The last month or so had been really tough, aside from my back relapsing, I had managed to get sick (tummy bugs, colds etc) or injured a few times - including cutting my hand right open on a broken glass and having to rush (at Cambodian tuktuk driver pace) to hospital to be cleaned and sewn up...
The bandage was excessive and as I said to the nurse, I can't tell people I did this on a broken glass 'Big bandage needs big story' - still working on a better story! - maybe I should tie it into the time that warthog threw me into a cactus, or the day the cheetah got out...
Aside from illness and injury lots of people were leaving work, work was very busy and there was lots of other work and life things going on. Sometimes you just know that for no particular reason you are out of sync with everything, and it feels like everything you touch turns to crap - that's where I was. But sometimes to get back in sync, heal and get back on track, the only way is through the rough patch- and I was pleased that this period was coming to an end....
The lotus - revered as it grows from the deep, dark depths of muddy pools and manages to come out so beautiful.
I landed at Manchester about two and a half days after I set off. The stress, lugging bags and inability to lie down for most of it did not do my back any good. For the first time in years mum had decided to pick me up, which was amazing. I dragged myself through arrivals and fell into a hug, the car, and then bed.
"Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." - Robert Frost
Jet lag heading to the UK isn't so bad for me, generally means early nights and mornings, heading to Cambodia usually means I can't sleep at night and can't wake up in the morning. One odd thing though is that in Cambodia it is usually dark at 6/6.30pm. In the UK summer time it can stay light until 10pm - that's a sure fire way to mess up your body clock! At around 9.30pm every night my body was just gearing up to do something new and it was bed time - funny business!
"All too often, when people don't know where they are, have jet lag, don't speak the language, and can't figure out the money or maintain intestinal regularity, they get hostile." - Mary-Lou Weisman
[and that's just me in the UK!]
I was lucky not to be as critical health wise as I had been last time, but very much waiting on doctors appointments and was on an emergency cancellation list. Pain and appointments limited my movements a fair bit.
That said, in the 6ish weeks I was home I managed to pack in a few things.....
Medically I had several chiropractors appointments, an assessment and another spinal injection - ouch, but effective.
Family wise we had a get together celebrating me, my cousin and my uncle being home at the same time (we all work live overseas) only my cousin couldn't make the party as he was at a festival, the week after the family celebrated his 30th and I couldn't make that as I was at a party - even when we are around its still hard! We also had my other uncles birthday and some nice days of family time, including a lovely meal out just before I left to come back to Cambodia.
Mum and I managed to catch up with a few people and have a couple of day trips to local places and closeby towns like Manchester, Ramsbottom, Ribchester, Barton Grange to do some shopping, have nice lunches, explore and catch up with friends. We also managed to get a few nice walks in - especially during the heatwave - things were bordering on Cambodia temps!
Manchester street art.
It was also nice to catch up with the girls from school (and a couple of other northern friends) and celebrate a new baby and three new homes. I sadly missed out on a wedding though which would have been lovely to attend, but some of my back treatment had left me feeling pretty shabby.
I made it down to London a couple of times too, managing to be the first guest in my besties house - literally the day the movers dropped everything off - I waste no time! Much was still in boxes and the builders were still working on the place, but it was really special to share that time. I also made it down there for the official house warming party and loved catching up with so many people. Over that time I also managed a day festival of a good friends birthday and a food festival, along with meeting new babies, catching up with uni friends and their kids and some chill outs and chats.
Birthday festival (amazing what several tons of sand, some beers, DJs and pyrotechnics can do to London's business hub!)
Its looking back on pics like this that makes me miss home and these peeps - and being a long way away when there are two weddings in Santorini this month - huge congrats to the gorgeous couples!
In other news I found a bottle of the best SA wine and some biltong on my travels to London - which kept my inner Namibian happy - amazing!
The end of July also saw my transition into a new opportunity which I look forward to sharing more on next time.....
So, soon it was time for me to pack my bags, haul myself on several planes and finally make it back to my other home and be greeted by these two fuzz balls...
"Time spent with cats is never wasted." - Sigmund Freud
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