g'day from australia! aussie aussie! uuuuugh...

 

what a weird feeling it is to be back 'home'. only 2 days ago i was sitting on a train, travelling from larisa to athens with a fortune teller, a souvlaki maker and a photocopier, and now i'm sitting in my bedroom in melbourne, surrounded by purchases i made around europe, with the heater on, and mel walden (shit, is that his name? that tubby little guy...?) is talking in the background, telling me the latest news.

 

the trip home went eerily smoothly. as in, too smooth for my liking. nothing went wrong. nothing at all! i caught the 8.32am train from larisa and arrived in athens 3 hours later. on the train i was seated next to a fortune teller from bulgaria, a souvlaki maker from albania, and a greek girl that works in a photocopying place. the fortune teller assured me that it was a great day to travel when i asked her if she could see my plane making it home safely, then asked me to tell her my lucky number. from that she concluded that what i need in my life is a mentor to lead me, and to be open to change and risk. i assured her that i was quiet open to change and taking risks, having just spent almost a year of my life constantly adapting to changes (ie. new hostels, new countries, new people) and taking risks (ie. leaving accommodation/transport bookings to the last minute, going where i never imagined i'd go, and other such adrenalin inducing acts of risk taking). despite her misjudgement, i thanked her and promised i'd take her advice on board. then she mentioned that she was on her way to athens to give an interview on tv and because it was her first time on television she had gone to a beautician to pretty herself up. i would've suggested a magician, not a beautician, but i held my tongue. after all, she told me that i was in for a good trip and i didn't want to do anything to upset my good travel karma. anyhow, she went to the beautician to get her arms waxed (something to do with her hormone therapy or sumn...), and because her skin is sensitive, she broke out. i offered her what little tea tree oil i had left, and she slathered herself in it, constantly thanking me while rubbing my shoulder, and reassuring me that i radiate good vibes and a good aura. phew, thank goodness, cos i was starting to think there was sumn wrong with my vibes. then she asked me for my contact details in australia so she can find me if she ever comes for a visit. before we parted ways in athens, she came over and gave me a huge hug and the 2 greek kisses, one on each cheek, then told me that when the tea tree oil finishes she's guna keep the empty bottle in her handbag so she can keep channelling my good vibes and aura...(!)

 

in athens i swapped trains and arrived at the airport nice and early. the emirates desk was already open, so i checked my stuff in as soon as i arrived. i got chatting to the guy at the desk and by the time he sorted out my passport and boarding card, he forgot to weigh my suitcase. just as well too cos i was about 6kg over the weight limit. if the plane crashed it would've been my fault, but i justified it to myself - with the 4 or 5kg's i lost while overseas it's not too bad if i then take a few extra kilos with me in my suitcase. they would've had to carry that weight anyway, wouldn't they...? except i think i put all that weight back on on the flight with all the food they kept giving me so it would've been their fault if the plane fell out of the sky (and they got my order right for once! no meat in sight the whole trip home!!)

 

the flight home was good too for the most part. as we were approaching singapore the pilot told us that we'd be flying thru monsoon rains and storms, and i thought, 'i knew it! it was too good to be true. this is how it's all guna end! screw the fortune teller and her reassurances!' however, it didn't all end there and we landed safely after a bit of turbulence. our flight was delayed for a while because of this bad weather and we finally arrived in melbourne at about 1.30am. clearing customs took a while cos it was a full flight and they didn't have immigration forms on the plane so we had to fill them in at the airport. by the time i did that and found my luggage on the carousel, it was about 2am. arthur, mark, jacs and fran were waiting for me outside. i'd dreamt about this reunion so many times in the last 10months! there was a time there that i'd fall asleep picturing this scene, over and over. i pictured myself jumping for joy to be back, hugging everyone and telling them all how good it was to be back. then there were the times when fran and i would catch a flight somewhere and as we'd come thru the gates one of us would inevitably say, 'imagine we just landed in melbourne and these people are here to see us..." didn't turn out quite as i'd pictured it. for one, fran was at the airport and my parents weren't. that wasn't part of the plan. fran and i were spos to come back together and console each other on the flight home. secondly, i'm not happy to be back. when i left greece i kept telling myself, 'think how great it's guna be to jump in your car and go for a drive! think how great it's guna be to jump in your car and go for a drive!'. i kept that 'positive thinking' bullshit up for most of the flight, until i saw adelaide's lights winking at me from 35000 feet below and it hit me that i was home. i kept wishing that i could turn the plane, and time, back to where it all began. i tried to pretend that the plane was going the other way, but it didn't work. a greek lady that adopted me during the flight caught me crying at one stage and became concerned..."emy!? emy, what's wrong?? are you ok??!". what's wrong? you wana know what's wrong?? i'm going home! back to a place that sleeps while the rest of the world is awake, back to a place with no donkeys (no four legged ones, anyway), no pyramids, no souks, no castles. back to a place with no cousins to spoil me, no grandmothers, no uncles, no aunties! back to a place where i need an alarm clock to wake me because there's no immamm to do it! i told her i was fine but really, i wasn't. after all, it's time i got over it, no?

 

when the plane landed in melbourne and i saw the virgin blue and qantas planes parked at the airport, i had a mini panic attack. oh my goodness! was i really missing in action for 10 months, or did i just go away for the weekend? how come everything still looks the same?? am i like mao tse, who wasn't sure if he dreamt he was a butterfly or if he was a sleeping butterfly dreaming that he is a man?? did it all really happen? how come it doesn't feel like it has? i was gone for ages, why is it still only 2006?? i feel like i've lived a thousand lives since i left, and here nothing has changed!! aaaaahhhh!!!! i think i was almost expecting a sci-fi scenario, where i return to the planet i know, only to find it full of robots walking around instead of humans. but no, st albans is still st albans, with a new illuminated sign here and there, but basically, it's still st albans.

 

i spent most of the flight home listening to some dude singing the koran on the in-flight radio and a couple of babies squealling their cute little heads off. and for future reference jacs (cos i know you'll be needing it again), channel 22 :o)