It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

It's Saturday, April 29th. 3:48am. I'm listening to Lauryn Hill - "Ex-Factor".



You know it's funny...

When I left Canada for Geneva...I had no idea as to what to expect. And I had no idea what I would find.

I can easily say that I didn't expect to form such strong bonds and intimate friendships with the people that I would eventually meet.

No one ever said that our time in Geneva was to be forever. And now the time has come to part and go our separate ways.

And this is supposed to be a happy time. A time for celebrating the end of a great run.

But instead, I feel a sense of great sadness.

And it isn't the sort of sadness that I was expecting to feel. At first I felt the same emotion and feeling after embracing my mother and sister at the terminal gate before boarding the plane for Geneva. It was a feeling of departing from loved ones; the feeling of separation anxiety, but also of uncertainty of the upcoming year.

But now I am overcome with another feeling of sadness. One that I haven't felt in over 2 years. I am suddenly reminded of the day my father passed away. On that day it was a deep heartfelt sadness, and in a way I am currently experiencing a similar feeling. I feel as though I have lost a loved one. And it is as if I have just lost an influential and important part of my identity. And perhaps there is a lot of truth to that statement.

Although it was only 8 months, it was an incredible time of my life. We started out as strangers, we then became friends, and now it feels like family.

And like my father before, this moment feels like the mourning of a death. Having to say goodbye to people that you love, but not being able to get the "goodbye" just right; just the way you "want" to. And you know that you'll never be able to get it just the way you want to, because ultimately you don't want to say goodbye; you're not ready to let go just yet.

And alas, time has run out. Time is unforgiving in that it will never give me the means to truly complete what I set out to do.

I feel as though there are so many things that I want to say; so many things I still want to do; and there are also so many things I still have to do.

I want to be alone, but I also feel the need to be around people.

I feel tired, but I don't want to sleep. I want to exhaust myself to the point that I don't have any dwelling or stirring thoughts in my mind before I fall asleep.

I love my friends. I really hope that we are able to maintain the lines of communication between us despite the great distances that divide and keep us away from each other, and despite the different paths of life that we are about to embark on.

I will admit that I had intended to recite a poem that I had written, to everyone, about our time in Geneva. Regrettably, time was once again, against us. People had to leave, and many of us were caught up in the festivities. And so with that, it only seems fitting that I close out this farewell post with it. And so I dedicate this humble poem as thanks to all who are leaving the WCC and LWF.

Already, I miss you all. And I will never forget you.

Good luck. Great health. Neverending happiness.

I wish you all the best.

Love,
Alan
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We traveled to the land of chocolate, and country of great cheese,
To the city of Geneva, where the UN makes policies.
From all around the world, we converged on this one place,
Trying to adapt ourselves, while hunting for living space.

At first we were alone, with thoughts of home and friends we missed,
But we quickly came together, through blogs and mailing lists.
Hilarious email conversations were definitely a good sign,
And we managed to create many memories, ones that will last a lifetime.

From the crazy parties, and drinking vodka until we hurt
There was always one true constant, in Uncle Tom's bright pink shirt.
Karaoke at Le Tube was always such a blast,
Especially when that crazy lady, let out her burning gas.

Snowshoeing in January, soccer on a sunny day,
We will always remember downhill skiing in Diablerets.
And in 8 amazing months of get-togethers and festivities,
We would celebrate each others' birthdays as if we were family.

And now the time has come, to go our separate ways,
As time continues to move our lives, into a brand new phase.
But whatever that may happen, and whatever the condition,
We will always be, the Geneva Coalition.
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Italia! That's Amore!

Well, I did it. I kept my promise about going back to Italy.

If you can't remember when I made the promise it was on my Olympics blog post. But anyway, so yes...long story short, I had postponed my trip to Poland in liew of heading out with my compadres, because well...to be honest, I kinda wanted to know what it felt like to travel with people, and also to be able to spend quality time with good people that I have no idea when I'll ever see again.

That's pretty cynical of me to say, but that's how life plays out sometimes.

Anyway, so let's take a look at the key travellers:

(from left to right: Sarah, Faautu, Sina, Tom, Gitte, the Alanosaur)



The first stop was Florence...simply a beautiful city. The hostel was fantastic, easily one of the best I've stayed in so far. And the weather was amazing.



And I would like to point out that, Florence was just the beginning of the crazy sunglasses pictures. I dunno what happened out there...but I guess somewhere along the way we decided to "blend in" with the culture...as well as the other tourists, and purchase ridiculous looking sunglasses.

And in the process...ended up making equally ridiculous sunglasses adverts.



So with one night in Florence we quickly made our way south to the small town of Siena. Needless to say, Siena was also amazingly beautiful.



But just before we fled the town, we managed to secure a bottle of what had to be one of Siena's cheapest wines. We dubbed it, "Budget Wine"! 1.5 litres for 4 euros!



...and then to our main destination of Cinque Terre.

To our delight we found the first and second Easter Bunny...and Tom found the first Easter Lion...now ever recorded in history.





At this moment, I'd like to take this opportunity to interrupt this picture-fest to announce the arrival of Tomazinho Caesar!



In this episode, join Caesar as he looks upon his lands, dreams about his next conquests, gives praise to his citizens, and commands his loyal servants!






From there it was on to Rome and our final destination...

Apparently, these days in Rome, Tony Danza is the Boss. These freakin' signs were everywhere. It was a Danza-Extravaganza!



A few things to note about these Rome pictures: 1) Some of you already know that I went to Rome back in December. So most of these pics are of people and of odd/artistic things that I felt like shooting a photo of. 2) The Fonz was everywhere in the city too. Ehhhhh!!! 3) And for anyone who's read the book, "Angels and Demons", the next picture is of the angel, in Piazza del Popolo, who is pointing towards the Vatican.



Finally one of the many highlights of the trip had to be the following.

As we were walking back to Piazza Navona, we came across (what appeared to be) a giant canvas and frame. And as you can clearly see, it was simply too much to resist.





If I had to describe this trip in one word, I would say: "hilarious". As soon as I got home, with no exaggeration, I immediately sat down and laughed for a solid 20 minutes, from just thinking back on all the things we had done and talked about.

It was quite possibly the best trip I've ever taken. We shared entertaining stories, saw strange and wonderous sights, did stupid and silly things, and ate a ton of amazingly delicious food. And despite the summer rain we had in Rome, there isn't a single thing that I would change if I had to do it all over again.



Many thanks to my travel-mates. You guys made the trip what it was. And I'll never forget this.