Thursday, November 15, 2007

G'day Australia

25 degrees ... perfect blue sky. In Healesville. Sitting on a veranda. Cracking open the third VB of the arvo. Eating a sausage in bread. Smelling burning gum leaves from the burn off. Listening to the Melbourne cup. A dog humping my leg. As first days back in Australia go, this one wasn't bad!

It is now been just over a week since we arrived back, and I must say, it's very good to be home. Leaving Italy was a bit sad, and felt just a little premature as we sat on the train heading for the airport. To be honest though, since coming back and embarking on the "Aff'n'Chris magical tour of South East Australia" as we say hello to family and friends, it's really good to be home. The two most common questions Aff and I have been asked by people are: 1. How was Italy ? 2. What's it like to be home ? Question 1 is difficult to give anything like a genuinely correct answer to, at least in the time frame that the person asking the question would probably want. Aff and I seem to be giving different answers every time we get asked it, so clearly we are not quite sure "how Italy was" either. Our short answer at the moment is: Italy was good. The second question though, is my favourite. The answer to it also gives some hints to our answer to the first question as well.

"So what is it like to be back?" I hear you ask. The wannabe worldly traveller in me wants to say how much I miss Italy, how much I miss the culture, the travelling, the food, the language, and of course, the people. To be honest though, the prevailing emotion at the moment is one of relief and comfort. To be back in my own culture, speaking my own language, driving my own car on roads I know, through the familiar dry Australian country-side almost feels like a luxury. In many ways for me, coming home is one of the best parts of the travelling experience. Of course the novelty factor will wear off soon enough, and my daily routine will resume. I expect it will be sometime after this that my thoughts will drift back to Italy, and start to really miss some of the things we got familiar with over there. I will certainly miss the good people we met over there (I already do), the food, the ability to travel so freely. I think Aff and I will both miss the language as well. We both made progress with it, and I felt like I had discovered a whole new part of my brain I had never tapped into before. All these things I expect we will miss more and more as time goes on, and when the memories of all the difficulties we also had to face fade.

So, for the moment at least, it feels good to be home .. very good in fact. As for Italy, to say "it was good" is a gross understatement .. it was a lot more than good ... it was amazing, and I am so lucky to have had the chance to live there, if only briefly.

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4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Chow! Chow! Chris
All I know is: it's great to have you both back.
Mary

11/15/2007 06:57:00 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Aff and Chris,
I can asure you my first and second question are far from what you have been hearing. My first is when is your furniture and stuff getting out of my house? and the second is, can't you do better that? Only joking, good to hear you are both back and well. Guess you will both reach Canberra soon or later. I guess I can spring a meal for you both. Auntie Marg

11/15/2007 08:02:00 PM

 
Blogger Enrico said...

heyyy dude, how are you?? yes, we are envious...the whether here has gotten worse, rainy rainy!!So, how do you feel back in that awesome country??we miss you, AFF and CHRIS...keep in touch.CIAO

11/25/2007 01:36:00 AM

 
Blogger macca said...

Ciao Enrico!
good to hear from you. It's good to be home, but we're both missing Genova a lot. Will definitely keep in touch.

How was Boston/San Fransisco?

Ciao!

11/29/2007 09:53:00 AM

 

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