A Year in Review

My dearest companions,

Long-time no talk(?).

Hello. Let’s start there. It’s been a while since I posted something on here. Sorry about that! A lot has happened since last time I published, and I guess there are a number of reasons why I disappeared. The biggest one was that simply put, I was really busy! Ship life takes a lot out of you and while extremely rewarding, it does sometimes make it challenging to pick up the pencil and write my ideas down. That’s in the past though. All you need to know now is that this email isn’t spam and that I promise you signed up for this newsletter, just a very. long. time. ago.

Ok, so know that we’ve got that awkward reintroduction taken care of I have something I wanted to share with you. 2023 has been quite the year for me. Some really high highs and some really low lows. I started and finished one of the biggest adventures of my life so far, graduated (for the second and third time from high school), went to prom, worked one of the most incredible jobs I’ve ever had, and packed up my life once again to move some 3000 Kilometres across the country for school. That’s right, again. Sorry about that mom and dad! It turns out I’m really bad at sitting still in one place and now that I’ve seen the world, change is something I not only tolerate but happily embrace.

So, let’s rewind a little bit; Class Afloat. What an experience. I finished my sail in Bremerhaven, Germany and said goodbye to a new part of me: the Alex-2. I packed my life out of my not even single sized bed and into my larger-than-life sea bag. I waved goodbye and boarded a bus. And then? Then we drove. Across Germany, through France, and into Switzerland. I promise you, that bus ride with 50 people is an experience that I was very happy living just once. My noise cancelling headphones became my best friend on that drive. I have to say, leaving the boat was a surreal experience. But to leave the boat and immediately go to a landlocked country in serious altitude was a environmental shock like no other. We arrived late at night and as we settled into our new home, snow began to fall. marvelous. Suddenly the sadness of leaving my home was replaced with excitement for the next adventure.

Switzerland was transformative to say the least. I learnt a lot about people and how each and every Floatie functioned outside of the confines of the Alex-2. It was also in Switzerland that I received some devastating news. A mentor to me that I have previously wrote about tragically passed away back at home. I have to say, I think I fell into a form a shock when I heard this. The pain mixed with the helplessness of being so far away was a lot to be able to handle and I had to develop new coping mechanisms to help me make it through the loss. In retrospect, I think that this news was one of the hardest experiences I had on my entire trip.

As I worked to recognize my sadness, we found ourselves packing up to move onto our next home, Seville, Spain. This meant another very long bus ride with a three-day stopover in Barcelona. As I sit here now, I believe that Barcelona was one of the most incredible places I’ve ever been blessed to have visited in my life. The kindness of the people, beauty of the city, and connection to the culture was simply astounding. This stop may have been short lived, but it certainly was impactful for me.

From there, we were onto the Algondales Mountains where we would be staying in a remote camp about two hours outside of Seville for the remainder of our time with Class Afloat. We stayed here for two weeks, and this is where I spent my first birthday ever away from home. While you could consider this to be lonely, I woke up to a video call from Anna and went to bed with hearing mom and dad’s voices over the phone. Somehow, despite the distance, I felt incredibly connected to the people I loved back at home.

After two weeks of decompression, we packed our bags and made our way to Seville where I graduated from my time aboard Class Afloat. I said goodbye to my newfound friends and embarked on a new journey; reunited with Dad and Zack. Road tripping along the coast of Portugal was beautiful. There were many fun parts of this trip but the moment that stuck out the most to me had to be this time where the trio was in the car, a song Sedona was playing, and Zack and I were belting the words out together. This bonding moment has stuck with me since and I don’t see it going anywhere soon. I said goodbye to the two in Lisbon where I reunited with Maya for a final epic two week journey up the coast of western Portugal before flying home through Paris. The trip was an inspiring time with lots of fun filled memories. I did have one thing on my mind during this though: home.

June 3rd, 2023 was a big day for me. Some five months later, I landed back in Vancouver to one of the most exciting moments of it all. I remember walking through the customs doors and in front of me lied my whole family, my grandma, and Anna. When I say I had to try so hard to hold back tears in that moment, I mean it. Feeling the embrace of these lovely humans all that time later was one of the most curing things I had and potentially will ever feel.

The next month was a lul in the year. My friends were finishing school at Tupper, and I was starting work at Sasamat, a summer camp in Belcarra, BC. I would be spending my summer there starting at the end of June as I took on a new role among the waterfront staff. I remember arriving there for the first day and I kid you not, I fell in love with the place on the spot. After working at Evans Lake, the previous summer, I thought my loyalty would interfere with my feelings of the new camp but boy was I wrong. The community that I was accepted into graciously was beyond welcoming.

Camp started and my post travel sadness vanished. I was surrounded by the people I really wanted to spend time with, and the uniqueness of every day served me extremely well. Class Afloat allowed for variety in my lifestyle and camp was one of the few other places where I felt this as well. Monday to Friday would be long intense days where, if I was lucky, I could sneak off site during my breaks to buy a yerba and burrito and sit by the ocean with friends. The weekends consisted of much needed sleep as well as additional time with city friends. While each day was different, the routine started to feel like a pattern and right when I was starting to feel the inevitable burnout from the summer camp industry, I caught my breakthrough. Anna and I were able to escape to my family’s cabin on Galiano Island. Not only did I get to see my parents and siblings, but I was also able to spend some quality time with a person who I clearly missed. After this, we finished the summer off strong before it was time for the final chapter of the year. School.

September rolled around and with that, it was time to make my way out to London, Ontario. I had accepted my offer to Huron University for my BA in Psychology, and I have to say, I was both excited and nervous for the change. Unlike the rest of my year, I was moving somewhere to partake in a specific schedule. Classes at certain times and set weekends instead of a random Wednesday off of classes like on my time aboard the Alex-2. Additionally, I was packing up to leave home again; this time without a specific date that I knew I was returning. After saying goodbye to my beloved friends and family at home, I traveled across the country with my dad to drop me off for school. I quickly adapted to the lifestyle there and started to create some friendships that I knew I’d be able to count on for time to come. On the occasional weekend, I would sneak up to Montreal to visit Anna but other than that, London was my new home away from home.

And now here we are. Exams are complete and I’ve returned back to the west coast to reunite with the BC crew. It’s a strange feeling to be home but also very much appreciated. Now, when I look back on the year, it’s been phenomenal the things I accomplished. I’ve embraced independence, broadened my eyes to the intense and beautiful world around me, connected with old and new friends in ways previously unimagined, and put a hard reset on life as I know it as I settle in a new place with new people. I’m immensely grateful for this but I also don’t want to forget the people and things that helped me get to this point where I’m at today. If you listened to my rants, provided support, showed affection, or really impacted me in any way this year, thank you. Thank you for your unconditional kindness and thank you for a lovely year. I’m not sure if this is a sign off but it certainly is the end of a remarkable segment of my life's book. Thank you for following along and I’ll see you in 2024.

With Love,

Ethan