My friends and I visited Bonnyville once, a few years ago. It was summer at the time and instead of icy roads and endless expanses of snowy fields, I can remember staring out the passenger window in awe as we passed a seemingly endless landscape of rolling hills, gorgeous lakes, and even trees. We don't have many of those back home in Wainwright, two hours south of here.
I can also remember declaring to my friends that Bonnyville was beautiful and we simply must pack up our things and relocate there at once, even if it meant giving up Wainwright's cherished Wal-Mart to do so.
Now, three years later, I've moved up here on my own. I've lived pretty much everywhere in Canada, experiencing a couple of years on the East Coast, a couple on the West, and even a little bit of time way up North. I've spent a few years in Ontario, as well, and more than a few in various places in Alberta.
No matter how many times I pack my things and head off west or east or somewhere in between, I always end up getting homesick and coming back again. Alberta gets into your blood that way, I suppose.
There are a lot of things to learn while travelling from one ocean to the next and back again. There are bits of history and culture to learn, local delicacies to sample, not to mention local dialects to try to decipher. There are some lessons that cannot be learned so far from home, however, and maybe that's the most important lesson of all. The rest of the world has a lot to offer but it cannot teach you how a community works, what it feels to belong to one, or what it feels like to be home.
Now that Bonnyville is my home, I'm still working out the kinks. I still get lost a lot and I'm learning new landmarks. My apartment is a wasteland of boxes, empty shelves, and bare walls. The view out the windows is becoming more familiar, however, and today, I managed to get to the Bonnyville Nouvelle office without getting lost. Small victories, but important nonetheless.
With the weather warming up, the snowbanks slowly melting to manageable levels, and the ice disappearing from the roads, I cannot wait to get to know this community and find my place within it. Drop me a line at [email protected]
