I did the flights as directly as possible, flying from Yogya to Jakarta in the afternoon and then from Jakarta to Sydney that evening. Doing that made the whole trip feel quite quick, and caused me to feel quite weird. One moment I was in Yogya, the next I was in Sydney. I had a lot of trouble yesterday trying to convince myself that being home wasn’t a dream or temporary, that this was it.
Yogya already feels a world away, although I’m already missing my friends there. At the moment I’m enjoying the novelties of being back - the nice weather, being able to wear whatever I want (today I’m wearing a singlet top and am finding the sensation of wind on my bare back really strange, having footpaths to walk on (not climbing around bikes, on busy roads, up and down drains, trying to not fall in holes) having carpet (everything is tiled in Yogya), having more freedom because I can drive here and getting to eat and drink things like unsugared bread and real milk. I know that it will only take a few days to start missing Yogya, though I can honestly say life here is much easier, and I’m looking forward to the weeks ahead of me where I can enjoy my comforts again, and catch up with all the family and friends that I have missed so much.
When I was leaving the airport at Yogya I felt so mixed because in one sense I was going home but in another I felt like I was leaving home. It was hard to think that I wasn’t going on another holiday, that I was moving somewhere permenantly and that visits to Yogya again would be my holidays. But I told my Indonesian friends there not to worry too much, because I’d be back again, and soon too. There’ll always be an abundance of reasons to visit Yogya again, it would be pretty hard to keep me away. I also felt proud of what I’d done, and the experiences I had behind me. Being back home in my old environment again has made me realise how much the experience has made me change and grow. I’m so glad that I did it.
