Home Sweet Home?

So I have been back home for just over a month and it has been nice. It is nice to be in a familiar place - IN MY OWN BED around people I know, and have known for many years.

The flight home from Australia was good, for the most part. I had to fly from Sydney to LA, from LA to Chicago and then Chicago to Toronto. Before we even took off in Sydney there was a medical emergency, an older woman had started to get sick, so we had to get off the run way and go back to the gate, get paramedics on the plane to get her off the plane then refuel. This took about an hour and half, now I had a VERY small window between my flight from LA to Chicago once we landed in LA I had to go through customs and re-check my baggage (thank you America). Long story short I had to run the length of LAX and by the time I got to my gate (after cutting a few lines, people are nice when they know you might miss your flight) they were calling my name over the intercom and about to close the door, almost like what you see in the movies - which is not so awesome when it is happening to you. The rest of the trip home was a breeze.

In the last week I have noticed culture shock. Well I wouldn't call it culture shock but the dynamic between people has changed. It is a confusing feeling to be around people you have known for a long time and have them feel like strangers. To be honest I have been feeling pretty blah about a lot the last week. I am back into routine, a very similar routine to what I was in before I left and there is a void - I miss traveling, I miss spontaneity, I miss "fresh starts", I miss meeting new people and hearing their story. I know that this can still happen here in Canada, I just feel stuck right now.

I shouldn't be all negative, because it is nice being home. I am very lucky to be getting the amount of hours I have been getting at work, I am lucky to have a supportive family who will be working with me the next five years as I work towards finishing school and I am lucky to have good friends who are willing to deal with my mood swings. I am just really analyzing "me" now, more so than I ever have - still trying to figure "me" out and why I am where I am now for whatever reason. . .

Love from the Great White North
Kim

Comments

Niki Devereaux said…
Hey Kim, thanks for sharing your thoughts! The culture shock will wear off eventually, the feeling of changed friendships will fade but know this: your friends HAVE changed. But here's the good news: so have you.

I'm perpetually trying, unsuccessfully, to live my life the 'way it was'. Despite my love of travel and all my fresh starts-much like yours-I often struggle with others changing. It's selfish, but it's as if I want everyone else to stay the same while I can do whatever I want. Each of us finds comfort in stability and when we choose a life that is full of change, it can sometimes be hard to accept that yes, others will change too.

I'm glad to read that you are still seeing the positive and would encourage you to continue to seek out the positive in each day, count your blessings-and thank God for them!

I'm excited you're back home and to see where God will lead you next.

much love!
September 7, 2010 at 4:54 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The good, the bad, the deported.

Image
Well there has been an interesting turn of events in my life lately. When I moved here there were some complications with my Visa that I found out about around week 2, so I always knew that this might happen - but I also know that the Indonesian government changes laws every other day so the chances that I would get my full visa and be able to stay here for a year where equally as possible. Basically right now I am on a training visa which is a 30 day visa that can only be extended a maximum of 6 times. Mine has now been extended 4 times. In order to get my full visa I need to apply for my kitosk which is basically my Indonesian citizenship, unfortunately the government recently put up strict restrictions about foreigners who can get this kitosk, the government doesn't believe that I am qualified enough and has kept rejecting my visa application. Recently some English teachers from another prominent English school in Surabaya got caught with drugs, which is a HUGE HUGE deal here in
Read more

All You Need is Love - and Air Conditioning.

Image
I am currently reading the book "Eat, Pray, Love" and I am finding myself relating to the author on SO many levels. If you have never read it I strongly encourage you to it is a good read, and there is a movie coming out starring Julia Roberts . . . Anyways, it is about a woman who decides to take a year of her life and make it her own and travel - something she loves. There is a part in the book that I feel is straight from my experience here so far. She is talking about when she was in China parents would bring their terrified children up to her to shake her hand, which upon happening the children would burst into tears. I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me since moving here, they see a buliea (Indonesian for foreigner) and bring their poor chid up to this towering blonde giant and make them shake my hand. Considering the size of Surabaya (it is the second largest city in Indonesia) there are not very many foreigners here. When I first came here it r
Read more

BALI BALI BALI . . . and stuff

Image
My goal when I moved here was to try and update my blog at least once a week . . . I suck, I know. Things have been, well, interesting as of late. I am not going to go into too much detail but basically a vicious rumour was started by someone Kelsea and I had called a friend. Long story short she knew she was wrong and is no longer in Indonesia. Well the week that this all came out was a tad stressful so Kelsea, Tico and I decided last minute to go to Bali, this was decided on Thursday night and we left on Friday. Friday morning I went to book the tickets and forgot to book a return flight home (I am stupid I know). Thankfully our boss found us tickets to get us home, but we had to pay double for the tickets. Anyways our flight was scheduled to leave 8pm on Friday night, I was finished work at 6:45 and the airport is 20- 3o minutes away from the school. I told Kelsea and Tico to be at the school for 6:45, of course they were late and we didn't end up leaving the school until 7:20
Read more