I wake up wrapped in my sleeping bag with cold fresh air on my face, and sun shining on my curtains. After a while, I muster up enough willpower to get out of my warm cocoon, and rush through the cold to get dressed, muttering “achoo” (Tibetan for “it’s cold”) under my breath. Stepping out onto my balcony, the valley of Himachal Pradesh spreads out below me, littered with clusters of houses and villages. To my left and behind me is the first range of the Himalayas. Every morning I have the same thought and smile to myself: “I live in the Himalayas.” I stop on my way to work to indulge in a gluten-free buckwheat pancake and savour my first cup of milk tea, holding it in both hands to warm my fingers.
On days off, I sit in a café for hours on end, reading, doing Sudoku puzzles, talking with friends, staring off into the valley. The pace of life here is beautiful. I am blessed with the chance to slow down and enjoy every moment. I still have to stop and take a breath when the work-a-holic Westerner in me freaks out because the internet is down or there is no electricity. But a cup of tea at a friend’s café normally does the trick and restores the calmness in me that is pervasive here.
I think of how much I’ve always wanted to live in the mountains, not sure that my interests would ever allow it. But here I am, with a job I love and getting to live in the mountains. As my mum and Claire like to say, I am so lucky!
However, the more I settle in here, the more I wonder how it will feel to be in Montreal again.
On days off, I sit in a café for hours on end, reading, doing Sudoku puzzles, talking with friends, staring off into the valley. The pace of life here is beautiful. I am blessed with the chance to slow down and enjoy every moment. I still have to stop and take a breath when the work-a-holic Westerner in me freaks out because the internet is down or there is no electricity. But a cup of tea at a friend’s café normally does the trick and restores the calmness in me that is pervasive here.
I think of how much I’ve always wanted to live in the mountains, not sure that my interests would ever allow it. But here I am, with a job I love and getting to live in the mountains. As my mum and Claire like to say, I am so lucky!
However, the more I settle in here, the more I wonder how it will feel to be in Montreal again.
No comments:
Post a Comment