[previous monthly letters: 14... 13... 12... 11... 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1]

“Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.”
~ John Howard Payne

dearest Nevis,

good morning! how are you? it’s 24°C and really windy out there these days. the short walk to the gym before the sun comes up is downright chilly, making me wonder how i’m ever going to survive 3 weeks of -15°C lows in Saskatchewan and Nebraska.

it’s been a great month in our new place with our new view and our new pool and my new roommate. i love not having to do laundry or put the dishes away or cook dinner or make my own coffee in the morning. in hindsight, i’m surprised i wasn’t more nervous about sharing such a small space with another person. but it has worked out perfectly so far. we fit. and it shows. i am enjoying our small sanctuary from the rest of the island and from school. some most days i want to just curl up on the daybed in front of the window or stretch out on a chair by the pool and watch the clouds roll by for hours.

the only thing that’s missing is Maddy. i keep saving the last bites of my toast crust… too many years of being trained not to eat the whole thing myself.

so how is the island? some things feel the same and some feel different. i know i’m not being treated any differently in town or at the hospital or in line at the grocery store, but some days the distinction of standing out as a tall blond woman really grates on my nerves. i am ready to go home and blend in again. i am ready to stroll the aisles of a grocery store without religiously checking expiry dates on everything i pick up. and wander through a mall without a purpose except to buy something that catches my eye. and to stock up on girly smelly make-up lotiony stuff at Shopper’s Drug Mart. and i would love to drive on the right-hand side of the road again.

and speaking of driving, of course i’ll probably go through the drive-thru at McDonald’s and Tim Horton’s at least half a dozen times while i’m home.

15 months. wow. Joyce came over the other night and couldn’t stop exclaiming how fast it’s going. how fast we’re outta here. how fast the next four months of MED 5 will fly. and then we will all fly our separate ways to our corners of the earth to study for the most important exam of our lives and live happily ever after the end.

one of our classmates asked Brandon what he will miss when we finally leave Nevis for good. right now i am hard-pressed to find an answer because home is looking so darn awesome. but ask me again in 8 months or a year. i’m sure i’ll have a list as long as your arm.