Did you know I only have 43 days left as a resident of Canada? 11 of those 43 days will actually be spent in the United States. So it’s 32. 32 more days as a Canadian resident and then, D.C. here I come… Woah.

To pass the time before the big goodbye, I’ve been reading some of the pre-posting materials we got at the office. The materials are supposed to help us with the adjustment of moving abroad. However, I’ve found most of this stuff more worrisome then comforting. I was especially distressed to learn that after an initial moment of hysteria brought about by the change of scenery, one quickly gets depressed after moving to a new city/country.

To drive this point home, we are given this extremely evocative picture of a wavy line:

 
1. Everyday life before learning departure date;

2. Life just before departure;

3. Honeymoon period;

4. Confrontation with reality;

5. Hitting bottom;

6. Trying to make things work;

7. Adaptation

HITTING BOTTOM???!!! Um, am I moving to the US or developing a heroin addiction?

Many of my readers have made big (geographical) moves. Is this chart correct? Will I soon be tumbling into a nadir of cold truth. I guess it’s better to go in with your eyes wide open. And there is that number 7 over there at the end…we’ll see…