Out of My Head

I spent a year living in Seoul, South Korea in the early days of blogs. It was my first time outside of North America, first experience in a place where I didn’t speak the language. Everything was new to me and I packed my observations and reflections on cultural differences into my weekly blog post. I shared my disorientation with my friends and family back in Canada, as I tried to make sense of a different way of seeing and experiencing the world.

I tried to keep it up upon my return to Montreal, but found I had little to say once I’d adjusted to life back home.

I believe I again have things to say.

Next week will mark my two year anniversary as a resident of Vancouver. I now describe the experience of being here as a sort of chronic culture shock. I notice differences and wonder what they means for the city and more broadly, for society.

I am a doctoral student researching addiction in Vancouver, BC. This particular lens is certainly part of my efforts to understand life in this city.

I am also a practicing social worker and psychotherapist. I closely follow how conversations about mental health spread and evolve. I have many thoughts, concerns and questions that refuse to fit neatly into social media posts, so I’m creating a space to get them out of my head.

Contemplating the contradiction of expensive coffee on East Hastings.