It's hard to believe that the three month summer I embarked upon when I left Indonesia in June is over. I am back in Surabaya, ready-ish to start work tomorrow and oddly enough, it feels as though summer ought to have been a little bit longer...say 5 or 6 more months. Oh well, if summer were THAT long, I don't suppose that I'd enjoy the holiday as much when it came.
Returning to Indonesia was a difficult journey. Aside from the literal difficulties (many thanks to Air Canada for their continued incompetence) I struggle with feeling as though I'm "home". Taking the time I did this summer has allowed me to really process the last year and thoroughly enjoy my time at home has made it more difficult to return. Don't get me wrong, there are many things I look forward to: visits with dear friends, time at the gym, going to Bali and the like, but a part of me is wondering whether the intrigue of living internationally has come to an end. It's starting to feel too much like work and less like an adventure. That being said, I'm in it for the next two years and will do what I need to in order to make the very best of things. Today, for example, I rearranged my living room, tried to hang pictures and bought a shoe rack. A shoe rack is a great sign of a true nester.
Work officially starts tomorrow. It will be a day of seeing familiar and unfamiliar faces and easing back into the swing of school. At least that is what I am hoping the day will be. I am utterly spoiled...my nanny is here. I wasn't expecting here until Monday, as all the other nannies are taking this week off for Eid, but my nanny has been anxiously awaiting my arrival. In spite of suggesting she take an extra long weekend, she is busily working at making sure I am completely spoiled. Sigh. There are many perks to life in Indonesia!
In the days before my return, I spent a little money on various technology gadgets. My Ipad was a definite joy on the flight. I will now likely travel only with it instead of my laptop (which i am using right now - so fear not, it will not become obsolete). In addition, I am excited to get my Apple TV set up so I can watch all my fun things from my computer on my television (which I purchased from departing teachers in June). Slowly but surely my apartment is becoming more homey.
My many bags of chocolate chips and the 6kg of brown sugar have all been stashed away, as have molasses, cocoa and miscellaneous spices. I am sure my nanny thinks I am crazy as I fill my cupboards with these pieces of home, but when you're a baker, sometimes you just need to have the comforts of home at your finger tips. I have also brought some traditional yeast. Having made so many batches of buns while at camp this summer, I've decided that bun/bread making will become my Saturday morning ritual. I mean, if I can make quadruple batches 5 days a week (granted, I turned them all into sticky buns at camp...not gonna be doing that here) surely I can make a lowly single batch once a week. Besides, is there anything better than fresh buns and/or bread.
And on that note, I think I've rambled enough. I very much enjoyed my time in Canada and look forward to being back for Christmas holidays. It was a real treat to get to spend the weekend before I left with my family as we celebrated John's birthday. Check back on a regular basis. Now that the summer is over, and I don't have university to worry about until the spring, I will have many an hour to focus on blogging.
Love to you all.
Tylene.
p.s. Sadly, Grover has remained in Canada. He wasn't feeling up to the long journey. He also thought it necessary to keep Ella company since she's still having a difficult time without her Henry around. Hopefully she will soon be making the journey here. Until then, she's having a heck of a time keeping mom out of trouble, demanding hours of cuddles!
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