Cluj for the first time ever and we traveled with them around the country to see the Mocanita in Viseu de Sus and Castelul Corvinilor in Hunedoara!

6. Oli and I visited Sibiu in a romantic getaway weekend and we loved it! I fall in love with that city every time I see it!

6. I went to my first wine tasting and it wasn't as pretentious as I thought! I really enjoyed the presentation and the wines!

7. I went to another summer camp as a teacher but this one was small and ended rather badly with all of us being sick. Nevertheless, I loved the kids and the places we saw together!

8.  Oli and I went to 2 weddings together: one with friends and the other one with the family. It was fun!

9. I went to Canada for the first time in my life and before that I also saw Munich and Reykjavik! I loved every second of my summer trip abroad!

10.  I started my 4th year as a kindergarten psychologist. Who knew years would pass so fast? I was disappointed, I wanted to give up but people around me supported me and gave me the trust I needed to go on. Working in the educational system is very difficult and not always rewarding, but I know now I should focus more on the kids and their joy of seeing me rather than on the adults around me.

11. We went out to picnics with my family! Even though they weren't as often as the last years, they were relaxing and fun and we still kept alive our traditions of picking snowdrops and mistletoe! I realized I only feel completely at home when I'm out in the nature!

12. We traveled to the Czech Republic and to Slovakia with our friends! I realized I don't like the big capitals like Prague but I loved Olomouc and Bratislava!

13. On Nov 7th, Oli and I celebrated our one year anniversary since we got engaged!

14. This year I made 6 Advent calendars for my friends and I started late, as usual. But I'm definitely getting better and better at it! :D

15. We had Hans and Dana twice in Cluj this year! They came back for Oli's birthday and we also celebrated Christmas early with them! Wonderful times!

16. I made a 30 years anniversary album for my parents. I worked on it for 3 months and it was definitely one of the most complex projects I had ever taken in, but it was worth it. We now have a lifetime of memories on paper!

17. Oli and I spent our first Christmas at our own place and we decorated it so beautifully: not only with one, but with 4 Christmas trees!:D We went caroling with my family and we reconnected with some relatives we haven't seen in a long time.

18. We went on with the wedding planning. We had a "Save the date" photoshoot too! We can't wait to get married in less than 5 months!

19. I cooked a LOT of new things and I feel I'm getting better and better at baking! 

20. This year all my dreams came true! I have my dream home, my dream husband to be, my dream job and my dream life all in all! I am so very thankful for everything and I can't wait to see what 2016 will bring!

Personal motto for next year: "Stressfree... carefree... happy!"

Very excited,

D.

My first Canadian journey

Dear diary,

   It took me a month and a half since returning home from my long awaited Canadian journey to realize how much I miss Canada. I haven't missed it during this month and a half. All I remember is my last feeling when I left Canada: the intense longing for HOME and everything I have in Romania: my kindergarten kids, my apartment, my family and friends, my city and all its wonderful places. I was definitely home sick after 3 weeks spent in Canada, even more so when some places (like the Jasper national park and Banff national park) reminded me of Tarnita and the mountains surrounding Cluj. The last week in Canada was definitely bittersweet but now, after a month and a half it sunk in how much I actually loved the whole Canadian experience.

    I tried to do as many things as possible, eat in as many and varied restaurants as possible to try out food we don't have in Cluj (fresh seafooood!!!) and to see how customer service is there (every single restaurant - even Denny's which is a diner - had excellent service with very polite and involved servers). I LOVED Canadian seafood and their breakfasts with Eggs Benedict and Bagel & cream cheese. 

   I loved all the festivals I attended (again, this aspect reminded me of Cluj since we always have events going on in our city)! I was absolutely blown away by the humongous variety of nationalities I saw at Heritage Festival (whose purpose is to celebrate all the nationalities that live in Canada): over 60 world wide nationalities were present there with a pavilion - but the thing that impressed me the most and left me teary was that Romania (of all places) also had a pavilion and the lineup for the food was one of the longest I've ever seen. That day I was literally like a kid in a huge Toy Store because I always wanted to go travel the world, discover new cultures and learn about them but at Heritage Festival all those cultures came to ME. To give you a short insight let me just write some of the most "exotic" countries I saw there: Afghanistan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, Peru, Nicaragua, Cameroon, Rwanda, Venezuela, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh and so many more (of course, the well known countries, too). I saw white people, black people, Asian people, everything you can imagine in ONE place, all dressed in their national costumes and dancing around on stages. I cried when I saw Hungarians dance cos it reminded me of home. I tried the food in various places and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed because it was all deep fried (you don't have time to cook delicious dishes when the line is a kilometer long) but all in all Heritage Festival was a big, amazing surprise for me and Definitely one of my favorite things about Canada (and Edmonton).

