Christmas is just around the corner, everywhere cafes and restaurants are playing light Christmas tunes and livening up the holiday spirit. And even amidst all this busy travelling it was here, on a random morning in Macdonald's at Montreal's rue Notre-Dame, where the Thanksgiving and appreciative spirit of the season kicked into me.
JS and I'd sought to start our 2nd full day in Montreal early, stopping by to grab a simple light snack. Over breakfast we chatted about how it'd been amazing to have embarked on this exchange journey, and that it was sadly coming to an end in a matter of days. And yes, I'm really fortunate to have come so far to North America over the past 3 years, but it wasn't all easy on me nor my family to have enabled me to do that. I don't come from a very well-to-do family, yet I do know that I'm privileged indeed to have my parents love me and agree to what I've chosen for myself during my undergraduate studies, and I'm really thankful towards them for that.
I remember how my mum always contends Christmas to be her favourite holiday of the year - not that we celebrate it in any elaborate manner, but it is always a heartwarming and heartfelt occasion indeed. Thinking about her amidst the incessant Christmas music, hence, had stirred up such a great sense of longing and nostalgia in me that I teared and wished I were near my friends and family close to heart. :(
The cold too is getting quite cumbersome for us to embrace our travel plans as much as we'd love to, and knowing that it'll drag on for the next 15 days or so isn't good nor healthy for our mindsets at all. I guess as much as it'd be nice to be home and warm again, I should start psyching myself up and really treasure the remaining time left in this cold white place, although no one can really understand how extreme it gets in Canada. Snow is still beautiful, yet sloshy snow (no, you don't get to see that in Hollywood my friends) is different altogether. Trudging in snow is fun, but walking in snow storms is no easy feat at all.
Yet I know I'll miss all of this when i return to Singapore. I'll even miss wearing my scarf and "automatically" reaching into my gloves.
Talk about life's ironic moments, sigh. I miss all of youuu.