Wow. Im home now. I can't really believe it. Although i've actually been home now for almost 2 weeks it just doesnt seem fair. I miss travelling. There is something absurd and wonderful about not really knowing where you are going to sleep at night. It's a weird mix that you have when you meet people on the road. You have an instant connection with people that you meet yet you know its not going to last.
Social networking has sought to rectify this (i suppose), in the fact that we are all so closely connected with each other we can't escape even if we wanted to. There are some wonderful things about this., ie. meeting up with a friend in Rome that you had met 2 months before in Paris. There are also some things that are slight drawbacks, ie. the dreaded "so and so added you" while you think "who the hell.....".
That being said i am glad i can still connect with people i have met on the road. Being home really doesnt compute for the first few days. Not when you get on the plane. Not when you take off or get off or go through customs. Not when the customs agent puts a weird mark on your paper and sends you through that other line and not even when they search the entire contents of your backpack because they don't believe that you only spent $100 on gifts for yourself in 2 months. (IM BACKPACKING!!! I don't have room or money for gifts! Plus any gifts i might have bought, i drank instead!)
It takes a couple days of being home for the shock of reality, nay, the shocking desperation of your situation, to take hold. You realize that tomorrow, you wont be seeing any castles. Nor will you be sitting on a patio trying to converse with a server who clearly doesn't understand you. No more pointing at a menu and hoping you recognize what arrives in front of you. Its a shock.
Now, some people might think that im not happy about anything now that im home. That's not true. I enjoy having my own room again. I like having a kitchen that i can cook in and having frying pans that haven't been used as baseball bats.
I enjoy the small creature comforts. Tim Hortons has been wonderful. Watching a hockey game. Even if the Leafs are pathetic, i am a Leafs fan through and through. There is no other way. Remember that everyone.
I am now looking for a job, which i hate. If anyone wants to hire me please let me know.
We will talk soon, as im sure i'll be sitting around procrastinating later.