   Then we went to the Cariwest Parade. Man, that was awesome! Just like taking a plunge in the Rio de Janeiro carnival. I loved all the bright colors of the costumes, all the types of people dancing and having the best time of their lives: kids and old, wrinkled people with a huge smile on their face, thin people, fat people, everybody enjoying the rhythm of the music and dancing like there's no tomorrow. these were all Caribbean nationalities living in Canada. wow, what a show! 

   The last festival Oli took me to was the Fringe: a theatre and street art performers festival: so vivid, wild and fun! All the acts were so entertaining and some very dangerous. My favorite moment was when they called Oli to go on the stage to pretend he's a rock star :))) I laughed so much! He was adorable! We even went to a Martian play (called Mars :D) and I thought it was just OK till the last 5 minutes when I realized the point of it all: how difficult it is to be an astronaut and how sometime in the future we'd all have to move to a different planet in order to survive. Hmmm... deep and sad altogether.   

   I discovered some wonderful home decoration stores in Edmonton and Oli was kind enough to let me buy something from each of them:D I found an owl soap dispenser and a very cute and, at that time, very heartfelt sign "There's no place like home". I fell in love with an antique shop that reminded me of Chic Ville (felt like heaven there and I used a lot of happy interjections while in there and the shop assistants said "yep, it's pretty awesome here":D But my favorite shop will always be Dollarama where you can buy anything for 1, 2 or 3 dollars. And man do they have awesome stuff! I wish we had a Dollarama in Romania. I swear I would even travel to a different city if I had to:D

   Talking about shops: Chapters!!! My favorite book store: 90% exactly like our Carturesti only way more awesome. Also, Audrey's (the only independent book store in Edmonton) was really beautiful too :)

   West Edmonton Mall was humongous (so humongous they even had a "Christopher Columbus ship" in there!!!). Veeeery awesome, addictive and helpful (for gifts) :D Two other stores that made my day were IKEA and JYSK! I even found a Klimt painting in Ikea! Couldn't be happier!

   3 weeks (the amount of time we stayed in Canada) is a fairly long period of time so Oli and I had the chance to do a lot of stuff there but mostly we did the following:

1. We stayed at the farm with the family (I cooked sarmale and baked all sorts of desserts for them) and enjoyed the peace and quiet there, laughed with and about Timber the dorkiest dog ever, enjoyed the sunsets and Tom's and Lizzie's amazing dinners (some of the best I've ever had!).

2. We went to the city (Edmonton) to meet Oli's friends, eat out, see amazing places (like the Fort Edmonton Park where you go back in history) and attend terrific festivals.

3. We did souvenir shopping - in search of tons and tons of Maple Syrup and all the other goodies Canada has to offer. We bought so many stuff (for myself included - long live Dollarama and IKEA) that I can sum it up like this: we went to Canada with 2 half full luggages and we came back with 4 overloaded ones :)))

4. We took a 6 days road trip around Alberta and a bit of British Columbia, visiting some of the best people Ever. Our final destination was Waterton, the place where you can cross the US border without having to show a passport. I loved the whole trip but it was also very very tiring for me. I never had to be in a car so many hours daily (between 7-9h/day) and at the end of the trip I just thought Canada was way too big for me :))) I still remember the turquoise water in Jasper National Park and the wild animals by the side of the road, the fun times with our friends and the wonderful relaxing days in Waterton. I loved it all but at the end of it I missed the farm so badly.

5. I took photos with ALL the water hydrants I saw... because Minions, that's why! :D

What I loved about Canada (random order):

- The customer service in all the restaurants (way better than Romania)

- Oli's friends: so much fun!

- The food at the farm, all around the city and at the Prince of Wales hotel in Waterton - to die for! 

- Garneau neighborhood in Edmonton - all green, US type family houses, peace and quiet

- The Warehouse district in Edmonton - very artsie and lovely

- Seeing the Northern Lights at the farm: totally unexpected and amazing

- Nelson, Kamloops and Enderby - underrated cities with unexpected treasures

- The Italian store in Edmonton where I found "Mustar de la bunica" - OMG!

- The sunsets on the porch at the farm

- Dollarama! Best store ever! 

- The BC Okanagan wine

- Ikea!

- The landscapes that resembled Romania

- The Heritage Festival, Cariwest Parade and the Fringe

- Fort Museum Park

- Finding new amazing books in unexpected places

- Cooking at the farm

- Jasper national park and Banff national park

What I didn't like so much:

- The Tim Horton's donuts - too much fuss for something way too sugary (the Tim Bits were good though)

- Too many eggs in the morning

- No proper crosswalks like in Romania (confusing)

- Banff (tourist city) was way too crowded

- Eating way too often from Subway (great sandwiches, but it got repetitive after a while. When you're on the road a lot of hours, there aren't many options.)

- Dim Sum food- ewwww! Not my type at all.

Do I wanna go back? Hell yeah!!! Best people ever, delicious food and places reminding me of home! 'course I wanna! :D Who wouldn't? 

