A Real Canadian Girl

Would you like to hear something shocking? I, Jessica Hall-Cummings, lover of fine art, traveler of glorious European cities, has come to an unexpected realisation: I have a thing for nature. Apparently, I'm more Canadian than I thought.

One of the most interesting parts of traveling is not only the outward voyage, but also the inward, exploring the dark recesses of my own personality, testing my strength and courage, and discovering what it really means for me to be a Canadian abroad. Looking out my window on the train ride from Glasgow to Inverness, I had perhaps my only pang of real homesickness as my eyes ran over the unending expanse of fields, forests, rivers, craggy hilltops, and meadows. This is so beautiful, I thought, I love all that space. Suddenly, the once picturesque narrow medieval streets I had wandered in Paris seemed cramped and airless, and I longed to take a deep breath under a big blue sky, and wade into a meadow of deep, scented grasses (possibly wearing a bonnet like a Jane Austen character...hopefully that doesn't take away from my assertion of my Canadian identity here).

I tried to stay awake as much as I could to take it all in, but the truth was that I was a little tired, and feeling the effects of my night out in Glasgow a little acutely for comfort, so I slept a lot. When I was awake though I marveled at the wild, and unpredictable nature of Scotland's weather that I had heard so much about. One minute it would be sunny, turn a corner and the sky's gone gray and your view obscured by misty rain. The next minute the sky's clear again, and then an hour later it's snowing. Depending on the the quality of the light, the rivers I passed over could be deep blue (the bluest blue I've ever seen), gray, or jet black. It felt a little dream-like, because in a way it reminded me so much of home, but then it was so much wilder. It seemed much more like a Lewis, or Tolkien inspired place with a little hint of other worldliness about it.

With a train, and two bus rides under my belt I arrived at Findhorn where my friend Emma Dines is living in an eco-village. She was worried that I would be bored here, I just smiled at her and thought, there's nowhere else on earth I'd rather be than here.