What feels like home

4,000m above sea level and 400,000m from the closest shore of the Pacific Ocean, playing beach volleyball every Sunday afternoon in the park somehow became one of the defining elements of my life in La Paz.

Now, at sea level and right on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, playing beach volleyball every Monday evening in Manly is becoming an anchor, a touchpoint, to each week here in Sydney.

It’s funny, the unlikely things that make me feel at home. Continue reading What feels like home

Almost-no-longer-twentysomething

“You’re not 25 anymore, y’know,” my sister says. She’s being gracious. After another year abroad, I re-enter my bedroom where the posters, postcards and photos plastered against the back wall are peeling off, the Blu-Tack tired of supporting them. This is interior decoration befitting a 16-year-old, and I am now (sigh) an almost-no-longer-twentysomething. But what does the bedroom of an almost-no-longer-twentysomething look like? Probably a … Continue reading Almost-no-longer-twentysomething

Cold feet?

Thanks to the infamous Canberra winter, I think I have cold feet both physically and metaphorically. I’ve just come off the back of a week of talking quite a lot about my upcoming Bolivia trip (not to mention Russia next week). I did some planning and made reservations for accommodation. I had my first farewell (work) and have been discussing several other ‘last catch-ups’. It’s really … Continue reading Cold feet?

Sport and spirit

Converted introvert I surprised myself the other day. It was another one of those bizarre moments of self-awareness when the reality of my extroversion hit me afresh. It was a Wednesday night like any other; chilly but not as cold as you might expect for late June in Canberra. We were pitted against the top team in the division: first on the ladder vs second. I played … Continue reading Sport and spirit

The “novelty” of a Christmas and NYE at home

So it’s 2014. I’ve only just realised that spending Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Canberra, my hometown, is quite a novelty for me. NYE was a quiet one – after seeing the 9pm local fireworks with my sister, we went to hang out with a few church friends. We watched the ABC telecast of the Sydney show, played board games, ate and shared a … Continue reading The “novelty” of a Christmas and NYE at home

two reflections on being home again

Canberra, my love Today you are stunning warm even when you’re cold cool even with your sunny disposition and I get lost in your blue sky searching for the me in you and the you that’s reflected somewhere in my heart but I think it is buried deep and yet however far beneath the surface you lie, motionless, asleep even if I were blindfolded I’d … Continue reading two reflections on being home again