When I arrived back in North America, I was absolutely in love with all those things I missed while being abroad. After enough time in Africa and Asia, the thought of being able to bathe in bath water that you could, yes, technically drink, excited me to no end. Cheese displays in the grocery store would make me tear up and oh lord, I will NEVER, ever take a paved road for granted ever again. They are amazing. Not barfing my guts up on a semi-regular basis from food poisoning also brought me utter joy and the fact that strange men didn’t take my photo constantly on the subway was also a bonus.
That being said, that honeymoon lasts for only a certain amount of time. (Though I will say to all the creepy men out, just don’t. Don’t take my photo on the subway. It’s creepy). And then there are all those other little things that bubble up. Those things you loved, and perhaps didn’t realize how much you loved until you left. I search, search, search in Vancouver for some passable ganbian doujiao, or Szechuan beans. I think about plantains and mangos that grew in my backyard in Africa. I think about the heat and how I learned to cook everything from scratch – from pasta to bread, from tortillas to roasting my own coffee. I miss my friends.
Here is my point. I don’t blog much anymore because well, my life is kinda boring. And I like it, honestly. But it is a strange transition to go from everything being exciting on some level… to everything being easy, and Canadian and clean and fine and boring.
Moral of story? I think I should take a vacation. To Sudan. Or Colombia. Maybe Eritrea. Brazil? And keep my boring life the rest of year.
Filed under: Africa, Canada, China, Friends, Home, Travel, Uganda, Vancouver | Tagged: abroad, Africa, asia, bored, boredom, Canada, China, colombia, exchange, excitement, sudan, Travel, travelling, Uganda, Vancouver | 1 Comment »
Tweet me here