Victoria

Now, more than ever, I have started to realize that while all my concentration seems to be busy dreaming about India, my days here in this beautiful city that I've grown to love this last year with all the beautiful people it holds are numbered. Sometimes I feel like I need to be reminded that I probably don't understand yet how much I will miss Victoria. Once September comes around and all my old friends will be back at Esquimalt High, life in those white-gray halls will continue, but without me in it. I'll miss the blossom trees that line that one street on my way to school that sprinkle the side walk with pink and our neighborhood cat Pumpkin sitting in a sunbeam as I leave for my Monday morning runs. I'll miss walking around Swan Lake and being swaddled by the sound of Canada Geese honking and a thick fog hanging over the Lochside Trail. I'll miss scarves. A lot. I'll miss the familiar mannerisms of my friends and finding mutual solace in the fact that I'm not the only one who doesn't have a clue what days Juego tests are. I'll miss biking along Blanshard and passing lamp posts where I've waited and coffee shops where I've laughed and side streets that I've jay walked and buildings that have always paid witness to my hair growing and my mind wondering. I'll miss sitting along the gorge with close ones eating bakery bread and talking about tomorrow. I'll miss being able to talk about tomorrow with those people, because soon our tomorrow's won't have anything in common. I'll miss this beautiful place filled with beautiful people and every day I grow to love it just a little bit more ... "How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.".

Imagine finishing high school in India

Though it's almost all I think about, the idea of moving to India is as abstract of an idea for me as moving to Antarctica would be. Rationally, I keep telling myself 'Thule, you're going to India next year.' but it's not something that the emotional part of my brain has caught up with. The thought of me boarding a plane with bags stuffed with clothes and nationalistic memorabilia that pay tribute to how far I've come seems like a dream that has manifested in front of my eyes and now I don't know what to do with it.

These last few days I've experienced a lot of emotions, from total excitement to nostalgia to fear. I'll think about the place that I am in and how I can only guess what lays ahead. Because this isn't like making plans for the future and generally knowing where they might go ... everything will be new. I'm scared of little things, like whether I will have problems with my luggage, whether I should stock up on hair elastics before I go or just buy them there, but also big things. I'm scared of knowing what I want and staying true to myself in such a diverse community. As much as I should have a healthy amount of doubt towards everything I previously believed and come there with an open mind, I don't want this to mean my opinion can't be different. I know I won't be alone in being scared and this comforts me. When I first started this UWC roller coaster, I thought going to a UWC school meant that I would get handed epiphany after epiphany and that everything would fall into place. I've come to realize that maybe what it will do, and what it is already doing, is showing me how to create my own.

Truthfully, I don't know yet what I'm getting myself into. I have never been to a country that hasn't been westernized and I have never been to any place warmer than central US. My diet before this point largely consisted of potatoes, salty things, and nutella. I found a home here in the forests of Vancouver Island like I found a home in the one in the Netherlands, but I know I'm ready to be uprooted to a new forest, and maybe I'll find a home there too.

8 years ago ...

... I visited a school called Pearson College and heard about the United World Colleges for the first time. I didn't know at the time that I would spend months obsessing over an email that may or may not tell me whether I was a step closer to calling a place like that home, but I fell in love all the same. That dream that I had folded into my heart as a recently-immigrated girl is now closer than ever. I don't know how to explain this feeling of complete alignment. It lifts my spirit, the corners of my mouth, and my hair because I am literally jumping for joy. To get the chance to live with around 200 students from over 70 countries is incredible and I cannot express how grateful I am for the opportunity. 

United World Colleges are located in 12 countries around the world (Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, The Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wales, Norway, Italy, The United States, Costa Rica, and Swaziland) and have educated students from over 180 countries. Their mission is to help new generations overcome prejudice and to promote multi-cultural understanding through breaking down stereotypes and having students from different corners of the world live together for 2 years. In this way, their aim is to work towards a more peaceful and sustainable future. The movement celebrated its 50th birthday this year (while it was Mahindra's 15th!).

While at the school, I will be following the 2 year IB diploma in English as well as doing CAS activities (Creative, Action, Service). At Mahindra College CAS activities are called Triveni, and I will have many to choose from; from fire service to paper making to teaching local Indian children English every week. Through project weeks and exeats (extra long weekends where students are allowed to sleep off-campus) I will also have plenty of opportunities to explore the country I will be living in. UWC schools give a lot of responsibility and independence to their students, encouraging them to take initiative and take charge of many of the school's activities. 

Needless to say, the four months leading up to my departure will seem like forever. I have so much packing to do though, people to see, and random Canadian things to do before I leave this place for 9 months that I will have plenty of things to keep me busy. For now, I'll just focus on my studies which are slowly creeping into my conscience as I type this and appreciate the crisp, cold weather of Victoria. I know I'm going to miss wearing scarves, big sweaters, and having a pale face and a red nose on chilly nights at the beach.

A picture overlooking the campus and the valley beyond at sunset.