I weighed my 33.8kg bag in at Milan airport at 5:30am on September 12th. I boarded a bus, that took me to a plane, that flew me to Rome at 1:40pm. Upon landing, I skipped past the transfer’s desk to retrieve my bag, that never arrived, only to discover it had been checked through to Melbourne. This meant that I had to check in again! I originally lined up behind 50 Asians heading to China, then found my line to Kuala Lumpur, and headed off to duty free to occupy my 5 hour stopover. My first flight was without hiccup, maybe due to the lady sitting to my left and her continuous prayers about the fate of our plane. For my second flight, I was seated next to two little blonde girls with the most infectious smiles, wishing I was already home so as to sport one of my own :)
I missed home. I missed my family. I missed work and believe it or not...study. I missed being greeted in English, opposed to one of the many foreign languages in Europe. I missed radio and talkback, in comparison to reading subtitles on Italian TV. I missed having a whole cupboard of clothing to choose from, rather than a suitcase full of lycra (after all I am a girl). I missed falling asleep to the tic-toc of my wall clock instead of the sound of Italian horns outside my bedroom window. And what I missed the most? The colour and comfort of my own room, decorated with photos and memories of my life so far. And after returning from Europe, it seems I have almost run out of wall space for such memories! (Old memories: Twin & I above. Me, Lisa & Angie below)
It has taken me a week to get used to home. I no longer have to cook every meal for myself, and when I do, I have to remind myself that I can use more than one element at a time without the power cutting out (as is the case in Castronno). Washing was off bounds for a few days, until I had collected three baskets full of dirty clothes, forcing my Mum to tackle the problem. And I had to back away from our rubbish bins, because I was getting angry at the sight of paper and plastic in the same bin, only to realise it was the recyclables (we have 5 categorised bins in Italy where paper and plastic are seperate). So as my Mum takes on domestic duties, my Dad adopts a new project in recognition of my inconsistent blogging techniques. To keep up to date with results before the official blog is posted, visit my
website.
I missed home. I missed my family. I missed work and believe it or not...study. I missed being greeted in English, opposed to one of the many foreign languages in Europe. I missed radio and talkback, in comparison to reading subtitles on Italian TV. I missed having a whole cupboard of clothing to choose from, rather than a suitcase full of lycra (after all I am a girl). I missed falling asleep to the tic-toc of my wall clock instead of the sound of Italian horns outside my bedroom window. And what I missed the most? The colour and comfort of my own room, decorated with photos and memories of my life so far. And after returning from Europe, it seems I have almost run out of wall space for such memories! (Old memories: Twin & I above. Me, Lisa & Angie below)
It has taken me a week to get used to home. I no longer have to cook every meal for myself, and when I do, I have to remind myself that I can use more than one element at a time without the power cutting out (as is the case in Castronno). Washing was off bounds for a few days, until I had collected three baskets full of dirty clothes, forcing my Mum to tackle the problem. And I had to back away from our rubbish bins, because I was getting angry at the sight of paper and plastic in the same bin, only to realise it was the recyclables (we have 5 categorised bins in Italy where paper and plastic are seperate). So as my Mum takes on domestic duties, my Dad adopts a new project in recognition of my inconsistent blogging techniques. To keep up to date with results before the official blog is posted, visit my website.