Ciao everyone!! As summer is slowly coming to an end, the locals are coming back from the holidays, students are getting ready to go back to school, and the au pairs (for the purpose of this blog au pairs is a category which contains au pairs, English tutors, English teachers, nannies, etc) are trickling into Torino. The city center is starting to become a lively place. (Have a look at the pictures below at some sites around the city) Torino is starting to feel like a place that I can finally call home!! There is something about it that cannot be described in words. There just seems to be a positive vibe in the air with the activities that I have planned with the children that I am teaching, the trip to Rome that I have planned for the end of September, and hopefully more human interactions in the coming weeks.
As I reflect on the past 3 months, I think that it was a time of renewal. It was a time in which I got some excitement back in my life. I think that from time to time it is important to do something for ourselves that allows us to have a new and fresh outlook on life, to rewind, to be adventurous so that we can have a have a whole new outlook on life. Most people I know go through life with tunnel vision: Wake up, spend time stuck in traffic to get to a job to pay for the car that gets us there, spend 8 hours a day doing something that does not fully satisfy us, leave work, spend more time in traffic, arrive home, eat, listen to our family and friends complain about their job, boss, friend, health, school etc, sleep, and then wake up and do the same thing over again, without realizing that they could stop living in their misery, and decide to step up and do something about it. It does not have to be a trip to work abroad in Europe, sometimes we can just explore the adventure and beauty that there is in our cities or towns.
In the first 3 months that I've been here I had the time to reflect about some of my experiences. I have so far been fortunate enough to travel to and experience: The fashion capital of the world in Milan. I got to hike in THE Alps in Bardoneccia, I got to walk through the town of Pompeii, and I got a chance to visit family members in the most unknown region in Italy, Molise. While I am probably behind in the travelling part compared to other aupairs here in Italy, I have come to realize that I have probably experienced more than what others will experience in a lifetime, because as I have mentioned above, some just go through life living in tunnel vision and will always make excuses for why they can't do something to improve their life.
As I was saying my goodbyes to my co-workers in Montreal back at the end of May, one of them who gave me their well wishes said ''I hope that it meets all of your expectations'' or ''You're not going to want to come back'' For those of you who are wondering, I did not really come into this with any expectations at all. However, so far, it is everything that I ever wanted and more. There were some who said that I may not want to come back.Let's just say that at the moment I will just try to savor as much as possible, be as adventurous as possible, travel, experience, and take in as much as I can because I do not want this trip to end.
What I have learned about myself so far is that I love travelling and living in a completely different atmosphere. Most importantly I love interacting with people. That is what I know so far about the next chapter of my life, it has to involve me interacting with people and somehow managing to travel and to experience as much as I can in any country that I will plan on living in the future. I have so far loved meeting new and interesting people and listening to their stories about their travels and how they got to come to be in Torino. It has made me wonder about the next step in my life and how I want to continue to have moments which just add value to the meaning of life.
As I reflect on the past 3 months, I think that it was a time of renewal. It was a time in which I got some excitement back in my life. I think that from time to time it is important to do something for ourselves that allows us to have a new and fresh outlook on life, to rewind, to be adventurous so that we can have a have a whole new outlook on life. Most people I know go through life with tunnel vision: Wake up, spend time stuck in traffic to get to a job to pay for the car that gets us there, spend 8 hours a day doing something that does not fully satisfy us, leave work, spend more time in traffic, arrive home, eat, listen to our family and friends complain about their job, boss, friend, health, school etc, sleep, and then wake up and do the same thing over again, without realizing that they could stop living in their misery, and decide to step up and do something about it. It does not have to be a trip to work abroad in Europe, sometimes we can just explore the adventure and beauty that there is in our cities or towns.
In the first 3 months that I've been here I had the time to reflect about some of my experiences. I have so far been fortunate enough to travel to and experience: The fashion capital of the world in Milan. I got to hike in THE Alps in Bardoneccia, I got to walk through the town of Pompeii, and I got a chance to visit family members in the most unknown region in Italy, Molise. While I am probably behind in the travelling part compared to other aupairs here in Italy, I have come to realize that I have probably experienced more than what others will experience in a lifetime, because as I have mentioned above, some just go through life living in tunnel vision and will always make excuses for why they can't do something to improve their life.
As I was saying my goodbyes to my co-workers in Montreal back at the end of May, one of them who gave me their well wishes said ''I hope that it meets all of your expectations'' or ''You're not going to want to come back'' For those of you who are wondering, I did not really come into this with any expectations at all. However, so far, it is everything that I ever wanted and more. There were some who said that I may not want to come back.Let's just say that at the moment I will just try to savor as much as possible, be as adventurous as possible, travel, experience, and take in as much as I can because I do not want this trip to end.
What I have learned about myself so far is that I love travelling and living in a completely different atmosphere. Most importantly I love interacting with people. That is what I know so far about the next chapter of my life, it has to involve me interacting with people and somehow managing to travel and to experience as much as I can in any country that I will plan on living in the future. I have so far loved meeting new and interesting people and listening to their stories about their travels and how they got to come to be in Torino. It has made me wonder about the next step in my life and how I want to continue to have moments which just add value to the meaning of life.