Thank you World
I'm home.
Over this last year the word home has had many different meanings. In Mexico, home was my bunk bed in a little communal hut. In Thailand it was literally a little hut. In Guatemala it was my room in my homestay house. But now, home is Melbourne.
Its been exactly 7 weeks to the day since I landed back here in Australia and looking back its a whirl, of emotions, of events, or ideas, of people. I touched down on a cloudy Melbourne spring morning. Angie, one of my best friends in the whole world was there to meet me at the airport. After getting whisked off and taken horse riding for the day I was dropped at my Dad's house, where I've been living since.
The following day I started work, as a writer for an online natural and organic skincare and beauty product website just down the road (http://www.naturallysafe.com.au/) (Ironically I applied for a cleaning job and got a job as a writer after sending my CV with Journalism Masters student on it- what are the odds, eh?) Since then I am volunteering with Oxfam and am playing hockey again. I've taken a short course in photography, hosted a World Food Day dinner, fallen in love again, planted a garden and entered the 2012 Visualising Human Rights Art Competition, and have been shortlisted.
Some days I wake up and forget where I am, in my comfortable bed, in the comfortable suburbs. Some days I daydream of being under the sea counting coral in the warm waters of the Seychelles, other days I close my eyes and I'm back in Peru with my little 3, 4 and 5 year olds teaching art.
People ask me how I'm coping. If its weird. What do I miss. Well, to be honest. I'm coping well, it is weird. And I miss so much but at the same time I am so content.
I guess I am just filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. This last year has been more than I could have hoped for. I have learnt invaluable lessons. I have seen things that will continue to shape me for years to come. And all of this could not have been possible without a few people.Thank you to anyone and everyone who I met along the way. From GVI volunteer to old happy locals, you have all helped shape this last year into the incredible experience it was.
In particular, thank you to Cooper for being my best friend and most loyal companion on this crazy journey. Thank you for never judging me. Always loving me and for giving me encouragement when I needed it most, coming to London to visit me and for making me smile when I felt like the world was caving in on me. I am so lucky to have you in my life, and may my next adventures include you.
Thank you to GVI for giving me this opportunity. I like to think I left my mark on each project, a inicial curriculum in Peru, a mural in the Seychelles, but really, you and your amazing field staff have left your mark on me. Thank you for letting me see the world as a volunteer.
As the experiences start to settle into my mind and my character, I am finding certain ideas and paths continue to pop into my head. Photography is essential to my happiness, when I have a camera in my hands my worries melt away. Coral fills my thoughts everyday, and I have managed to enrol in a couple of marine biology subjects to test the waters (literally), who knows where that will lead. And writing, my new job, but also my favourite past time continues to help me understand the experiences I have.
I intend to fully pursue all of these. I'll continue to take photos and mark my words, I will hold an exhibit in the next year to share all the fascinating things I saw through the lens of my camera this year. I will find a way to incorporate coral into my life, if its academically or leisurely, I am happiest when I am around coral. And writing. I have been writing about my travels for Gapyear.com: http://www.gapyear.com/features/185430/volunteering-with-elephants-in-thailand with another feature to come next week. And I will continue to blog, if you're interested please do join me on my journey back to 'normal' life. http://thestillnomad.blogspot.com.au/
So from the Kenyan bug eggs I found in my foot two weeks after arriving home, to the allergic reaction I had to being stung by an Australian bee, its never a dull day for me, which I'm grateful for. So as I ready myself for another week at work, I smile. Because, after all that moving around. I'm finally home.
Over this last year the word home has had many different meanings. In Mexico, home was my bunk bed in a little communal hut. In Thailand it was literally a little hut. In Guatemala it was my room in my homestay house. But now, home is Melbourne.
Its been exactly 7 weeks to the day since I landed back here in Australia and looking back its a whirl, of emotions, of events, or ideas, of people. I touched down on a cloudy Melbourne spring morning. Angie, one of my best friends in the whole world was there to meet me at the airport. After getting whisked off and taken horse riding for the day I was dropped at my Dad's house, where I've been living since.
The following day I started work, as a writer for an online natural and organic skincare and beauty product website just down the road (http://www.naturallysafe.com.au/) (Ironically I applied for a cleaning job and got a job as a writer after sending my CV with Journalism Masters student on it- what are the odds, eh?) Since then I am volunteering with Oxfam and am playing hockey again. I've taken a short course in photography, hosted a World Food Day dinner, fallen in love again, planted a garden and entered the 2012 Visualising Human Rights Art Competition, and have been shortlisted.
I'm back.
Some days I wake up and forget where I am, in my comfortable bed, in the comfortable suburbs. Some days I daydream of being under the sea counting coral in the warm waters of the Seychelles, other days I close my eyes and I'm back in Peru with my little 3, 4 and 5 year olds teaching art.
People ask me how I'm coping. If its weird. What do I miss. Well, to be honest. I'm coping well, it is weird. And I miss so much but at the same time I am so content.
I guess I am just filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. This last year has been more than I could have hoped for. I have learnt invaluable lessons. I have seen things that will continue to shape me for years to come. And all of this could not have been possible without a few people.Thank you to anyone and everyone who I met along the way. From GVI volunteer to old happy locals, you have all helped shape this last year into the incredible experience it was.
In particular, thank you to Cooper for being my best friend and most loyal companion on this crazy journey. Thank you for never judging me. Always loving me and for giving me encouragement when I needed it most, coming to London to visit me and for making me smile when I felt like the world was caving in on me. I am so lucky to have you in my life, and may my next adventures include you.
Thank you to GVI for giving me this opportunity. I like to think I left my mark on each project, a inicial curriculum in Peru, a mural in the Seychelles, but really, you and your amazing field staff have left your mark on me. Thank you for letting me see the world as a volunteer.
As the experiences start to settle into my mind and my character, I am finding certain ideas and paths continue to pop into my head. Photography is essential to my happiness, when I have a camera in my hands my worries melt away. Coral fills my thoughts everyday, and I have managed to enrol in a couple of marine biology subjects to test the waters (literally), who knows where that will lead. And writing, my new job, but also my favourite past time continues to help me understand the experiences I have.
I intend to fully pursue all of these. I'll continue to take photos and mark my words, I will hold an exhibit in the next year to share all the fascinating things I saw through the lens of my camera this year. I will find a way to incorporate coral into my life, if its academically or leisurely, I am happiest when I am around coral. And writing. I have been writing about my travels for Gapyear.com: http://www.gapyear.com/features/185430/volunteering-with-elephants-in-thailand with another feature to come next week. And I will continue to blog, if you're interested please do join me on my journey back to 'normal' life. http://thestillnomad.blogspot.com.au/
So from the Kenyan bug eggs I found in my foot two weeks after arriving home, to the allergic reaction I had to being stung by an Australian bee, its never a dull day for me, which I'm grateful for. So as I ready myself for another week at work, I smile. Because, after all that moving around. I'm finally home.
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