Yesterday was the solsitce, the longest, or shortest depending on where your feet were yesterday, day of the year. It was an incredibly long day for me.

I dinner was served at midnight. I was flying out of Kuala Lumpur to Adelaide, not a long flight but because of the time difference midnight very quickly became morning, and 2 hours after getting dinner over with the flight attendants came around and woke me up the bastards and tried to give me breakfast. I was so tired and grumpy i refused, but i had too put me seat up for the person behind me, so i kept nodding off and falling forwards and waking up again…

We landed in Adelaide an hour early. I went thru customs and immigration only to find noone waiting for me at the gates when i came out! I sat down for a while and then changed some money (boy the exchange rate sucks!!!) and waited for my folks to turn up. It didnt take long fortunately, but it was kinda funny walking out thru the doors, a big smile plastered on my face.... and no one was there! Oh well!

So, off to Dad’s first of all, had spinach and cheese filo for lunch, indescribable! Ash took me into town for a haircut after lunch, stopped into James’s work to say a quick hi to him - just to freak him out! Found my old hairdresser and got him to squeeze me in for an appointment. Then out to Ians to pick up his phone which he is very kindly lending me. It felt very weird to be without a phone for just those few hours, i am facing the possibility of a very serious addiction here… but for now, well, i am skymailing away and calling to my hearts content! It feels like a limb i got back!

It was cool to see Ian, he seems so much the same tho his house has turned into a full on art production house, the wide corridor lined with canvases, the back porch splattered with paint, but he is ... still Ian.

Then Ash took me onto Mum and Lauries for dinner, James came too, I was getting to the point of hardly being able to hold my head up, but there was one more person i wanted to see. James headed home and Ash took me over to Fiona’s - surprised her totally at 10pm, that was so much fun! I couldnt stay long - it was hard to keep my eyes open, but we will catch up soon. Fiona was, well, Fiona.

And thats the thing, everyone is still very much themselves, the city is still very much itself. Its not that nothing has changed; a great deal of change is obvious, but maybe the changes just make the fundamentals more apparent...? I dunno, maybe its to early to say. I am noticing a suspicious lack of culture shock that makes me wonder what my head is going to be doing in oh, about a week’s time. Everything seems totally normal and totally bizarre at the same time and it cant last. I feel no disconnection from Tokyo, and no connection either. But i feel the same way about Adelaide too. Where is home? Where am I?

• wandering pixie said on 04/12/24 at 09:06 AM.....

  Wandering Pixie wondering too. Pulling a wheelie on trains, plains and through airports only to come out in a biting winter storm. Why? White Christmas when all I want is some green…

  
  Airports and aviators, delays with daredevils, piss ups with passengers.

  
  I heart travel.

  
  Happy happy beach time.

  The Wondering Wandering Pixie

   

• T said on 04/12/24 at 04:06 PM.....

  It is kinda comforting that no matter where you live, the place you grew up, and the good friends you had before, are fairly constant. 

  
  I learned this when I was back in Aus this year for the first time in four years.  So whatever happens, you know that you can go back and slip back into a comfort zone no matter how long you have been away. 

  
  That said, if you ever leave Tokyo, you can always come back and feel like you have never left either.  So home is whereever you are…. 

  We are a part of the growing population of global citizens.  Get used to it and feel fortunate that there are cities all over the world that you can call “home”.

  
  Some people can only ever call one place home and are only comfortable with the familiar.  We are able to adapt.  This explains the lack of culture shock.

   

• h. said on 04/12/24 at 06:01 PM.....

  Ah…sounds nice to be with family.

  Things here in the bit T are cold and Xmassy - so it’s not all bad.

  
  Have a lovely lovely lovely time & and i’ll be here when you get back!

  
  And for whatever it means - to me home is where you are…wherever that may be.  I think it’s a kind of flexible movable place that you carry along with your toothbrush & clean knickers…

   

  Enjoy, sweety…you deserve it!

  
  hugs - h.

   

• Jen said on 04/12/27 at 12:15 AM.....

  Merry Christmas!!!

  
  Trust you’re having a good time “Wild Child”! ^_~