Causing other people pain

Posted in Canada, Finding Home, Life, Love by

Alright – here it is. I am packing, things are being packed, the packing is nearly complete. Who knew an entire room full of stuff could fit into two suitcases? Well, now I know. The bigger question at this moment (after combining my room of stuff and two suitcases with Zsolt’s one suitcase and carry on) is how are we going to fit it all into the car?

One of life’s fun challenges.

Another fun challenge? Heat waves. Today I think it might push forty degrees here in Pecs. That is hot. For this little Canadian who likes her summers humid and near thirty and her winters cold and below zero . . . 40+ degrees is absurd. Absurd. Absurd!

Yesterday I was like a tired dog on the doorstep: sprawled out and panting. Today, I’m expecting a similar activity come three or four in the afternoon.

And between the packing and the sweat – there has been a lovely parade of family gatherings this week here in Pecs. You know what, if you ever feel like your social life is lagging – just move! Move and the whole world will erupt with plans for a visit. It’s a bit bittersweet because yes, for sure you want to see all these people. They are your people. They’re worth more than gold. But the clock is ticking and the paperwork for immigration isn’t finished and the luggage weighs too much and you still need to clean the apartment before moving out . . .

But the grandmothers and Zsolt’s aunt came over for lunch yesterday. Only for a couple hours since no one could stand being too social in this heat. It was nice. Oh my goodness, one of these days I’ll have to write about Zsolt’s grandmother and his aunt (mother and daughter). Together they are a team – like a comedy team. Not intentionally funny,  but with their bluntness and their humour and their age and they way his grandmother laughs herself into tears . . . really, you would like them. I like them.

So the grandmothers came over for lunch. We had BBQ chicken (in Hungary, BBQ means an electric Teflon grill . . . but hey, they’re trying) and beautiful salads and potatoes and rice followed by ice cream. Everything was going so nicely until they all started crying.

Sometimes I feel like a vixen who has knocked Zsolt on his head with a love-hammer and stolen him from his family. And I wonder if they feel the same about me (though they love me very much, that’s so very clear. And I love them too . . . but I just can’t help but wonder. . . hmm, maybe my parents secretly feel the same about Zsolt. You know before I went to Europe and met Zsolt for the first time, my dad said to me, “Catherine, don’t go falling in love with any boys over there.” And I was like, “Duh, Dad. That would be stupid.” ) Growing up can have its fair share of tricky decisions. But it’s also full of freedom to choose and opportunities to grow. Life takes us forward. Zsolt is my forward.

So there was a round of crying. I guess that’s fairly normal (it’s normal in Canada too – mostly between me and my mom), particularly after having spent such a long time here this summer and it really feeling like we’ve been living  in Hungary rather than visiting.

Anyhow, it just reminds me that Saturday will be one heck of a day. We’ll have to rip off the Band-Aid, and no one looks forward to that moment.

Speaking of Saturday – here is the plan so you can follow along (yeah, right) as we head toward the New World.

Saturday:

Go to Balaton for lunch with Zsolt’s sis and bro-in-law.

Go to Austria and check into the flight.

Fly to Brussels. Spend the night.

Sunday:

Get to the airport and check into the flight.

Fly, fly, fly to Montreal.

Do the immigration dance.

Head over to the Cottage and catch up with my family for the next week.

Nice, eh. It will be great. Just need to get over the hurdle of saying goodbye. And need to live through the next couple days of extreme freaking heat. Oy!

And that is that. Now I need to go and melt into a puddle. Have a lovely day 😉

In memeory of Jack

Posted in Bumpboobs by

You know I turned on the computer this morning just for a little entertainment before I started the big pack for Canada. We’re moving this week, finally, after over a year of planning and longing to be closer to my family. On the day I found out about my breast cancer, I said to Zsolt  – “I want to go home.” But life isn’t always that straightforward. And so we waited. And filled out paperwork. And defended a thesis. And visited his family in Hungary.

But now. . . now it’s time for home – Canada is calling.

So I turn on the computer this morning for a little entertainment, logged into Twitter – and what do I read? The crushing news that Jack Layton has passed on. This is not a political thing, not for me . . . it’s about surviving and fighting and being inspired by stories like his – fighting through the disease for a cause he believes in, and not letting cancer stop him for one moment from living and loving life.

It never helps when people tell you they know someone who passed away from Cancer. It hurts. It’s scary. It’s the story you never want to hear. And perhaps today – maybe like many of you who are watching the news or flipping through the internet – maybe Jack’s passing scared you like it did for me this morning.  But then I read his ‘Letter to Canadians’ and decided maybe it’s not worth being scared today. Sad, yes. Hopeful and determined, always. Scared . . . not today.

