postcards from jody

“It’s not you. It’s me.”

Two months ago, I had a heart-to-heart/break-up talk with my boss.

“I love my job – but if you want someone at that desk every day, it’s not going to be me. I don’t want to live in Toronto anymore.”

Yup. I finally did it. I quit my job to travel.

For anyone who knows me even a little bit, this news shouldn’t be surprising. I love to travel. I love being out there in the world, immersed in different places and cultures.

In my online marketing career, I’ve been a big fish in a small pond and a small fish in a big pond. Then, it hit me: screw the pond; I’d rather be in the ocean!

The thing is, I do love my job. I get to write and edit and work on websites, which is what I’ve wanted to do since I was 12 years old (though I didn’t know it at 12). It’s taken me two years to walk away.

No more thinking – time for doing

I’ve been thinking about a round-the-world trip for two years. I almost did it once. For various reasons, I’ve put it off.

What’s changed now? Well, I’m getting older. I’ll be 28 soon. My friends are getting married, buying houses and having babies. I have no desire for that.

My biggest fear is that I’ll wake up in five years with a husband and kids, and regret that I didn’t do the crazy things I wanted to do.

I don’t have real responsibilities right now. I’m young and able, and I’ve saved enough money – so it’s time to stop thinking about it and just do it.

Life 2.0

“I quit my job to travel.” I don’t know what that means exactly, but I know what it isn’t.

When I think of a “typical” gap year or round-the-world trip, I imagine zipping around the world in a blur and ending up back at my desk. That’s not what I want.

Ultimately, I want the freedom to live and work anywhere, whether it’s in Toronto or elsewhere. I’m giving myself a year or two to figure that out.

The countdown begins

I’ve resigned but I still have six months in my job. I need time to wrap up my life in Toronto and to make plans. My boss needs time to replace me. It all works out.

But, starting July 1, 2013, I’m jobless and I’m free.

Désolé, désolé, désolé

Désolé, je ne comprends pas. (Sorry, I don’t understand.)
Désolé, mon français est très mal mauvais. (Sorry, my French is very bad.)

I never thought about Canada’s two official languages, English and French, until I moved to Québec City. How much of the Canadian population is fluent in both? Very little I bet.

In Toronto public schools, French classes are required from Grade 4 through Grade 9. That’s six years of part-time French classes. I took eight years of classes and I do some reading in French because of my copywriting job (anyone need un téléphone mobile?) – and my French still sucks.

In the past three weeks, I’ve given a lot of blank/confused stares and apologies. The sad thing is, even though my French is très mauvais, I’m willing to bet it’s better than that of the average Canadian.

Forget fluency. I’m aiming for functional and not making an ass of myself.

Un, deux, trois

One, two, three. Easy enough, right?
Let’s try the number 99.

In English:
ninety-nine
90 + 9 = 99

In French:
quatre-vingt-dix-neuf (translation: four-twenty-ten-nine)
4 x 20 + 10 + 9 = 99

Yikes. Not so easy for someone who hates math (i.e., me).

A pet peeve

Cours de français pour débutants.
Learn English.

What’s wrong with these statements? Well, when I was looking for French classes, most websites I came across advertised in French only.

First rule of advertising: know your audience.

If you’re selling beginner French classes to English speakers, you need to advertise in English.

Same goes for those “Learn English, $8/hour” posters all around Toronto. If I can read your poster, I probably don’t need your lessons.

Guess what? I live in Québec City now.

The last few weeks have been a blur of planning, packing, unpacking and a mess of other things. But, yes, a random idea from last year has turned into reality: I live in Québec City.

It started with a desire to live in Paris and thinking that Québec would be the next best thing – and the most achievable. I pitched the idea to my boss and now here I am, living and working and taking French lessons in the city core.

When I arrived last Saturday, I knew instantly that Québec wouldn’t be a substitute for Paris – in a good way. It’s a destination in its own right and deserves that attention. I’m excited to spend the summer here and to get to know it really, really well.

For real-time updates, follow @tweetsfromjody on Twitter.

From my first night in Québec – the city getting funky at an awesome show by the Soul Rebels at the Festival d’été

Paradise Bay, Antarctica

What more do I need to say?

More from Antarctica

Likes:
+50 for gorgeous seaside views
+50 for spectacular scuba diving
+25 for the abundance of fresh orange juice and fresh watermelon juice
+20 for nights hanging out at Fido’s Restaurant & Bar
+10 for the lobster burrito (and everything else) at Waruguma
+15 for the ham and cheese panini at Ambergris Brewing Co.
+15 for the coffee-flavoured rum at The Rum, Cigar & Coffee House
+30 for great laughs at Wahoo’s Chicken Drop
+5 for international postage stamps that are only BZD$0.30 (US$0.15)
+75 for an island full of lovely, friendly people
+30 for long days doing nothing in a Belizean clam chair
+10 for hot sauce on every dining table

Dislikes:
-20 for feisty sandflies (ouch!)
-20 for mosquitoes that manage to bite in odd places
-50 for parents who use their children to sell trinkets to tourists
-5 for narrow roads congested with trucks and golf carts

Overall rating:
+240 points thanks to a very happy stomach