Aislinn set off on new adventure after catching travel bug

Aislinn Carey, a former Our Lady's Bower student from Castletown Geoghegan, has been living in Vancouver, Canada, since April 2019.

A daughter of Finola and Tim, she has five sisters, Muriel, Claire, Sinead, Fiona and Susan, and a brother, Niall.

Aislinn recently answered these questions for our 'Christmas Away From Home' feature in the Westmeath Independent.

* How did your move to Vancouver come about? What do you do there?

I arrived back to the farm in Castletown Geoghegan after two months of solo travelling around South Eastern Europe, and I just knew I had caught the travel bug! The second I arrived home, I wanted to pack-up and leave on an adventure again.

My parents have always pushed my siblings and I to go out and see the world "while we're still young," so I thought, what's stopping me from doing it now?

One of my college friends had recently moved here at the time and all her photos and videos on social media really appealed to me. I can't get enough of the great outdoors, so it was a no-brainer to move to a place with lots of mountains to climb. Here I still am now, almost two years later!

I work as a marketing co-ordinator for two newspapers, called Burnaby Now and New West Record. I work from home, Monday to Friday, from 9-5.

* Obviously, 2020, was a tough year for everyone. What was it like for you?

Overall, I can't complain. I've come to find in life someone is always in a worse situation than you. I'm very fortunate to still have my full-time job, so I can put food on the table and have a bed to sleep in at night.

I didn't have to travel home in light of the pandemic, unlike thousands of others who had to pack up and leave when Covid-19 first hit.

Obviously, I would have loved exploring more of Canada, but I was able to go on a few weekend camping trips, hiked several mountains, and even went on a five-day road trip to Alberta with a close group of friends.

* What are the main things you miss about Christmas in Ireland?

There's lots of little things I miss, which I've definitely taken for granted over the years. First and foremost, I'll miss being together with my entire family.

Christmas is the only time of the year that all nine of us sit together around the dinner table for a meal. We're all living separate lives, whether that's living in Dublin or working or studying abroad. So, when we finally reunite on Christmas Eve, it's always a wild time filled with hot whiskeys and board games *cue several arguments*! I'll miss that a lot.

I'll also highly miss the annual Christmas reunion dinner followed by a night out that I have with my closest school friends from the Bower. That's one tradition I've never missed but had to virtually attend this year! Lastly, I'll miss my *ICA* catch-ups over curry chips in Supermac's with two of my closest 'bogger' school friends, Dee and Katie!

* Is there any message you would like to send to friends or family reading this?

I love and miss you all, and can't wait to be reunited soon. Xx