Personal conclusion? Canada was a splash of colour and adventure and everyone should visit it!

The lessons of a 27 year old

Dear diary,

   Today I turn 27. This is for sure an age I never thought about when I was a child and thought of "when I grow up". It was all vague in my mind but I somehow always saw myself as being 20. Today, however, I keep blooming.

   It's funny how ages and their meaning changed over the past decade. Today, being 27 IS like being 20. Just finished master degree and started working 3 years ago, compared to our parents who would have been married with kids by this age. Either way, I enjoy it so much more consciously now. 

   Every birthday brings a slight change, but this one, I believe, brought the most of them :) Since last year, I moved in with my fiancé! It sounds small, but it's really big actually. This time last year I was involved in a beautiful new relationship, but I surely didn't have a fiancé and I was still living with my parents! So talk about a change, eh? (By the way, dear diary, I say "Eh" a lot now, VERY Canadian of me! Today I'm finally applying for my first tourist visa for Canada, so I say I'm pretty ready to go :D)

   The reason why I actually wanted to write to you and mark this milestone is because I want to remember what I learned until now, in all these years. Maybe it will help me later on :)

   I learned that...

   You need amazing parents in order to become an amazing person and even the most amazing parents can sometimes make parenting mistakes. At the end of the day, they all somehow instill in us their fears as we will instill our fears in our kids. It's inevitable, but still something we can control if we aknowledge it. But what we need most as kids is LOVE, ATTENTION and APPRECIATION. If we believe we are valuable to our parents and they are willing to share their TIME with us, playing, talking about life and learning together, if they show INTEREST, then our childhood is going to be the BEST. With or without a lot of money, toys and whatnot. At the end of the day, Love conquers all. 

   I learned that life brings you friends that come and go and that's okay. But the most important are the ones who stay because they want to and the ones who stay because YOU pick them. Always choose the ones who make you happy and who teach you lessons: lessons of trust, neverending love, forgiveness and honesty. You won't always love your friends to the bits. Sometimes, you won't agree with something they do or say. But still love them, because they need that. And that's what you'll get in return. Because what goes around comes around.

   I learned that if you're giving, you shall receive. The same amount of love, and care, and appreciation. And sometimes it can be overwhelming and you'll wonder if you deserve it, but believe me, YOU DO, because if you were a giver you will also be a receiver :)

   I learned that teenage period is full of unanswered questions and crushes and worry about school and the future, but if you have a supportive family and the right friends around you, everything is going to be OKAY. Yes, you shall cry and miss those unrequited love stories or boyfriends who broke up with you without understanding why. It will stay with you your whole life, but you shouldn't let it get the better of you. Life moves on and you will move on with it.

   I learned that life is not as short as I expected. During my childhood and teenage period I heard about a lot of young people dying. It doesn't mean that's it's SO often that it will happen to You or your loved ones. And even if it does, at some point, be careful that you live fully until then so that when it does happen to you, you can have that "I lived it all, thank you, life" feeling :)

   I learned that life is not always fair. Many times you won't understand things that happen to you, but you somehow need to find the resilience to explain to yourself in your own way what happened and find the strength to go on. And then, in those moments, KNOW that it could ALWAYS be worse and you have dear ones around you to help you move on.

   I learned that we all have beautiful gifts inside us. Our talents. And we should exploit them when the time is right without caring what the others say. If you feel you want to do it, then do it! Show the world what you're good at and try to always improve!

   I learned that people will judge now and then and you won't be liked by everybody and that's okay. As long as you love yourself, everything is going to be okay because THIS is the secret of moving on. You need to find the power to love yourself with all the faults you have. I know you live with yourself 24/7, but try. And always thank for the compliments you receive. Don't turn them around. Believe. In. Yourself!

   I learned that love comes when you least expect. And that you don't have just ONE soulmate on this planet. There are people who match you more or less, but who still have common things with you. They will make you happy, very happy but some shorter periods than others. And the one who matches you the best will make you happy forever and ever :) You will KNOW when you find him so you don't have to stress about not knowing. I believe there's a biological button somewhere in there that tells you the time is right. And you will feel that you were meant to be together.

   I learned that most (if not all) of those cheesy motivational quotes are TRUE and that life is so much more surprising than the movies. 

   I learned that you will want to look back to your life and it's wonderful to have a blog or diaries to read when you do that. So keep writing, keep documenting, keep sharing. Because some things you write can help others and when you hear that you will be the happiest.

   I learned that flowers and kids can lift your spirit on a bad day and that very good food will always inspire you to cook more. 

   I learned that ALL DREAMS come true if you strongly believe in them and if you keep thinking about them. 

   I learned that no matter his shape, there IS a God out there and someone up there ALWAYS loves you. 

   I could write a book, dear diary, and maybe someday I will :) But today I'll stop here and I'll go enjoy my birthday :)

With love and excitement,

D.