So Long, Farewell...

So here it is, my 75th post on my blog, and I find myself saying goodbye, yet again. It's the last day of my vacation home, I head back to England tomorrow and start work on Tuesday morning. (Thank God I don't teach until Wednesday morning, the jetlag will be bad enough on Tuesday for staff training.)

This holiday has been full of friends, family, coffee, hockey, snow, lots of food and times that I'll always cherish. This is a rather reflective post already, look at me go. Saying goodbye seems much harder this time then when I left in July. There are many people, and some in particular, that I am going to miss so much when I'm so far away from home. This is the part about living abroad that I don't like. I know that I'm supposed to appreciate being home even more because I get here so rarely, but saying goodbye and leaving these people behind...it never gets easier.

Instead of an all-inclusive and detailed list of every single thing I did over the holiday, I'll sum it up with: family dinners, late-night drives & movies, coffee, hockey, snow, family, friends, saying goodbye, laughing and crying, and talk about 'what comes next.' I'll be home in the summer, I keep saying, and yet that seems so far away. 7 whole months. I know I'm so lucky to be able to live in Europe, travel and see so many amazing places...but I have given up a lot. I've left a lot of people and things behind that I never realize how much I miss until I'm faced with saying goodbye, yet again. The goodbyes never seem to get easier, just more numerous in number.

So, Happy New Year to friends on both sides of the ocean. Due to the winter weather (that I admit, I missed a lot), I have to stay home tonight. I wish I could ring 2012 in very differently, but I've already had my kiss & that'll have to do. So, all my friends, I'll be back in 7 months...hope you'll still be waiting when I get back. I already miss & love everyone; all those I saw and spent (not enough) time with, and those who I didn't get to see this visit home. I'll be back soon, please know my heart is with you all when I leave tomorrow.

England, be warned...I'm gonna be one cranky little Canadian come Monday morning when I touch down in London.

The Grey Cloud

I've had to start the 'goodbyes' already, and it's the worst part of the holiday. Family, friends, all of the special people in my life that are so far away, I hate to say goodbye.

Back to England in just 3 days.

Like Night & Day

This best describes my experience getting home for Christmas this year. Compared to last year, I had a dream trip. The last week of term seemed to drag by a little bit. I wish that the show had been only the week before so I'd only have one musical-free week to contend with. Either way, classes came and went and I impatiently counted down the days, hours and minutes until I was able to come home.

As excited as I was, I really procrastinated on the whole 'packing' thing and finished that a healthy 10 hours prior to departure. Well...8 hours. Ok, 15 minutes before Nikki picked me up at 4AM on Saturday morning. Either way, I was packed and out the door at 4AM. Some mile-long traffic queues aside, the drive to Heathrow was very uneventful.

Drop off, check baggage, security check, one last English breakfast and I was on my way home! An hour delayed leaving Heathrow but, compared to a 72 hour delay last year, it didn't even matter. I was sitting next to a guy who was 6'6 on the flight and the poor man looked like he hated his life. He was wedged into that seat so tightly it looked like his back was welded to it. Pretty sure he was jealous of my 5'2 self and all the ample leg room I was privy to. Gotta admit, it makes 8 hour flights much more comfortable. (Wouldn't have minded another upgrade, mind you.)

My layover in Boston was uneventful. It was really great to meet up with Sarah & Kristian and have company for the final leg of the journey. We all fell asleep on the flight to Presque Isle which was absolutely freezing...a nice little preview for the weather waiting for us in the true north strong and free(zing). Dad & Susanne were waiting to pick us up and it was only an hour after landing that I was sitting on the couch with my Dad watching hockey for the first time in months. I was home :).

The next day was a family dinner in Fredericton and I got to enjoy my first Tim Hortons coffee & Timbits on the way. Aaaaamazing. It was nice to see all the family again and eat so much I felt like I could've been rolled home.

The rest of my holiday has been spent with family and catching up with friends. Lots of hockey, coffee & snow. It has been just perfect :). 3 days until Christmas and it's been a great holiday so far. Looking forward to the rest.

Beware...

There is snow in the forecast for tomorrow in both Northampton and London.

England, I swear, by all that is holy...If you delay my Christmas holiday for a second year in a row, you will need something much more threatening than 3 inches of snow on the roads to deal with the wrath that is an angry little Canadian trying to get home for Christmas.

Sincerely yours,

Jessica.

Here We Are

So, the one-week mark has definitely come and gone, and I find myself just waiting out the days until Christmas holiday.

After 10 months, 200 hours of prep-time, countless moments where I couldn't stop laughing or couldn't hold myself back from shouting, the show is over. I shared so many great moments with the kids, had so much fun and it was definitely worth it. Directing was an entire new experience for me. I had acted all through school and, while I definitely wasn't the next big thing, I loved it. I enjoyed it, and I had fun with acting.

However. I never realized how frustrating all of the little jokes, all the times we talked on stage, ignored directions and thought "ohhh, we have months to go, it's fine, we don't need to worry" could be to the director. Like making the transition from student to teacher, making the transition from actor to director allowed me to see an entire new side of acting. It was, again I'll say, definitely worth it, and I love it. However, it's much more stress, so much more responsibility, and there are things that I'd never even considered when I was just simply doing the acting.

Either way. The show went up officially on the 1st of December, a Thursday evening. The day before, a union strike across the country saw the academy closing to students. I called in all the kids for a rehearsal during the day. That evening was our final dress rehearsal, and we had an audience of about...10. Regardless of the number, having an audience definitely helped. On Thursday, Friday & Saturday evening, we had anywhere from 175-250 people watching the show. I spent the show running around backstage and standing in the wings nervously watching for tricky scenes that had always caused the kids a bit of trouble. When it was all said and done, We Will Rock You definitely did just that. It just rocked.

Sarah & Kristian came to spend a very short weekend with me and to see the show. On Saturday, we went to Windsor Castle for a couple hours. I felt bad rushing them through the end, but I wanted to make sure we were back in town in time to get me to school for the show. I was really excited for them to come see the show and spend some time with them.

After the final song and curtain calls on Saturday night, Rob (the other director) and I went out on stage, to thank the crowd and to thank the people that made this show so amazing. The kids came out on stage to thank the directors and, after calling me "Moose" (their strange nickname for me) in front of a sold-out crowd, they presented me with a great card, a beautiful purple orchid and a chocolate chip cookie the size of a huge dinner plate. Not even kidding. On the cookie, it said "Are You Kidding Me" (which, apparently, was my favourite thing to shout at the ceiling when I was getting frustrated).

So worth it. The entire show, the entire experience. It was amazing. It was sad to take down the set and see it stripped apart. It was strange now, with all the free time I had on my hands.

Now I'm just waiting for the holidays. See you in a week, Canada :)