Home Sweet Home (Courtney)

Somehow we have already been home for 5 days...when did that happen? It's been a real hit the ground running experience, with barely a minute spare. So it's with great joy that I am sitting at home tonight, having a cider after having cooked lamb (Lamb!! First time since January!) with a bit of marginally interesting telly in the background.

I really haven't yet had a chance to think about our experience and the fact that we are back home. There are moments where it all feels a little surreal, and other moments where it feels like we never left. I'm still struggling with crossing the road (eg - looking the wrong way, thankfully the roads aren't too hectic around here!) and truly can't get over the clarity of everything. It's amazing how far we can see, the sun and blue skies have been so wonderful to see and the clean, fresh air is just so...well fresh!

Marcus..enjoying being able to breathe! Look at that sky!

As you know, Thursday we arrived to find that even though we had decided to come home, my suitcase had decided to remain on holidays. Whilst the airport reassured us they would find it, and we joked that my bag was off holidaying in Portugal or picking up a habit in Columbia, it really was a stressful couple of days. I did my best to not throw any tantrums but it was honestly the last thing I needed at that point. Watching those bags go round and round and realising mine wasn't coming was very distressing. It wouldn't have been so bad coming home from holiday, but having come home after 8 months with literally NOTHING other than what was in that bag was not ideal. Thankfully my wonderful parents quickly whipped me off to the local Target to get some essentials for the next few days which was so appreciated...you know, clean undies, a toothbrush! My suitcase did decide to arrive home on Saturday morning after an extended stint in China so I was very very pleased to see it on Sunday afternoon.

My bro, Spence, and I driving to Mornington. So good to see you!

So after the madness of Thursday and the overwhelming joy of seeing my parents, my brother and Sarah before we knew it we were off in the car to Coldstream to help celebrate the wedding of our good friends Simone and Adrian! We had such a brilliant day and we just so pleased that we could be there to see this special day. I've known Simone for about 8 or 9 years now, what with us living parrellel lives and all, and I was just rapt that we were able to attend.

The gorgeous Simone and Adrian. Congrats guys! Such a beautiful wedding. Can't wait to hear all about the honeymoon..we are soo jealous!

Saturday it was off to Sarah's place. Sarah and her partner Ben are soon off to Africa for a year, so I hadn't expected to see her, them or their home! What a great home warming it has been. To sit in Sa's home just felt so normal and really made me feel settled. Not to mention she put on a great spread of all the things I was craving...mmmmhhhh. I am so happy we get to share another summer together before their big adventure begins. Sob!

Food!!! I missed doing this sooo much Sa =)

After trekking home yesterday (my first encounter, and sadly not my last, with Frankston train station) we headed out to see Sam and Jess' new home! Wow! What can I say, what a great place, so cosy already and such a great start. It was great to see them and sit around with a bit of Indian food, have a good talk and laugh. They aren't too far away from where we are now based which is very handy.


Finally we started settling in today. It has been such a blessing to be able to have our base in Mornington. We can't thank Marcus' mum enough, just to be able to return to Australia and have somewhere to call home has been fantastic. And also Nick is still here so we get to spend some time together before he returns to the UK. The suitcases are unpacked, we've put up a few Chinese knicknacks around our room and I feel a little bit more at home. It has been a crazy few days and I kind of felt like I moved country with a handbag! But today started to feel a bit more normal. I know it's going to be a while before we both truly feel like we are home and back in Australia. It's impossible not to compare things and marvel at how different the two countries are. The supermarket is sooo easy and there is so much good produce to buy. The sky is honestly so clear, I can't get over it. Thankfully it has been lovely weather so we aren't struggling too much with the cold. It smells different here, I can't put my finger on it, but China smells so different. Everything here is so open and spacious, I know it's home and we know it so well but even after that short amount of time away it really makes you think about how different Australia is to the rest of the world...and just how fortunate we all are.

Look who we are now guardians of...Wally!

The life of the Chinese is infinately more difficult than our lives here. I hope we retain that feeling and continue to appreciate the way of life here. China certainly hasn't diminished my love of travel, nor my desire to throw it all in again and move somewhere else...but it has certainly reinforced my love of home and just how great Australia is. Sure, it's been weird hearing the Aussie accent again (jesus we all sound like bogans don't we?!) and some random things we have seen have staggered us and made us cringe, but I'm sure it's only a short time before everything feels completely normal again. It's so strange suddenly being bombarded with all this noise - now, believe me China is NOISY, but here you can understand everything and that makes a big difference. Even when China is blaring in your ears you do tune out. It just becomes noise. But all of a sudden here, you have advertising, radio, tv, street conversations...just so much noise to take in.


I do miss China at the moment. Not hugely, and not in a homesick kind of way, although it really was our home in the end. But there are things that I miss, and I suppose you become so familiar with a place that suddenly a "new" place feels a little strange and foreign and like you have to settle back in again.


But it is good to be home =)

Lastly, a couple of final shots from China.

The packing begins. Thankfully the above case came home! Our cases weighed 52kg combined (yes, we were travelling economy) and that wasn't including backpacks, handbag and laptops!

Bye bye Tian Yi!

China has gotten to me.

We caught the fast train to Shanghai Airport. It does 431km per hour. I think you can tell by the below photo just how impressed I was by this...

...not very impressed at all. When it went around a curve it banked up on an angle...very unsettling.

Last night in China! And of course, it wouldn't be right if there wasn't big bottles of beer. I will miss being able to say "we are off to Shanghai for the weekend".