After over 18 months away from our home country we returned to England for four weeks to visit our family and friends. It was whirlwind trip of good times, lot of laughs and memories we will treasure forever. As any individual who has been living in another country for so long I am sure the following thoughts went through your mind….correct me if I am wrong!
Nothing has changed
Going home I realised the world goes on with out you, my home town is still the same, my friends are all still around, my Nan is still moaning about her eyes and my dear mother still does the shopping on a Friday! Everything looks the same and let’s not even mention the weather!
Everything has changed
But at the same time everything has changed There’s were some new bars in Falmouth and we didn’t quite feel like a local any more. There were new faces and new places. We didn’t know where our friends live anymore as they moved house and my parents have moved into a new home which just doesn’t quite feel like home! And randomly…the cheese tasted different.
Nothing has changed
There is not enough time
Everyone wants to see you, like everyone. The time away from work is after all a holiday but everyone wants to know what your doing and when and if your free they will snap up that only free time you have left! I felt I needed to schedule in a lie in or even some time to myself. There was never enough time. Time escaped us, but I think you would feel this way if you were home for two days or even two months.
The grass isn’t always greener
We were at dinner with a group of our friends on the last night and one of our close friends asked us a interesting question. He starts… “Living abroad…I have always wondered does it just become the norm, going to work coming home, cooking dinner, going to work again, is it just the same as here?” I paused and thought about for a moment and replied with a yes. The reality is the mundane tasks of daily life don’t escape you when you live abroad it really is the same day after day as your life was In England, but we try and not think like that as it can get you down! The long term goals here are different our opportunities here are wider than ever before and that is what we keep in mind, I have learnt the grass isn’t greener on the other side but with the right mind set it can be if you want it to be.
The big question. Who do I feel now I am back?
This was my scariest question to myself five weeks ago, but honestly I feel fine, I didn’t feel upset to leave the cultural aspects of England (and that’s a whole other blog!). It really does boil down to my family and friends if I could pick up all my family and friends and take them with me or someone could reduce the travelling hours to just a few hours long I would be a very happy person! Eventually we know that this could be the thing that effects us in the long term. And I think it does catch up with everybody in the end! And on a lighter note if New Zealand had Choak’s pasty’s, cheap mozzarella, crab and the best tasting Guinness around I would be a very happy lady.
Here are a few more snaps from our time at home, and yes I still refer it as home! 🙂
Friends 🙂
The Boys
Oh and we finally tied the knot as well!