I’ll leave a slice of his letter below – because it’s touching and it’s for us. The rest you can read for yourself if you like. I’m sure in about ten minutes it’ll be all across the internet. Jack’s message:

“To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.”

Which is another reminder of why I’m going home and why Canada means the world to me. For a year I have fought, and this summer I’ve rested. Now I want to have family near – to go for tea with my mom, dance with my friends, tease my little brother, listen to Dad’s fish stories, and meet my older brother’s girlfriend while he cooks us some soup. I want to visit my grandmother too. Every moment is to be cherished, and every day is an opportunity. So let’s be determined today, okay? Let’s be full of hope and ass-kicking gusto.

I’d like to say that my heart goes out to Jack Layton’s family. And I wish them all the love and support possible in this difficult time.

And Canada – I’m coming home. Oh, I’ve missed you terribly. I am coming home this very week. How wonderful is that?

Finding the Greek

Posted in Canada, Finding Home, Fun, Life, Travel by

Good morning to you. This has got to be a quickie – there’s way too much to do this week, way too much to do today . . . really, I shouldn’t even be typing right now, I ought to be sorting through stuff and packing bags and calling Air Canada . . . but what can a few minutes hurt, right?

So – clearly – vacation is over. BUT, it was lovely despite complications.

We arrive in Corfu two Saturdays ago about 11pm and grabbed a taxi to Kavos. That was the first experience, swervingbetween cars like the driver was in a racing slalom, passing three cars at a time, passing cars that were passing cars,  running off the mopeds and doing 90 km through villages. And yet I wasn’t scared. It was fun.

Then we arrived in Kavos. If whipping along the narrow, busy streets of Corfu doesn’t scare you, arriving in Kavos will do the trick. All I could say was, “Oh my God.”  Choked full of Summer-breaking Brits ages 17-23 having a good time, the taxi was forced to crawl its way along the main road as smashed, high and horny throngs of kids swelled through the road . Panty-dropping pop music didn’t just blast, it kaboomed from every single club (one after the other after the other after the other) trying to compete for attention. It was a bit hilarious, if not also horrible. The taxi driver couldn’t stop laughing.

Anyhow. That was my first impression of Kavos. The noise, the crowd, the party. That Saturday it lasted until about 4am (and yeah, our incredibly well-priced apartment, very clean too, was right over the street in the restaurant area – so it could have been worse, but it was still rather loud) and Zsolt and I used ear plugs to try and get some sleep.

Next morning – Catherine was grumpy.

However, thank goodness my bad impression didn’t last forever. While I’d never again return to Kavos no matter how inexpensive the accommodation, the locals were fabulous and helpful in ‘how to enjoy Greece when there is nothing Greek around you’.

[Interesting aside, I heard a British tour rep call Kavos a ‘resort’ . . .not a town, but a resort . . . as though it had been crafted for the leagues of young Brits that arrived every week. And while I – with my North America gone south experiences of Mexico and Antigua – would never call the vomit-stinking streets (the smell wears off around noon each day) and trashy parade of bars a resort, I can absolutely understand that this town has bent itself to appease the British crowd. It’s basically the American equivalent to Cancun or wherever people go in Florida for spring break. Every restaurant sells Mexican, Texan, or British food. Greek is available, but must be sought out carefully.  Anyhow, she called it a resort, which I thought was sad because it takes away the local identity of those who live and work there – the lovely Greek people with their good humour and long stories. ]

And so we began to explore.

It was a very, very good time. We rented some quad bikes, roamed around the island – driving through olive tree forests at sunset, curving  cliff side roads to the beach, off route farmer’s tracks over to abandoned monasteries, puttered through the quad-bike-wide streets of an unexpected, totally beautiful, and absolutely tiny village on a hill, visited a little restaurant that overlooked the amazing turquoise sea . . .swam, swam, swam . . . and enjoyed, enjoyed, enjoyed.

We even found a ‘secret beach’ which the owner of our hotel let us know about. Only a 40 minute walk from Kavos (20 minute drive on the quad bike), this place was gorgeous, empty and just . . . just a perfect escape from the world.

Despite the first night’s madness (I avoided that scene for the rest of the week, instead at night we played Uno in the flat, or went to the beach, or walked. Once we went out dancing, but I can’t take late nights anymore and abandoned the endeavour about thirty minutes into the evening, letting them go on without me – stupid post-chemo buzz killer.) By the end of the week, I was really freaking pleased with the break. Greece turned out to be an excellent escape.

I am very glad we took the time for a little adventure.

And now – now . . . NOW . . . it’s time to move to Canada.

PS. Another wonderful thing, wearing my bikini – loved it!