Upon leaving Vancouver...

And so our time here in Vancouver draws to a close. We leave in two days for Seattle, and then on to Delaware for three months. After Delaware, we relocate to Chennai, India where I'll be taking on a new teaching job.
Strange to be saying goodbye to Vancouver after living here only 22 months. I haven't loved Vancouver- not in the way I loved Monteverde- but I loved the people, the community of writers, the running paths along the water. Certainly I will miss the strangely meditative and peaceful ride on the local 17 electric trolley to UBC, the hours of wandering amongst stacks in the public library, the seemingly boundless availability of fresh local produce. I will miss the mountain views from Kits beach, the soft curving waves of the inlet, the long-legged birds of False Creek. I will miss the bald eagles who sit on the top of the giant totem pole at the Maritime Museum. I will miss cheap sushi (very cheap-- and on every corner), Dandy Pack Market, Pho Linh Noodles, the Vancouver Marathon, Locution Readings at Pulp Fiction. But most of all-- above all other things-- I will miss my friends. My wonderful UBC creative writing friends. You know who you are. You have touched me, inspired me, entertained me, amazed me. I feel that I am a lucky woman to have been in this place, at this time, to have had the chance to know all of you. Come visit us in India, anytime. I mean that. I miss all of you already.