Coming Home

Posted by Ian in Journal, Reflection

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For 3 full days leading up to my flight I was a buzz with excitement. So many emails, Facebook, and twitter messages from friends and family asking “Hey, how are you? Where are you now? When are you gonna be home?”

I decided to make use of my free return ticket from Turkey and surprise everyone — much harder than you think. Lots has changed in a year. Not that much really. Just some people have changed phone number, or address, or relationships. It makes it harder to track them down and surprise them without letting them in on it.

So, the last few days in Cairo and Dubai I was more excited about returning home than making the most of my final hours travelling (on this trip). But you get that. It’s hard to mingle at a party when all you can think about is how much you are missing those close to you. I wasn’t homesick the entire year, until it dawned on me that in less than 100 hours I would be home.

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When I arrived home — after a 3-day stop in Dubai, and 10 hour flight — my sister and 2 nieces (both under 5 years old) met me at the airport. My nieces weren’t exactly sure who or what they were looking at. “That’s your Uncle Ian” my sister said. The girls didn’t recognize me, or my name; the whole ride home they were calling me Uncle Brock, and acting up for attention from the stranger in the car. “Who the hell is Brock?” I asked my sister.

I knocked on the door at my Dad’s place, and my brother answered. He didn’t seem too surprised to see me. Turns out my sister told him a day or two earlier. Thanks for that sis. I flew thousands of miles to surprise people, and you ‘let the cat out of the bag’ already.

From there I went round to my house, where my tenants, ex-housemates and friends were genuinely surprised to see me. That’s more like it.

Next up my cousins and Aunty. Surprise the family first. They were the first to have questions about the trip. Where have you been? What adventures have you had? The housemates didn’t really ask, but instead spent the whole time filling me in on what’s been happening to them. No drama. It’s good to hear all the gossip, a year is a long time.

But another day later, and things have started to go quiet already. People returning to work, going about their daily life. I’m already planning the next adventure, applying for work on yachts, getting vaccinations and medical checkups. I would get visas too, but there’s a 90-day limit on when they start. I don’t plan on being there within 90-days. Well, not Brazil anyway.

So my days are spent on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs reading up on whats next. I have a lot of posts to catch up on, and lots of things to organize on this end. I have to install Skype for my Dad, so he can finally talk to me for my next trip. Because my laptop was a replacement from Europe, I have to get adapters for the new electronics. I’m also looking at a new phone to replace the old iPhone. Gearing up, buying a new (and smaller) pack; doing all that pre-trip logistical stuff before taking off again. I also visited my local library, where my membership had expired, and I got out books on adventure travel, Central and South America. I would have got books on how to write a successful blog too, but they were checked out by some other Internet entrepreneur. I tried to join a gym and burn off some post-Eurotrip fat, but they laughed at my “no contract” membership requests.

“Haven’t you run out of money yet?” people are asking.

Not yet. I have a little left. I’ll let you know exactly how much I spent once I work it out. I haven’t worried about budget as much as I could have. For me it wasn’t about doing the trip on a shoe-string, it was about having a great time and crossing off my own bucket list. Worth doing. Pinching pennies was never something I enjoyed doing, it just comes natural in my family.

How will I fill my days without depression, loneliness and boredom for the road? That’s the question. While my friends work away to pay off their mortgages and make their own dreams come true, I am left to do what? I don’t know about the short-term plans, but there’s one thing I do know:

There’s no going back, only forward

Amanda over at NotABallerina wrote a few great posts on Surviving Reverse Culture Shock. Read them if you’re suffering. Did I say I was? Hell, it’s only been 9 days!

It’s funny though, that I returned to Perth, and she also returned to Perth. Maybe there’s something about living in one of the most isolated cities on Earth?

* images pillowhead designs, stusev

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